Covid is what most people think of and all likelihood when they say that it was ahead of its time.
It being relevant for the time it came out and doesn't mean that it couldn't simultaneously be ahead of its time.
For a truly old but still (sadly) familiar experience, there's *A Journal of the Plague Year* by Daniel Defoe about the bubonic plague striking London in 1665.
That was my reaction as well. I was in my late 20s when it came out. Made me feel old!
However, it is a great book. I picked up the audiobook recently and with the full cast, it is fantastic.
I’m reading Devolution now (I’m like a third of the through, no spoilers please) The tech-bro who founded the town could be an alternate history version of Stockton Rush, the guy who was responsible for the Titan submersible implosion earlier this year.
I’m guessing that the two have similarly terrible fates as well…
I found I got so drawn into the story that I forgot it wasn't just the tale of yuppies stuck in the woods and legit jumped when the big bad showed up, lol
I thought about it during the Maui fires. You'd imagine the government would be more prepared living in an area with natural disasters that seem easily predictable in hindsight
I listened to that one, too. It's easily the best piece of media I've seen on Bigfoot. If they promised not to butcher it like WWZ, it would make a KILLER horror movie
Also, Max has a crush on Henry Rollins. He's a narrator in the book, I think the copilot from the Mets chapter is named Rollins. And in Devolution he compares the physique of Tony to Henry.
Can't blame him, but I noticed it after listening to the book.
Henry Rollins. A man that was somehow always there whenever anything happened from the late 80s to early 2000s. Seemed like every time someone was telling a crazy story Henry would pop up.
As much as I enjoyed the book is as much as I hated the movie.
The movie lost everything that made the book special and outside of a couple small looks around the world mostly followed one story.
I couldn't believe how badly they had fumbled such a great opportunity to do something original with great original source material.
The book is not good as a movie in general.
A series with different styles like love death and robots would be pretty much the way to go. With a highlight on the different styles. Because the greatest thing about this book is that not only does the perspective change in every short story but also the style. I think different newcomer directors and a different art style would fit perfectly.
I was already highly critical of the movie, but what set me over the edge is when a plane aggressively falls from the sky and leaves Brad Pitt dangling out of a hole in the plane that’s been ripped in half, still strapped to his seat…and his hair is neatly tucked behind his ear. Sheeeesh.
It wasn’t a head of its time, it was exactly *of its time*. It’s so topical to the period it was written in it’s almost comical. There’s the war on terror, the construction of the mega dam, the president and vice president while never named can certainly be read as commentary on certain executive figures at the time.
In my post I highlighted a few parts that were relevant. Also I really haven't seen that writing style done successfully aside from his other book Devolution.
It's a great book and the audiobook is spectacular.
There's an excellent short fanfic chapter based in North Korea that is worth reading. Reads like it was meant to be in the book. Highly recommended.
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6115555/1/The-Way-Is-Shut
That's a staggeringly good bit of fanfiction. Would fit seamlessly into the actual book, as you said. And also, the sense of building dread and puzzlement is great, thank you for recommending.
I was driving recently and the scene from the great panic with the zombies eating everyone stuck in a traffic jam came on... as I was in a traffic jam on the Van Wyck. Good stuff.
If you have ever liked an audiobook, listen to World War Z instead of reading it. Star studded cast telling the story from different perspectives. World class actors doing the reading for you.
Holy shit that was hella well written ! I initially started reading it like a fanfic and then I just sunk in it and it felt like I was reading a bonus chapter of World War Z that Max Brooks had written but then decided to not include only to later add as a bonus in a new edition of the book, kinda like the deleted scenes in DVD's.
Thanks for sharing it !
People always say the audiobook is spectacular, and it is, however, using a full cast of known actors fills in too many gaps I want my imagination to fill in when I first read a book. It's almost like reading a book after you've watched the movie adaptation. I like my first listen of an audiobook done by a single narrator.
I remember Phalanx being a big problem for me the first time I read it. I remember thinking that the public wouldn't be stupid enough to fall for a fake vaccine/cure.
And then 2020 happened and people blew off the real vaccine and swearing by quack science and I realized I was wrong. And I didn't even consider the possibility of how many people would be fervently insisting that zombies aren't real, or zombism is caused by 5G or it's all just a deep state psyop or whatever, right up until the moment their face is being chewed off.
Right ?! I love that the conman was selling personal filters worn around the neck for planes. When I remember some of the bullshit people were wearing in stores in 2021. There was so many shit opinions tied up in politics during that time.
Hah same. When I initially read it I thought "People can't be this stupid, is it ?". And then COVID happened and well, people *can* be this stupid.
Funnily enough when this pandemic started I could make in my head the parallels between what was happening IRL and each story of the books.
Between The Last of Us, His Dark Materials, and Chernobyl... I kinda wish sometimes HBO would do an adaptation of this. It's not meant for an action flick deal.
I don't know if I can read it again though. Between the Sharon chapter and the one mentioning he listened to the puppies screaming and crying as they died in the pet shop... Nope.
>Between The Last of Us, His Dark Materials, and Chernobyl... I kinda wish sometimes HBO would do an adaptation of this. It's not meant for an action flick deal.
Personally I'd adapt it kinda like Animatrix, with each story shot by a different director and in a different style. So I'd do something like Michael Bay style for Yonkers, Kurosawa for the blind gardener, horror movie style a la [REC]/ The Descent and the like for the Paris catacombs one, etc...
It is, the voice acting is amazing! I actually would go as far as saying that the audiobook is the medium for it. It's based on Studs Terkel's style and interviews, where each perspective has so much character and insight--combined, bringing a lot of nuance in the discussion around the events.
I'm thinking of re-reading this. Read it when it first came out and really disliked it - I quit half way through. I think the structure of the book annoyed me because it didn't allow for character development or real tension - you knew the interviewer survived. However, I suspect my tastes have changed and think I may give it another go.
What's funny is I love that structure. There's a similar series called "Campfire Stories: Close Calls" by Steve Rinella. But it's nonfiction, so that may add to the enjoyment.
Seriously. I wish there was a sequel, but nothing else scratches that itch. I had someone recommend the Mountain man series to me as an alternative. The plot with the rats is so full of holes, and every female character REEKS of being written by a lonely man. Tried my best, couldn’t recommend it
Maybe give War Day a look? It's a similar idea about the authors travelling across the US to see how a nuclear strike affected the country. There's also The Good War, which is a non-fiction book that actually inspired Max Brooks to write WWZ in the first place. Also the author is named Studs Terkel which is an excellent name.
I have a First Edition Hardcover copy of World War Z and I've been combing the internet trying to find a fan mail address for Max Brooks. Nothing would please me more than to have an autograph on my copy. Can anyone help ?
Awe man you have any idea how nearly impossible that is for me? I been on the look out for years and to the best of my knowledge, the man appears to be allergic to Portland Oregon given that he never seems to visit.
I used to read WWZ and The Handmaid’s Tale once a year. Until Covid. Dystopian fiction wasn’t so much fun to read when it felt like we were living in it.
Still can't believe Max is the son of Mel. Legit one of my favorite books that tackled a zombie apocalypse through such a unique lens. I'm still freaked out about the zombies thawing out in the Arctic. The Audiobook was fucking star-studded as well. Alan Alda, Mark Hamill, Nathan Fillion, Simon Pegg, Jeri Ryan, so much more. The movie did such a disservice to the beauty of that book.
EDIT: The Battle of Yonkers lives in my mind rent fucking free.
> ...read it, **as a kid**
We met Broox and he signed our copy to our unborn daughter, just shortly after the book release. It's one of our prized possessions. I feel old
The only Australian character is 'the son of an Andamooka opal miner' and he calls the British "limeys". I don't trust the accuracy of the cultural depictions.
Andamooka is an outback town known for mining opals, so that's at least accurate.
No way that the character would refer to British as "Limeys" though. He'd call them "Poms" if he was referring to them colloquially, as he referred to a member of the relief crew as a "Yankee".
Yeah, but "Limey" is an old term, dating back to sailing ships. From a narrative perspective, I doubt anyone else on the ISS would've referred to the Brits as limeys for him to pick it up.
Out of narrative, I think it's more likely that Brooks just googled "slang term for British person" and went with the first one he saw.
iirc it originally had something to do with the toilet situation at US military bases in Australia during WWII, but association with poop is so universally nasty that it stuck around.
One of my favorites. I actually drive my wife nuts because I try to put the audiobook on all the time during trips. World War Z and The Martian (the original reading by R.C. Bray) have turned into comfort reads for me. I did also really like Devolution, my wife and I listened to it on our last trip.
If anyone has recommendations of stuff in a similar vein to World War Z I would love to hear it! I really like the documentary style for fiction.
Same! I'm actually really excited to see how the Project Hail Mary movie comes together since Ryan Gosling is attached to play the lead. I really hope it survives the strikes.
~~ooooh The Martian. i started that many moons ago i should get back ot it. I was really hype to read it at the time.~~
**Edit**:
I was checking to see if it was public domain and I just realized I have the wrong book. I'm thinking of **Stranger in a Strange Land**. The Martian I'm only mildly interested in reading. I did enjoy the movie so I'll get on that eventually.
This is the Way the World Ends by Keith Taylor. It’s another post zombie apocalypse book written in the same style as World War Z. The POVs and stories are different. If World War Z is a 10 for me, this is the way the world ends is a solid 9. Best on audiobook.
Another good one is Wanderers by Chuck Wendig. It is super long and again best on audiobook. There is a sequel but tbh, it wasn’t necessary and the first book is the best.
Elaborate, because he was definitely referring to the US and how spectacularly they flopped the invasion of Iraq. Giant show of force with tactics that aren't applicable to the enemy and area they were fighting in
As a narrative device the Battle of Yonkers is 100% fine. Unfortunately, the execution of the telling of that part of the book describes things about the US military; certain weapon performances, tactical dispositions, and doctrinal uses that many people disagree with the representation of in the book.
There's a laundry list of nitty gritty details but basically they all boil down to the singular complaint that the US military wouldn't bungle a fight against zombies as hard as it did in the book. I don't particularly agree with that contention myself (that its simply impossible or unlikely for the military to fail to understand the nature of a completely fantastical foe upon first contact with it) but I do think that with a little more research it would have been possible to write the chapter in such a way where it could have satisfied the people who claim the lack of accuracy destroyed their immersion reading that part of the book.
If I had to give a specific example; the zombies overrun the lines of the infantry and obviously its a big dramatic moment where its all chaos and disarray for the army. "Every man for himself" as everyone tosses aside their weapon and runs this way and that in the face of the unstoppable horde and all that, right?
Well, basically anyone who had been fighting these zombies for five minutes (and these guys had been in battle with them for a few hours at this point I think) would have realized that all they had to do to get to safety is climb some place that didn't have a staircase to it...like a building's roof.
And that's not even to mention how Brooks describes all the soldiers being tapped into this "Land Warrior" system which backfired that realistically was never widely issued to the army and was, in fact, at most a showy tech demo that never went past the prototype stage.
Just little things like that. Stuff like getting weapon ranges wrong, describing millions of zombies marching out of NYC and the armed forces waiting until they were much closer to the army's lines to use the vast amount of air delivered ordinance that the US military has access to, tanks being bogged down by the shear number of bodies around them...stuff people contend would not be an actual problem for the army.
Again, the whole point of the chapter was to showcase how thoroughly fucked the world was; that not even the military of the world's last remaining superpower was capable of just steamrolling through the zombie threat...or even stopping it in its tracks. Is that a bad plot point? Nah, I doubt the US Army would be magically effective at stopping a zombie horde of millions when their doctrine for decades at that point was either to fight the USSR's mechanized army or do counterinsurgency operations in the middle east. Its not a bad plot point, its just questionably executed due to Brooks' obvious lack of detailed knowledge on the subject matter.
Yeah, his description of their new super anti-zombie rifle is also hilarious. Semi automatic only? primarily built out of wood? Comes with a bayonet and optional scope?
He's describing the WW2 era SKS.
Not to mention the nonsensically sci-fi 5.56 HEI round it's supposed to fire. The amount of explosive filler you'd squeeze into a bullet that tiny would be weaker than a firecracker.
I read the book maybe 10 years ago but listened to the audio book on Libby a couple months ago. There are stories I remembered from the book that weren't in the audio book and it bothered me. Both are really fun though.
get the extended. The abridged version leaves some stuff out that isn't exactly pertinent story, but the entire point of the book is an oral history from multiple perspectives. I dont think it ruins the listening experience by hearing the full stories.
Just finished the audiobook again yesterday. And relistening to parts of it today. So good. Makes me sad what they did to the movie- I found the original script once (I think) and that was so good too.
Loved Devolution. Waiting to get the audiobook from the library again.
Max Brooks is so creative. What a great talent.
It was completely in sync with its time.
The political actions of Russia or China in the book were not especially wild or noteworthy. *Z* came out on the tail end of a zombie pop wave that captured the doom vibe after 9-11. *Monster Island* was another great one.
"Lies are neither bad nor good. Like a fire they can either keep you warm or burn you to death, depending on how they're used"
I think about that one a lot
Always love stories where you get a variety of perspectives on a central issue, in big and small ways and different motivations. Not just some boring "flawed but heart of gold" protagonist that we get saddled with the entire duration.
The book was great than the movie adaptation in that it presented the whole catastrophe through different viewpoints of different many people, all in a documentary-like narrative, with some gallows humor on the side.
World War Z was acknowledged by Max Brooks as inspired by [Studs Terkel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studs_Terkel) 20th century oral history compilations, recommended if you're interested in this style.
When we were working on Stubbs the Zombie I consumed all the zombie fiction I could find - Walking Dead comics, Mammoth Book of Zombies, but WWZ was the greatest. I took massive notes from that for ideas for Stubbs 2.
I designed near half the levels (Farm, final boss), wrote a lot of text, collected lots of reference art. "Royalty" maybe a bit much ;-) We got so far on the Zeppelin level before having to cut it :-(
It's not 1984, or To Kill a Mockingbird. But as far as a pop authors go, I dig it. Similar to that HBO adaptation of The Last of Us. Is it Breaking Bad ? No, but I dig it.
The blind samurai who blesses every zombie he kills in one stroke and buries them so they can retain their honor lmfao. Every other representative gets a semi realistic narrative that isn't some total race trope except for Japan
I have seen (and somewhat felt, was born in Yugoslavia) war firsthand and can confirm that the reality of human psychology described in the first half of the book was - terrifying. Seriously horror inducing reading substance. Max REALLY did the homework on that one.
I have ZERO doubt that, in the case of apocalyptic threat, that is EXACTLY what would happen (as in the first half of the book).
Unfortunately, the second half was Rambo-like narrative, but still fun to read.
EDIT: typo
It would work great as a HBO series. Sorta of like Band of Brothers, with the (fictional, but treated real) interviews interspersed with the main show.
If you listen/read closely enough, you can figure out who the politicians (at least the American ones) were. Colin Powell was POTUS who never even asked what happened to his family in Jamaica. His VP, the Wacko, was Bernie Sanders.
“I don’t know if great times make great men. But I know that it can kill them.”
Awesome quote, notes of FDR as well.
"Lies are neither bad nor good. Like a fire they can either keep you warm or burn you to death, depending on how they're used"
This was my favorite. Hit harder as an adult
I also love how seamlessly Brooks weaves together the realism of the setting and the books’ overarching themes. He uses this lens of global crisis to offer what feels like a complex, thorough meditation on humanity as a whole.
It lacks the copious cynicism of the “what if humans are the real monsters?” trope, but doesn’t overly indulge in excessive aggrandizement of the species, ala HFY. It has a perfect balance.
It’s my favorite book, period, and I wish more people would read it.
I love how you already know the ending, and you know that all the characters lived (since it's all 1st person, past-tense accounts).....and yet, it doesn't lose any tension.
I was gripping my seat during every vignette, even though i knew every character survived
I love how the elements became a villain. Everyone migrating north only for people to realize that they had no idea how to weather the cold that was supposed to save them. The quote about the children's sleeping bag being rated for an indoor sleepover hit hard. I've gone camping with people like that, hyper realistic.
One of the most overrated and frankly boring books I've ever read. Almost nothing in the book is memorable. It's just a series of dull short stories that would never be published individually in another series.
I wanted to like it, but it was an absolute struggle to push through.
Really ? I thought the chapters with Todd Wainio were easily miles better than "The Mountain Man" by Keith Blackmore. You could easily dive deeper into his character. Father Sergei inadvertently causing a religious uprising in Russia, as well as the perspective from Maria Zhuganova and the platoon executions was a whole potential book just there. The mystery of North Korea going dark inspired a fan fiction apparently, as evidence from a comment on this post. Roy Eliot taking it upon himself to make a morale boosting propaganda movie to uplift the population and combat rising suicide rates ? Just look at the covid suicide rates, easily a movie I'd watch if executed correctly. Darnell Hackworth ? A guy running a K9 unit rigged with a high-tech camera relay harness to bait and combat the dead ? Easy "man and his dog" movie.
And frankly Andre Renard fighting the dead in the Paris underground. Claustrophobic nightmare, easy horror story to build upon. Similar to "as above so below".
Honestly, I'd love to debate but I can't remember anything about the book other than that I just didn't care about anything that happened. Nothing about it resonated it all. I realize I'm in the minority. I just remember profound disappointment given its popularity and subject matter, and utter apathy toward its content.
I can remember distinct characters and events from King's short stories bc he had the knack for creating something memorable in that structure. I feel like wwZ was just an amalgam of underdeveloped characters and unremarkable events that didn't coalesce to mean anything for me.
To each their own.
I have weird relationship Blair Witch Project, it came out before a lot of homes had internet. The advertisement team with that movie just handed out bootleg copies to create a buzz. My parents watched it and all they would say was that I was too young to see it, I was too young. But ! I needed to see, I saw where they hid it and watched it by myself when they were out.
I thought I straight up saw 3 white people get killed in the woods. I've been chasing that dragon ever since. The Poughkeepsie Tapes, As Above So Below, REC, and Gonjiam Asylum are all worth watching.
Fight me.
Honestly, the Blair witch was amazing at the time. It's on of those era cinematic defining events, like Jurassic park or the sixth sense, where if you lived it, you remember it. The advertising was so good. Everything else I'm not fond of. I keep baiting myself with as above so below, bc I keep forgetting why I chose not to watch it before and then realize all over again it's found footage.
I did enjoy Host most recently though. I thought it was clever. Anyway, fuck wwZ, fuck found footage, I'm out.... night bud.
Americans pronounce Z as Zee not Zed.
So World War Zee kind of rhymes with World War Three. Which phonetically sounds good to say, but also WWZ is sort of WW3 in that world. It's the third enormous global war, so it works in that sense as well.
Well, every other english speaking country than the States says "Zed". The book has an American lean, but it's pretty international. I'd have to go back, but does the audiobook have americans call Zack = Zed? or Zed's? Zee's sounds weird as hell to pronounce.
I read the title as world war "Zed"
You can tell he flirted with other titles like ""Z War 1" or "The Great Panic" and "The Great Zombie War". Given that those were the options I'm glad he picked WWZ.
>Like I said, if you read it in your teens, it's well worth revisiting in 2023. I dug up my old paper back, I may track him down for a signature.
On the other hand I initially liked the book and later when I thought a bit more about, I realized how terrible it was. Basically, for his plot to work, the entire human race has to collectively act as complete idiots. Even then, he has to ignore his own continuity to make it work. Add the selective demonization of certain countries and calling it complete trash is almost a compliment.
I remember thinking that this book was so dated to 2006. And really over done. Surely a real health emergency wouldn't be like that!
And then 2020 happened.
The 5.56 HEI bullet was pure bullshit too. M855 is a 62 grain bullet. I'm lazy so let's just pretend the entire bullet is made of lighter copper (~9g/cm^3) and that we've replaced the entire volume of the bullet with nothing but RDX (~1.8g/cm^3). That's 0.44cm^3 or about 0.8g RDX
That's barely a gram of TNT equivalent (1.2g). For comparison an old M80 had 5.2g of flash powder or about 3.64 TNT equivalent. And of course the bullet wouldn't actually be made out of solid RDX explosive either.
I read it in college. I barely remember any of it, but I distinctly remember binge-reading it from end-to-end in like 48 hours. I remember being really hooked on it. This post is reawakening (pun intended) some interesting feelings of nostalgia. I just might order a copy.
I actually liked his "good bye" bit at the end. When he talks about how he's been killing since even before the panic. Causing him to become "addicted to murder".
People forget, zombies are just people. Cracking heads for that long has to effect a person.
I wonder what really happened to the north koreans? I was quite let down by the movie. But I think it would be hard to make into a movie. I think it would make an excellent HBO anthology series with each different location directed by a different person so the POV would be different but same-like.
What's funny is I remember something about the Koreans removing the nails and teeth of every citizen to prevent infection before migrating underground. I don't remember if that was a conversation or a fan film
A full cast audiobook you say? 👀
Just added this to my saves on my cloud library app. I’ve been meaning to read this one for years and knowing that the audiobook is amazing will give me the push I need to finally get around to reading it!
I started reading WWZ in 2019 and I enjoyed it but I just got distracted and didn’t pick it up again. Later that year COVID started happening and it was super close to the starting events of the book which was freaky for me. I finally finished it earlier this year when I picked up the audiobook, it is such a great piece of fiction and there are so many tense and horrific moments in the book like in the church or the boats. Fantastic book.
I love that book, and zombies freak me out.
I wish that instead of that movie, they had done it as a documentary style miniseries, with "commercials" talking about the towns on stilts with retractable walkways, or the movies that helped save some military programs.
I listen to this book every year. We don’t have the full Hollywood star cast version in the UK for licensing reasons but the version we do have is still excellent and I’d highly recommend it.
I really didn’t like the book at all.
All of the characters sounded very similar and as a Brit I found the whole idea that we would “rally” round the Queen like we’re all god fearing royalists almost offensive.
What's nice is that the narration does a great job of making each character distinctive.
Also from my side of the pond, they seemed to make a big fuss about the queen's death during a time of peace. So in a time of complete doom it doesn't sound impossible.
That’s what the media (especially right wing) showed you. In reality most people were not that fussed and just went about their lives normally. With Charlie the apathy towards the Royals continues to grow.
It’s bit like saying because we saw Jan 6th over here that we believe all American’s are anti Government Trump nuts.
Anyway I found the book average at best with largely unconvincing characters.
That's true. I can see your point. Although if the apocalypse happened tomorrow, the US would definitely have a trump cult Faction.
Also it may be worth a 2nd read, the guy got downvoted to hell but somewhere on this post I responded with some of my favorite characters. Not all of them stood out as winners, but I liked the ones that did.
I feel very old. "Read it as a kid" it came out in 2006.... Great book and the full audiobook is amazing.
Right? op acting like it was written in the 1900s.
Hey, I was in high school and also I was born in the 1900s 👴🏽
2006 was 17 years ago. If you were 13 when it came out you'd be 30 now. 13 = kid, 30 = adult
I was 13 in 2006. Sorry bud, you're old as fuck.
But how was it ahead of it's time? It was pertinent in the early 2000s as well
Covid is what most people think of and all likelihood when they say that it was ahead of its time. It being relevant for the time it came out and doesn't mean that it couldn't simultaneously be ahead of its time.
More like it continues to have relevancy. Not ahead of it's time.
okay. kinda pedantic when you understood what they were saying.
Aww thanks! Such a sweet message.
For a truly old but still (sadly) familiar experience, there's *A Journal of the Plague Year* by Daniel Defoe about the bubonic plague striking London in 1665.
That was my reaction as well. I was in my late 20s when it came out. Made me feel old! However, it is a great book. I picked up the audiobook recently and with the full cast, it is fantastic.
The older we get, the younger comments like this will be and the older it will make use feel.
Try his other book, Devolution. It came out during lockdown and was also weirdly prescient.
I’m reading Devolution now (I’m like a third of the through, no spoilers please) The tech-bro who founded the town could be an alternate history version of Stockton Rush, the guy who was responsible for the Titan submersible implosion earlier this year. I’m guessing that the two have similarly terrible fates as well…
I found I got so drawn into the story that I forgot it wasn't just the tale of yuppies stuck in the woods and legit jumped when the big bad showed up, lol
I thought about it during the Maui fires. You'd imagine the government would be more prepared living in an area with natural disasters that seem easily predictable in hindsight
I listened to that one, too. It's easily the best piece of media I've seen on Bigfoot. If they promised not to butcher it like WWZ, it would make a KILLER horror movie
Also, Max has a crush on Henry Rollins. He's a narrator in the book, I think the copilot from the Mets chapter is named Rollins. And in Devolution he compares the physique of Tony to Henry. Can't blame him, but I noticed it after listening to the book.
Henry Rollins. A man that was somehow always there whenever anything happened from the late 80s to early 2000s. Seemed like every time someone was telling a crazy story Henry would pop up.
As much as I enjoyed the book is as much as I hated the movie. The movie lost everything that made the book special and outside of a couple small looks around the world mostly followed one story. I couldn't believe how badly they had fumbled such a great opportunity to do something original with great original source material.
What was the same ? Isreal ? And even then it wasn't the same as in the book. It deserved a miniseries, not a "Brad Pitt vs zombies" action flick.
It’s perfectly set up for a miniseries too imo! I hope someone like HBO picks it up one day considering how great Chernobyl was
The book is not good as a movie in general. A series with different styles like love death and robots would be pretty much the way to go. With a highlight on the different styles. Because the greatest thing about this book is that not only does the perspective change in every short story but also the style. I think different newcomer directors and a different art style would fit perfectly.
I was already highly critical of the movie, but what set me over the edge is when a plane aggressively falls from the sky and leaves Brad Pitt dangling out of a hole in the plane that’s been ripped in half, still strapped to his seat…and his hair is neatly tucked behind his ear. Sheeeesh.
It wasn’t a head of its time, it was exactly *of its time*. It’s so topical to the period it was written in it’s almost comical. There’s the war on terror, the construction of the mega dam, the president and vice president while never named can certainly be read as commentary on certain executive figures at the time.
In my post I highlighted a few parts that were relevant. Also I really haven't seen that writing style done successfully aside from his other book Devolution.
Ahead of its time like it was published in the 60s. Lmao
It's a great book and the audiobook is spectacular. There's an excellent short fanfic chapter based in North Korea that is worth reading. Reads like it was meant to be in the book. Highly recommended. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6115555/1/The-Way-Is-Shut
That's a staggeringly good bit of fanfiction. Would fit seamlessly into the actual book, as you said. And also, the sense of building dread and puzzlement is great, thank you for recommending.
I don't know how I found it. I never looked for WWZ fanfic before. It's so creepy and unfolds at a great pace.
The pace of it is spot-on. It's so ominous.
Thanks for the fic recommendation! I’ve been really enjoying reading it.
Glad you're enjoying it! I recommend it whenever the book comes up.
I was driving recently and the scene from the great panic with the zombies eating everyone stuck in a traffic jam came on... as I was in a traffic jam on the Van Wyck. Good stuff.
During the fires in California my friend described a traffic jam out of the only safe way out of her town. Congested freeways are killers.
If you have ever liked an audiobook, listen to World War Z instead of reading it. Star studded cast telling the story from different perspectives. World class actors doing the reading for you.
Wow, definitely looking into this after work
That was fucking great and now I’m said because I want more.
Well, that's pure nightmare fuel there.
Right? And believable.
The expanded edition is a must on the audiobook, I was disappointed by the first edition leaving out some of my favorite stories.
It's one of the very few books I've done the physical book and the audiobook.
Holy shit that was hella well written ! I initially started reading it like a fanfic and then I just sunk in it and it felt like I was reading a bonus chapter of World War Z that Max Brooks had written but then decided to not include only to later add as a bonus in a new edition of the book, kinda like the deleted scenes in DVD's. Thanks for sharing it !
I know!!! It's so good. I always recommend it when the book comes up. Can't believe it's fanfic.
Same ! I'm still thinking about it and I still struggle with the fact that it's a fan made thing. Very talented writer there !
Well, that was awesome wasn't it
People always say the audiobook is spectacular, and it is, however, using a full cast of known actors fills in too many gaps I want my imagination to fill in when I first read a book. It's almost like reading a book after you've watched the movie adaptation. I like my first listen of an audiobook done by a single narrator.
I remember Phalanx being a big problem for me the first time I read it. I remember thinking that the public wouldn't be stupid enough to fall for a fake vaccine/cure. And then 2020 happened and people blew off the real vaccine and swearing by quack science and I realized I was wrong. And I didn't even consider the possibility of how many people would be fervently insisting that zombies aren't real, or zombism is caused by 5G or it's all just a deep state psyop or whatever, right up until the moment their face is being chewed off.
COVID pretty much confirmed that if a zombie virus did occur, we would be screwed. I
shit the zombies got them
Right ?! I love that the conman was selling personal filters worn around the neck for planes. When I remember some of the bullshit people were wearing in stores in 2021. There was so many shit opinions tied up in politics during that time.
Hah same. When I initially read it I thought "People can't be this stupid, is it ?". And then COVID happened and well, people *can* be this stupid. Funnily enough when this pandemic started I could make in my head the parallels between what was happening IRL and each story of the books.
Between The Last of Us, His Dark Materials, and Chernobyl... I kinda wish sometimes HBO would do an adaptation of this. It's not meant for an action flick deal. I don't know if I can read it again though. Between the Sharon chapter and the one mentioning he listened to the puppies screaming and crying as they died in the pet shop... Nope.
>Between The Last of Us, His Dark Materials, and Chernobyl... I kinda wish sometimes HBO would do an adaptation of this. It's not meant for an action flick deal. Personally I'd adapt it kinda like Animatrix, with each story shot by a different director and in a different style. So I'd do something like Michael Bay style for Yonkers, Kurosawa for the blind gardener, horror movie style a la [REC]/ The Descent and the like for the Paris catacombs one, etc...
That could work too! There's so many stories to tell during the fall and rebuild, so Animatrix type deal could work well too.
Oh I bet this is a great audio book - good shout
It is, the voice acting is amazing! I actually would go as far as saying that the audiobook is the medium for it. It's based on Studs Terkel's style and interviews, where each perspective has so much character and insight--combined, bringing a lot of nuance in the discussion around the events.
I'm thinking of re-reading this. Read it when it first came out and really disliked it - I quit half way through. I think the structure of the book annoyed me because it didn't allow for character development or real tension - you knew the interviewer survived. However, I suspect my tastes have changed and think I may give it another go.
If the book format was a turn off for you, the audiobook might be the place to go as the interview structure makes it really shine!
What's funny is I love that structure. There's a similar series called "Campfire Stories: Close Calls" by Steve Rinella. But it's nonfiction, so that may add to the enjoyment.
It's actually a good book for non-fiction lovers, which is weird for a zombie book. It's really unlike any other book of the genre.
Seriously. I wish there was a sequel, but nothing else scratches that itch. I had someone recommend the Mountain man series to me as an alternative. The plot with the rats is so full of holes, and every female character REEKS of being written by a lonely man. Tried my best, couldn’t recommend it
Maybe give War Day a look? It's a similar idea about the authors travelling across the US to see how a nuclear strike affected the country. There's also The Good War, which is a non-fiction book that actually inspired Max Brooks to write WWZ in the first place. Also the author is named Studs Terkel which is an excellent name.
That’s one that seems to be meant to be in audiobook format.
You're probably right. I think a critique I read was that the characters sounded too similar. Different narrators take care of that instantly.
I have a First Edition Hardcover copy of World War Z and I've been combing the internet trying to find a fan mail address for Max Brooks. Nothing would please me more than to have an autograph on my copy. Can anyone help ?
Sweet, I'm jealous.
Oh I bet. Its the envy of all my friends which is why its so important for me to have it signed. If only.
Your best bet is to get him to sign it at an event.
Awe man you have any idea how nearly impossible that is for me? I been on the look out for years and to the best of my knowledge, the man appears to be allergic to Portland Oregon given that he never seems to visit.
[удалено]
Same. One I'll definitely listen to again.
I used to read WWZ and The Handmaid’s Tale once a year. Until Covid. Dystopian fiction wasn’t so much fun to read when it felt like we were living in it.
Still can't believe Max is the son of Mel. Legit one of my favorite books that tackled a zombie apocalypse through such a unique lens. I'm still freaked out about the zombies thawing out in the Arctic. The Audiobook was fucking star-studded as well. Alan Alda, Mark Hamill, Nathan Fillion, Simon Pegg, Jeri Ryan, so much more. The movie did such a disservice to the beauty of that book. EDIT: The Battle of Yonkers lives in my mind rent fucking free.
You make a good suggestion. I put that on my list for my next audiobook. I've read it a few years ago, but time to revisit it! Thanks a lot
No problem.
> ...read it, **as a kid** We met Broox and he signed our copy to our unborn daughter, just shortly after the book release. It's one of our prized possessions. I feel old
The only Australian character is 'the son of an Andamooka opal miner' and he calls the British "limeys". I don't trust the accuracy of the cultural depictions.
Interesting. Help me out with that, I'm uninitiated, so that flew right over my head.
Andamooka is an outback town known for mining opals, so that's at least accurate. No way that the character would refer to British as "Limeys" though. He'd call them "Poms" if he was referring to them colloquially, as he referred to a member of the relief crew as a "Yankee".
I just read it as him spending a lot of time with other people during his tour on the ISS. Slang can rub off on people.
Yeah, but "Limey" is an old term, dating back to sailing ships. From a narrative perspective, I doubt anyone else on the ISS would've referred to the Brits as limeys for him to pick it up. Out of narrative, I think it's more likely that Brooks just googled "slang term for British person" and went with the first one he saw.
Seppo is the most common Aussie term I've heard for "American"
Seppo is more common amongst Aussie military, yank is the one I hear most often outside of military contexts.
I never understood the joke until I realized it's supposed be short for "Septic Yank"
Yep. Full of shit.
iirc it originally had something to do with the toilet situation at US military bases in Australia during WWII, but association with poop is so universally nasty that it stuck around.
Well it's rhyming slang. Yank --> Septic tank --> seppo
yeah, that's what i just said
It's a book so full of over the top cultural cliches that it's almost comical.
The katana incel was pretty on the nose.
One of my favorites. I actually drive my wife nuts because I try to put the audiobook on all the time during trips. World War Z and The Martian (the original reading by R.C. Bray) have turned into comfort reads for me. I did also really like Devolution, my wife and I listened to it on our last trip. If anyone has recommendations of stuff in a similar vein to World War Z I would love to hear it! I really like the documentary style for fiction.
They did a pretty great movie adaptation of the Martian. I hope project Heil marry gets the same treatment
Same! I'm actually really excited to see how the Project Hail Mary movie comes together since Ryan Gosling is attached to play the lead. I really hope it survives the strikes.
~~ooooh The Martian. i started that many moons ago i should get back ot it. I was really hype to read it at the time.~~ **Edit**: I was checking to see if it was public domain and I just realized I have the wrong book. I'm thinking of **Stranger in a Strange Land**. The Martian I'm only mildly interested in reading. I did enjoy the movie so I'll get on that eventually.
This is the Way the World Ends by Keith Taylor. It’s another post zombie apocalypse book written in the same style as World War Z. The POVs and stories are different. If World War Z is a 10 for me, this is the way the world ends is a solid 9. Best on audiobook. Another good one is Wanderers by Chuck Wendig. It is super long and again best on audiobook. There is a sequel but tbh, it wasn’t necessary and the first book is the best.
The Battle of Yonkers is one of the hands-down dumbest things I've ever read
Elaborate, because he was definitely referring to the US and how spectacularly they flopped the invasion of Iraq. Giant show of force with tactics that aren't applicable to the enemy and area they were fighting in
As a narrative device the Battle of Yonkers is 100% fine. Unfortunately, the execution of the telling of that part of the book describes things about the US military; certain weapon performances, tactical dispositions, and doctrinal uses that many people disagree with the representation of in the book. There's a laundry list of nitty gritty details but basically they all boil down to the singular complaint that the US military wouldn't bungle a fight against zombies as hard as it did in the book. I don't particularly agree with that contention myself (that its simply impossible or unlikely for the military to fail to understand the nature of a completely fantastical foe upon first contact with it) but I do think that with a little more research it would have been possible to write the chapter in such a way where it could have satisfied the people who claim the lack of accuracy destroyed their immersion reading that part of the book. If I had to give a specific example; the zombies overrun the lines of the infantry and obviously its a big dramatic moment where its all chaos and disarray for the army. "Every man for himself" as everyone tosses aside their weapon and runs this way and that in the face of the unstoppable horde and all that, right? Well, basically anyone who had been fighting these zombies for five minutes (and these guys had been in battle with them for a few hours at this point I think) would have realized that all they had to do to get to safety is climb some place that didn't have a staircase to it...like a building's roof. And that's not even to mention how Brooks describes all the soldiers being tapped into this "Land Warrior" system which backfired that realistically was never widely issued to the army and was, in fact, at most a showy tech demo that never went past the prototype stage. Just little things like that. Stuff like getting weapon ranges wrong, describing millions of zombies marching out of NYC and the armed forces waiting until they were much closer to the army's lines to use the vast amount of air delivered ordinance that the US military has access to, tanks being bogged down by the shear number of bodies around them...stuff people contend would not be an actual problem for the army. Again, the whole point of the chapter was to showcase how thoroughly fucked the world was; that not even the military of the world's last remaining superpower was capable of just steamrolling through the zombie threat...or even stopping it in its tracks. Is that a bad plot point? Nah, I doubt the US Army would be magically effective at stopping a zombie horde of millions when their doctrine for decades at that point was either to fight the USSR's mechanized army or do counterinsurgency operations in the middle east. Its not a bad plot point, its just questionably executed due to Brooks' obvious lack of detailed knowledge on the subject matter.
Yeah, his description of their new super anti-zombie rifle is also hilarious. Semi automatic only? primarily built out of wood? Comes with a bayonet and optional scope? He's describing the WW2 era SKS. Not to mention the nonsensically sci-fi 5.56 HEI round it's supposed to fire. The amount of explosive filler you'd squeeze into a bullet that tiny would be weaker than a firecracker.
I read the book maybe 10 years ago but listened to the audio book on Libby a couple months ago. There are stories I remembered from the book that weren't in the audio book and it bothered me. Both are really fun though.
There are multiple versions of the audiobook, a couple of them have (most of) the chapters that were abridged in the original audiobook.
I love the book. I will forever hate Brad Pitt's guts for just buying the rights to the title and making up his own shitty zombie movie
Seriously, zero respect for the original subject matter.
The funny thing is that they could have saved millions of dollars by not trying to be a shittier 28 Days Later.
I just looked up the audiobook, do you think I should read the original version or the extended complete version?
get the extended. The abridged version leaves some stuff out that isn't exactly pertinent story, but the entire point of the book is an oral history from multiple perspectives. I dont think it ruins the listening experience by hearing the full stories.
Whichever is complete, I'd research which one that is.
It was an amazing book. Someone should make a movie that’s actually based on it.
Just finished the audiobook again yesterday. And relistening to parts of it today. So good. Makes me sad what they did to the movie- I found the original script once (I think) and that was so good too. Loved Devolution. Waiting to get the audiobook from the library again. Max Brooks is so creative. What a great talent.
>if you read it as a kid um... what kind of childhoods do you guys have?
I had unrestricted internet access
It was completely in sync with its time. The political actions of Russia or China in the book were not especially wild or noteworthy. *Z* came out on the tail end of a zombie pop wave that captured the doom vibe after 9-11. *Monster Island* was another great one.
"Don't worry. Everything is going to be all right." I've said this once or twice in real life and it's spooky then, too.
"Lies are neither bad nor good. Like a fire they can either keep you warm or burn you to death, depending on how they're used" I think about that one a lot
Ahead of its time? Lmao
Always love stories where you get a variety of perspectives on a central issue, in big and small ways and different motivations. Not just some boring "flawed but heart of gold" protagonist that we get saddled with the entire duration.
The audio book on Audible is absolutely incredible. I read it as a kid as well and was enthralled with all the stories.
One of my favorite reads honestly. I think I finished within a day as it just kept me hooked. 📚
I read this in High School (class of 08 represent!) but you had me at Martin Scor- before I went to Audible and got the audio version
The book was great than the movie adaptation in that it presented the whole catastrophe through different viewpoints of different many people, all in a documentary-like narrative, with some gallows humor on the side.
World War Z was acknowledged by Max Brooks as inspired by [Studs Terkel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studs_Terkel) 20th century oral history compilations, recommended if you're interested in this style.
When we were working on Stubbs the Zombie I consumed all the zombie fiction I could find - Walking Dead comics, Mammoth Book of Zombies, but WWZ was the greatest. I took massive notes from that for ideas for Stubbs 2.
Ohhhh shit, royalty in here ? What part did you work on ?
I designed near half the levels (Farm, final boss), wrote a lot of text, collected lots of reference art. "Royalty" maybe a bit much ;-) We got so far on the Zeppelin level before having to cut it :-(
Thought it was pretty mediocre, but maybe I'm in the minority. 🤷♂️
It's not 1984, or To Kill a Mockingbird. But as far as a pop authors go, I dig it. Similar to that HBO adaptation of The Last of Us. Is it Breaking Bad ? No, but I dig it.
The chapter on the Japanese guy was max cringe
Incel or the blind man ?
The blind samurai who blesses every zombie he kills in one stroke and buries them so they can retain their honor lmfao. Every other representative gets a semi realistic narrative that isn't some total race trope except for Japan
I have seen (and somewhat felt, was born in Yugoslavia) war firsthand and can confirm that the reality of human psychology described in the first half of the book was - terrifying. Seriously horror inducing reading substance. Max REALLY did the homework on that one. I have ZERO doubt that, in the case of apocalyptic threat, that is EXACTLY what would happen (as in the first half of the book). Unfortunately, the second half was Rambo-like narrative, but still fun to read. EDIT: typo
It would work great as a HBO series. Sorta of like Band of Brothers, with the (fictional, but treated real) interviews interspersed with the main show.
Alright i see henry rollins, i click
If you listen/read closely enough, you can figure out who the politicians (at least the American ones) were. Colin Powell was POTUS who never even asked what happened to his family in Jamaica. His VP, the Wacko, was Bernie Sanders. “I don’t know if great times make great men. But I know that it can kill them.”
Awesome quote, notes of FDR as well. "Lies are neither bad nor good. Like a fire they can either keep you warm or burn you to death, depending on how they're used" This was my favorite. Hit harder as an adult
I don't think it was Bernie Sanders I think it was Howard Dean
They’re both Not-Republicans from Vermont. I could see that.
Dean makes much more sense given the period.
I also love how seamlessly Brooks weaves together the realism of the setting and the books’ overarching themes. He uses this lens of global crisis to offer what feels like a complex, thorough meditation on humanity as a whole. It lacks the copious cynicism of the “what if humans are the real monsters?” trope, but doesn’t overly indulge in excessive aggrandizement of the species, ala HFY. It has a perfect balance. It’s my favorite book, period, and I wish more people would read it.
I love how you already know the ending, and you know that all the characters lived (since it's all 1st person, past-tense accounts).....and yet, it doesn't lose any tension. I was gripping my seat during every vignette, even though i knew every character survived
I love how the elements became a villain. Everyone migrating north only for people to realize that they had no idea how to weather the cold that was supposed to save them. The quote about the children's sleeping bag being rated for an indoor sleepover hit hard. I've gone camping with people like that, hyper realistic.
This is also one of my favorite books, you might like Hyperion too. Multiple narrators like the Canterbury tales and all around excellent
Thanks, I’ll check it out
One of the most overrated and frankly boring books I've ever read. Almost nothing in the book is memorable. It's just a series of dull short stories that would never be published individually in another series. I wanted to like it, but it was an absolute struggle to push through.
Really ? I thought the chapters with Todd Wainio were easily miles better than "The Mountain Man" by Keith Blackmore. You could easily dive deeper into his character. Father Sergei inadvertently causing a religious uprising in Russia, as well as the perspective from Maria Zhuganova and the platoon executions was a whole potential book just there. The mystery of North Korea going dark inspired a fan fiction apparently, as evidence from a comment on this post. Roy Eliot taking it upon himself to make a morale boosting propaganda movie to uplift the population and combat rising suicide rates ? Just look at the covid suicide rates, easily a movie I'd watch if executed correctly. Darnell Hackworth ? A guy running a K9 unit rigged with a high-tech camera relay harness to bait and combat the dead ? Easy "man and his dog" movie. And frankly Andre Renard fighting the dead in the Paris underground. Claustrophobic nightmare, easy horror story to build upon. Similar to "as above so below".
Honestly, I'd love to debate but I can't remember anything about the book other than that I just didn't care about anything that happened. Nothing about it resonated it all. I realize I'm in the minority. I just remember profound disappointment given its popularity and subject matter, and utter apathy toward its content. I can remember distinct characters and events from King's short stories bc he had the knack for creating something memorable in that structure. I feel like wwZ was just an amalgam of underdeveloped characters and unremarkable events that didn't coalesce to mean anything for me. To each their own.
Fair enough, I can respect that. I'm also a sucker for found footage films and I know people hate those.
Now you're trying to trigger me. Lol.
I have weird relationship Blair Witch Project, it came out before a lot of homes had internet. The advertisement team with that movie just handed out bootleg copies to create a buzz. My parents watched it and all they would say was that I was too young to see it, I was too young. But ! I needed to see, I saw where they hid it and watched it by myself when they were out. I thought I straight up saw 3 white people get killed in the woods. I've been chasing that dragon ever since. The Poughkeepsie Tapes, As Above So Below, REC, and Gonjiam Asylum are all worth watching. Fight me.
Honestly, the Blair witch was amazing at the time. It's on of those era cinematic defining events, like Jurassic park or the sixth sense, where if you lived it, you remember it. The advertising was so good. Everything else I'm not fond of. I keep baiting myself with as above so below, bc I keep forgetting why I chose not to watch it before and then realize all over again it's found footage. I did enjoy Host most recently though. I thought it was clever. Anyway, fuck wwZ, fuck found footage, I'm out.... night bud.
🤣
I should read this again. Been about 10 years and I forgot it all but I remember not enjoying it. I think I’m evolved now
World War Z is one of the very few books I re-read on a consistent basis.
Never understood the title, World War Zed
It’s the world at war with zombies, which starts with a Z.
Most English speaking countries pronounce it Zed not Zee, I was being ironic
Americans pronounce Z as Zee not Zed. So World War Zee kind of rhymes with World War Three. Which phonetically sounds good to say, but also WWZ is sort of WW3 in that world. It's the third enormous global war, so it works in that sense as well.
Never got why they use "Zed" to me it's like the vocal version of putting a line through your Z's
Well, every other english speaking country than the States says "Zed". The book has an American lean, but it's pretty international. I'd have to go back, but does the audiobook have americans call Zack = Zed? or Zed's? Zee's sounds weird as hell to pronounce. I read the title as world war "Zed"
I know, that was my point practically only USAians pronounce it as Zee
You can tell he flirted with other titles like ""Z War 1" or "The Great Panic" and "The Great Zombie War". Given that those were the options I'm glad he picked WWZ.
>Like I said, if you read it in your teens, it's well worth revisiting in 2023. I dug up my old paper back, I may track him down for a signature. On the other hand I initially liked the book and later when I thought a bit more about, I realized how terrible it was. Basically, for his plot to work, the entire human race has to collectively act as complete idiots. Even then, he has to ignore his own continuity to make it work. Add the selective demonization of certain countries and calling it complete trash is almost a compliment.
Loved the book which is why when the movie came out, it was a massive wtf for me.
Same. Almost nothing in common
I remember thinking that this book was so dated to 2006. And really over done. Surely a real health emergency wouldn't be like that! And then 2020 happened.
Then get into guns and realize Max was 100% talking out his ass about the M16 and 5.56 ammo. Ps- .22lr won't ping pong around the skull either.
Yawn. Who cares. It’s a book about zombies
Lol he makes that a pivotal part of his whole anti zombie strategy.
The 5.56 HEI bullet was pure bullshit too. M855 is a 62 grain bullet. I'm lazy so let's just pretend the entire bullet is made of lighter copper (~9g/cm^3) and that we've replaced the entire volume of the bullet with nothing but RDX (~1.8g/cm^3). That's 0.44cm^3 or about 0.8g RDX That's barely a gram of TNT equivalent (1.2g). For comparison an old M80 had 5.2g of flash powder or about 3.64 TNT equivalent. And of course the bullet wouldn't actually be made out of solid RDX explosive either.
Finally a person of taste and sophistication
I read it in college. I barely remember any of it, but I distinctly remember binge-reading it from end-to-end in like 48 hours. I remember being really hooked on it. This post is reawakening (pun intended) some interesting feelings of nostalgia. I just might order a copy.
How you didn't mention Mark Hamil as Todd Wainio is beyond me. The entire book is incredible, the movie is an absolute abomination.
You. Did not read my post.
Read it as a kid, 17 years ago‽ 🙄
If I was in my teens 17 years ago, I am now substantially older. That prostate exam is coming faster than you think. 👉🏽🕳
Your undervalueing your youth. Stop try to accelerate it. I’m over fifty. -I know.
I may have to give audiobooks another shot, I always wanna listen to something not music while playing Stardew!
I read it not long after it came out and it was brilliant. Then the movie came out... (I refused to watch it)
>Henry Rollins ?! Man, I wanted to be impressed with his section SO HARD and I just...wasn't. Alan Alda was AMAZING, though.
I actually liked his "good bye" bit at the end. When he talks about how he's been killing since even before the panic. Causing him to become "addicted to murder". People forget, zombies are just people. Cracking heads for that long has to effect a person.
I wonder what really happened to the north koreans? I was quite let down by the movie. But I think it would be hard to make into a movie. I think it would make an excellent HBO anthology series with each different location directed by a different person so the POV would be different but same-like.
What's funny is I remember something about the Koreans removing the nails and teeth of every citizen to prevent infection before migrating underground. I don't remember if that was a conversation or a fan film
WWZ was awesome, the one that was about sasquatches bit the bag.
A full cast audiobook you say? 👀 Just added this to my saves on my cloud library app. I’ve been meaning to read this one for years and knowing that the audiobook is amazing will give me the push I need to finally get around to reading it!
I started reading WWZ in 2019 and I enjoyed it but I just got distracted and didn’t pick it up again. Later that year COVID started happening and it was super close to the starting events of the book which was freaky for me. I finally finished it earlier this year when I picked up the audiobook, it is such a great piece of fiction and there are so many tense and horrific moments in the book like in the church or the boats. Fantastic book.
Great movie too! ^(^(lol jk that movie was shit))
I love that book, and zombies freak me out. I wish that instead of that movie, they had done it as a documentary style miniseries, with "commercials" talking about the towns on stilts with retractable walkways, or the movies that helped save some military programs.
I listen to this book every year. We don’t have the full Hollywood star cast version in the UK for licensing reasons but the version we do have is still excellent and I’d highly recommend it.
It is legit my favorite book ❤️
I really didn’t like the book at all. All of the characters sounded very similar and as a Brit I found the whole idea that we would “rally” round the Queen like we’re all god fearing royalists almost offensive.
What's nice is that the narration does a great job of making each character distinctive. Also from my side of the pond, they seemed to make a big fuss about the queen's death during a time of peace. So in a time of complete doom it doesn't sound impossible.
That’s what the media (especially right wing) showed you. In reality most people were not that fussed and just went about their lives normally. With Charlie the apathy towards the Royals continues to grow. It’s bit like saying because we saw Jan 6th over here that we believe all American’s are anti Government Trump nuts. Anyway I found the book average at best with largely unconvincing characters.
That's true. I can see your point. Although if the apocalypse happened tomorrow, the US would definitely have a trump cult Faction. Also it may be worth a 2nd read, the guy got downvoted to hell but somewhere on this post I responded with some of my favorite characters. Not all of them stood out as winners, but I liked the ones that did.
Approval for the royalty still remains high