Zombie recommendations - frustrated

[JoeMitchell]

I love zombie stories, but I've been frustrated lately trying to find the type of zombie stories that I like most.

I like my zombies to be the classic type...slow moving and stupid, like in George Romero's '...of the dead' films, or like in 'The Walking Dead' TV show.  I like survival horror focused on the survivors of a zombie apocalypse.

I don't like it when zombies talk.  Not one word.  It's a deal-breaker for me, and the past three zombie books I've tried to get into were spoiled by talking zombies who taunt and even make wisecracks to their victims.  That's interesting in it's own way, but those aren't the zombies I'm looking for.  I can accept zombies that move fast, but no talking.

I've read and enjoyed 'World War Z', 'Day by Day Armageddon', and its sequel 'Beyond Exile', all three featuring classic zombies.

Can anyone give me some recommendations for more like those?  A good, scary zombie story that's not a comedy and has no talking zombies?

[Geoffrey]

Have you read any Mira Grant?  I loved 'Feed' and 'Deadline' ...

[Aenea]

Try Rhiannon Frater's "As The World Dies" trilogy. It is great!

[Tony Richards]

Is it my imagination, or is this whole zombie craze starting to die out already. Personally, I yearn for the days of Val Lewton's I Walked with a Zombie, when those who didn't know they oughtn't still be walking around were silent and eerie, yes, but weirdly beautiful and not on the Atkins' brains diet.

[Harry Shannon]

Joe McKinney's Dead City, maybe.

Or Jan Strnad's Risen, it is macabre and off the beaten path. http://www.amazon.com/Risen-ebook/dp/B003TZLPOI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1328369215&sr=1-1

[MariaESchneider]

Try Hollowland by Amanda Hocking.  It's quite decent (couple of minor details were...well wrong, like a humid basement in Nevada? or Arizona and stuff like that, but a very good tale!)

I started to read The Axe of the Dwarf Lords (Sampled) and it had zombies.  They were dumb and not talking (grunting and oozing.)  NO idea what happens next as I only read about one chapter.

[hs]

Have you read any Mira Grant?  I loved 'Feed' and 'Deadline' ...

I second this recommendation! I read both books and loved them. I can't wait for 'Blackout', which is supposed to come out later this year.

[DevonMoroi]

City of the Dead by Joe Kinney (or something along those lines) wasn't bad. It's very much a survival horror in the first 12 hours after the initial outbreak. I enjoyed it though his later books started to bug me for other reasons. Good luck in your hunt.

[Carolyn62]

Z. A. Recht wrote two really good zombie books.

[JoeMitchell]

Thanks for the replies!  I've got some new books to start reading tonight, and Amanda Hocking's Hollowland was up for free, so that was a nice surprise.

[intinst]

I liked Dead Living by Glenn Bullion

Kindle Edition
List Price: $2.99

[rolandx]

The Reapers Are The Angels
  Alden Bell

[martaszemik]

Try "Warm Blood". It's written from the Zombie's POV.  There's very little talking from the Zombie (as Zombies should not talk). The ending was all right too.

Good Luck,

[Pix]

Try "Warm Blood". It's written from the Zombie's POV.  There's very little talking from the Zombie (as Zombies should not talk). The ending was all right too.

Good Luck,

Do you mean "Warm Bodies" by Isaac Marion? I love that book! Who'd have thought I'd cringe at the idea of a zombie being caught and, well, killed. I had to put it down at certain points as I was so certain it would end badly for my new, bestest, undead friend. 

World War Z probably stands as my next favourite zombie fiction, although the two are entirely different!

OP, might be worth checking out David Moody's 'Autumn' series, if you don't mind books set outside the US. No chatty zombies! They're all as moronic as expected... just with the advantage of numbers.  His "hater" novels are more infection scenario than true zombie stuff, so may want to put them further down the TBR pile.

[Flash Rex]

As a Walking Dead fan, I assume you've already read The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor.

[jillmyles]

Going to vote for Bonnie Dee's AFTER THE END. Very good and no talking zombies (which are a pet peeve of mine as well).

[Nebula7]

How about this one Joe? Warm Bodies. I haven't read it but it sounds good. http://fictionaddict.com/2011/07/20/warm-bodies-by-isaac-marion/






 

[J.L. McPherson]

I'm with you on the oldschool zombies, Joe. I can handle the occasional "runner", but that's about it.  I recently read, The White Flags Of The Dead, and enjoyed it. I can't recall the author's name though.

[Jack Blaine]

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan is one--lots of romance though.  And This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers is amazing.

[J.L. McPherson]

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan is one--lots of romance though.  And This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers is amazing.

 The Forest of Hands and Teeth is an outstanding title. However, the romance element is a bit of a turnoff for me... d*mn cool title though.

[Rick Gualtieri]

A couple of recommendations.

Zombie Bedtime Stories by Thea Isis Gregory (short stories)
-Locked in
-Locked Out
-Deadlocked

The Zombie Bible by Stant Litore

[martaszemik]

Do you mean "Warm Bodies" by Isaac Marion?

Yes, I'm sorry about that. Hubby was watching "Blue Bloods", hence the typo. *sips more coffee to wake up*

[JETaylor]

Here are a few...more on the pricey side but well worth it - Maberry knows how to spin a chilling story.    

[yaminatoday.com]

whoever suggest "Warm Bodies", well, it might not be  a good suggestion. Not because it's a bad book but because the Zombie in that book eventually talks and has feelings and stuff like that.  I never read the book all the way through, but I think in the end the zombie falls in love, too. So...it might not be up your alley.

Best,
Yamina Collins

[yaminatoday.com]

What about "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?" Just kidding. You'd probably hang yourself seeing your beloved zombies  mixed up with that Jane Austen woman (smile)

Yamina Collins

[Nulke]

My standard recommendation for good zombie fiction (from previous zombie thread):

"Pray to Stay Dead" by Mason James Cole; probably one of the most unflinching and gritty zombie apoc books I've read to date. Highly recommend if you can stand some gore and disturbing images. The book is very reminiscent of Romero's "Day of The Dead" in the sense that there really isn't any happy endings, heroes or 100% good guys.

http://www.amazon.com/Pray-Stay-Dead-Zombie-ebook/dp/B004Q7CKJ2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1328440751&sr=8-2

[wdeen]

Try Memoirs of The Walking Dead. http://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-Walking-Dead-Story-Zombies/dp/1456376675/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328455744&sr=1-1

[Tamara Rose Blodgett]

So... I don't know if these will be the classic zombie tales you're after but: Zombies Don't Cry and The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and Rot & Ruin are supposed to be quite good. Unfortunately (for you and other horror classic devotees), I think authors may be moving away from the trend of the shambling zombie in favor of lucidity.


Good luck~

[martaszemik]

whoever suggest "Warm Bodies", well, it might not be  a good suggestion. Not because it's a bad book but because the Zombie in that book eventually talks and has feelings and stuff like that.  I never read the book all the way through, but I think in the end the zombie falls in love, too. So...it might not be up your alley.

Like it was said, the zombie talks very little, even near the end. And, not to spoil the ending, there's a reason why he begins to speak as the mystery of the zombies begins to reveal.

[gryeates]

I would recommend you try Jessica Meigs' The Becoming. A very effective story, plenty of gore and action and an interesting twist on the zombies' nature as they 'develop' or 'become' rather. 

[flipside]

My standard zombie book recommendation would be--if you don't mind anthologies--The Living Dead by John Joseph Adams. Some stories will have the talking-zombie that the OP hates, but some also don't.

[Flash Rex]

Pariah was interesting. It's about a group of survivors stuck in a NY apartment building. They are running out of food and things are looking bleaker than usual when a young woman strolls down the street unmolested (some would say that's unusual in NY even in the best of times ).

[C.A.Wodensen]

Talking Zombies!.......What next? lol

[Laura Lond]

This one is MG/YA, the main characters are two teens trying to survive in a zombie-infested town. It's got the classic set up of slow non-talking zombies (they can occasionally leap, but that's all):

[Bleekness]

Stephen Knight's "The Gathering Dead" for pure zombie head-exploding action.

Brian J. Jarrett's "Into the Badlands" for pure survival horror and folks trying to reach safe haven.   

[JoeMitchell]

Thanks so much for all the recommendations, and the amazon links!  I've got this thread bookmarked and I'll be working my way through it over next few months.  I just started reading Hollowland, and I've got several others lined up next on my Kindle.