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)

Unexpected for the genere

I love this audio book. I've listened to it three times now over the past two years. The cast is amazing and the story is nothing like the ridiculous movie that was made. You will not be disappointed.

Awesome!

You won't be disappointed. Amazing performances and story, i plan on listening to it again or marked favorite sections. Just download it now!!!

A real life fake documentary.

The stories and voice actors make this listen a visceral experience. Almost like it is real.

Amazing!

What did you love best about World War Z: The Complete Edition (Movie Tie-in Edition)?

It was perfect! I loved the different voices for each character and how well it was done!

Engaging performances in a unique story format

This book is so much more than a zombie story. While quite disengaged from the story that you see unfold on screen in the movie adaptation, this book is really fantastic.

It tells the story in the format of dozens of interviews with those who were on the ground - from the very beginning of the "virus", through the war, and into the clean up. It's a war story, not a horror story. You feel the strain and age in the voices of the characters in the way that you do in a Ken Burns documentary on WWII.

I was skeptical when I read other reviews that described the format, but I urge you to listen to this book. I couldn't stop once I started.

My first review.

Would you consider the audio edition of World War Z: The Complete Edition (Movie Tie-in Edition) to be better than the print version?

I'm not much of a fan of zombie themed books. the last book I actually read was Dances with Dragons. But I decided to give max brooks a go after the persistent urging of one of my friends that dresses up like a zombie every halloween. Now that i know this version is still abridged despite the pre-order being advertised as unabridged i do plan on reading the book. I was very pleased with the cast and narration.

What other book might you compare World War Z: The Complete Edition (Movie Tie-in Edition) to and why?

Wampeters Foma and Granfalloon. You might be wondering why i'd bring up a vonnegut novel as something to compare this too. well it was the first thing that came to mind. max brooks didn't write an instant classic but he did write a great collection with characters that had depth and feeling. the last book i read like this wasn't the vonnegut novel, but the theme of the book brings it to mind. .

Vonnegut explains the title in the introduction:
Dear Reader: The title of this book is composed of three words from my novel Cat's Cradle. A "wampeter" is an object around which the lives of many otherwise unrelated people may revolve. The Holy Grail would be a case in point. "Foma" are harmless untruths, intended to comfort simple souls. An example: "Prosperity is just around the corner." A "granfalloon" is a proud and meaningless association of human beings. Taken together, the words form as good an umbrella as any for this collection of some of the reviews and essays I've written, a few of the speeches I made.

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

Some new ideas for my next download

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Love the story of the Pilot talking to the voice in her head.

Excellent edition of this book.

I read WWZ not long after it came out, and had been wanting to experience it again ever since. This audio edition is superb, it fully succeeds in giving the story the weight it deserves.

Love the cast

The stat cast and the storys really took this from a book and transformed it into something I felt like I might hear on the radio or even see on TV it is great.

Anything to do with Zombies I'm on it!!!

What did you love best about World War Z: The Complete Edition (Movie Tie-in Edition)?

The details were very graphic! So you can get a better feel for what the atmosphere was like even down to the smells and sounds.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Not what I expected!

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No I haven't.

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

I think just listening to the emotions of people and them describing what had happend to them personally.

Any additional comments?

Can't wait to see the movie now!

simply amazing.

voice acting is spot on and the story is great. I absolutely loved it. I'd recommend it to anyone