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World War Z cover art

World War Z

By: Max Brooks
Narrated by: Christopher Ragland,Rupert Farley,Nigel Pilkington,Jennifer Woodward,David Thorpe,Adam Sims,Robert Slade
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Summary

Visceral, disturbing and chilling in its realism, World War Z is perhaps the most famous work from the world's foremost expert on our undead counterparts. Paired with the equally gripping The Zombie Survival Guide, there is no better preparation for the inevitable uprising.

"The end was near." Voices from the Zombie War.

The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched firsthand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet.

He recorded 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. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

©2012 Max Brooks (P)2012 Audible Ltd

What listeners say about World War Z

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Very Deceptive

Any additional comments?

I got this expecting it to be the Random House audiobook featuring an a-list cast. Beware, this is not that version. I feel this is not made clear by Audible.

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125 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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  • MR
  • 20-06-13

Buyer beware

Any additional comments?

This is not the new movie tie-in edition which supplements the previously abridged full cast recording with new material from previously unrecorded chapters by the talents of Simon Pegg, Frank Darabont, Martin Scorcese etc. I felt really tricked when I paid for this. Hang on for the full edition with people who give actual performances, rather than the droning automatons who ENUN-CI-ATE every damn syllable in this version. A soulless cash-in.

Buyer beware

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84 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Great book however....

Ok so I have heard the abridged version that was done a while ago and this new version but I have to admit that the voice acting is 10x better in the old version than this one. I mean the japanese, german, or even american accents sound shocking!!!



I have no idea what has happened in the making of this audiobook but please redo the foreign bits (outside UK) with actors that don't make jap voices sound almost german????

My opinion is stick with the original 2007 version it has more of what this book deserves rather than this one.

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75 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

A Disappointment For The Unobservant

Okay, before I get to the main body of the review, the onus lies with me. I'm disappointed with this because I didn't look closely enough at the product description. I expected to get the abridged version, narrated by Max Brooks and a cast of great actors, since Google told me that was the only version available. I chose to get it from Audible because that's where I get my audiobooks on subscription. Now I wish I'd forked out the few extra quid for the proper version from elsewhere...



Because this sounds like a cheap, knock-off copy. The sound quality is okay but the voice acting and linking narrative are terribly wooden! The accents are terrible and the whole thing seems as though a bunch of students recorded it as part of their Audio Tech degree.



All the drama and emotion is sucked from the tales of fear and confusion because this version is obviously being READ OUT rather than ACTED (as the abridged version is). In short, this one is not half as good or gripping as the old version. Sure, the story is there, and in full! But I'd rather sacrifice the less relevant or important sections of the story and get a real, dramatic take on the story rather than 14hrs of some blokes doing frankly offensive foreign accents.



Since the source material is so good (and all here) it's getting three stars, but I wouldn't recommend anyone get this. Spend the extra cash - of you love the story so much - and get the real deal.



I'm disappointed in this purchase. But since it's the only version available on Audible (and the only one available according to Google is the original, Brooks-narrated version) I thought nothing of checking the cast list. You've been warned - there is a MUCH better version out there, for not too much money, but you won't get it here... Look elsewhere.



Grrr.

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Good old fashioned gory fun

Max Brooks has attempted something really ambitious with World War Z - a zombie story told on a global scale.



He's really given a lot of thought to how a zombie plague would affect every aspect of life on Earth, political, social, military, environmental etc.



The story is told via a series of anecdotes from survivors of the War, the narration is for the most part pretty good, some is excellent, the American voices are more convincing than those that use accents.



There are some pretty clunky national stereotypes and some far-fetched scenarios, (as if a zombie plague wasn't far-fetched enough) and possibly a little too much gore in places. Having said that this is a very entertaining listen and a brilliant achievement on the part of the writer.

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Where is the GOOD version

I was extremely annoyed when I discovered that this is not the excellent version with Mark Hamill, Nathan Fillion, Alan Alda and all the other excellent performances - that was what I was trying to buy and amazon foisted this crap on me instead!! Not happy.
I had deliberately searched for the other version , clicked the audible link on Amazon (Here https://www.amazon.com/World-War-Complete-Tie-History/dp/B00BIK73QA) and they sold me this rubbish.
Not a patch on the other version

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Even for a Z fan ..

.. this is a wonderful experience. The audio book must be the best way to access this fascinating story - stories, in fact, as the account of the "real" war Zombies vs the Earth is told through post-war interview, with those who survived. The harrowing accounts are well-told and all-involving, from old and young, all over the world. Be prepared (a Zombie fan's mantra) to learn about survivalism, military tactics, despair, desperation, determination and human resilience. It's all in there.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Why didn't I listen to this sooner?

I've had the book of World War Z on my shelf for ages! I was determined to read it before I sat down to watch the film but just never have the time! Sound familiar?

I tried the version of the audiobook which I already had and I was hooked instantly! When I tried to locate my position in the physical book, I realised I had an abridged audiobook. I thought to myself, I need to hear every last word of this - so I signed up with Audible and grabbed the unabridged version.

I was completely surprised as I had preconceptions that the book (regardless of the film) was somehow a comedy?! I can't believe how detailed and thought out the story is. It takes the form of a series of retrospective interviews with survivors of a war that almost wiped out humanity and I have to say I was completely sold. It's almost as if Brooks knows something that I don't!

I've read mixed reviews of it on the site, but I would definitely recommend it to people who want an intriguing listen! It's a gripping, tense and sometimes humorous (not very often though) story. All the different voice actors also give a brilliant depth and add to the feeling of realism. My only very minor criticism would be the voicing of the Englishman midway through the story - we don't all talk like that!

Really enjoyed the listen and think it might inspire me to listen to more zombie fiction - and I never thought I would say that!

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Intresting, Original and Exciting!



World War Z By Max Brooks. (May contain mild spoilers)



This book was a thoroughly enjoyable listen. The story has an intresting take on the Zombie apocaplyse and is told through a series of interviews, each chapter followng different character and a different set of experiences. The interview style of World War Z is part of the charm of this audiobook, i did not find myself listening to the same narrator for very long, this helped keep the excitement and momentum going as well as the my focus.



This story also bring some instresting ideas (how humanity deals with Zombie invasion) that i have not seen before... although i am releatively new to the genre!! however here lies my only criticism some of the ideas Max Brooks brings into this story i feel are rather far fetched and possibly unrealistic... but then this is a zombie, fantasy book.



Anyway thoroughly enjoyable book, i highly recommed!



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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Different

Once you get used to the documentry style of this book its not a bad listen. Some accounts are more interesting than others but overall I found it enjoyable.

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  • RaisinGirl
  • 20-05-13

A pity the unabridged version is inferior

Fans waited for an unabridged version of the audiobook with bated breath... and it's been a bit of a letdown. For a book that seems tailor-made for the aural medium - it is a spoken word history of the titular war after all - the performances were uneven, some of them particularly weak, and some of the accents were absolutely terrible. Given the care and thought that went into the original abridged celebrity-laden audio book - not even legally available in some countries - it's a pity that the same attention wasn't given to this unabridged version. There are countless audiobook performers who, although not stars like Alan Alda, Henry Rollins etc, could have done very good jobs with these stories and characters. I would recommend this version for hardcore fans only.

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  • Madeleine
  • 11-09-13

An Oral History (Not like the film)

It wasn't until I'd seen the film and read the reviews of how much it deviated from the original novel that I decided to take the plunge. If you're looking for a 'kicking zombie ass' post-apocalyptic action thriller, don't buy this.

If, on the other hand, you're interested in just how craftily speculative fiction can be employed to critique modern society, this is a masterpiece.

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  • Jan
  • 26-11-12

Amazing.

What did you love best about World War Z?

World War Z felt realistic as much as a fictional world with zombie in it can be. After reading the Zombie Survival Guide, these short stories really captured the urgency and seriousness of a wide spread plague epidemic rather than a gung-ho kid's wet dream. Don't get me wrong those are fun but the seriousness and tragedy of these stories made me care about these people.

What did you like best about this story?

Its format was really enjoyable and I can listen to any part just by itself. Since it is mostly made up of short stories, I can just play back the story I was listening to or just let it finish and start a new chunk.

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

The accents. It made the apocalypse feel like it just wasn't isolated in America. I have no idea how accurate they were but it was great listening to these fictional people recount their stories from different countries.

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

Haven't finished it yet but I really liked the smuggler, spy, little girl and soldier short stories.

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  • Ronnie Komstedt
  • 12-03-18

Best Zombie story i have heard

The last 2 chapter are somewhat slow and tired, but when the other 52 chapters are pure gold i can live with a weak ending
😊

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  • shiv
  • 20-09-19

this is the prime example of an audiobook

listened to this audiobook several times now. amazing voice acting, the unconventional story layout, everything about this book is just amazing, would recommend to all my friends

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  • Michael
  • 17-06-15

awsome

one of if not the best audio books i have listened to BUY THIS BOOK

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  • Garry
  • 25-06-13

A great way to tell a story

Would you consider the audio edition of World War Z to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version but this book is tailor made for an audible book

What did you like best about this story?

The cast of voices, the stories that they told were very believable

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Zombies are doomed, by land, sea, air or space, we will get them

Any additional comments?

I was surprised by how better this was than I had expected. I loved the way we traveled the world listening to the stories of the survivors and the fighters. How the author turned a phrase or a nickname for a Zombie or a weapon was clever and well thought out.

Enjoy this, I have not seen the movie yet but would be surprised if both are the same somehow to me that is not a discouragement for either.

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  • Gestur
  • 02-01-13

Really good

What made the experience of listening to World War Z the most enjoyable?

The detailed research by the author

Who was your favorite character and why?

The french guy

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

The Jeff Harding character, who else?

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

...and you thought that flue could be irritating

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  • fabrizio capodicasa
  • 31-07-23

Amazing

I’ve read the book several times but the audio with accents from the different countries is just amazing, giving the audio book a different dimension

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  • Mickey Theunissen
  • 08-06-23

Yawn…

If it wasn’t for the great narration on this, it would’ve scored far less.
60k different stories crammed into one book. Zero suspense. And I mean zero.
Definitely in my worst 5 books listened on this platform.

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