# "Realistic" zombie apoc novel ID? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 17, 2015, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-zombie-apoc-novel-id/728048 "2015-08-17T04:35:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-zombie-apoc-novel-id/728048/1 "2015-08-17T04:35:13Z")
I remember a couple years ago reading a zombie apoc novel with a distinct lack of psychotic villains and despair, it focused on sensible survival. Society collapses, but there are hundreds of walled compounds in contact with ham radio. They trade and stuff, there is attention paid to raiding pharmacies and groceries for supplies and setting up electricity generation. It isn’t all fun and rainbows, but was more sensible than most such scenarios. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-zombie-apoc-novel-id/728048/2 "2015-08-17T04:38:56Z")
[World War Z](http://www.amazon.com/World-War-Oral-History-Zombie/dp/0307346617) ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-zombie-apoc-novel-id/728048/3 "2015-08-17T04:44:14Z")
> [@Little\_Bird](#): > > [World War Z](http://www.amazon.com/World-War-Oral-History-Zombie/dp/0307346617) Good guess but thats not it, it followed one such compound. I remember one point was instead of over the top human villains it had more down to earth small problems, like envy or cheating causing problems. I remember one teen girl causing constant strife with lies and a false rape accusation. It may have been posted online and I read it there, but it was looong. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-zombie-apoc-novel-id/728048/4 "2015-08-17T15:56:27Z")
Was it Zone One by Colson Whitehead? ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-zombie-apoc-novel-id/728048/5 "2015-08-17T17:35:03Z")
_The Passage_ by Justin Cronin seems vaguely similar to what you’re describing (and is quite good). ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-zombie-apoc-novel-id/728048/6 "2015-08-17T18:02:16Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Was it Zone One by Colson Whitehead? I was going to suggest this as well. Although the book described doesn’t sound all that out of the realm of zombie novels. I think most don’t have a VILLAIN so to speak and supply runs and outpost communications seems pretty standard. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-zombie-apoc-novel-id/728048/7 "2015-08-18T02:18:03Z")
I don’t know it, but you might like John Ringo’s Black Tide Rising series. It should be complete, but you never quite know with Ringo. ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-zombie-apoc-novel-id/728048/8 "2015-08-18T14:57:40Z")
I remember a story written by a prepper. It was in blog form and followed a family as they became a core of survivors. It was set in the Southeast - Georgia or maybe Florida? ---
**Author:** ![Dingbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@Dingbang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dingbang)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-zombie-apoc-novel-id/728048/9 "2015-08-18T15:21:54Z")
“Alas, Babylon” by Pat Frank? Very good book about a family in a Florida small town. Not the Mad Max dystopian setting of most post-nuclear books, more hopeful about humanity but nonetheless moving and effective. ---
**Author:** ![Dingbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@Dingbang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dingbang)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-zombie-apoc-novel-id/728048/10 "2015-08-18T15:28:47Z")
“Alas, Babylon” by Pat Frank? Very good book about a family in a Florida small town. Not the Mad Max dystopian setting of most post-nuclear books, more hopeful about humanity but nonetheless moving and effective. Don’t remember the walled compounds, but otherwise sounds like what you’re describing. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-zombie-apoc-novel-id/728048/11 "2015-08-18T17:45:39Z")
“Alas, Babylon” is a classic cold war post-nuke-war novel set around a community in Florida. It’s quite good, and holds up reasonably well even today. What it lacks, however, is zombies. ---
**Author:** ![Dingbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@Dingbang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dingbang)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-zombie-apoc-novel-id/728048/12 "2015-08-18T18:32:21Z")
Ahh, overlooked the zombie element. Check out “Alas, Babylon” anyway. Good book. ---
**Author:** ![DeptfordX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DeptfordX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeptfordX)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-zombie-apoc-novel-id/728048/13 "2015-08-19T22:46:29Z")
I’d like to read a short story collection, where each story features a highly trained well-equipped protagonist in a zombie apocalypse story. Only they all die to some non-zombie related cause that would be entirely treatable or impossible before society collapse. Bonus points if half of the protagonists cause of death is Diarrhea. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-zombie-apoc-novel-id/728048/14 "2015-08-19T23:09:02Z")
“Day by Day Armageddon”? ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/realistic-zombie-apoc-novel-id/728048/15 "2015-08-20T00:21:15Z")
I don’t know how helpful this will be, but if that type of zombie book is up your alley, you might want to read _The Girl With All the Gifts._ Zombie book with an interesting take on the subject. Character driven with interesting and complex characters.