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)

Not really a Zombie fan, but ... simply brilliant!

I'm not really a fan of the horror genre, although there was a time when "Night of the Living Dead" made Zombie flicks the exception for me. But it's so played out. Add to that the movie version of this (which basically shares the title only) was so awful, I didn't listen to my friends who recommended the audiobook.

My mistake. This audiobook version, with it’s all-star cast, is spectacular.

The premise of the book is unique -- you know from the get-go that it’s a look back from the perspective of those who survived the zombie war, which is now more or less over. Rather than diminishing the story, knowing that every character is telling his/her story in flashback somehow manages to *increase* the intensity. There are sections that are poignant, cynical, gripping and terrifying. The underwater sequences, for example, are nutso intense.

But the thing that truly makes this audiobook one of the best I’ve heard is the cast. The voice actors are spectacular. *Spectacular*.

This review is in some ways pointless, insofar as most people inclined to listen to it already have. However, if you’ve stumbled on this review as someone who stays away from horror in general and zombies in particular, do yourself a favor – it’s the audiobook equivalent of a summer blockbuster that manages to *exceed* the hype. It’s everything audio dramatizations try to achieve.

It's simply that good.

Now that it's been fixed, it's awesome.

Would you listen to World War Z: The Complete Edition (Movie Tie-in Edition) again? Why?

Yeah, I've listened to the 2006 Abridged version several times now and I'm already on my second listen of this Complete Edition. The book is just fantastic zombie entertainment all over.

What did you like best about this story?

The narrations are all excellent and the story is a creative approach to the zombie apocalypse genre.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Sure, if I had 12 hours to spend in a sitting.

Any additional comments?

I'm so glad that Audible and Random House finally listened to the complaints from the fans and fixed the error. The missing audio (especially from the first zombie story) was just obnoxious. It's good to have a real Complete Edition.

Great book. It is a must have

What made the experience of listening to World War Z: The Complete Edition (Movie Tie-in Edition) the most enjoyable?

I can now enjoy the book in the car ride to work

What did you like best about this story?

It is a new way of telling a zombie story

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes it was

Any additional comments?

There seems to be a few tracks missing. Most notable the first story with the Chinese doctor between the doctors arrival at the village and him first seeming the young boy.

5 things to know about this great book

1) I gave this audio book 5 stars so right there you know I think it was very good.
2) this is not the book or the movie. Max brooks plays the reporter interviewing great characters from around the world played by great actors. They scored well with the actors.
3) you do now have to like zombies to like this audio. It is a lot about how society reacts to a crisis, different countries sometimes react the same and sometimes completely different. I liked the character Max Brooks played. He didn’t talk a lot, he let the characters be the stars.
4) you get your moneys worth. It is 12 hours long with a lot of characters, no two the same.
5) after you listen to it and like it as much as I did DO NOT get World War Z the lost files, or you will probably return as I just did. It came out after the Brad Pitt movie in an effort to grab some cash and it is World War Z cut in half. Same characters, same story line, exact same sentences and paragraphs. I listened to about 1/5 of it and couldn’t find one word that was not in World War Z. I’m stunned that anybody got paid off to give it a good review. If you saw Zoolander and remember Will Ferrell’s character saying “doesn’t anyone notice this, I feel like I’m taking crazy pills, it’s the face.” you Get my point.
* again I gave World War Z 5 stars and really liked it.

Amazingly Well Done

Any additional comments?

Amazing production of one of my favorite books. I feel I should also point out that I haven't had any of the problems that other reviewers have had. Actually now that I think about it, it is one of the best audiobook productions I have listened to.

Entertaining!

World War Z is not going to go down in history as a literary classic, but it is no less worth a read for it. Sometimes, as with movies, a book is just entertaining without having any deeper meaning message. As books go, it is the literary equivalent to a 'popcorn movie,' the likes of which often get panned by the critics, but end up grossing half a billion at the box office. That is to say, its a fun read that requires little investment on the part of our brains.

Adding to the fun (and 'popcorn movie' feeling), are the performances of the all-star cast of well known Hollywood personalities. Part of the fun of this book is just figuring out which actor is portraying each character as the story progresses (some are instantly recognizable). Still some of the performances are just plain good, and believable regardless of who played them. Dare I say that I actually really enjoyed Mark Hamill's performance which appears toward the end. He has made a decent career for himself doing voice-over work (the Joker anyone?) so it comes as no surprise.

Before selecting this book, I had read some rather harsh reviews by others regarding the abridged nature of the book, and how it is missing sections. Some even indicated that the book did not make any sense as a result of the missing parts. Perhaps those people have their reasons if they have read the original (non-movie tie-in) edition. However, I can tell you that for me - a person that has not seen the movie nor read the original book - it was just fine for me. The story is written as a series of interviews between the main character (a journalist who is portrayed in the audio version by the real life author) and various 'survivors' of the Zombie War. So I am not entirely certain what difference those missing parts would have made. Long story short, what you don't know won't hurt you.

Of course, with any book, some segments that are better than others, and while some are very engaging and occasionally even tension-filled, others are more mundane and forgettable. Still, the beauty of this book is you need only wait a short while before you are whisked off to the next interview and a brand new story line. So in that regard, the story movies along at a nice pace.

In short, if you are a fan of zombies or post-apocalyptic survival stories, you'll enjoy this book and the entertaining performances of its cast. If you are not a fan of those themes, then you probably not even reading this review.

Fun reading!

third time i listen to it.

i havent had the chance to read the actual phisical copy of the book yet and i hear this is an abridged version. i dont k ow what or how much is missing.
having said that... this is a very rare kind of book where i am sure the audiobook is better than the original printed version because of the format it has.
its a reporter interviewing people wmthat survived the war.
that makes it ideal for audio and god damn do the actors deliver... i specialy loved the todd (mark hamil) parts. he makes me be right there in the action. in the middle of it all.
every one else was spot on as well though.
this has quicly become one of my favorite books period...
it realy is word listening.

Don't skip it because it's "Abridged"

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

This has the feel of the War of the Worlds radio-cast because of the way it is presented as a documentary.

Any additional comments?

I normally skip over abridged books, but I"m glad I listened to the reviews and gave this a chance.Because it is presented as a number of NPR-like interviews with survivors, they can cut out some sections without making the story hard to follow. It is a number of different viewpoints of the events surrounding the Z war.I am really surprised how much I like it. The narrator/interviewer has a familiar sounding voice -- I wonder if he may actually be an NPR reporter. And having a different reader for each character interviewed helps to sustain the feeling of real interviews.I have never read the book - only seen the movie, but I can say that it does not feel disjointed at all. I have no qualms about recommending this book -- even to the movie haters!

So not like the movie...

Where does World War Z: The Complete Edition (Movie Tie-in Edition) rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have to admit, I downloaded this audio book because I so enjoyed the movie so much (I've seen it twice so far :). But as Max Brooks has been quoted to say, the only thing in common between the book and the movie, is the title. And he is so not wrong! That said, I don't think I would've downloaded the book, unless I liked the movie as much as I did. And I so appreciated both versions so much on their own merit. The movie is a blockbuster, in the edge of your seat thriller, and the book is an awesome narrated piece of literature. In conclusion, you can enjoy the movie and enjoy the book and be pleasantly surprised by both!

Collection of vignettes that all tie together

This is a unique way to write a story, and I've seen it done very rarely but I do enjoy it when it happens........it's a collection of vignettes that focus on a single place and person, but when wound together in your mind they together make up an interesting picture of what's going on (or, in this case, what has gone on in the past). There is no real linear progression and no specific plot; instead the reader or listener gets to learn about the event from different perspectives in the experiences of different people in different situations all over the world who together share one characteristic: they survived the global war against the zombies.

This is a zombie story, but it's not really about the zombies - it's really about the global reaction and action to a deadly contagion that had not ever been imagined, let alone prepared for. Because it's done as a series of interviews, it's perfectly set for an audio production, and the narration (by over three dozen actors) is terrific - in fact, they do a great job of imparting a feeling for a character even though they may speak for no more than 10 or 15 minutes and everything takes place in the past. Actually, I think it's the fact that these are memories and not real-life events that make their stories that much more poignant. Sometimes a book that is a recollection of past events can be stale and uninteresting, but because these are experiences of a war rather than simply telling a past tale, they maintain their emotion and energy.

This turned out to be one of my top audiobook experiences so far.