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Apocrypha
APOCRYPHA goes deep inside the author's vaults and archives, revealing for the first time anywhere a plethora of rare and never-before-published material, including rare stories, excerpts from early and unpublished novels, alternate chapters and excised material from published novels, early journalism, material from cancelled projects, and much more. There's even a section collecting formative writing from Keene's early teenage years. Be it the original, unpublished ending to THE RISING or his pitch for the TERMINATOR series, this book is a gold-mine of rarities and oddities sure to satisfy even the most hardcore Brian Keene fan. This book will never be reprinted, so don't miss your chance to peek inside the vault before the doors close forever!
344 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
2 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Brian Keene
386 books2,995 followersBRIAN KEENE writes novels, comic books, short fiction, and occasional journalism for money. He is the author of over forty books, mostly in the horror, crime, and dark fantasy genres. His 2003 novel, The Rising, is often credited (along with Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic and Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later film) with inspiring pop culture’s current interest in zombies. Keene’s novels have been translated into German, Spanish, Polish, Italian, French, Taiwanese, and many more. In addition to his own original work, Keene has written for media properties such as Doctor Who, Hellboy, Masters of the Universe, and Superman.
Several of Keene’s novels have been developed for film, including Ghoul, The Ties That Bind, and Fast Zombies Suck. Several more are in-development or under option. Keene also serves as Executive Producer for the independent film studio Drunken Tentacle Productions.
Keene also oversees Maelstrom, his own small press publishing imprint specializing in collectible limited editions, via Thunderstorm Books.
Keene’s work has been praised in such diverse places as The New York Times, The History Channel, The Howard Stern Show, CNN.com, Publisher’s Weekly, Media Bistro, Fangoria Magazine, and Rue Morgue Magazine. He has won numerous awards and honors, including the World Horror 2014 Grand Master Award, two Bram Stoker Awards, and a recognition from Whiteman A.F.B. (home of the B-2 Stealth Bomber) for his outreach to U.S. troops serving both overseas and abroad. A prolific public speaker, Keene has delivered talks at conventions, college campuses, theaters, and inside Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, VA.
The father of two sons, Keene lives in rural Pennsylvania.
Several of Keene’s novels have been developed for film, including Ghoul, The Ties That Bind, and Fast Zombies Suck. Several more are in-development or under option. Keene also serves as Executive Producer for the independent film studio Drunken Tentacle Productions.
Keene also oversees Maelstrom, his own small press publishing imprint specializing in collectible limited editions, via Thunderstorm Books.
Keene’s work has been praised in such diverse places as The New York Times, The History Channel, The Howard Stern Show, CNN.com, Publisher’s Weekly, Media Bistro, Fangoria Magazine, and Rue Morgue Magazine. He has won numerous awards and honors, including the World Horror 2014 Grand Master Award, two Bram Stoker Awards, and a recognition from Whiteman A.F.B. (home of the B-2 Stealth Bomber) for his outreach to U.S. troops serving both overseas and abroad. A prolific public speaker, Keene has delivered talks at conventions, college campuses, theaters, and inside Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, VA.
The father of two sons, Keene lives in rural Pennsylvania.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 30, 2014
Brian Keene as a man, a father, a human being and as a writer fascinates me a great deal. Despite having a great deal of success and hardship with his book career, this author has always kept it real and never turned his back on what really matters. (As seen in his semi autobiographical novellas The Girl on the Glider and Sundancing.) It is very clear that at the core of his character he will always be a loyal honest man to his friends and family. I say this because in today's glamor fueled Hollywood industry it is easy to admire idols who aren't responsible role models. Yet unlike those individuals who have let fame go to their head, Brian Keene has always put his fans first. To be incredibly humble in the face of incredible odds and to keep your integrity during difficult struggles. Brian Keene is someone worth admiring for those qualities alone.
Similar to how Sundancing revealed a little of the "behind the scenes" workings of a writer, the limited release of Apocrypha showcases snippets of Brian Keene's life and his struggles to push his work into the ever changing market. From a creator's perspective this is a nice glimpse at how fickle publishers can be and how difficult it can be to get a "story pitch" approved. I find the whole behind the scenes creative process fascinating and I'm thankful that Brian included an entire section toward showcasing this. The grass is always greener on the other side, thanks to Brian I am able to see through his eyes how challenging being a writer is. Regardless Apocrypha is made for the hardcore Keene fans who want to see "what could of been" if things had stacked in Brian Keene's favor. In this book we get a taste of every kind of writing style this author has ever experimented with.
Toward the end of the collection we get a nice glimpse at some of the very early writing of ten and twelve year old Brian Keene. Honestly seeing some of the unedited juvenile projects made me nostalgic for my own childhood memories. I'm sure most of us have our own young creative experiments that we could share. Personally some of my best memories as a kid was drawing my own comic books and sharing them with my friends. It was really cool for Brian Keene to share this with his close fans, I really respect the man even more now. The real meat of the book however is the original drafts to his popular books like Castaways and the original ending to The Rising. Both were changed for good reasons, but it was cool to see how they could of turned out.
There is really something here for every kind of collector and fan. I was personally interested in his long careers as a writer. I would of never of guessed that he wrote for so many magazines. (Especially a U.F.O one! How cool is that?) There is also something special for the fans of the Labyrinth mythology as well. Brian Keene is one of those rare individuals, where the more I learn about him the more likable and interesting he becomes. I am thankful for the opportunity to come across such a passionate and thoughtful author. This talented man continues to inspire me the longer I read about his incredible adventures as a writer. I give Apocrypha a perfect score of five out of five stars!
Similar to how Sundancing revealed a little of the "behind the scenes" workings of a writer, the limited release of Apocrypha showcases snippets of Brian Keene's life and his struggles to push his work into the ever changing market. From a creator's perspective this is a nice glimpse at how fickle publishers can be and how difficult it can be to get a "story pitch" approved. I find the whole behind the scenes creative process fascinating and I'm thankful that Brian included an entire section toward showcasing this. The grass is always greener on the other side, thanks to Brian I am able to see through his eyes how challenging being a writer is. Regardless Apocrypha is made for the hardcore Keene fans who want to see "what could of been" if things had stacked in Brian Keene's favor. In this book we get a taste of every kind of writing style this author has ever experimented with.
Toward the end of the collection we get a nice glimpse at some of the very early writing of ten and twelve year old Brian Keene. Honestly seeing some of the unedited juvenile projects made me nostalgic for my own childhood memories. I'm sure most of us have our own young creative experiments that we could share. Personally some of my best memories as a kid was drawing my own comic books and sharing them with my friends. It was really cool for Brian Keene to share this with his close fans, I really respect the man even more now. The real meat of the book however is the original drafts to his popular books like Castaways and the original ending to The Rising. Both were changed for good reasons, but it was cool to see how they could of turned out.
There is really something here for every kind of collector and fan. I was personally interested in his long careers as a writer. I would of never of guessed that he wrote for so many magazines. (Especially a U.F.O one! How cool is that?) There is also something special for the fans of the Labyrinth mythology as well. Brian Keene is one of those rare individuals, where the more I learn about him the more likable and interesting he becomes. I am thankful for the opportunity to come across such a passionate and thoughtful author. This talented man continues to inspire me the longer I read about his incredible adventures as a writer. I give Apocrypha a perfect score of five out of five stars!
July 2, 2015
Apocrypha (A Miscellany)- Is divided into four sections.
The First section - part one - Ephemera - contains unpublished excerpts from things Mr. Keene has written that have most likely never been seen. For example, a lengthy excerpt from an early novel (unpublished) titled "Love and Worms". There is the original first chapter of the book "City of the Dead" which differs greatly from the published version. The section also includes excerpts from novels that will most likely never be published for the rest of his life.
The second section - part two - Rarities - contains a selection of rarities, fiction or articles that Mr. Keene wrote a long time ago and have never been reprinted or collected anywhere else. So this is the first time they have been collected together in print.
The third section - part three - Abortions - contains pitches and treatments the author wrote for comic books, movies etc. that were never approved. For example treatments written for "Battlestar Galactica" or "Terminator" or a pitch for a ghost written novel for a deceased Now York Times best selling author. This section describes what Mr. Keene would have done had the projects been accepted.
The fourth section - part four - Juvenila - contains a collection of items written as a child or teenager prior to becoming a writer.
In the introduction it states that the book has been published in two formats, a trade paperback, which is being sent (for free) to the subscribers of the Brian Keene's newsletter "Of Keene Interest" and no copies are being offered for sale. The other version of the book is the Limited Signed Hardcover, which has a print run of 250 copies. The book is never to be reprinted or released in any other format.
This is copy 51 of 250 copies signed and numbered by the author.
This is book 1 of 3 of Brian Keene's Maelstrom V 3-book set
The First section - part one - Ephemera - contains unpublished excerpts from things Mr. Keene has written that have most likely never been seen. For example, a lengthy excerpt from an early novel (unpublished) titled "Love and Worms". There is the original first chapter of the book "City of the Dead" which differs greatly from the published version. The section also includes excerpts from novels that will most likely never be published for the rest of his life.
The second section - part two - Rarities - contains a selection of rarities, fiction or articles that Mr. Keene wrote a long time ago and have never been reprinted or collected anywhere else. So this is the first time they have been collected together in print.
The third section - part three - Abortions - contains pitches and treatments the author wrote for comic books, movies etc. that were never approved. For example treatments written for "Battlestar Galactica" or "Terminator" or a pitch for a ghost written novel for a deceased Now York Times best selling author. This section describes what Mr. Keene would have done had the projects been accepted.
The fourth section - part four - Juvenila - contains a collection of items written as a child or teenager prior to becoming a writer.
In the introduction it states that the book has been published in two formats, a trade paperback, which is being sent (for free) to the subscribers of the Brian Keene's newsletter "Of Keene Interest" and no copies are being offered for sale. The other version of the book is the Limited Signed Hardcover, which has a print run of 250 copies. The book is never to be reprinted or released in any other format.
This is copy 51 of 250 copies signed and numbered by the author.
This is book 1 of 3 of Brian Keene's Maelstrom V 3-book set
March 3, 2015
I'm not even going to attempt to sell this one. You're either a huge fan of Brian Keene, like my good self, and you shelled out the dollars for this book and its partners, King of the Bastards and Hag, all of which comprise the 5th Maelstrom set from Thunderstorm Book ... Or you're not, and you'll be looking at this page in a cursory fashion to see what Brian Keen has released most recently.
Apocryhpa collects a wide array of writings that Keene has authored throughout his lifetime, from being a 10 year old egged on to create a radio play by his mates, all the way through to some of his film and novel pitches that, for one reason or another, were never seen through to the end. Keene's notes on what happened with these treatments, pitches and other fragments of novels he never got round to finishing provide an interesting insight into the life of an author who is managing to make ends meet, but not by as much as you might imagine.
Because the collected works are all over the place in chronology, style, and technical ability, most will find a few that do little for them, and for me that was his section on comics. Not being familiar with many (if any) of the characters he was pitching about meant I never really understood where Keene was coming from with any of these ideas. But that's okay, because the fragments of novels he has lost or not (yet) finished were all excellent. There were also a couple of truly hilarious sections, such as when Keene and his pal, the late J. F. Gonzalez, put their heads together to come up with a story idea that even the Syfy Channel couldn't bring themselves to make.
At the end of the day, I know this favourable review won't have changed anyone's mind, but if you're a Keene fan - especially if you're a big one - don't miss your chance to pick up one of the 250 copies of this floating around. For the record, mine is Number 61 (insert shit-eating grin here).
4 Unfulfilled Ideas for Apocrypha.
Apocryhpa collects a wide array of writings that Keene has authored throughout his lifetime, from being a 10 year old egged on to create a radio play by his mates, all the way through to some of his film and novel pitches that, for one reason or another, were never seen through to the end. Keene's notes on what happened with these treatments, pitches and other fragments of novels he never got round to finishing provide an interesting insight into the life of an author who is managing to make ends meet, but not by as much as you might imagine.
Because the collected works are all over the place in chronology, style, and technical ability, most will find a few that do little for them, and for me that was his section on comics. Not being familiar with many (if any) of the characters he was pitching about meant I never really understood where Keene was coming from with any of these ideas. But that's okay, because the fragments of novels he has lost or not (yet) finished were all excellent. There were also a couple of truly hilarious sections, such as when Keene and his pal, the late J. F. Gonzalez, put their heads together to come up with a story idea that even the Syfy Channel couldn't bring themselves to make.
At the end of the day, I know this favourable review won't have changed anyone's mind, but if you're a Keene fan - especially if you're a big one - don't miss your chance to pick up one of the 250 copies of this floating around. For the record, mine is Number 61 (insert shit-eating grin here).
4 Unfulfilled Ideas for Apocrypha.
January 10, 2015
A miscellany from Brian Keene. He's a fiercely prolific writer, and sometimes not everything he writes gets out to the public. That's what this book is for, scraps that have been discarded, for good or ill, projects that never got off the ground, and juvenilia.
It's wonderful. I like some of Keene's work, cool to some of it. This is fascinating because it's like opening up the hood of a well-tuned machine, in this case a machine that produces books. A peek into the mind fo Brian Keene, if you will.
The first section, Ephemera, is work that has been discarded, edited out of larger pieces, or never finished. It's interesting to see the might-have-beens and the the changed. Keene also provides an explanation for the changes, which is often insightful.
The second section, Rarities, contains work by Keene that is difficult to find. Essays for out-of-print books, pieces of round robin tales, and one fascinating and disturbing fragment of a tale. It also includes the first thing he was ever paid for, a short essay on Godzilla. This shows the breadth of Mr. Keene's work and interests, and gives a glimpse into a younger writer than the man we read today.
Section three is Abortions, proposals that went nowhere. This is the saddest section, because I would read any and all of these proposals. Here are the detritus of novel proposals, comics proposals, and film proposals. I wish I could read a number of these, especially the Re-Anmimator: Spring Break Innsmouth, the crazy NeanderZombie SYFY movie idea, the novel The Tunnel, which sounds like a hell of a scary book.
The last section, Juvenilia, is the section that must have been most difficult to publish, and the most rewarding for a young writer. Brian Keene started writing in the same terrible ideas and cliches that everyone did.
Great book, especially for a writer, because it provides insight into the work and process of a Grans Master of Horror.
It's wonderful. I like some of Keene's work, cool to some of it. This is fascinating because it's like opening up the hood of a well-tuned machine, in this case a machine that produces books. A peek into the mind fo Brian Keene, if you will.
The first section, Ephemera, is work that has been discarded, edited out of larger pieces, or never finished. It's interesting to see the might-have-beens and the the changed. Keene also provides an explanation for the changes, which is often insightful.
The second section, Rarities, contains work by Keene that is difficult to find. Essays for out-of-print books, pieces of round robin tales, and one fascinating and disturbing fragment of a tale. It also includes the first thing he was ever paid for, a short essay on Godzilla. This shows the breadth of Mr. Keene's work and interests, and gives a glimpse into a younger writer than the man we read today.
Section three is Abortions, proposals that went nowhere. This is the saddest section, because I would read any and all of these proposals. Here are the detritus of novel proposals, comics proposals, and film proposals. I wish I could read a number of these, especially the Re-Anmimator: Spring Break Innsmouth, the crazy NeanderZombie SYFY movie idea, the novel The Tunnel, which sounds like a hell of a scary book.
The last section, Juvenilia, is the section that must have been most difficult to publish, and the most rewarding for a young writer. Brian Keene started writing in the same terrible ideas and cliches that everyone did.
Great book, especially for a writer, because it provides insight into the work and process of a Grans Master of Horror.
June 5, 2015
This is a tough nut for me to crack. On the one hand, I know this is a collection for super-fans and I wonder if I should be reviewing it for the average guy-on-the street at all. On the other hand, when I'm talking about a limited, numbered hardcover edition, who else but a Keen super-fan would even be buying this? So you probably know what you're getting into.
I guess I don't know how I would evaluate APOCRYPHA if you're just some random guy. I would guess that the first section, featuring alternate endings and versions of chapters from Keene's extant work like THE RISING and CITY OF THE DEAD would be the least compelling if you weren't a fan. That being said, I haven't read THE RISING in ten years and I still found myself relentlessly flipping the pages.
More intriguing for the average reader (I would guess) are further sections showing short stories, aborted works, and pitches for movies, comics, and TV shows. (Incidentally, Keene seems to have a bafflingly encyclopedic knowledge of comic book characters, both DC and Marvel. If you're a comic book fan, this section will probably make you nerdgasm. I don't really know my Superman from my Batman, so for the most part it had me going, "Who the heck is Animal Man, Vigilante, Ragman, etc.?")
As it goes on, this book becomes like a library of ideas. As much as Keene protests in his interstitial notes that these ideas are all better left on the cutting room floor, I still can't help but wish some would (or still will) come to fruition. A novel about a serial killer convention in particular stood out, as well as what seemed like the beginning of an epic about a girl who dreams about a Disney-style world of talking animals with hints at a far darker origin.
Frankly, I wish Keene would complete all of these books, especially THUNDERBIRD, his supposed joke pitch. (Well, I guess the juvenilia is probably good to stand pat, hilarious thought it was to read.) But I also understand how some art gets so far behind your life that you can't imagine ever putting yourself in the headspace to complete it again. So, for the most part I'm guessing APOCRYPHA will have to stand on its own, as a glimpse into a wonderful web of sparkling alternate realities and might-have-beens.
I guess I don't know how I would evaluate APOCRYPHA if you're just some random guy. I would guess that the first section, featuring alternate endings and versions of chapters from Keene's extant work like THE RISING and CITY OF THE DEAD would be the least compelling if you weren't a fan. That being said, I haven't read THE RISING in ten years and I still found myself relentlessly flipping the pages.
More intriguing for the average reader (I would guess) are further sections showing short stories, aborted works, and pitches for movies, comics, and TV shows. (Incidentally, Keene seems to have a bafflingly encyclopedic knowledge of comic book characters, both DC and Marvel. If you're a comic book fan, this section will probably make you nerdgasm. I don't really know my Superman from my Batman, so for the most part it had me going, "Who the heck is Animal Man, Vigilante, Ragman, etc.?")
As it goes on, this book becomes like a library of ideas. As much as Keene protests in his interstitial notes that these ideas are all better left on the cutting room floor, I still can't help but wish some would (or still will) come to fruition. A novel about a serial killer convention in particular stood out, as well as what seemed like the beginning of an epic about a girl who dreams about a Disney-style world of talking animals with hints at a far darker origin.
Frankly, I wish Keene would complete all of these books, especially THUNDERBIRD, his supposed joke pitch. (Well, I guess the juvenilia is probably good to stand pat, hilarious thought it was to read.) But I also understand how some art gets so far behind your life that you can't imagine ever putting yourself in the headspace to complete it again. So, for the most part I'm guessing APOCRYPHA will have to stand on its own, as a glimpse into a wonderful web of sparkling alternate realities and might-have-beens.
April 2, 2015
fantastic look into the dealings a writer has to go through to get something published.
I didn't think I would be able to read a book of excerpts but I got sucked into each one. I wasn't disappoint with one thing in this book. It's a shame this book is as limited as it is for the people who aren't going to be able to get a copy.
I didn't think I would be able to read a book of excerpts but I got sucked into each one. I wasn't disappoint with one thing in this book. It's a shame this book is as limited as it is for the people who aren't going to be able to get a copy.
January 3, 2017
Brian Keene is on of my favourite authors. I loved this book. It gave me an insight into how he works as a writer. I found it really interesting to see how authors pitch their work to publishers. For me reading his pitches and extracts of stories that were not published was the highlight.
May 21, 2015
A collection Keene odds and ends. Some very good, some good and some not so good, but a very interesting read anyway. Liked it a lot.
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