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)

Delicious

Tasty good good story with great dialogue and oh so good narration so the story stays consistent. Overall 7.5 cheeseburgers out of 10.64478 killer bees. Would pleasure again.

You can't go wrong with a full cast

Awesome book to begin with. Full cast makes it 100% more awesome! Listen to this audiobook!

The way this book was meant to be experienced

As it is billed as an oral history, this book was a fantastic audiobook! The boom is set up as vignettes and the format works perfectly. The voice actors are phenomenal and it makes you feel like you are with them in the room.

I read this book years ago but I'm so glad I revisited it as an audiobook!

best fictional documentary

this is a going, powerful novel that anyone who is a fan has already read. the stories of people trying to survive, how they adapt and their losses is amazing. nothing comes close to it. imagine the walking dead but told throughout the whole world.

one it the best adaptations I've ever listened to

Each narrator was wonderful! One of my favorite books, and it was adapted so we'll.

best narration that I've seen

I've loved this book since it came out and having so many different narrators for the characters really brings the story to life!

Incredible!

My friend told me about this performance and he was right! There are no weak moments in performance or story!

Amazing

Absolutely amazing voice acting and a fantastic read. Would 100 recommend to any reader anytime

Incredible

I loved this book when I first read it years ago. Now as an adult, it is a treat to here this version with different actors. The story is as real as a zombie tale can get and really hits the nail on the head of why Zombies are so terrifying. My only quibble with this audio book is that it is divided into parts making it very hard to find a specific “interview” or subpart.

Speechless

Listening to this story being told took me back to my childhood, albeit with zombies. I felt like my father was inflecting his voice like he used while I was tucked away in bed. I was completely enthralled in the story; my imagination was in overdrive.
I listened to this mostly at night while driving around south Texas. There were a couple occasions where, after I paused the track, I had to get out of my truck. I found myself having an ominous sense of foreboding as if just maybe something else was out there. I mean it when I say it was enthralling.