Zombies! discussion
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So... what makes a "good" zombie book?
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No running zombies!! I have been looking forward to the movie but the World War Z trailer looks awful with all the sprinting hoards. I love the slower, shuffling Walking Dead zombies. :)
I'm reading a book right now where I really wish the main character would just die, so we can find a more interesting character to follow.His "mission" in the book? To cross a large part of the country, most of which contains zombies or is under martial law, to get home. Mostly on foot, with very little ammunition. He knows his wife and son are dead. They were featured in early news footage. But he wants to get home so that he can avenge them, and kill the zombie that killed them. He considers it his "duty" to them to kill that zombie.
Sigh.
Gina wrote: "No running zombies!! I have been looking forward to the movie but the World War Z trailer looks awful with all the sprinting hoards. I love the slower, shuffling Walking Dead zombies. :)"I don't mind running when the zombies are fresh but once they are a week or two old they should start slowing down.
I was talking with a friend about the WWZ trailer, she hadn't seen it and I told her the zombies just don't look realistic. I had to stop and laugh.....zombies are NOT real. HAHA I am obsessed with zombies right now, even dream about them. :)
Gina wrote: "I was talking with a friend about the WWZ trailer, she hadn't seen it and I told her the zombies just don't look realistic. I had to stop and laugh.....zombies are NOT real. HAHA I am obsessed with..."They might not be real but decaying bodies still look a certain way.
Hello I'm wanting to write a zombie book. I was hoping for some suggestions. Should I make a prologue of when it happens or maybe just got into chapter one ands its like a year or two after the breakout? So will you be able to help me?
I've enjoyed a number of zombie stories that start years after the apocalypse broke out. Sometimes, even a generation or two later.It depends whether you want to focus on the action story of the outbreak, the survivor story in the near-term, the rebuilding story, or the "steady state" society that exists afterwards. Each has a different dynamic of the conflicts between human vs zombie and human vs human.
Some authors do the initial breakout in either short flashback or dream sequences. Hints here and there of what traumas the survivors went through.
Randy wrote: "I've enjoyed a number of zombie stories that start years after the apocalypse broke out. Sometimes, even a generation or two later.It depends whether you want to focus on the action story of the ..."
I couldn't of said it better myself.
I've watched The Walking Dead TV show from season 1 to the mid season finale of season 4. I don't really read books because I have an English class that requires me to consume a lot of classic literatures. But now that it's winter break I want to dive deeper into the zombie genre of books. My question is, what book should I buy?
Nam wrote: "I've watched The Walking Dead TV show from season 1 to the mid season finale of season 4. I don't really read books because I have an English class that requires me to consume a lot of classic lite..."Depends on what you're looking for in a zombies book.
Since you have been reading classic literature, you will need to switch mind states/expectations for your typical zombies read.
Choosing to read indie work will offer you wider range plotlines but you'll need to accept the "raw" form ( things like little editing, sometimes underdeveloped characters, or incomplete plot resolutions ).
If you are going to select a book from a large publisher than you'll find a fair amount with teenagers as your lead characters with an angst filled romance, or cheesy stereotype where the men are strong but cold hearted and the women are only capable if there is no man around, they grow weak in the knees the sight of a male.
Ok that is all a bit of exaggerating on my part, but the core principles are true.
The majority of titles are not 5 star or for that matter even 4 star works.
To read and appreciate zombie apocalypse books, you have to kiss a lot of toads.
So ask yourself, what am I looking for in characters, in plot, in editing, and then come back and let us know.
We have all kinds of zombie lovers here and surely one will lead you in the right direction.
As for me, I'm always on the hunt.
Why do you have to plug your book? I thought for sure that you'd be picked up by a publisher by now to do all the tacky plugging and promoting for you.Book was good, bro.
Yammy wrote: ".Book was good, bro."
I'll second that sentiment, Yammy: Zombie Trailer Park was damn good. Here's my tacky plug for any writer that can come up with the crazy scenario that is Charlie.
Thank you both, Yammy and Netanella, I appreciate your comments. Why do I plug or spam my own book? And what of traditional publishers? I've rarely seriously considered going with a traditional publisher for a great many reasons and thus I attempt to promote my novels via annoying little blurbs suggesting people might enjoy reading VODZTPark for FREE or many of my other stories. What do I have against the traditional publishers? Lets start with an understandable yet annoying habit they have. They like stories to be lean mean literary machines and would most likely demand cuts of several thousand words. Added to that horror is the issue of content editing not for word count/page count considerations but rather for 'good taste's' sake. I sometimes write rather gruesome things that even I find unsettling and disturbing. BUT the idea some publisher would suggest paring down or removing some of the most horrific stuff I've written would make me ill. Also, I write in a meandering way with sometimes rambling events and scenes that 'might' make sense to cut but I abhor the idea. Then, of course, there's rejection phobia coupled with the bleak economy which both team up to make the idea of submitting stories to publishers... seem oogie at best. I'm not suggesting that I won't someday work with a publisher but can't see it yet.Thanks again for the kudos.
-Bill
Williambebb wrote: "Thank you both, Yammy and Netanella, I appreciate your comments. Why do I plug or spam my own book?Plugging and spamming are two different things.
To me, a great zombie story involves likeable or relatable character; usually these are human characters evading the roaming zombie hordes, but sometimes they are zombies as point of view characters. I enjoy zombie stories that utilize the gore factor either in a campy way, or in a go for the throat kind of gross out way.
I like slow zombiesI don't like first person or diary stuff. That is like someone telling you about a movie instead of seeing it.
I really don't like the zombie point of view. I can't buy into it. If they have a conscious point of view then they aren't zombies they are people with serious problems.
And finally, as a writer, it is hard to come up with a new twist while delivering more of the same old. People want to have the same great experience but not redo the same journey.
Zombie books need to be somewhat realistic. I know, I know...we're talking zombies here! But nothing spoils a possibly-decent zom book for me like unrealistic characters that act in ways that don't make sense. Oh, they can make poor decisions or act rashly, but I need to believe it. For example, in one zombie book I read recently, there were two different scenes with two different characters who were YELLING throughout an empty place, looking for survivors, but then they use the bathroom moments later and refuse to flush, lest the noise attract the zombies outside (that were there from the beginning). Poor attention to details like this ruin a read for me, so a good zombie read has characters that do reasonable things, even in moments of terror or panic. It can be 'unreal', but it has to be 'reasonable'.
I agree with this. A big pet peeve of mine is the character that doesn't act according to their established personality, their profession or training.
I agree with Utterly and Luke. After a character has been established it can take you out of the book to suddenly have that person do something 'out of character'. Unless, of course, it is later established that it was done for some reason (the character was not who they appeared to be, etc. and were acting in a manner to be accepted by the group). The worst is when a character that has been portrayed as competent and skilled does something she/he normally wouldn't just to let the author endanger the group or pad the story. This happens more often in a series, but sometimes in a single novel and ruins it.
I can't believe this thread is still going since 2011, but it's exactly what the writers of zombie books need to hear. I love all your comments and invite each of you to act as beta readers for my zombie book. I'm not plugging it or mentioning it by name, except to say it is the second in the series and I'm really nervous about how well it will come off. I am looking for honest opinions about the characters (zombies aside) and everyone on this thread sounds like my kind of audience. Message me if any of you are interested.
all i can say is no happy endings, thats what makes me like a zombie book
dave wrote: "all i can say is no happy endings, thats what makes me like a zombie book"Just joined this group and reviving an old thread by way of introduction.
Ditto on the overwhelming crowd support for Character.
Plot needs to be there, and it needs to be a little new so I don't know exactly how to beat the puzzle, but the cleverest, tightest plot is wasted if there isn't anybody around for me to root for. (And I will root for the bad guy, too.)
And the Zombies? I am an equal opportunity devourer. Fast zombies/slow zombies, undead/alive, straight-forward/cunning, villain/hero/background noise; I like and have read them all.
What I am done with in a big way:
*books that read like a friend is telling you about their new first person shooter game
*tough as nails sergeants and/or anyone with both a cigar and a machine gun smoking at the same time
*long winded pseudo-science about how the zombies got to be zombies, we get it already, it's because there's a yellow sun.
Favorites in the genre (listed in order they ocurred to me):
The Girl with All the Gifts
Raising Stony Mayhall
The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead
GURPS Zombies
and of course, my personal roadmap to this genre ghetto, The Walking Dead, Compendium 1
Kristin (Blood,Sweat and Books) wrote: "Nothing angers me more than stupid characters. I get not everyone watches Zombie movies but unless you live under a rock you should know at least something about them. Even if it is they want to ea..."Have you ever seen Zombieland? There's a part when they talk about interesting zombie killing. There's an old lady that rigged a piano to her doorknob, when she pushed it, it fell on the zombie.
I think the preference of fast versus slow zombies should be situational. There are a few zombie books set in the distant past now. To me slow zombies versus folks that wear armor and have been training to use their sword since they could hold it is simply no contest. Fast zombies become a must in that situation just to keep it interesting. Slow zombies are especially effective in a modern urban environment. I like my zombie stories to break from the normal mold. Something more in addition to the zombies keeps my interest. Good interpersonal relationships amongst the characters is a plus.
Let me recommend Night of the Living Trekkies. Fun for both Star Trek and zombie fans. Even mixes on a bit of alien invasion.
I love the genre for the survival aspects of it. For seeing what people would do in that kind of situation. Do they fall apart? Do they rise to the occasion? What are people willing to deal with in order to survive? Sitting on a toilet seat in an old house for 3 days with Zombies wandering around the bathroom trying not to make a noise and then making a mad break for it. Figuring out how to drive so you don't smash the front of the car in. I like when they've come through it and start looking at a long term strategy. How do we we rebuild and what does the new society look like?
Agree, R.S. Like those books and series where the zombies are almost the easiest part. It’s getting what you need to survive and other survivors.
I think that most zombie stories (books or movies) tend to fall into two phases - outbreak and some sort of normalisation.In the outbreak phase, there is very little law and order. It's a mad panic as we just try to survive. We won't know how the zombie thing works, the authorities will try to maintain order, but will probably be overwhelmed. It's all fast-paced and scary.
Then ... hopefully! ... we get to a normalisation phase when we learn how to live in a post apocalypse world. We build shelters. Restore some law and order. People come together to form communities. The pace slows down. While the fear is always there we develop coping mechanisms.
Some stories never get past the outbreak phase. Some start in a normalisation world. Some deal with the transition from pure terror to a more settled form of survival.
TBH, I don't mind what kind of zombie story we get. Outbreak stories are probably the scariest, but normalisation stories are also fun possibly because we have more time to deal with character.
Good points Will. I’m partial to the outbreak stories myself but you’re right about character development. Much more time for back stories etc in the normalization phase.Still, the suspense and terror of a good outbreak gets me every time!
I prefer zombie books to have hordes of shambling zombies, realistic use of weapons, and harsh penalties for characters who make mistakes. I also love reading about survivors who learn through trial and error (just like the real world, there are no guarantees that anything is 100% effective).
Beau wrote: "I prefer zombie books to have hordes of shambling zombies, realistic use of weapons, and harsh penalties for characters who make mistakes. I also love reading about survivors who learn through tria..."You definitely need to read the Arisen series:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/...
Their hordes number in the millions...and the books have overly long descriptions and details of the weaponry. A lot of military acronyms too.
Randy wrote: "You definitely need to read the Arisen series:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/...
Their hordes number in the millions...and the books have overly long descriptions and details of the weaponry. A lot of military acronyms too. "
Thanks Randy, I'll check it out.
Great characters and good description of the areas they are trying to survive in. Also some knowledge about weapons and the proper use of them helps the story be more believable!
The Arisen series is a perfect example of a well written zombie apocalypse novel!
Clint wrote: "The Arisen series is a perfect example of a well written zombie apocalypse novel!"Initially, I really liked it, but later it just got too tedious for me.
Well written, but I wasn't enjoying it.
I do have to admit I hated the cliff hanger crap but otherwise I loved what I've been able to read so far.
Books mentioned in this topic
The Walking Dead: Compendium One (other topics)The Girl with All the Gifts (other topics)
Raising Stony Mayhall (other topics)
GURPS Zombies (other topics)
The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead (other topics)
More...
I think a good zombie book is the same as a good anything book. Good story, characters, etc. with zombies.