World War Z: The Complete Edition

An Oral History of the Zombie War

De: Max Brooks

Narrado por: Various

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

I've Spoken with Random House

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

Here are the facts:

1. Audible made a mistake and put "unabridged" next to the book's title. They admitted their mistake and offered me a refund (via email), which I declined. I'm sure they'll honor a refund to you as well.

2. This edition is A) the first release (which did have some "in-chapter" edits) and B) a bunch of new stuff. That's why chapter 3, for example, is missing some passages: because they were missing in the first edition.

3. Your complaints or requests for an unabridged version should go to Random House, for they are the producers of the audio book.

4. Despite the (yes, very annoying) omissions, this new edition is simply excellent.

5. #4 is an opinion. Not a fact.

-- @scottEweinberg

Amazing from the start

great story, great cast and a perfect way to tell this novel. a must have for any zombie fan.

Simply art

...where "complete" apparently means double the length of the last audio version, but still abridged. Usually I'd knock off a star for such shenanigans, but as this is such a good book in every other respect, I'll let that slide.

I do love a good disaster story, but to my mind, the best sci-fi--and indeed the best fiction--examines some aspect of the human condition and questions it. This book delivers that by examining the very human condition itself. It's absolutely gripping, and oh, the audio production!

As if the story wasn't enough, the 40-strong cast is a who's who of vocal prowess. Some voices are instantly recognizable--Nathan Fillion, Alan Alda, René Auberjonois, Parminder Nagra, Masi Oka, John Turturro--and somehow this only adds to the power of their stories. Some voices, like those of Alfred Molina and Simon Pegg, tickle at the back of the brain. Many more are wonderfully unrecognizable. And then there's the incomparable Mark Hamill, who in one line manages to convey some of the rawest emotion in a book that's filled with no shortage of breath-taking moments. This book is, quite simply, art.

It's worth reading in any format, but if you've ever wondered what the audiobook fuss is all about, listen to this.

Compelling, Even if You're Not a Zombie Fan

Even though I don't particularly care for zombies, or apocalyptic scenarios, or war-related fiction, the all-star cast on this audiobook and some good reviews from friends made me pick it up. While it wasn't my favorite book ever because this just isn't my genre, I really enjoyed it. It was well-written and the premise of telling the story through interviews was interesting. The zombie references were often pleasantly creepy instead of just gross, which worked well for me, and the story was more about the people and the politics than it was about the zombies. Plus, the audio production was amazing. If you're a fan of this kind of fiction already, you'll love it, and maybe you'll love it even if you aren't.

exceptional

not just a zombie book, but a well thought out example of alternate history. well acted by the narrators.