I’ve listened to the abridged audiobook version from Random House Audio which had a full cast of actors doing the voices.

The cast is amazing and I really recommend this audiobook, I don’t think I ever listened to another one that had such a large cast. It reminded me of radio theater plays, where you get a full cast.

I like the premise of the book. It’s a recollection of the events that happened in the past 10+ years not as hard facts, but as interviews with people around the world that were involved and are now sharing their experiences now that the war is over.

That’s why we get the “oral history” part, as the author of the interviews was not content with the UN final report of all the events, which was very sterile and lacked any personal stories to share with future generations.

What do we get?

We get a Zombie Apocalypse, more or less. A virus that turns people into zombies starts spreading from China—funny enough—all over the world.

The infected people don’t have any senses left apart from the desire to consume any living creatures, mostly humans, but other animals are not safe.

The book is structured into multiple chapters that take you through the events in chronological order—from the first warnings that something might be about to happen, to the actual blame, the great panic, the moment a stand was taken against the hordes of zombies roaming the land, the outcome, and the current state.

The interviews have a lot of color and personality. I feel like they have so much punch in this audio format—it makes some of the characters feel more alive.

We’re taken all over the world—from China, the US, South Africa, South Korea, Brazil, Japan, to Finland and more—with stories that showcase how these times and events impacted people differently.

What I liked

There was one idea that I found interesting: the spread of the virus through organs sold on the black market. That’s how the virus seemed to appear out of nowhere in a short amount of time (compared to the official date), on the other side of the world.

You also get one of the fights starting with Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper”—that is always a plus.

The interviews cover all aspects—political, religious, economic, social—pretty well, as each person interviewed is chosen to help complete an overall image of the events.

I’ll try to make some time to watch the movie and see how it compares to the book. I have a feeling that the movies is more focused on the US action scenes from those specific chapters.