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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78 people found this helpful

Potentially Offensive Actors

What did you like most about World War Z?

The story translates really well from the page to Audible due to the first person account narrative. It is still by far the most original and relevant offering in the genre. Max brooks takes the concept of a zombie apocalypse to its ultimate disturbing conclusion.

What other book might you compare World War Z to, and why?

It is pretty unique in my experience.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of the narrators?

I would love to believe that they would cast appropriate native speakers to represent the different nationalities.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The fictional recounted experiences are both moving and at times amusing.

Any additional comments?

The acting is at times offensive, particularly when other nationalities are speaking. Some seem very stereotypical, verging on racist. Still, once you are engaged in the story even this can be forgiven due to the rich scenes that Brooks is able to create. The narrative style perfectly capture the historical account of an unparalleled fictional period in our recent future.

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3 people found this helpful

Not at all what you'd expect

The book is okay but it's shocking that it is sold on the basis that it has anything like the movie (as the cover art suggests). Apart from the name and the fact that they're both about zombies, there is literally nothing in common between the two.

The movie is an action-packed, edge-of-your-seat thrill ride. The book however is a very sedate, calm and slow series of interviews with survivors of the global zombie outbreak. Rarely do the (very capable) voice actors actually sound anything more than completely relaxed.

For me, this book went from being a purchase meant for something exciting to listen to on long drives to something to help me overcome insomnia.

The saddest part is that it's not the authors fault. The book, in-and-of-itself is a good book. It's almost as if the movie studio that made the film just wanted to use the catchy title and nothing else.

By all means purchase and enjoy, but you should know what your getting.

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1 person found this helpful

Narration took me out of it.

A fun listen but some of the voice acting was distracting. Some of it was a bit overacted and if you're easily bothered by vocal fries, this won't be for you. Otherwise, some outdated politics aside, this is a nice escape in a similar (nearly) post-pandemic time.

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Pleasantly Surprised

After reading a lot of the reviews on here, I was nearly put off downloading this audiobook, as there were so many complaints about the accents.
But, I gave it a shot and I enjoyed it.
I thought it was a good story, well told and as I haven't ever seen the film, it was brand new to me.
Yes, there are a couple of irritating voices (mainly the women characters, but as there appears to only have been 1 woman actor employed, she did have her work cut out :)) Maybe I'm just not as attuned to regional accents as some, but bearing in mind they are only acting, I thought they all did a passable job.
Overall, it flowed really well, in my opinion and I'm off to download another Max Brooks book.

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A masterpiece

A classic in the genre one of the best I have read very well constructed and fantastic performances

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A good book.

It's not the best book I've read but I did enjoy it and read it all the way through. An interesting take on the zombie apocalypse with some cool stories about survival.

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A masterpiece made better by this format

Wow, just a fantastic immersive experience i was absolutely hooked i need more!

The audiobook version makes it seem like the interviews are completely real and it just gives this book an absolutely unbelievable edge.

Maybe my favourite book ever? i've just finished it so i need time to process but yes, probably.

5/5

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Good book but nothing like the movie

voice acting was great, really helped with the story and characters. its completely different from the Motion picture but that's not a bad thing its just different is all. definitely recommend if you like zombie fiction

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Cool idea but lacking something

I like the idea of all the vignettes from around the war but it just left me feeling like we'd not really got the whole story. I know that's kinda of the point but it didn't completely do it for me. I still really enjoyed it though.

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