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Zombies of World War Z (novel)

BooksUndeadShamblesA virus2000 to 2009

Brooks's novel tells the history of a global war against the dead through interviews with survivors. Its zombies are classic Romero-type shamblers: slow, mindless, unable to plan, and stopped only by destroying the brain. The book uses them to examine government failure, isolationism and survival.12

Battle it
First appeared
2006
Published 12 September 2006
Source work
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (2006)
Max Brooks
Made in
USA
What causes it
A virus
Solanum, an incurable virus with a 100 percent infection and death rate.
How you become one
Infection, which travelled the world through emigration, human trafficking and the organ trade.
How it moves
Shambles
They are slow.
Intelligence
Mindless
Weak spots
  • destroying the brain

When did it first appear?

Ancient worldMiddle Ages1500 to 18991900 to 19671968 to 19992000 to 20092010 to today2006

Published 12 September 2006

field notes

What the sources say

1

The outbreak begins with a boy in a village in Dachang, China12

2

A zombie's moan draws others, producing chain swarms12

3

They can freeze solid and function again after thawing, and deep-sea pressure does not harm them12

4

Soldiers carry the lobotomizer or Lobo, an entrenching tool built to destroy the brain quickly12

5

Written as an oral history modelled on Studs Terkel's The Good War12

6

The full-cast audiobook won an Audie Award; a million copies had sold by 201112

Could you outrun it?

Speed class from how the sources describe it (shambles), not a measurement.

Zombies of World War Z (novel) about 3 km/h (1.9 mph)
You, walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
You, jogging about 10 km/h (6.2 mph)
A fit adult sprinting about 24 km/h (15 mph)
A fast cyclist about 37 km/h (23 mph)

Sources

  1. World War Z - Wikipedia
  2. The Zombie Survival Guide - Wikipedia

Every fact on this page comes from these sources, written in our own words. Spotted a mistake? Tell us at [email protected].

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More from World War Z

Zombies of World War Z (film)World War Z (2013)Solanum zombies (The Zombie Survival Guide)The Zombie Survival Guide (2003)Zombie (World War Z, game)World War Z (2019)

Same era: 2000 to 2009

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