Looking For Good Suggestions For "REALISTIC" Zombie/Apocolyptic Novels & Stories

[carpetbeggar]

After reading the first half of 'Plague Of The Dead' and my overall disappointment with it so far as mentioned in this thread:
http://forum.homepageofthedead.com/showthread.php?15818-Plague-of-the-Dead

...I'm looking for any and all suggestions for realistic portrayals of zombies/walking dead/28 days later infected, cannibalism, apocalyptic scenarios, etc; in novels, novellas, short stories.
In realistic I'm meaning as real as it can be when it comes to zombie, rage-type infected people.;)

To me 'Plague Of The Dead' was such a let down in how the military was portrayed and how easily the "Fall Of Suez" happened.

I haven't really read a huge amount of this type of fiction yet even though I've been a huge fan of all things Walking Dead since I first saw 'Dawn Of The Dead' 28 years ago.
I'm even looking for examples of short stories that fit my criteria that are posted in the Fiction section here at HPOTD. It's a shame actually that I haven't read much in that section even though I've been a member here since going back to the old board. I want to change that.

To me the best I've read was 'World War Z,' and J.L. Bourne's first two books in the 'Day By Day Armageddon' series. Great reading there. I also enjoyed Joe McKinney's 'Dead City' also.

As I said, any and all suggestions would be appreciated. I really like my Zombie fiction to be as realistically and serious as possible...'Dawn Of The Dead'78' and 'Day Of The Dead'85' style, as the over the top stories and comedy writing just turns me off.

Thanks.

[JDFP]

If you're looking for a good realistic end-of-the-world type of read I'd recommend:

"Messiah" by Gore Vidal.

My utter disdain towards Vidal's politics aside, it's an excellent read.

EDIT: Bill Buckley threatened on several occasions to kick Gore Vidal's ass, a shame that never came to fruition as I'd have paid good money to see that fight!

j.p.

[Neil]

I still think "Day of the Triffids" is a very well written apocalypse... Wyndham puts a lot of thought and detail into the collapse of society and such...

Just like any good zombie flick, the Triffids are there purely as (part of the) background reason for the apocalypse, and not center stage!

[Simon Neilson]

If you are looking for novella of the apocalypse for that train journey or rainy day inside then go over to Amazon and check out

The Apoclaypse Room

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Apocalypse-Room-ebook/dp/B007GLDGAM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336476187&sr=8-1

[thegunsmith]

Patient Zero was a pretty good one. Not perfect but good.

[Rumsfeld]

All of the above. Also like Neil said, great zombie fiction comes from books and movies that focus not on the zombies but on a more emotional story.*

* - An emotional story is my suggestion and not Neil's. My point is is that people and their emotions should be the focus, not the zombies themselves. Although, some writers have mixed zombies and emotions.

[Exatreides]

Ahhh lordy, I remember Plague of the Dead. One of the few books that I took the time to really review. They got rid of that review off Amazon.

Anyway, I recommend Patient Zero as well. It really gets a little.. over detailed with the fighting portions of the book, but it's a good idea. They also do a fairly decent job of linking Zombies with a prion based disease. That's an idea I like.

[AcesandEights]

Wow, I can't believe you guys are recommending Patient Zero. Different strokes, I guess.


Not a big fan of what little I've read of Maberry's writing. I finished Patient Zero on the strength of how poorly written and cliched it was just to see if ended that badly. That said, the premise was okay, but the characterization was just horribly flat and one note.

It was just the writing and characterization (for example the main character is given hero-worship treatment by the author) that killed it for the most part.

-- -------- Post added 18-May-2012 at 11:02 AM ---------- Previous post was 17-May-2012 at 03:17 PM ----------

This thread inspired me to finally get around to reviewing Patient Zero on Amazon.


I've read a fair amount of zombie books and short stories and admit that it's often cherry picking amongst a sea of fan fiction quality material, and am more than willing to take the good with the bad and look past a few warts in a given read. So I was hopeful that I had some good, if light, train reading material when I cracked open this book.

Unfortunately I had a hard time getting past some of the writing. Now, I have to say, the premise was okay and there was a metric ton of action, however the characterization was just horribly flat and one note. For example, the main character is given hero-worship treatment by the author and comes off as more of a comic book character than anything else. The bad guys are also given a single dimension work up and end up as stock entries. This sort of lack of characterization follows throughout the whole of the book and, when paired with a more dispassionate and tactical narrative in the action sequences, ends up delivering, for me anyway, a very heavy handed story that never really drew me in or felt engaging.

I finished Patient Zero on the strength of how poorly written and clichéd it was, just to see if it ended as badly as it had set out. In this regard it did not disappoint. Now, your mileage may vary, and you may find this a perfectly acceptable book to keep you busy at the airport or on the beach, I just wanted to toss my experience out there for those who look for a little more depth and characterization in their zombie thrill rides.

[Sammich]

Brian Keene's series of Rising, City of the Dead and Dead Sea ranks up there with the best zombie series. The first 2 books follows the same group of people and the 3rd is a parallel story. Very good character development in all 3.

The Undead Situation by Eloise J. Knapp is a book I just finished reading. The main character starts out as not likeable at all as are most of the others that appear later. This is what makes it different as the story is being told from the point of view of a Shane-like psychopath.

Lucifer's Hammer by Niven and Pournelle is a bit dated (takes place in the 70's) but still remains a classic apocalyptic asteroid impact novel.

One Second After by William R. Forstchen is a post-apoc story set in North Carolina after an EMP. Although bits of it made me shake my head, it still is a very good read.

Cell by Stephen King is similar in theme to The Signal movie, where masses of people recieve a mysterious call on their cell phones that drives them into zombies/insanity. As with most King novels it focuses on the character interaction and development in the foreground and the apocalypse in the background.

I have been reading a lot lately and can give you more suggestions as I remember them.

[Exatreides]

Wow, I can't believe you guys are recommending Patient Zero. Different strokes, I guess.



It was just the writing and characterization (for example the main character is given hero-worship treatment by the author) that killed it for the most part.

-- -------- Post added 18-May-2012 at 11:02 AM ---------- Previous post was 17-May-2012 at 03:17 PM ----------

This thread inspired me to finally get around to reviewing Patient Zero on Amazon.

Meh, well in my defense it was the first book I read after Plague of the dead which is just terrible. I like how it tries to tie it in with science and prion based diseases. I never said it was great, but much much much better then plague of the dead. Well hell, just about all the fan fiction on this site is better then that...book?

[bcathey]

try j l bournes day by day armageddon .

[Andrew Crevier]

I haven't read it yet, but Zone One by Colson Whitehead is supposed to be the first, high brow, literary zombie novel. It draws fairly bad reviews from those expecting your typical zombie munch fest. Not sure if it fits the bill for 'realistic.' Whatever you do, don't read Zombie Guts - it's comedic and definitely not to be taken as "seriously as possible." I'd give a +1 to Cell. Pontpool was similar in some respects.

[TheAnarchrist]

Here's a free online story with plenty of content. You can even talk to the writer as he's formulating the entries, if you want.

www.rundextrun.com

Diary of a Runner - Run Dext Run

[aaron2]

Really its very disappointing :( Was expecting a lot

[aaron2]

Though i can suggest you to go for World War Z and Blindness..You will find it great to read!

[Wyldwraith]

Rot & Ruin and its sequel by Jonathan Mayberry...excellent realist rendition of the zombie apocalypse.

Ugh, I DESPISED Brian Keene's demon-possessed human-intelligence-level, retain the full knowledge of the reanimated body "Zombies"...I don't even know if this really qualifies as a Zombie trilogy. Just my opinion.

WWZ is good...could dredge up some others. Will give it some thought.