The Zombie Combat Manual

A Guide to Fighting the Living Dead

By: Roger Ma

Narrated by: Kris Koscheski

Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Statistics reveal that during a zombie outbreak, most individuals will have to destroy their undead opponent without the aid of a firearm. To prepare you for the inevitability of hand-to-hand combat with the living dead, The Zombie Combat Manual demonstrates how anyone, from the seasoned fighter to the untrained citizen, can become an effective warrior against the undead.

With firsthand accounts from zombie-combat veterans, this book provides you with the information you'll need to emerge victorious from close encounters with walking corpses. The Zombie Combat Manual is the go-to guide for anyone who wants to prepare for the unavoidable zombie epidemic. Now is the time to learn how to defend against an advancing army of the undead, lest you fall victim to their growing ranks.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2010 Roger Ma (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"The Zombie Combat Manual kicks undead ass! Roger Ma saves the day with this smart, funny, and thoroughly practical book on fighting the living dead. Now we have a chance!" (Jonathan Maberry)

good listen.

Not a cheap zombie survival guide rip off. I was pleasantly surprised with this book.

Great read

Great read. This could save your life in a REAL life disaster. Have a listen.

Takeoff (rip off?) of The Zombie Survival Guide

This had the feel of Max Brooks The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead. So much so you could say that Roger Ma ripped off Max Brooks. I am sure Roger feels different since his books deals only with hand to hand and close quarters combat against Zombies and Max Brooks advises against hand to hand Zombie combat. Roger states in the beginning of the book that there is no need to go over tactics using guns since so much is already written about it.

Personally I would disagree with much of the tactics that are recommended but for the most part the book kept my attention. Which is the reason to read it…. The one thing Ma brought up repeatedly was the smell. This one fact is almost always over looked, putrid, rotting meat stinks!

You can go on the books website and download a 30 page PDF of diagrams showing how to dispatch a Zombie with an ice pick, ax, knife, sidewalk scraper and other items recommended in the book. About half of the sketches were interesting and the rest were a waste. No need to show pictures of a baseball bat or frying pan.

If you are thinking – Zombies are not real. Why read a book on how to fight them. Then this book is not for you.

If you are preparing for the upcoming Zombie Apocalypse. Well if you really are, you have issues and should be working on getting better.

So who would I recommend this book to? Perhaps no one?? Sadly I do not think this book is high on the list of must read Zombie books. Frankly there are many better ones, The Zombie Survival Guide for starters. If you are a Zombie fanatic that must read every one that comes out; you’ve already downloaded the book and are not reading this review.

Kris Koscheski did an excellent job of narrating. It is not easy making what is basically a how to book fun to listen to.

Not to be confused with The Zombie Survival Guide

I was in a "zombie apocalypse" mood and reading and listening to a lot of books in this vein, and made this one of my selections. This one just did not match many other zombie books, in overall terms of story. It was disappointing to have spent time and credit on this selection. ZCM is supposed to be a manual with helpful information if you find yourself in the dreaded zombie apocalypse with no plan (as if!) but all the tips and info is pretty basic anatomy and science stuff that most zombie fans will already know, and there is no fun or ingenious way the author adds these to the book. Just simplicity, which is a drag in a book about zombies. There are no memorable characters that you can't wait to see what happens next with! The narrator also oddly pronounces a few words which really, really grated on my nerves. I wasn't sure if this was the author's take on the word in this alternate zombie world or just a narrator who is from Canada, but if that was the case it was super cheesy. Overall the book just felt a little too contrived. Like a poor man's Zombie Survival Guide / World War Z ripoff. I found that although I finished listening to this book, I completely checked out and didn't pay attention to the last third of it.

A poor man's version of ZSG

Not the worst story, but so much was ripped from Max Brooks that it's almost laughable. Waste of a credit.