Byte Marks (vol. 1 / no.3)

The Resurrection and the Life by Brian Keene (Biting Dog Press)

It's a good thing I'm no Christian or I would be overwrought with worry over Brian Keene's immortal soul. I'm pretty sure that if Yahweh had a say in this, Brian would be bookmarked for a one-way ticket to Hell. And that, for we readers, is a good thing. Keene turns the biblical tale of Lazarus on its ear and visits upon the Christ a meeting with Ob, that irrepressable Iburr from his popular zombie novels The Rising and City of the Dead.

As always, Keene delivers the goods with a well thought out yarn that fits well into the mythos of his previous works, even if he writes from a totally different section of his brain. In fact, Keene does a fantastic job of showing us just how much he has grown as a scribe. This is more than a well-written Brian Keene story and much more than another entertaining jaunt through a furtile, albeit dark mind. This is Brian Keene creating a work of art.

And speaking of art, I would be remiss if I didn't mention George Walker's rather sizable contribution to this work. His woodcuts are a thing of beauty and firmly establish this as one of the premiere literary works of the twenty-first century. Walker just might be the real story in this tale as his woodcuts invoke Revere's Club Dumas images diabolique from the fictional Nineth Gate.

The good news: this is the literary equivelant of water turned to wine.

The bad news? It's a signed limited and sold out...

Keene promises to release this in a short story collection in the near future. I only hope that he has the rights to reproduce the art as well, for they go hand in hand.

Kudos to Biting Dog Press for producing an awe-inspiring edition that will leave people talking about it for years to come.

4 out of 5 stars