Chaos Reading discussion

What are our favourite zombie books?
We can take a very loose definition of "zombie" - There are all kinds of different zombies beyond the Romero archetype. I like to be inclusive :)
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I would recommend:
Handling the Undead
Pontypool Changes Everything
Hater
Feed
Breaking News: An Autozombiography

Raising Stony Mayhall
Zone One
Every Sigh, the End
The Reapers Are the Angels
The Awakeners: Northshore & Southshore

Oh, WWZ, good one.

We can't all have the same stupid, personal obsessions. :)

Wow - awesome list already! If I don't already love these, they're on (or have just been added to) the tbr list (darn you and your lousy group, Ruby!)

The Living Dead is a good anthology of zombie stories.

Warm Bodies is a humorous Romeo and Juliet story (no, it is NOT Twilight with zombies). Great descriptions of the zombie 'society'.

And I'd like to add a second for Ceridwen's recommendation for
The Reapers Are the Angels, because I think this book gets panned for the wrong reasons. It takes place years (25 I think) after the zombie apocalypse, and its protagonist is a teenager who has only known the post-zombie world. There are a lot of unrealistic things, such as there still being plenty of edible food to scrounge in the grocery stores, electricity still running in some towns etc. etc. Fair cop, it would have been nice if more effort for verisimilitude had been made, but the strengths of this book are its characters and the poetry of its descriptions, the errors are mainly in the window dressing.

I also recommend checking out The Zombie Group, although this group already has a way better book list.

Also, Living Dead is a solid anthology. Word.

I absolutely love Yesterday's Gone: Season One and Yesterday's Gone: Season Two. Season 3 is just starting. Great characters and lots of little twists and turns.

Whitney wrote: "I also recommend checking out The Zombie Group, although this group already has a way better book list. "

Ahem. I think you mean they have a way bigger zombie booklist. :)

Mark - Feed is by far the best in a very good series. I hope you love it :)

Matthew/Cerdiwen - I was really, really hoping nobody would nominate one of the Max Brooks books, but I knew that dream was destined to fail. I won't start complaining about him again (I've already done that in the anti-recommendation thread), but suffice it to say this is the only time I have wished for power of veto...

A couple of others I've enjoyed:
Breathers: A Zombie's Lament - Lighthearted rom/zom/com

Breaking News: An Autozombiography -Although you have to be willing to stick it out beyond the first half. There is a good reason, I promise. See my review if you need convincing: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Brains: A Zombie Memoir - Although it tried to be a little too smart, it had some really interesting themes. And I love to read stories from the zombie POV.

I don't think I ever read a book with zombies in it. Which of these would you guyes recommend as a good one for starters? :D

Ooops, sorry for hitting a peeve. I can see how the Survival Guide isn't a novel, but WWZ has a narrative arc - and slyly, a few character arcs. But I rescind my rec.

Ruby wrote: "Matthew/Cerdiwen - I was really, really hoping nobody would nominate one of the Max Brooks books..."

Okay, hit me with your reasons. I want to hear why you hate these, since we seem to have a lot of tastes in common and I quite enjoyed WWZ. Plus Brooks probably gets most the credit (or blame) for the resurgence of zombie popularity.

And just to forestal anyone questioning my zombie cred, I began my repeated viewings of 'Dawn of the Dead' et. al. at the age of 13. When I was 11 I would sneak downstairs late at night to tune in a distant UHF network for fuzzy viewings of such classics as 'Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things'. (This would also require adjusting the antenna on the roof. I risked life and limb for zombie films!)

I don't want to start WW3 over WWZ, but since you've asked..
- I don't like Brook's writing. He's a columnist and comedy writer, not a novelist, hence the faux-reportage style. I think this technique needs to be particularly well done to work. Otherwise it is difficult to empathise with characters.
- I didn't think there was anything particularly unique about WWZ, and I think it gets a lot of undeserved praise solely for the fact that a lot of people discovered zombies via Max Brooks. Having been a long-time zombie fanatic, it felt to me like a rehash of all the stereotypical zombocalypse themes.
- Max Brooks is a twat. He used my beloved zombies to make a quick buck via that "Survival Guide". It was such a cynical money-grabbing ploy to cash in on a trend.. I just don't respect the guy.

I should also own up here - I didn't finish it. And that rarely happens! I think I had picked it up shortly after reading Feed too, and it felt very flat in comparison.

Bahaha! I use that word a LOT :)

No, I won't use my powers for evil. I know a lot of people really like that book.

Ruby wrote: "Bahaha! I use that word a LOT :)

No, I won't use my powers for evil. I know a lot of people really like that book."

I wasn't trying to start a war, honest, just interested to hear your reasons for the dislike. Like I said, I enjoyed it but I didn't think it was the greatest thing since indoor plumbing. I'd been a long time zombie movie fan when I read it, but hadn't yet plunged into the literature, which may be why I wasn't bothered as much by the cliches. And, yes, the writing is workaday, for sure.

I have similar reasons for having all the pastiches such as "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" etc.. on my pet peeve list.
Formula =
1. take a work by a far superior writer so that character and style are done for you.
2. insert hilarious monster bits throughout the text.
3.cash in.

Whitney wrote: "I have similar reasons for having all the pastiches such as "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" etc.. on my pet peeve list. ..."

That's a fair call too. I didn't finish P&P&Z but I do have
The Meowmorphosis on the shelf. I haven't read it yet, but the cover was irresistible!

OK, so I have a couple of suggestions for the shelf that aren't exactly Zombie novels (even less so than the Hater trilogy). Feel free to disregard if you'd rather keep it more literal.

Blueprints of the Afterlife by Ryan Boudinot and
Noir: A Novel by Olivier Pauvert

In their separate ways, both deal with using population-level mind control to turn victims into unthinking pawns. If this makes any sense, it seems like authors often use zombies as a kind of metaphor for the themes displayed in these two books. So Boudinot and Pauvert just skipped a step, I guess.

I just wanted to contribute something here since I love zombie stuff, but a lot of my favorites have already been mentioned. I'll go ahead and second Zone One though.

Oh and another thing: has anyone read the Sandman Slim trilogy, or part of it? Only Kill the Dead (the 2nd installment) really deals with zombies, but I wanted to mention it since I really enjoyed the series.

The pulp/noir style is a little over-the-top, but I'm pretty sure this was deliberate. I choose to see it that way, in any event.

One reviewer said it best:

"Rarely have I encountered a main character so loaded with ANGSTY RAGENESS and OMNIDIRECTIONAL BADITUDE as James Stark (aka Sandman Slim). I mean this guy is full of ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!...and it works...mostly."

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Not a great fit, but the dead vampires (as opposed to the living ones) in I Am Legend are more like zombies than real vampires.

Nicholas wrote: "So Boudinot and Pauvert just skipped a step, I guess."

Am I the only one who sniggered at the name "Pauvert"?

I read The Meowmorphosis a while back--got it as a first-read through Amazon Vine. Did not like it at all, not because of its mash-up nature (I've read the genesis of this particular phenomenon Pride and Prejudice and Zombies as well as some of the follow-ups such as Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and Emma and the Vampires, with the former being more readable than the latter) but simply because it did not capture my imagination or interest. Of course, that might've been because I don't particularly enjoy Kafka (and hoped the cat aspect would've improved him--it did not).

To keep on topic, a few of my zombie selections include:
-Putting in my vote for Feed
-Plague of the Dead
-Aftertime (Which has a bit more depth to the central character than most zombie fiction.)
-Night of the Living Trekkies (For those who like their zombies geeky.)
-Dead City
-The Walking Dead Compendium Vol. 1 (Which I prefer over the show; in fact, I stopped watching the show after the first couple of episodes because it had departed so much not from the story, which I expected, but from character development.)

What about Pet Sematary? Zombie animals and children.... super creepy!

I'll admit that Warm Bodies is the only zombie book I've read, of which my zombie-loving-husband feels is not a real zombie book. I loved it though.

I also have Feed and Deadline at home. I'm really looking forward to starting the series.

Lisa wrote: "What about Pet Sematary? Zombie animals and children.... super creepy!"

By which you mean, of course, super awesome! :P

Ashley wrote: "I'll admit that Warm Bodies is the only zombie book I've read, of which my zombie-loving-husband feels is not a real zombie book. I loved it though.

I also have Feed and Deadline at home. I'm rea..."

I also loved "Warm Bodies", and have read other zombie books. The film is due for release in 2013. I just got "Feed" from the library, so I'll be reading that in the next three weeks.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I tried to read it once, but could not finish it.

Ruby wrote: "Whitney wrote: "I also recommend checking out The Zombie Group, although this group already has a way better book list. "

Ahem. I think you mean they have a way bigger zombie booklist. :) ..."

I was just revisiting this discussion after Sezin's recommendations thread, and realized why your response to my original post confused me. When I said "this group has a better booklist", I meant THIS group, not the Zombies. I was impressed how fast the CR crowd came up with a great list of zombie books.

Whitney wrote: "Ruby wrote: "Whitney wrote: "I also recommend checking out The Zombie Group, although this group already has a way better book list. "

Ahem. I think you mean they have a way bigger zombie booklist..."

Ahah! Well in that case, we'll take the compliment :)

Bookshelf has been updated as of today. Enjoy!

And congrats on a really excellent zombie shelf. I'm so happy to see a selection of really GOOD zombie books for once. Well done, awesome people!

Speaking of zombies, here's a pretty funny endorsement of Mitt Romney by Joss Whedon: Zomney.

(And please, for the love of God, I am not trying to start a Fox News inspired war of ideologues, I just thought the video was funny. I figured this group was pretty safe territory, but thought I'd add that just in case :-)

LOVE LOVE LOVE! Thank you!!!! :)

Not "a zombie novel", but there are zombies in it, it's unique and I really liked it: One Bloody Thing After Another

And a YA one I enjoyed: The Enemy by Charlie Higson. I saw Higson on an episode of QI last night and remembered how much I like him. Gotta read the rest of the series...

It's not a spoiler or anything, but what I thought was really cute about The Enemy was that it's told from the perspective of children, so the zombie adults are all referred to as "mothers" and "fathers". It's subtle, and maybe not very realistic these days, but sweet.

Ruby wrote: "I don't want to start WW3 over WWZ, but since you've asked..
- I don't like Brook's writing. He's a columnist and comedy writer, not a novelist, hence the faux-reportage style. I think this techniq..."

I agree. I can't say whether or not he's a twat, but I agree with your assessment of his writing.

I definitely agree with addingWorld War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War and Feed to the list. Both are completely fantastic. I understand the style of WWZ doesn't work for everyone, but I found it very compelling.

Rot & Ruin, Dust and Decay and Flesh and Bone by Jonathan Maberry. First three books of a great zombie apocalypse series, taking place fifteen years after the outbreak. The zombie story I really like in which surviving humans are much bigger danger than zoms.

Gargh. I knew someone would suggest that guy! I tried reading Patient Zero and really disliked it.

I'll admit it, the only zombie stories I've enjoyed have been Handling the Undead, Raising Stony Mayhall, and the first 5 or so volumes of "The Walking Dead" (once Magic-Ninja Michonne showed up & the Governor storyline began, the whole thing went sluicing down into a crevasse of pure, unadulterated cliche).

I suppose I also enjoyed Death Warmed Over, but that's less of a traditional zombie novel.

Ruby wrote: "Gargh. I knew someone would suggest that guy! I tried reading Patient Zero and really disliked it."

THANK you! I started Rot and Ruin because of all the buzz, but only made it about 5 pages as I found the writing to be very amateurish. I thought I was all alone out there.

Yaaaay! That's great A. In all fairness though, some people don't love the first half....... but it's worth sticking with in my opinion :)

Ruby wrote: "Gargh. I knew someone would suggest that guy! I tried reading Patient Zero and really disliked it."

Well, I haven't read Patient Zero, but I really liked the story and emotional contents of Rot and Ruin Quadrology. BTW I haven't read a single review before buying the first two books so I did not hop on the hype wagon for this one :)

(I read the first chapter of Rot & Ruin, and it was not to my taste at all. Tom was a self-satisfied jerk - though I'm clearly to think he was sage and wise - and the villains cartoonishly eeevviiiillll. But! I admit I did not read on.)

I enjoyed This is Not a Test.

Ceridwen wrote: "(I read the first chapter of Rot & Ruin, and it was not to my taste at all. Tom was a self-satisfied jerk - though I'm clearly to think he was sage and wise - and the villains cartoonishly eeevviii..."

My feelings exactly. I didn't get very far into that one. Thanks for the recommendation too - that wasn't on my radar, but it looks good.