Leader of the Banned: The Best of Hail Saten, Vol. 4

by Brian Keene

FIRST TIME IN PAPERBACK

"I fear this story will end soon..."

Thus begins the final volume in Brian Keene's Hail Saten series, collecting non-fiction and essays that chronicle the horror genre's turbulent 2006 to 2008 period. As message boards gave way to social media, politics gave way to partisanship, and protest gave way to violence, LEADER OF THE BANNED offers an uncanny look at the world which would soon follow -- global recession, wars and rumors of wars, celebrity-driven news cycles, and great sweeping changes to how people would consume books and entertainment. Featuring fan-favorites such as "The Year of Scorched Earth", "Just Like Stephen King", Silver Bullets" and the controversial "If I Were President" (which landed Keene under investigation from the government), this fourth and final volume -- in paperback for the first time anywhere -- brings the Hail Saten series to an incendiary conclusion.

Genres: Nonfiction

298 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

BRIAN 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.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth and final volume of essays that were reprinted from Keene's blog, Hail Saten; most of the contents of this were originally posted there from 2006-'08, though there are a few odds and ends that first appeared elsewhere and else when, such as his convention report from the 1999 World Horror Convention. As I said in my comments about the earlier books in this series, Keene presents an insightful and frequently amusing and always entertaining view of the world, the literary horror community, and events in his own life. He cites Hunter S. Thompson as his muse and roll model, though I suspect he modeled his online persona a little after Harlan Ellison's nonfiction writing style, as well. Among my favorites were the pieces he wrote detailing conversations he had with his wife for possible names for their impending child (my son is named Harlan, so I could relate!), a spoof news item he wrote as "G.B. Michaels" announcing a new Bentley Little novel to be titled The The (he should write one in collaboration with Christopher Golden; everyone loves Little Golden books, right?), and his relations with proofreaders/copyeditors who try to explain the proper use of semi-colons; to him. And how his friend Geoff Cooper convinced him that the purpose of his car's timing belt was to regulate the dashboard clock. In addition to all of the tomfoolery, there are poignant and intelligent observations about the horror field and the wider world, and the book is a nice time-capsule of the time, as well as interesting autobiography. There's also an underlying feeling that he is gradually growing less comfortable with his persona and role in the horror field, and after someone reports one of the blog entries to the FBI as a sign that he's a possible danger that results in a government investigation he abruptly decides to end it... but it was great while it lasted! I do wish he'd have appended a bit of a "where are they now" afterword to see how some of the stories and people ended up, but that's my only complaint.

[DJMikeG · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first three installments in the Best of Hail Saten series by Brian Keene are near peerless classics. I didn't quite love this one as much as the first 3, but it is still excellent. The Brian Keene who wrote these essays is definitely less likable than the Brian Keene who wrote the first 3. Keene mentions this himself in the 2022 forward, but still wants to show where he was at in these years, warts and all. This Brian Keene, circa 2006-2008 is definitely quite full of himself, and it gets pretty cringey at times. That said, Keene ends the collection with some essays written before he started writing professionally, and in the last one, I believe it was his first paid non fiction work, he attends the 1999 World Horror Convention. This was the perfect way to end this book, his earlier enthusiasm, before he had any professional success, is infectious. A perfect bookend to the Hail Saten series.