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World War Z  By  cover art

World War Z

By: Max Brooks
Narrated by: Christopher Ragland, Rupert Farley, Nigel Pilkington, Jennifer Woodward, David Thorpe, Adam Sims, Robert Slade
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Publisher's summary

"The end was near." Voices from the Zombie War.

The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched firsthand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet.

He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living - or at least the undead - hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

©2012 Max Brooks (P)2012 Audible Ltd

What listeners say about World War Z

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    383
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    139
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    64
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
    52
  • 2 Stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A pity the unabridged version is inferior

Fans waited for an unabridged version of the audiobook with bated breath... and it's been a bit of a letdown. For a book that seems tailor-made for the aural medium - it is a spoken word history of the titular war after all - the performances were uneven, some of them particularly weak, and some of the accents were absolutely terrible. Given the care and thought that went into the original abridged celebrity-laden audio book - not even legally available in some countries - it's a pity that the same attention wasn't given to this unabridged version. There are countless audiobook performers who, although not stars like Alan Alda, Henry Rollins etc, could have done very good jobs with these stories and characters. I would recommend this version for hardcore fans only.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An Oral History (Not like the film)

It wasn't until I'd seen the film and read the reviews of how much it deviated from the original novel that I decided to take the plunge. If you're looking for a 'kicking zombie ass' post-apocalyptic action thriller, don't buy this.

If, on the other hand, you're interested in just how craftily speculative fiction can be employed to critique modern society, this is a masterpiece.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing.

What did you love best about World War Z?

World War Z felt realistic as much as a fictional world with zombie in it can be. After reading the Zombie Survival Guide, these short stories really captured the urgency and seriousness of a wide spread plague epidemic rather than a gung-ho kid's wet dream. Don't get me wrong those are fun but the seriousness and tragedy of these stories made me care about these people.

What did you like best about this story?

Its format was really enjoyable and I can listen to any part just by itself. Since it is mostly made up of short stories, I can just play back the story I was listening to or just let it finish and start a new chunk.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The accents. It made the apocalypse feel like it just wasn't isolated in America. I have no idea how accurate they were but it was great listening to these fictional people recount their stories from different countries.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Haven't finished it yet but I really liked the smuggler, spy, little girl and soldier short stories.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best Zombie story i have heard

The last 2 chapter are somewhat slow and tired, but when the other 52 chapters are pure gold i can live with a weak ending
😊

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

this is the prime example of an audiobook

listened to this audiobook several times now. amazing voice acting, the unconventional story layout, everything about this book is just amazing, would recommend to all my friends

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

awsome

one of if not the best audio books i have listened to BUY THIS BOOK

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A great way to tell a story

Would you consider the audio edition of World War Z to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version but this book is tailor made for an audible book

What did you like best about this story?

The cast of voices, the stories that they told were very believable

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Zombies are doomed, by land, sea, air or space, we will get them

Any additional comments?

I was surprised by how better this was than I had expected. I loved the way we traveled the world listening to the stories of the survivors and the fighters. How the author turned a phrase or a nickname for a Zombie or a weapon was clever and well thought out.

Enjoy this, I have not seen the movie yet but would be surprised if both are the same somehow to me that is not a discouragement for either.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Really good

What made the experience of listening to World War Z the most enjoyable?

The detailed research by the author

Who was your favorite character and why?

The french guy

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

The Jeff Harding character, who else?

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

...and you thought that flue could be irritating

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

I’ve read the book several times but the audio with accents from the different countries is just amazing, giving the audio book a different dimension

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Yawn…

If it wasn’t for the great narration on this, it would’ve scored far less.
60k different stories crammed into one book. Zero suspense. And I mean zero.
Definitely in my worst 5 books listened on this platform.

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