Bishop Rider Lives: An Anthology of Retribution

Bishop Rider

by Beau Johnson (Editor), Hector Acosta (Editor)

Blood-soaked and torso-based, Bishop Rider became THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT STOP. His singular mission, his only goal, a type of carnage most would turn from. The men who destroy Rider's family, the type of monsters they are, resulting in a decades-long war with Rider vowing to not only burn them, but anyone like them. All things end, however, and Bishop Rider, he proves no exception, succumbing to the cancer that would eventually end him.

But life, it sometimes finds a way.

The fifteen stories in this anthology both brand new tales and written by some of the biggest names working in crime fiction and horror today. Each tale pulled from between the pages of A Better Kind of Hate, The Big Machine Eats, All of Them To Burn, Brand New Dark, and Old Man Rider.

Come for the rage, stay for the dismemberment. See how a dead man makes them burn.

194 pages, Paperback

Published June 3, 2024

About the author

I am the author of the Bishop Rider Books. A Better Kind of Hate, The Big Machine Eats, All of Them to Burn, Brand New Dark, Old Man Rider, The Abrum Files and Like-Minded Individuals.
See also: It was never about saving people.

Reviews

[Brian Bowyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dynamite!

Fifteen excursions into Bishop Rider's world by some of the best writers you're gonna read. I enjoyed all these stories, but my favorites were "Sanctity," "Echoes of Vengeance," and "The Last Aches of Remission." This is one you do not want to miss!

[M.E. Proctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beau Johnson created an icon of vigilante righteousness with Bishop Rider. Now, a dream roster of authors are giving the character a burning salute. James D.F. Hannah, S.A. Cosby, Meagan Lucas, Nick Kolakowski, and all the talent assembled for this collection take the Rider legend to new places. Victims, criminals, followers get to tell their stories. All the writers put their spin on the archetype and make it stronger in the process. You don’t have to know Bishop Rider to dive into this books, but by the end, you might know the man better than he knows himself. This is an exceptional collection.

[Curtis Ippolito · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate enough to read an early version of this book, and I can honestly say that it knocked me back. Beau Johnson and Hector Acosta collected some of the very best crime and horror writers going and let them spin their own Bishop Rider tales, and I was incredibly impressed by the ingenuity and variety that resulted. Some told Bishop stories, like in Mark Rapacz’s great story, some explored life after Bishop, as in Rob Smith’s excellent story, and others told stories from the viewpoint of outsiders being thrown into Bishop’s bloody, retributive world, like James D.F. Hannah, Rob Hart, S.A. Cosby. Stories by Meagan Lucas, Paul Garth (perhaps my favorite story in the bunch), Mary Thorson, Laurel Hightower, and Nick Kolakowski are others out of this world great entries not to be missed. This roster, top to bottom, killed it. What are you waiting for now? Buy this and enjoy them all.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories did not hold back. Grisly dismemberment and bloody justice filled every page. Loved it!

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can be said about Bishop Rider that hasn’t been said with the bloody vengeance and dismemberment that these authors haven’t said here in this tome? Nothing that isn’t already spelled out in these pages.
These stories flow like blood, like they were written by Beau himself, or with Bishop in the room, behind each author, nodding at the truth being scribbled down, and raising an approving axe—like a demented salute—to the revenge that we know he approves of.

[Beau Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know if it’s proper etiquette for me to review this book or not but I’m only going to live once and I didn’t write one story within it so I’m going to review it anyway. Now, of the title character, he I DID create, and I’m hard pressed to adequately express how it feels to have other writers putting their spin on Bishop Rider. It both excites and humbles me. Each story within this anthology hitting it out of the park. Some stories have Rider right up front and in your face while others have him in the background as a spector or ghost and out past that, some tales where he’s been dead for years. I love each story, each voice, and the uniqueness each author’s aforementioned voice gave/gives to a character I have spent a good portion of my life with. So come, see how a dead man makes them burn. See how these 15 authors ‘burn them all’.

[Victoria Goessling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want to lose some sleep and enjoy every minute of it? Bishop Rider Lives is the perfect book to accomplish your goal. Beau John started the legend, and James D.F. Hannah, S.A. Cosby, Meagan Lucas, Nick Kolakowski, and others assembled for this collection expand this legend in the best (for the readers, but not the bad guys) ways possible. Bloody, violent, and thoroughly engrossing-- it doesn't matter if you've read any previous Bishop Rider books (although I recommend them highly) because if you like to see punishment served out, you'll enjoy these tales of vengeance completely.

[C.W. Blackwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bishop Rider Lives elevates violence to an art-form: every knife is a paintbrush, every claw-hammer is a sculptor’s chisel. These stories will stay with you long after the last scumbag hangs from his own viscera. But be warned: amid all the carnage, you may feel some of these tales tugging at your heartstrings…

[Manny Torres · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best thing about anthologies is that you get writers from all walks of life to contribute to an established universe, writing about a character they did not invent. The stories here are so varied and diverse, it really helps to flesh out and expand the legend of Bishop Rider. Long live Bishop Rider. And he does here, in all of these great stories. For fans of the series, this is essential reading.

[Elford Alley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors in this anthology absolutely kill it. These stories give you glimpses of Rider's past, of his future as a martyr and saint for broken people seeking justice, and plenty of catharsis in a world where scumbags seem to always get away. Everyone brings their unique perspective to Beau Johnson's character, and this is a perfect introduction if you haven't read his books before, and a damn good time for fans of the Rider series.