# The Problem with Reading About Zombies...



## Guest (Jul 10, 2011)

...is that around every corner, you're going to find more zombies, and that tends to bore me very quickly. Anybody else?

I've started reading Enclave by Ann Anguirre, and though it's got some interesting things going on in the setup, pretty much every chapter has ended so far with a sudden appearance of zombies (called freaks), which are then all taken out in 2-3 paragraphs of the next chapter. That's not a cliffhanger or a plot twist, that's a sucker punch, except I don't feel anything but annoyed. I'm interested to see where the story goes, but coming up against the same enemies over and over again when you know they have no real chance of doing anything to the main characters makes my eyes roll.

It also never fails to remind me of this one scene of 30 Rock where Liz Lemon has a flashback to her college days where she's hunched over a desk drawing a D&D map chortling: "And then behind this trap door...more orcs! That'll really p*ss off Zemir." You can watch that clip right at the beginning of this compilation here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/03/every-liz-lemon-flashback_n_748588.html  It's exactly what I imagine all these authors look like when they introduce more zombies.









http://www.amazon.com/Enclave-ebook/dp/B004H1TC9S/


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## Erica Sloane (May 11, 2011)

Ha! Great reference to 30 Rock. Love it.

Count this as one post in which zero zombies appear out of nowhere.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Zombies never were very high on my hit parade .... but unless they're created through magic, don't you just have to wait them out?


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## Jeff Rivera (Jun 22, 2011)

It's kind of like all of the zombie horror movies out there. You can almost always predict what's going to happen, where the zombies will appear, and who will die next/survive at the end.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Well, I'm not really into the horror genre, so the only zombies I've read about lately that I remember are those that show up in some the the Discworld books, but they're not the sort that go around eating brains. One's a cop and one's a lawyer, for Pete's sake.


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## Ty Johnston (Jun 19, 2009)

I tend to think the best zombie literature (and movies, for that matter) tend to have a threat other than the zombies, though often a threat that's brought about because of the existence of the zombies. Usually that means other humans are the threat, but sometimes it can be something else ... plague, depression and madness (for plots dealing with internal struggle), etc.

Every once in a while a writer will pull off zombies as the threat, but usually it will mean the zombies somehow show up in a place that's expected to be a safe zone.

I tend to like quality zombie fiction, but I'll admit there's not a lot of it. Like much in the horror genre, zombie fiction tends to be glutted with gorefest fiction that struggles with (or the author doesn't know how to create) building tension up to true horror and then the release that usually comes afterward.


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## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

I have a confession to make, I have never read a zombie book before. Don't get me wrong, I buy them thinking they sound good and have great reviews but when it comes to actually sitting down and reading one? Well I just haven't done it yet. 
I have read books were zombies were in it but not specifically one where they are the main focus. They just have never been my thing. Why I keep buying books about them, I have yet to figure out. Maybe I should try one and see if I like them so I can either read them or stop buying them, lol.


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## KateEllison (Jul 9, 2011)

I'm with Ty on this one. I think the best zombie stuff is about more than just zombies (Like the Walking Dead, fantastic show). I'm actually writing a zombie book right now, and I'm looking at the whole zombie apocalypse as just the framework that the bigger conflicts of the book--the emotional and character-driven ones--are happening against. The idea of zombies creates a lot of constraints, like the need for safe shelter, food, avoidance of disease, etc, but they don't have to be the only focus of the story. That would bore me really quickly.


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## Ty Johnston (Jun 19, 2009)

Haven't seen the Walking Dead show yet, but I keep meaning to. However, I have read the graphic novels, and despite some occasional melodrama, I found them to be quite superb.

Also, I recently bought a second copy of _World War Z_ after giving my last copy to a friend a while back. I moved away without getting the book back, so my fault. And yes, I'll be reading the book again soon.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

There's a commercial lately on TV for a laptop computer. . .






It has zombies.


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> There's a commercial lately on TV for a laptop computer. . .
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Haha, that was a good commercial! Except I know for a fact that drinking expired milk does not turn you into a zombie.


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## S Jaffe (Jul 3, 2011)

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan is an excellent zombie story because while zombies are an overall threat, they are not the main conflict. The conflicts are human ones -- love, survival, betrayal. The zombies, in this and all really good zombie stories, are part of the world-building, part of the background, that gives us a dangerous world. At least, that's how I see it.


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## ashel (May 29, 2011)

The Zombpacolypse has been done so much that it's now a setting, not a framework for a plot. You really gotta do something else with it. There was a script reviewed recently on Scriptshadow where the premise was that the Zombie virus had a 6 month incubation period. You had 6 months to sort yourself out. That has the potential to be a different sort of story - with zombies! Honestly I think that's where we are now, with the undead. E.g., Pride and Prejudice - and zombies! The Bucket List - with zombies! Driving Miss Daisy - she's a zombie now! Paul Blart, Mall Cop - with zombies!

Etc. I admit this is probably more of an issue for film...but yeah. There's a lot of zombie competition out there, the bar is pretty high now.


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## Ben White (Feb 11, 2011)

I like it when zombies are the threat.  If it's a zombie story then I want the zombies to be front and centre; sluggish, unintelligent, kind of sad and pathetic, and deadly in their inevitability.  And then the story comes from the characters and their goals in this deadly zombie world.

Although actually if we're talking about reading, I think World War Z is the only zombie book I've actually finished.  Most of my zombie lore comes from movies and games.


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## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

I don't read much zombie fiction, either, since I'm not much into blood'n'gore. As for movies, _Shaun of the Dead _ really works for me because of the wry humor and satire. I loved the idea of the slacker whose life is so monotone that it takes him forever to realize there's a zombie plague going on. Brilliant filmmaking, too.


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## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

S Jaffe said:


> The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan is an excellent zombie story because while zombies are an overall threat, they are not the main conflict. The conflicts are human ones -- love, survival, betrayal. The zombies, in this and all really good zombie stories, are part of the world-building, part of the background, that gives us a dangerous world. At least, that's how I see it.


I totally forgot about that book! I guess I have to amend my previous post. I have read a zombie book. I did like it too. Very different. I think I even have the others in the series to read.


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## Tamara Rose Blodgett (Apr 1, 2011)

In zombie defense (haha) I have not actually read other works that have zombies (this was purposeful, I wished to be fresh for my writing). My book is not zombie-driven but has zombies featured...zombies are not the enemy to my teen protagonist that can raise them but, they can be a _challenge_ to others 

Post-apocalyptic has been overdone and I will be reading (probably from the library because I am _that_ cheap) Ryan's, _Forest of Teeth and Hands_ because the zombie threat is there but it is not "around every corner" as readers seem to be disliking...I love a work that has blended elements of genres through the entire book...

Three books that are running around right now with favorable reviews are: _Mercy_ , _Zombies Don't Cry_...and _She Smells the Dead_...

Loved _Shaun of the Dead_~!


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

Is that every damn zombie story, just like the ones with vampires, has already been told.  They are a worn out plot device in the same vein.  Boring, boring, boring.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

balaspa said:


> Is that every d*mn zombie story, just like the ones with vampires, has already been told. They are a worn out plot device in the same vein. Boring, boring, boring.


So what's next? Mummies or Igors?


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## TWErvin2 (Aug 7, 2010)

My daughter just finished reading *The Zombie Driven Life*: What in the Apocalypse Am I Here For? I read it too after she did. It's not classic literature but it's a good read.

Other problems (plot twists/conflicts) crop us well beyond the 'bunch of zombies around the corner' appearing at the end of each chapter.

The question of purpose: beyond hiding, seeking food, killing zombies day after day is explored in an interesing and dark-humor sort of way really adds a different dimension to the read.


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## Colin Taber (Apr 4, 2011)

I haven't read much zombie-lit, nor seen many films, mostly because it doesn't quite grab me.

And a lot of what I have seen of it seems pretty repetitive.

What has stood out though is *World War Z* because of its epic spread and *Shaun of the Dead * due to the wit.

*28 Days later (& 28 Weeks Later) * successfully scared the bejesus out of me, and, under hypno-therapy, my doctor tells me that I say that I enjoyed it.


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## Joseph.Garraty (May 20, 2011)

They're going to take away my horror-writer's card for this, but I just can't get into zombies. Like you said, this is probably because in most cases zombie books are not too dissimilar from the game Doom. "Keep shooting until you run out of ammo" doesn't really do it for me as a storyline. 

Maybe I just haven't met the right zombie books yet.


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

My solution? Avoid zombie books.


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## philvan (May 26, 2010)

Strangely enough my Sherlock Holmes and the Zombie Affair novelette is an attempt to deal rationally with one possible explanation for the origins of the zombie legend.
Victorians had a fear of being pronounced dead when in a coma, and then awakening underground in their coffins. Since concussion and brain injury generally was poorly understood at the time,
it is possible that this may have actually occurred, though very rarely. 
Some people were buried with a cord in their hands attached to a bell above ground, just in case.


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## Adam Kisiel (Jun 20, 2011)

I have noticed that always when a genre starts to be too popular, it bores me.


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

Zombies work best as stand-ins for cultural issues, and for me the genre works best when it's intentionally over the top and mordantly funny. I'm fine with any well-written novel or short story providing it takes those two factors into account. (a) the story has to be about something relevant, from feminism to politics or whatever, and (b) a sense of humor is absolutely essential. 

I loved Shawn of the Dead and Zombieland, because in a strange way they hit both notes--they were send-ups OF the cultural phenomenon of zombie movies, and both wildly funny as well as occasionally scary.


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## Not Here (May 23, 2011)

I think the real problem is with the readers. There are a number of people who just want to see the same old same old and throw back their head to howl if someone dares go outside the norm. I've found that with YA there is less resistance for this sort of thing. I would highly recommend _Rot and Ruin_ to anyone. It's really a great book and focuses on the problems with man in a setting like this. Zombies are just a running threat. I'm also with the others on *Forest of Hand and Teeth*. Really a fantastic series (have yet to read the 3rd and it's been calling me for some time). _The Gathering Dead_ is also a good one but is heavily military so might only be good for those who liked _Day by Day Armageddon_. One of the best things about ebooks becoming big is that my ability to buy zombie fiction has increases greatly.


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## Hadou (Jun 1, 2011)

I've always been a fan of the zombie-fic.  But, I will agree that it can get a bit tiresome when the zombies are the only perceived threat in the entire work.  I like seeing people having to choose the lesser of two evils (or three, or four...) where the zombies aren't the worst thing out there, like The Walking Dead (comics), Down the Road by Bowie Ibarra, and Dying to Live.  It's easy to paint yourself into a corner where the zombies are the only antagonist.  I think it creates a more compelling story where zombies just help to usher the story along until the true evil uncovers itself.  

That said...  I still enjoy the crap out of straight "us vs. them" zombie stories.  My favorites being the Day by Day Armageddon series and The Morningstar Strain Saga (cross between Romero zombies and 28 Days/Weeks zombies all at the same time).


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## ljcharles (Jul 6, 2011)

There's only one zombie book that I've even tried to read...and that was by accident. I love everything Lilith Saintcrow writes, and didn't expect Strange Angels to open with a zombie. I almost put it down, but she's such an amazing writer, I stuck with it. And I'm glad I did, but no more zombies. Just not my thing.



Lucie j.


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## gregoryblackman (Jul 11, 2011)

Once something has been played out too much, it takes a seriously great writer to bring people back.  Waiting for that author if anyone knows of him and her.

Thanks,

Gregory


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## Guest (Jul 11, 2011)

Enclave now and other books I've read before have also tried to employ the "but now the zombies are smarter" twist. Makes me wonder how smart they can become before they're basically just like humans. And like others have said before, isn't most of their appeal that they are mindless and blunt in their attacks?


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

Sorry, zombies? What? I got totally distracted by the Liz Lemon video. Awesome.


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## Guest (Jul 11, 2011)

I think, sometime after 2002, a lot of content producers decided to try and replicate the vampire craze by changing zombies beyond recognition, they way they did to vampires. 

Zach Snyder's "Dawn of the Dead" seems to have permanently turned me off of zombie fic. He turned all the zombies into track-and-field gold medalists, and every kill looked like that, so every time the zombies killed someone it looked like a quarterback getting sacked in a football game. 
It was over about as fast, and was about as horrifying. 

I have to admit, the opening of that movie was nothing short of great. But after the opening was over, it was like he wasn't even going for "scary". It was like he was going for "depressing". 

I've read some zombie stories where the average zombie is so powerful that three or four could take out a whole neighborhood; I couldn't help wondering why they couldn't wipe out all of humanity in five or six hours --- way too fast for anyone to even perceive the nature of the threat.


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## Ty Johnston (Jun 19, 2009)

Sumatra said:


> I've read some zombie stories where the average zombie is so powerful that three or four could take out a whole neighborhood; I couldn't help wondering why they couldn't wipe out all of humanity in five or six hours --- way too fast for anyone to even perceive the nature of the threat.


That's one thing that has always bothered me about zombie literature and film, the threat factor, whether the zombies are fast or the more traditional slow. I just don't think zombies would be that big of a threat to humanity, at least not in any kind of global way.

There are usually one of two origins behind most zombie fiction. One is having a Patient Zero, the first person who is a zombie and then who passes zombiness on to someone else, generally through a bite. The other zombie origin is like that of the original _Night of the Living Dead_ movie, where all the recent dead rise at once and start chomping on people.

Really? Would that be such a major threat to all of mankind? I'm not saying lots of damage wouldn't be done, but I don't think it would be the end-of-the-world situation often portrayed. Despite most zombie movies showing the military as inept, I think a few thousand guys with AKs or MP5s or M-16s could pretty much mop the floor with the zombies, and that's not taking into account much heavier firepower that would be available. Sure, there are regions of the world where the various military groups might not have their acts together, but some carpet bombings and tank support would wipe out most of the zombies in such a situation, not including missile and drone attacks. Heck, in such a situation, I'm thinking the military involvement would probably do more damage than the zombies themselves. And no, I'm not hacking on any military, just trying to point out what I'd see as a more realistic zombie uprising.

Now Brian Keene's zombies might be an exception, but they've got a supernatural source, which means all bets are off.

Sorry to go off on a tangent, but at least it's related.


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## Tara Maya (Nov 4, 2010)

Ann in Arlington said:


> There's a commercial lately on TV for a laptop computer. . .
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Awesome.

Also it proves that it really only requires 30 seconds to cover every angle of a zombie story!


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## WriterCTaylor (Jul 11, 2011)

is that they have no depth of character and they are all dumb or hungry for brains.


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## Violette_D (Jun 22, 2011)

I was actually just about to come here to start a thread entitled, "Does anyone read zombie stories?" Lol. Glad I found this one. 

I actually wrote a story about zombies and other paranormal creatures (not released yet) that goes completely against the grain for how zombies are supposed to be. I'm not sure if I'll win over die hard zombie fans, but it's different. Its more paranormal Romance. Anywho, glad to see someone ppl still interested in reading about zombie characters.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I actually like the faster zombies.  The older zombies always made me scratch my head.  Why not just outrun them?  They lumbered along so stupidly.  I liked them faster and more vicious, like wild animals.

At the same time I complain about them, I did enjoy the first season of AMCs "Walking Dead."


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## Theresaragan (Jul 1, 2011)

I haven't tried a zombie book yet. Looks like I should give Enclave a try. But yeah, when I watch zombie movies those zombies sure do come out of the woodwork. And they usually walk so slow I figure I could outrun them.


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

I have to admit that, until recently, I thought zombie movies were plain stupid. I also thought that extended to zombie books.

However, after editing a couple of zombie books, "I Zombie I," by Jack Wallen, and "Fire (Elements of The Undead)," by William Esmont, I'm wondering if I've been missing out.

I love apocalypse books, and that's really what these boil down to.

Someone also just recommended on my forum "Nekropolis: A Matt Richter Novel (Matt Richter Novels)," by Tim Waggoner, so I think I'm gonna give that a try.


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## BellaStreet (Apr 15, 2011)

_Day By Day Armageddon_ was a zombie book that truly terrified me, but I tend to like a little humor with my zombies--or at least tongue-in-cheek.

What makes zombies so great is that they can represent so much...the inevitability of death, indulgent lifestyles, environmental issues, science gone-wrong, etc. So I look for what the zombies represent rather than just wanting to read about a gore-fest.


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## Colin Taber (Apr 4, 2011)

Ty Johnston said:


> ...zombiness...


*chuckles*

Now, that's a great word!


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

Zombies are inherently a short story or movie villian for me. Good in quick bites but not a sustainable threat. A film can relish in the visual visceral gore and jump scares but a book has to create tension and suspense, hard to do when zombies are essentially a one trick pony. I kinda feel that each person in a zombie scenario would have a pretty brief period of exposure and would either survive long enough to get to where there weren't any zombies (about a 20 minute drive from any urban center, most likely) or would die. Perfect for a short story (like WWZ), not so much for a prolonged apocalypse novel.

Plus they don't really make sense in any logical way. If you try to have a rational explanation for a gritty story they just don't hold up well, and if you go fantastic then you might as well go whole hog with all sorts of supernatural stuff. In a sense zombies are just an environment, like a poisonous atmosphere or lava flow, and have as much personality. We don't have "poison gas" novels, do we (ok, ok, Boneshaker excepted)?

So for post-apocalypse "how to survive" type stuff I prefer another catastrophe, and for straight up horror zombies are too limited, IMHO. They are just a product of visual media, and need to remain there (although the "We're Alive" audio podcast is pretty good).


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## Dawn McCullough White (Feb 24, 2010)

Of course I enjoy books with zombies in them.  I'd be pretty hypocritical if I didn't.  

Dawn


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## Sean Thomas Fisher (Mar 25, 2011)

I'm like many of you and had a hard time finding a good zombie book that didn't break the contract with the reader by having zombies that could talk and drive cars and shoot guns and maintain a Facebook page. Or even something as outlandish as the virus spreading to animals and bugs. Not to mention all of the gratuitous gore, sex, drugs and typical cardboard characters. I'm not too picky when it comes to the decade old "slow vs fast walkers" debate, but it was tough finding a good Z read.

So I wrote _Cold Faith and Zombies_, which is a realistic take revolving around the characters. The zombies are just the setting. Fortunately, it just received its first review on Amazon, and I hope you'll give it a day in court and see how she plays.


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## BellaStreet (Apr 15, 2011)

I forgot to mention a zombie book I'm looking forward to reading. This is why I don't think this genre has been plumbed. Still LOTS of fun to be had


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## Ty Johnston (Jun 19, 2009)

jason10mm said:


> If you try to have a rational explanation for a gritty story they just don't hold up well, and if you go fantastic then you might as well go whole hog with all sorts of supernatural stuff.


From time to time I'm tempted to do just that, to go "whole hog" and write a supernatural post-apocalyptic novel or series of novels that would include just about every speculative apocalyptic scenario one can imagine. Zombies, yep. Nukes? Sure. Plague? Got it. Aliens? Oh, yeah. A giant monster? Of course. Natural disasters? Yes, but not so natural.

Why would all of this happen at once, or in a relative short time period? I have a plot idea, but I'll keep it to myself for now just in case I ever get around to writing this thing. ;-)


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## Jason Kristopher (Jun 1, 2011)

Well, finally, a thread I feel imminently qualified to comment on.



I had a very good question - probably my favorite so far - at a panel I did recently for Comicpalooza here in Houston.

"Why do you think zombies are so popular right now?"

My answer? People.

The best zombie stories, to me at least, aren't about the zombies, really. At best, only peripherally. The zombie/walker/freak/whatever is there to provide some tension, to move the story along, or to provide a general framework for the setting. Lets be honest, here: even the most well-written zombie action story is going to get seriously boring very quickly if the only thing that's happening is people killing zombies.

The reason that outstanding zombie fiction like _The Walking Dead_* works is because, at it's core, it's not about the zombies; it's about the people, and how they react to the walkers and, more importantly, to each other and the world changing around them. A zombie is, at its most basic, a biological robot. How could you watch/read about those for more than a few minutes without being bored to tears, unless the story was just unfathomably awesome?

So much fiction - not just zombie fiction - relies too much on the action and not enough on the reason for it, imho. Action is great, but only if it moves the story along, and isn't the sole reason for the story itself. Personally, I need more than "Joe shot the walker. Then he shot the other zombie." for 300 pages. And the gore in most zombie books is out of control. I don't need that level of detail. If I'm reading a zombie book, I know they're gonna be all gushy and nasty. I know they're gonna try to eat people. The best visuals are the ones the reader creates in their own mind - which you rob them of when you specify exactly how messily someone dies.

What I attempted to do with my zombie book was to show a real person (the main character) who isn't anything particularly special being thrust into an unreal sort of situation. He's not a super-soldier, he's no different from you or I. He's just a simple guy thrown into an absurdly complicated situation, and I wanted to tell the story of how he deals with that. And I d*mn sure didn't want to have "Oh, it's another virus" be the cause, because - if you'll pardon the pun - that's been done to death. In truth, the book could've been about anything destroying the world - a plague, aliens, what have you. How he and the other characters deal with the world ending is what I thought would make a great story. So I set out to write a story about the characters with just enough action to move the plot along without overburdening it, and enough blood & gore to make it real without being _Saw_.

And judging from my sales and reviews, I seem to have succeeded. I've had many people tell me reading my book was like watching _The Walking Dead_. So I use that when I go to conventions: "Did you like that show? Then you'll like this book." And my readers agree. Not because it's got zombie-killing action in it, but because you grow to care about the characters.

THAT is what makes a good zombie book. Or any book, for that matter. Characters you can relate to in a story that at least makes sense in its own little microcosm.

*For those of you who didn't know, _The Walking Dead_ was originally an awesome comic before it was an awesome tv show. I highly recommend checking out both if you want to see good writing, for either format.


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## RuthMadison (Jul 9, 2011)

Colin Taber said:


> I haven't read much zombie-lit, nor seen many films, mostly because it doesn't quite grab me.
> 
> And a lot of what I have seen of it seems pretty repetitive.
> 
> ...


Agreed. I'm not a big zombie fan, but I was very impressed with World War Z.

I found it really believable in how the world would handle a crisis like this, it was a metaphor for a very possible threat.


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## Sean Thomas Fisher (Mar 25, 2011)

RuthMadison said:


> Agreed. I'm not a big zombie fan, but I was very impressed with World War Z.
> 
> I found it really believable in how the world would handle a crisis like this, it was a metaphor for a very possible threat.


WWZ's detail is amazing, and the attention paid to history and politics throughout boggles the mind. Max Brooks is a super smart guy, which is how he landed Brad Pitt to star in the movie. I have a copy of Max's other book - _The Zombie Survival Guide_ - on my bookshelf and a copy in my survival backpack that's always sitting by the back door. I also have a copy of _Goosebumps: Welcome To Dead House_... just in case.


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## gryeates (Feb 28, 2011)

The zombie also has a very rich history pre-dating the Romero films as their origins go back to _vodoun_ practices in Haiti. This is something that has not been explored so much in recent years in the sub-genre. I think if one wants to keep things fresh, so to speak, then this is an area that would be worth exploring in the future.


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## Adam Kisiel (Jun 20, 2011)

I am also starting to be really bored by the masses of similar zombie books.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

I have always thought Romero's original idea was brilliant because the zombies were just people with makeup on, and the fact that the living characters had to hole up in the farmhouse limited the locations. It was designed entirely to be done on a very low budget. It is kind of funny that zombie movies are done now with huge budgets.

Romero's zombies were also designed for the movies, and are less suited to prose. Movies are all about visuals and action, but in a book descriptions of running aren't that interesting. I think his slow zombies are still the best, because while you can outrun the zombies behind you, you have to stop sometime and wherever you stop there are more zombies.

Romero also knew that the real conflict was between survivors. Dawn, Day, and the fairly recent one used zombies as an outside pressure that created conflict between living people.


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## helenscotttaylor (Jul 13, 2011)

Zombies aren't really my thing but I did read The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan and thought it was okay, but I haven't read the rest of the series. I've just download the book Hollowland by Amanda Hocking as I read an excellent review of it so thought I'd give it a try.

Helen


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## philvan (May 26, 2010)

gryeates said:


> The zombie also has a very rich history pre-dating the Romero films as their origins go back to _vodoun_ practices in Haiti. This is something that has not been explored so much in recent years in the sub-genre. I think if one wants to keep things fresh, so to speak, then this is an area that would be worth exploring in the future.


Zombies also have a European history. Not the recent virus-generated swarming type, but more solitary creatures lurking in the shadows outside the campfire light. 
Gypsy legends spoke of the mulo, the soulless risen dead that preys on the living, regarded in something of the same way as traditional vampires. 
There is also the Victorian, and possibly prior, fear of awakening in the coffin from a coma. This fear was so widespread that funeral options included the placement of a bell aboveground attached to a cord in the coffin to pull in the event of awakening 6 feet under. Now that particular fear is of becoming the zombie, rather than of the zombie, but fear is strange and contagious. Such a revenant would be a sad and probably brain damaged creature.
Coming right down to personal experience, in an African country a few years ago I knew a young woman who had been in a car accident and badly burnt. She had rather ugly facial scarring, extended below her neckline. Several people who saw the accident spread word that she had died, so that when she was discharged from hospital, people (her own friends & some family) who thought her dead decided she was a ghost, a zombie, something unnatural, when they met her. They ran, screaming. 
She started a new life with a new job and didn't return to her old neighbourhood. Several years on she had cosmetic surgery to repair the worst scarring and last I heard she'd married, an old boyfriend who had not run when he met her.
Not quite a zombie, but the basis of a zombie story in that country in the seventies.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I have always liked horror where the protagonists are locked up in a house or something, defending themselves against some kind of threat.  The Birds, for example or Romero's original Night of the Living Dead.  When you have them confined, it is scarier to have the zombies be this slow, plodding, but relentless and never-ending horde.  It's like trying to fight back the tide.  You know they can, most likely, never really win.  But, once you move the zombies away from that...the slow guys get kind of boring.


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## Jason Kristopher (Jun 1, 2011)

I read a good Z-book recently (other than _The Zombie Survival Guide_ and _World War Z_ which were practically reference books for me):

_Tooth and Nail_, by Craig Dilouie. Good action, and kept me interested throughout.

_Note: I tried to use the Link-maker for this book, but it didn't pull the book up, and therefore didn't work._


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## Shaun Jeffrey (Jun 17, 2010)

There's actually a lot of variety among the zombie genre and I like to think that the books are more about the human condition than they are about flesh munching monsters.


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## Jonathan Dalar (Jul 15, 2011)

It's really no different than any other suddenly-popular genre.  Once something hits a nerve with mainstream readers, it takes off and becomes wildly popular.  The industry feeds off the next greatest thing, and so once they discover a formula that works well, they milk it for what it's worth, creating an explosion in the genre.

I think the basic premise of zombies is quite boring.  There's no skill involved dealing with them.  There's no cunning intellect to overcome, no mastermind to try and outwit.  It's just survival by endurance.

That being said, there are a number of books and movies out there that do it right.

Zombieland was great.  But there was a couple of new elements in it that made it fresh and different.  The "rules of engagement" were novel, and the zombies weren't the only threats to the main character.  Not only did he have to put up with an almost psychopathic companion, he had to deal with other people who were gunning for him in their own attempts to survive.  Plus there was the whole relationship aspect that personalized it.

Shaun of the Dead was also wonderful, but again, different from the standard mix of zombie flicks.  There was a direct correlation shown between zombies and the zombie-like existence folks generally eke out on a daily basis.  Also the humor throughout the movie carried it well.  And again, there was a storyline between the living humans in it that stood alone from the zombie parts of the plot.

World War Z is also good.  It's hugely tongue-in-cheek, while outwardly pretending to be quite serious.  That in itself is funny.  Plus it's got a lot of different views on things, providing a very entertaining look at the subject.

There is something to be said about the whole "zombification" of the classics, such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  They put a spin on classics we've already read and not only breathed new life into them, but also addressed a quirky new genre fad at the same time.

I think it'll die back down.  Same with sparkly vampires.  Same with all the other genres that become wildly popular.  Horror and westerns are on the out and out at the moment.  If you're a writer of westerns, good luck getting anything out there.  But they'll be back.  I'd venture to say that within the next ten or fifteen years, we'll see a resurgence of the genre when the next Harry Potter, or Twilight series of the western genre comes out.  Somebody will finally market something fresh and will resurrect the genre.  It's cyclic.  And it'll repeat itself again and again.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I would agree that the good stories are not about zombies, really, but about the people around them.  I have not ventured much into zombie in written fiction, but I have seen quite a few movies.  I like the series The Walking Dead because of how well-done the living humans are.  

By the way, Shaun of the Dead is probably one of my all-time favorites...just throwing that out there.


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## Sean Thomas Fisher (Mar 25, 2011)

Jonathan Dalar said:


> It's really no different than any other suddenly-popular genre. Once something hits a nerve with mainstream readers, it takes off and becomes wildly popular. The industry feeds off the next greatest thing, and so once they discover a formula that works well, they milk it for what it's worth, creating an explosion in the genre.
> 
> I think the basic premise of zombies is quite boring. There's no skill involved dealing with them. There's no cunning intellect to overcome, no mastermind to try and outwit. It's just survival by endurance.


There's no skill involved dealing with zombies? No cunning intellect to overcome, no mastermind to try and outwit? Really? Try telling that to Ving Rhames. Judging by your surface level remarks, you've been hanging out with the wrong zombies. Because Mailer in _28 Days Later_ would make rethink your position. Save your zombie bashing comments for when you actually have some ammo about real walkers, not funny little _Shaun of the Dead_ stiffs. Hell, I bet Bicycle Girl could get the jump on you. And don't say, "Who's Bicycle Girl?"


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## Tara Maya (Nov 4, 2010)

I have a friend who just sold a zombie novel (to a publisher) with a very interesting premise. I wish it were out already. Then I could tell you about it. LOL


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

Who's bicycle girl?


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## Sean Thomas Fisher (Mar 25, 2011)

R. Reed said:


> Who's bicycle girl?


She's actually a real nice gal, who deserves a lot better than to be called boring. She paints, and quilts, and...bicycles.


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## Vera Nazarian (Jul 1, 2011)

The thing about zombies is that they are a very predictable monster. However they can be used to spice up other plots with extra mayhem... as long as they are not the primary story.

By far the best zombie treatment I can think of is _Shaun of the Dead_, and that's because it is not taking itself seriously, and is a humorous sendup of the zombie genre, at the same time as being creepy and even poignant fun.


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

It's worth pointing out here that zombies in popular fiction weren't always deadpan, mumbling brain-munchers -- that was George Romero's take, and it has worked its way into the general consciousness so heavily that we've become incapable of thinking them any other way. But look at the Val Lewton movie 'I Walked with a Zombie,' where they're portrayed as being beautiful and with a haunting/haunted quality. And that goes to the heart of why people are starting to become bored with the current craze ... we need more writers who are prepared to break the Romero mold (and I mean that with no disrespect, I love his work) and give us totally different takes on these creatures.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Tony Richards said:


> It's worth pointing out here that zombies in popular fiction weren't always deadpan, mumbling brain-munchers -- that was George Romero's take, and it has worked its way into the general consciousness so heavily that we've become incapable of thinking them any other way. But look at the Val Lewton movie 'I Walked with a Zombie,' where they're portrayed as being beautiful and with a haunting/haunted quality. And that goes to the heart of why people are starting to become bored with the current craze ... we need more writers who are prepared to break the Romero mold (and I mean that with no disrespect, I love his work) and give us totally different takes on these creatures.


You mean like Reg Shoe in some of Pratchett's "Discworld" books? Reg walks and talks like any other member of the City Watch, except that he just smells a bit off, an arrow through his chest is just a nuisance, and he keeps a needle and thread on hand just in case an ear or finger falls off.


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

Geoffrey said:


> Zombies never were very high on my hit parade .... but unless they're created through magic, don't you just have to wait them out?


Hey Geoffrey, have you read WWZ? I'm not into zombies but it's an excellent post-apocalyptic story, really well-told. Also very up to date...great social & political commentary, concurrent with the GWB administration & the Iraq war. It's not so much about the zombies.


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## WriterCTaylor (Jul 11, 2011)

Ty Johnston said:


> I tend to like quality zombie fiction, but I'll admit there's not a lot of it. Like much in the horror genre, zombie fiction tends to be glutted with gorefest fiction that struggles with (or the author doesn't know how to create) building tension up to true horror and then the release that usually comes afterward.


I have to agree. People say zombie movies have been done to death, but I think the problem is what you describe. Too much gore and not enough tension, suspense and surprise.


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

Adam Kisiel said:


> I am also starting to be really bored by the masses of similar zombie books.


For a couple different takes on zombies, check out _Feed_ by Mira Grant (book starts ~25 years AFTER the zombie uprising. Humanity survived because George Romero was right - there's some interesting conjecture into what society would be like living under a constant threat of zombies) and _Boneshaker_ by Cherie Priest. (The latter is more a steampunk book that features zombies of a sort.)


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## August_V_Fahren (Aug 6, 2011)

foreverjuly said:


> ...is that around every corner, you're going to find more zombies, and that tends to bore me very quickly. Anybody else?


I think it is a question interesting verses boring zombies. Zombies: Encounters with the Hungry Dead http://www.amazon.com/Zombies-Encounters-Hungry-Stephen-King/dp/1579128289/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2 for example has a range of zombie tales.


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## Elizabeth Black (Apr 8, 2011)

I know what you mean. I read a zombie erotic romance book (yes, you read that right), and what disappointed me was that all the zombies were the same in each story. Brainless, slow-witted, and slow-moving for the most part. The main focus was on the very human hero and heroine trying to get out of a bad situation. Aside of making them run or bringing up a pandemic that created them in the first place (or a comet, storm, whatnot), what else can you do with zombies? Even the TV shows and movies with zombies all tend to be similar. I like _The Walking Dead_ and _28 Days/Months Later_, but I wish there was more variety. Now, _Fido_ and _Braindead_? They were clever!



foreverjuly said:


> ...is that around every corner, you're going to find more zombies, and that tends to bore me very quickly. Anybody else?
> 
> I've started reading Enclave by Ann Anguirre, and though it's got some interesting things going on in the setup, pretty much every chapter has ended so far with a sudden appearance of zombies (called freaks), which are then all taken out in 2-3 paragraphs of the next chapter. That's not a cliffhanger or a plot twist, that's a sucker punch, except I don't feel anything but annoyed. I'm interested to see where the story goes, but coming up against the same enemies over and over again when you know they have no real chance of doing anything to the main characters makes my eyes roll.
> 
> It also never fails to remind me of this one scene of 30 Rock where Liz Lemon has a flashback to her college days where she's hunched over a desk drawing a D&D map chortling: "And then behind this trap door...more orcs! That'll really p*ss off Zemir." You can watch that clip right at the beginning of this compilation here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/03/every-liz-lemon-flashback_n_748588.html  It's exactly what I imagine all these authors look like when they introduce more zombies.


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

I'm very much in the camp of people that enjoy zombie material not for the zombies, but for how they affect the surviving humans.  To me, the story is about those left behind.  That's why the ideal zombie book is like Stephen King's "The Stand" with undead thrown in to make the humans confront themselves.


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## Chris Turner (Jul 23, 2011)

lacymarankevinmichael:

I like 'The Stand' too.  Probably one of my favourite King books.

If I was going to write a zombie book, I would take out the cliche of the marching brainless horde and focus on an intelligent 'zombie' or 'zombie-in-the-making' who is struggling with the change overcoming him/her.  I'd also get rid of the stereotype of a slow conversion and the 'biting infects another human being thing' and come up with something new: like in the far future, humans launch an ark to settle on far worlds and while colonizing another planet something happens-- the atmosphere or water starts to change only certain people in the colony, for reasons that are a mystery.  This can be a plug for a side story, or something that the main character(s) have to figure out.  Hey, maybe I can capitalize on this, and join the zombie bandwagon? he he

No, seriously I like Walking Dead, 28 Days and all the others.


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## joshtremino (Jul 31, 2010)

That can get really annoying. Writers really need to include multiple types of enemies and complications. I think this is why the Resident Evil series relies so heavily on mutated monsters.

If you enjoy fantasy though, you might look at some of those zombie books. The more sophisticated undead novels tend to include zombies as well as a slew of other creatures like shadows, liches, vampires, etc.


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## Brem (Jun 29, 2011)

Yeah I can't stand how Zombies are portrayed these days. They're boring and uninteresting. I want something new and something creative. Give the zombies a mind, something to run off of.


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## Linda Andrews (Aug 16, 2011)

World War Z the zombies really weren't the main issue they were what caused the change and how humans adapted. It was a great book! I like zombies and yes they're predictable (even the ones where they're now somewhat sentient). But you're right, page after page of gore and blood gets a monotonous. I like the Walking Dead, but really, these guys spent how long in the woods without making any attempt to protect their camp? Doesn't make a lot of sense. So my pet peeve is that sometimes the characters are almost as dumb as the zombies, but the zombies have an excuse. 

Linda


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Both of these articles seem appropriate, and I thought of 'em immediately when Ty started grumbling about how easily a zombie invasion would fail.

First, how it could start: http://www.cracked.com/article_15643_5-scientific-reasons-zombie-apocalypse-could-actually-happen.html

And then how it'd fall flat on its face: http://www.cracked.com/article_18683_7-scientific-reasons-zombie-outbreak-would-fail-quickly.html


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