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Arisen #11

Deathmatch

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Humanity's most fearsome enemy is no longer death.

ALPHA AND MARSOC MEET THEIR MATCH
Lurking in the bush is the dark shadow cast by the operators – a terrifying force every bit their equal in skill, ferocity, and sheer resolve… but utterly unconstrained by humanity, compassion, or brotherhood. Now, to complete their mission and save the world, the operators will have to pay with their lives, or their souls, or possibly both…

ONE TROOP DESCENDS INTO HELL
Rolling the dice on a last-ditch plan to save London by retrieving the Kazakh's zombie-annihilating virus, Jameson leads his last best men into the dragon's den – an underground bunker home to the savage and hyper-skilled Spetsnaz Alfa group. Getting out alive is a million-to-one shot – and then their real problems begin…

THE KENNEDY IS BURNING
The world's deadliest maritime commando force were made homeless when their battlecruiser went to the bottom of the Atlantic. Now they're looking for payback – and a replacement nuclear-powered warship. But not only is the whole JFK in play - so is Dr. Park, his vaccine design, and thus the fate of the entire world…

ARISEN
Hope Never Dies.

464 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 14, 2016

473 people are currently reading
272 people want to read

About the author

Michael Stephen Fuchs

57 books490 followers
MICHAEL STEPHEN FUCHS is author of the #1 bestselling epic ARISEN series of special-operations military ZA novels, which have repeatedly been Amazon #1 bestsellers in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction, #1 in Dystopian Science Fiction, #1 in Military Science Fiction, #1 in War Fiction, and #1 in War & Military Action Fiction, as well as Amazon overall Top 100 bestsellers. The series as a whole has sold over 1.5 million copies. The audiobook editions, performed by R.C. Bray, have generated over $5 million in revenue. He is also author of the D-Boys series of high-tech special-operations military adventure novels, which include D-Boys , Counter-Assault , and Close Quarters Battle (coming in 2026); as well as the existential cyberthrillers The Manuscript and Pandora’s Sisters , both published worldwide by Macmillan in hardback, paperback and all e-book formats (and in translation). He lives in London and blogs at www.michaelfuchs.org/razorsedge. You can follow him on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, or by e-mail.

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5 stars
929 (59%)
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465 (29%)
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136 (8%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
12 reviews3 followers
August 28, 2016
The original Arisen books were coauthored by two people, Glynn James and Michael Stephen Fuchs. I don't know what happened between the two of them, I can speculate that maybe one of them wanted to end the series around book 8-9 and the other wanted to keep milking it for a while longer, but what I do know is that only one of them is continuing with these books. Glynn James (the author who dropped out) was, I feel, the creative scifi zombie heart of these stories, and the still-remaining author Michael Stephen Fuchs provided the gritty realistic military content. Together they made Arisen my favorite zombie series of all time. But with just Michael left, I think he is stretching out the story and using it as a setting to continue to write military thrillers with at best an obligatory nod to the zombie story I originally got invested in. And what little zombie action there is, is not inspired or creative in the same way that it was in the previous books. This patterns continues with book 11 and I'm sure will continue through the end of the series. Which is very unfortunate because while I used to power through these books the night they were released, I barely even enjoy the new ones and take weeks to read them. I wish the story I loved so much had gotten a real ending three books ago.
Profile Image for Cyc.
107 reviews5 followers
December 4, 2016
High action as usual, but I'm hoping this series wraps up soon. The battles are starting to get too unrealistic. I've been reading this forever waiting for them to make some progress. The story is quite stagnant. The scientist is still in Moscow. Parks is still twiddling his thumbs. The Russians are still a threat. The JFK still isn't safe. Patient zero still isn't secure. London is still on the brink. Ugh. Some of these things need to be wrapped up. Its been like this for many books now. And this book started with something I hate when reading... The first few pages are a zoom ahead in time, which spoils who is still alive at that point. And to make it worse, this book never even caught up to that point in time. Overall its a great series, but its time for closure. Hopefully book 12 is the end. If not, its going to be hard to stay interested.
4 reviews
March 4, 2017
I love this series when it started however it seems to have devolved from a ZA story to military fiction. The timeline is stretching out and every book brings very little plot development. I used to wait for the new one to come out, now I am just complacent when it does.
Profile Image for Brian.
401 reviews
November 22, 2016
Each book tells the continuing saga of a world upside down where everything has changed due to an infection that turns 7 billion people into raving, human hungry zombies. This goes well beyond the Walking Dead for action as Fortress Britain, the only country left standing, is trying to reset the world to being zombie free.

The missions are many and the action is hot as American and British military conduct missions across the globe trying to find materials and people in a race to stop the extinction of the human race.

There are many characters in this saga and yet the author develops them with depth and reality. The protagonists and the antagonists seem to be so real, as does the action. Reading this saga pulls you in and places you in the middle of the action.

This HAS to be one of the BEST Zombie saga's going !!! Detail, information and realism pervades throughout the 12 books (books 13 & 14 will arrive) and I can't wait !

Profile Image for Kelly Nicholas.
14 reviews1 follower
October 8, 2016
Entrenched

I get the whole underdog thing but this is definitely going overboard esp. when Russia has apparently thrived during the ZA completely intact; hundreds strong of special forces, technology and weaponry. This novel would be more enjoyable if it wasn't so skewed in this way. I will continue to read the last 3 in the series because I am emotionally entrenched in the characters. Hope the next few are better than this one
Profile Image for Angela Verdenius.
Author 66 books677 followers
April 26, 2017
Oh my. Oh my oh my oh my. Some new characters and I love them all and I don't want them to die but no one is safe! This enemy is needing taking down, yet I kind of like his bloody, gory, killer humour, too (how sick am I?). But man, is this enemy cold and ruthless to the point of psychopathic. Meanwhile, I'm cheering on my Alphas and Marines and Special Ops and all the good guys! Starting the next book!
Profile Image for Geoff.
Author 86 books129 followers
June 27, 2019
Just keeps getting better. The level of tension is close to non-stop. I can't put these down for fear of missing something, even though that makes no sense.
Profile Image for chucklesthescot.
3,000 reviews134 followers
April 14, 2017
This is the last of my reviews of the series for the moment. I read the whole series in February and have been uploading the reviews gradually this month. I haven't read book #12 yet-saving it for a rainy day and book #13 comes out later this year.

Alpha and Triple Nickel unite to get Patient Zero from the compound before the Russians get it first. Jameson leads his team to Red Square and the prospect of rescuing Aliyez from Lenin's tomb . On the JFK, the enemy have boarded and everyone is involved in private battles for survival.

Alpha are taken to Camp Davis where Jake tells them about Patient Zero in the Al Shabaab compound while Handon and Henno come to blows over their new plan. Fighting has to be put on hold when Ali sees the Spetsnaz sniper from the helicopter watching them. It looks like they have rivals in the race to get Patient Zero. Baxter thinks that al-Sif will give them the zombie now that he is in charge and he agrees if he is given safe passage to his family in Yorkshire, to the amusement of Henno. Now all they have to do is go to the compound for the exchange and hope the Russians don't gate crash the party...

Jameson's Royal Marines arrive at Red Square to look for Aliyez and realises that the Russians are waiting for them as they have been listening into their radio calls. Now they have to land somewhere and try to sneak in on foot to where Aliyez is being held hostage-in an underground vault beneath Lenin's tomb...Aliyez himself is being tortured but has not yet revealed the secrets he was carrying in his crashed helicopter.

On the JFK, as Wesley prepares for a secret mission below decks, Martin finds the engine room unattended and knows that an enemy is on board but is attacked before he can raise the alarm. Abrams sees a crew member he doesn't know on the bridge and another man appears in the hospital looking for Simon. The ship has been infiltrated and everyone rushes to battle stations. Emily finds herself alone in defence of MARSOC quarters and its vital security information. Lovell and Campbell try to rally the troops but communications are down and no help is coming.

The tension between Handon and Henno really reaches boiling point in this book and they now seem prepared to kill each other. Handon is still convinced that Sarah is cheating with Henno, who uses this jealousy to make his commander mad. I liked this tension between the characters and the way Henno knows which buttons to push to get a reaction. I have to admit that Sarah is driving me mad. She admits to herself that she has been flirting with Henno and making Handon mad at them both, and is now aware it could have consequences for the mission. To cap off her stupidity she is breaking ship rules and using ear buds so is oblivious to the alert going out and the fact that Simon is in danger again. As for Kate, she shows yet again that she is completely useless during the prisoner exchange. Gah, why can't these women be more like Ali? It is all pretty compelling though with the exception of Kate. I wish she would die!

The action does not let up in this book either. The whole prisoner exchange at the compound part of the plot is pretty exciting as things yet again go wrong for Alpha and the Russians are back and badder than ever. Helicopter battles and chase scenes make this an action packed plot. Jameson's Mission to Moscow is so tense you don't want to breathe in case you give away their position in the bunker as they search for Aliyez! My stomach was in knots as yet again, all my favourite characters are in danger...

Excellent book which keeps up the series standard. I hope to read the next book this month and prepare for the series finale later this year.
Profile Image for Knockin' Books.
92 reviews10 followers
August 16, 2016
I’m going to admit right up front that I’ve read a lot of zombie apocalypse (ZA) novels. The majority of them tell the story of normal, everyday people freaking the fuck out and fighting to stay alive while a horde of undead eyeball them like they’re walking cheeseburgers. There are usually one or two alpha males with either law enforcement or some kind of vague military background leading a group of survivors—with one or two conveniently hot females—all of whom have zero experience in fighting, guns or survival. Every so often, I’d come across a ZA novel with a slightly unique twist but for the most part, the basic setup was consistent. Then I found the Arisen series.

When I read the Amazon blurb for Arisen, Book 1 Fortress Britain, my eyebrow did the Spock thing when Kirk would make a corny joke. In place of average folks running around like a zombie buffet, Arisen approached the ZA from the viewpoint of a team of “extremely elite special forces operators.” The idea of super bad ass military types actually going on the offensive rather than just hunkering down and trying to survive, was a whole new take. The fact that it was part of a series provided some added incentive for giving it a try. If I ended up liking the first book, I’d have a whole series of zombie stompin’ awesomeness to look forward to.

Since this is a review for Arisen, Book 11, Deathmatch, it’s pretty safe to say that I’m hooked. The series has been everything I’d hoped it would be and more. It’s extreme, fast-paced action at its most violent, explosive, deadly and gripping. Fuchs (along with Glynn James who co-authored the early part of the series) incorporate their highly extensive knowledge of military training, tactics, strategy, personnel, weapons, equipment and mindset for maximum realism and authenticity. Full review continued on the blog: http://www.knockinbooks.com/reviews/a...
Profile Image for Charla.
106 reviews1 follower
August 19, 2016
Omg omg omg!!!

So I'm a reader of all types of ZA and post-apocalyptic books and let me tell you, nothing quite compares to this series. Constantly I'm picturing the gear, transportation, and AO described with such precision I could close my eyes and fully imagine being there, getting kitted up, focusing on mission after mission. I've also become quite knowledgeable on weapons that my 14 year old kid is even impressed! I'm always on the edge of my seat, concentrated on the next word, paragraph, and page - and now the next book!
Profile Image for Gautam Surath.
576 reviews40 followers
January 11, 2017
The writing continues to be good and some awesome set pieces make this last few books worth it. I am pretty used to the way the plot will proceed and in a way that is an indication that this has gone a bit too long in the teeth. Still once you are in you are hooked and there is no let up. We meet a new force and some internal frictions arise. All in all good progress
Profile Image for Debora Rottmann.
8 reviews
August 10, 2017
Awesome ZA Series

This installment in this series is just as awesome as the first ten. A lot of butt kicking, heart pounding action. Can't wait to read the next book. Oh wait, I have it ...later all.
128 reviews9 followers
March 10, 2019
This is the only book so far I wouldn't give 5 stars. I didn't realize until I looked at the reviews that one author dropped out. It makes sense though. I saw the first mistake in the last book, I think, but I've been reading these on top of each other so I don't know. The whale sharks. The infected whale sharks. That was a screw-up that these guys hadn't made yet and their series was pretty extraordinary for it. I don't know how they made such an obvious error. If those fish had been whales and not fish, perfect sense. Whale sharks are sharks. They don't get mammal viruses. That just seemed like such an incredibly stupid mistake in such a perfect series. I realized what was going on as soon as I read it and I wondered what happened after such a perfectly researched and executed series. I"m at the point that I don't want to keep reading this one. I'm almost finished and I'm sick of it. Its just military now and I don't like how our guy are acting anymore than the Russians. I don't think even the Russians would be acting this way right now. Russins might be far more ruthless than American special forces but they are not stupid. What these Russian teams are doing, is stupid. I hope the next book picks up and gets better. It seems like such a shame that the series is failing now.
Profile Image for Christopher Bray.
20 reviews
January 12, 2018
Unfortunately the series seems to have gone downhill in the last few books.

Zombies are now pretty much and afterthought and the actual quality of the writing / editing seems to have dropped significantly.

Battlecruiser are randomly battleships, sentences just don’t make sense as though words have been removed but then no one proof read it, and for the love of god stop with the movie quotes. It started off as a cool little gimmick to add some occasional humour but it’s got to the point where it seems like every damn page has one.

I’m too far in to not read the last books now but it feels like it should have ended 2/3 books ago and now it’s just being stretched out well beyond its shelf life.
Profile Image for David Dalton.
3,060 reviews
May 8, 2017
Another thriller in a long line of zombie/special ops thrillers. Used to be my favorite series, but I feel it has dragged on a bit too long. Finally some more kick butt action with the Russian Special Forces. The last 3 or 4 books all seem the same. Would be hard pressed to pick out what makes any of the last couple of books different from each other. They just go on and on. No longer does each book end with any type of ending. The books just stop, and resume. I think this series will end with Book 14. Great, now maybe the author can get back to the D-Boys.
Profile Image for Bryan .
564 reviews
July 21, 2024
This is my least favorite installment of the series. I really dislike the continuing Russian and Somali storylines. Looking forward to getting past these annoyances. If the Russian storyline continues through the end of the series, it will have killed the entire second half of what could have been quite good. Anyhow, I did purchase the whole series already and I'm moving on to the next one. I do not recommend this installment for being any good, but I do recommend it if you want to carry the story through.
3 reviews
May 16, 2017
Book eleven and still going, but not as strong. The battles are still gripping, but it's starting to go on too long. The plot has stagnated a bit and no real pace in the storyline. Like someone said in another review, it's becoming more like military fiction than a post apocalyptic zombie book. A great page turner, but enough already. There is two more books to go and I'll read them to finish the series and see what happens to Henno and Handon.
221 reviews1 follower
January 10, 2023
Another solid installment to the Arisen series and probably is best read together with #12 given the start of #11. I'm glad that I read Arisen Genesis before this book in particular, as it sets the scene and context for some of the characters that appear. I was also glad to see that the character conflict centering on Henno might finally be resolving itself. If you like military based zombie books, then this is the series for you.
Profile Image for Rachael Ashak-Benson.
358 reviews20 followers
July 15, 2017
What happened to the zombies???

What I feared when the Russian storyline began has happened. The dead have taken a backseat. Actually in the trunk they are so forgotten about. I love this series because it is a zombie apocalypse series, and that has gotten lost. I am hoping for a return to the zombie storyline in book twelve!
Profile Image for Traci Chapman.
38 reviews
March 18, 2019
Straying too far

I’m not well versed in military lingo - but, then, I don’t want to be,and details (like weapon info) are great but can be taken too far. This is exciting but the Russian elements have too far overtaken the zombies in this series. It’s still enjoyable but just not what it originally was, at least for me.
Profile Image for Jen.
2,174 reviews154 followers
September 9, 2020
Honestly I don't get it. Why would Americans and Russians be fighting with each other when the entire human race is at stake? Somebody has to be the bad guy = plot device. I'm glad I'm not Russian or I'd be kind of upset.

And once again Britain is the center of the universe. Fair enough! I can't get enough of this series. And largely because of RC Bray's narration -
Profile Image for Vanessa Kiger.
872 reviews5 followers
July 29, 2022
A good continuation

3.5 I enjoyed this book overall but it had to me what felt like a very different tone from the other books in the series. Much less ZA oriented and more Russians vs USA and so many ridiculously bad things happen that after a while it was just way too much and started to ruin the plot.
Profile Image for Julie Greig.
39 reviews
January 3, 2017
The team's find themselves pitted against a force that fights back in Africa trying to get patient zero, while the Brits focus on the mad scientist, in Russia no less...
Another excellent instalment in the on going adventures of this band of unstoppable heros...
A must read.
343 reviews1 follower
May 22, 2019
What a buzz!

My first venture into this genre. Was apprehensive at first. But the author's compelling style, coupled with close-up character development and precision in matters military have hooked me. Now, back to the start of the series for massive catch-up!
Profile Image for Elisa Liana Mendoza.
17 reviews
December 24, 2019
Better, but the typos!

Much better than the last two! It's about time you got back on track Mike... I appreciate it. Anyway, glad the story continues and our favorite characters are still kicking-some keister! Will finish the series soon and I know I will miss it so much!!!
Profile Image for Barbara.
2 reviews
Read
March 21, 2021
Bring it

Another action packed, round of intense team badassery! Mr Fuchs has me hooked an Prime for the next 1. Highly recommend the series if your into Zombie apocalypse meets military operations with all the juicy details.
489 reviews7 followers
April 26, 2021
Great Series Continues!

Once again much has happened, both good and bad, and all teams are up to their behinds in alligators. The situation is dire, but hope springs eternal. I can't wait to get into book12.
Profile Image for Kathy D Dodge.
288 reviews1 follower
May 13, 2022
Fantastic series

This is a awesome zombie apocalypse series. I always leave a review but sometimes, like now, that I really rather start the next book! If you haven't read it yet you really need to.
Profile Image for Heather Samsa.
230 reviews1 follower
September 14, 2023
Another good book from Michael Fuch, when read in order, the story continues seemlessly and the characters are filled out well and you certainly get a good idea of the characters and how they feel. WOuld recommend the whole series
5 reviews
June 28, 2025
Holding breath

Starting to get nervous have read so much of series realized already on book 12. Hope we can keep it going but I know no such luck every story has an ending. After all the snot the Kennedy and fleet have gone thru makes me happy I'm retired Army.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews

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