World War Z: The Complete Edition

An Oral History of the Zombie War

By: Max Brooks

Narrated by: Max Brooks, Alan Alda, John Turturro, Rob Reiner, Mark Hamill, Alfred Molina, Simon Pegg, Henry Rollins, Martin Scorsese

Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Winner, Multi-Voiced Performance, 2014

World War Z: The Complete Edition (Movie Tie-in Edition): An Oral History of the Zombie War is a new version of Max Brooks' episodic zombie novel. The abridged versions of the original stories are now joined with new, unabridged recordings of the episodes that were not included in the original (abridged) version of the audiobook. These additional episodes feature a star-studded cast of narrators to coincide with the upcoming release of the film.

New narrators include Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese, Spiderman star Alfred Molina, The Walking Dead creator Frank Darabont, rapper Common, Firefly star Nathan Fillion, Shaun of the Dead's Simon Pegg, and members of the casts of Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes and more! Max Brooks will be reprising his role as The Interviewer.

The original abridged edition, released in 2006, won an Audie Award for Best Multi-Voiced Performance. Original cast members include Alan Alda, Mark Hamill, Carl & Rob Reiner, and John Turturro.

In this new classic of apocalyptic fiction that feels all too real, the Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. The documentary-style oral history records 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.

Featuring five more hours of previously unrecorded content, this full-cast recording is read by F. Murray Abraham, Alan Alda, René Auberjonois, Becky Ann Baker, Dennis Boutsikaris, Bruce Boxleitner, Max Brooks, Nicki Clyne, Common, Denise Crosby, Frank Darabont, Dean Edwards, Mark Hamill, Nathan Fillion, Maz Jobrani, Frank Kamai, Michelle Kholos, John McElroy, Ade M’Cormack, Alfred Molina, Parminder Nagra, Ajay Naidu, Masi Oka, Steve Park, Kal Penn, Simon Pegg, Jürgen Prochnow, Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner, Henry Rollins, Jeri Ryan, Jay O. Sanders, Martin Scorsese, Paul Sorvino, David Ogden Stiers, Brian Tee, John Turturro, Eamonn Walker, Ric Young, and Waleed Zuaiter.

©2006 Max Brooks (P)2012 Random House

Critic reviews

"What happens after the end of the world as we know it? Humanity rebuilds, and Kirby Impoinvil (Max Brooks) is there to help survivors make sense of what happened the day the zombies came. Helping author Brooks is a host of family friends, including Alan Alda, Nathan Fillion, Paul Sorvino, Rob Reiner, Carl Reiner, Simon Pegg, John Turturro, and many others. This audio production was released to coincide with the movie of the same name. That it’s a real drama is not surprising given the stellar cast. They don't just read the book, they act it out. And don’t think this is a teen thriller. The zombies serve as a backdrop to the larger story of how humankind reacts to such an unexpected and catastrophic invasion and the inevitable conclusion that millions must be sacrificed to save the rest. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2014. Audies Finalist." (AudioFile magazine)

This is THE way to read this book.

Loved it! in my opinion this is the only way anyone should experience this book. After watching and loving the movie, I tried to read the book and couldn't do it but a friend mentioned this version and once I started it, I couldn't stop. It's a completely different story than the movie and showcases the experiences of the characters within.

First audiobook…I’m HOOKED!

What an awesome audiobook to start on…I keep re-listening to let my imagination run wild. Great format for those of us who are ADHD. Kept my attention by having short self-contained stories talking about their individual experience of a globally shared experience.

Excellent!!

So well preformed. Well written, highly entertaining. Nothing like the movie if you have watched it but equally wonderful in its own way.

The best.

Absolutely the best version of this book. 10/10. So darn good, the characters make it.

Perfection, period.

This was such an incredible listen. It's hard to overstate how haunting and wondrous the little vignettes were. The stories about downed pilots and submersible fighters, about infantry disasters and religious revolutions, about cannibal zombies and human cannibals, and many, many more. Every voice felt unique and real. I suppose the main reason was the audiobook cast, who added so much color and weight. The highlights for me were Mark Hamill, Martin Scorcese, and Alan Alda.

Awesome Sci Fi

Love how relatable the narrator and the people he interviewed were. It focused less on the zombies and more on peoples’ experiences during a great tragedy.

best zombie book hands down

As a zombie fan girl, I have no complaints. The way these stories are told make them feel real. Throughout the book I felt all emotions. Even found myself crying over fictional characters. will I listen again? 100% yes!!!

Great performance by all

The use of a great cast of different narrators really fits this book. Brooks did a fantastic job creating so many different characters with so many different and realistic perspectives. Highly recommend.

Complete is Complete

First, this book is the complete text. Second, there's a lot more people in here than just listed - by having a separate cast for every narrator, it makes for a very refreshing read. Mark Hamill is superb as Todd Wainio, the veteran of the Battle of Yonkers, just as Rene Auberjonois as Andre Renard, who helped to clear the zombies out of the Parisian Catacombs.

Narration was fantastic!

Very good book, favorite book I’ve found so far. Haven’t listen to the Martian or Artemis yet. They will be my next 2 based on the reviews on this book.