Zombies are among the most interesting creatures to come from the human imagination. They act as metaphors for a lot of things—mortality, disease, human desire, and more, which has made these monsters a mainstay in pop culture.
The likes of Richard Matheson’s I am Legend, George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, and the popular games Resident Evil and The House of the Dead ensure that zombies remain an integral creature in our history of horror. Even Michael Jackson’s music video for Thriller contributed to their popularity.
Best Zombie Books
While no longer at their peak in popularity, zombies are still seeing a good amount of interest. That persisting demand has made them a favorite element in popular media.
There’s so much zombie stuff being put out there that it’s difficult to know where to start, especially with books. But I got you, bro (or sis).
I’ve created a list of the best books you can read when you’re hankering to read zombie stories. I’ll be excluding better-known titles (like The Walking Dead and World War Z) just because they’re already so popular. Let’s give the lesser-known books a chance!
1. Feed (Newsflesh Book 1) by Mira Grant
Humanity has cured cancer and the common cold. What they didn’t expect was for their cure to create something much more sinister: a virus that takes over a person’s mind and body, urging them to an uncontrollable hunger.
Twenty years after the virus first spread, a pair of bloggers are determined to discover what went wrong, even if it kills them.
2. Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield
Cass Dollar awakens to find herself as a zombie mysteriously turned back into a human. More importantly, her daughter’s gone, and she doesn’t know where she is.
With no memories of the past weeks, and only the help of an outlaw named Smoke to rely on, Cass must traverse a zombie-infested California to search for a daughter who’s not even guaranteed to be alive.
3. The First Days by Rhiannon Frater
Katie and Jenni’s day started off as usual. Katie’s prepping up for court and Jenni’s taking care of the family. What they didn’t expect was for a zombie apocalypse to occur just hours later. Fate puts the two of them inside a pickup, fleeing an infested city and searching for hope.
4. The End Times by T. Michael Martin
To stop his 5-year-old brother (who has a learning disability) from freaking out, 17-year-old Michael presents the zombie apocalypse as a game. Just like a game, they go on missions; they search for survivors by day, and battle zombies by night. But the Game is slowly getting out of control, leading the brothers into unforeseen situations.
5. The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
Melanie is a genius child, but she seems to be something more. She lives in a tiny cell, and she’s strapped to a wheelchair every time she’s allowed out. When zombies overrun the compound where she’s kept, she’s left to decide whether to save humanity or doom it.
6. The Rising by Brian Keene
Jim Thurmond is a father battling his way through a zombie-infested land in search of his son. With him is a priest still holding on to faith, and a recovering addict with an iron will. The journey is tough, with the evils of man as much of a danger as the hordes of undead.
7. This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers
The end of the world is here, and six students have barricaded themselves inside a school. Tensions are sky-high with the undead constantly banging on the doors. Sloane Price couldn’t care less. After all, her world already collapsed six months ago. But what about the other five who do want to live?
8. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
A fence is all that stands between the village and the dangers of the outside world. The villagers have been taught that there’s no life beyond the fence, but Mary still longs to see what’s beyond. What’s she going to do about the zombies lurking outside the fence?
9. Raising Stony Mayhall by Daryl Gregory
The Mayhalls discover the body of a teenage mother. Within her arms is a dead baby, stone-cold and unmoving. When the baby suddenly opens his eyes, the family decides to raise him. But what happens when the undead baby begins to grow and finds that he’s not the only living dead in the world?
10. Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament by S.G. Browne
Andy Warner is the newest addition to the undead population, and he’s having a bit of trouble adjusting. His parents hate him, his friends are nowhere to be seen, and he’s generally reviled for being a zombie. When he ends up in an Undead Anonymous meeting, he finds unlikely friends who help him with the transition— especially with the eating human flesh part.
11. Husk by Corey Redekop
Sheldon Funk is a struggling actor who awakens during his own autopsy. But being a zombie’s not his biggest concern right now. His career is failing and his agent doesn’t care. His mother is in the late stages of dementia. His boyfriend’s hot but incredibly stupid. Can he handle all of these while coming to terms with his new taste for human flesh?
12. The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell
It’s been 25 years since the world was overrun by zombies. Now civilization is in ruins, with only a few meager settlements dotting the land. Temple, a young woman who can barely remember a time before the apocalypse, is in constant search of sanctuary and salvation. Can she finally lay down her burdens and find a place to call home?
13. Zone One by Colson Whitehead
In the midst of a zombie apocalypse, the remaining humans have managed to secure a haven—aka Zone One. Mark Spitz leads a team tasked with eradicating zombies in Lower Manhattan. As he and his team deal with the various physical and mental burdens of the job, things go really, really wrong.
14. Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Something wrong is happening across the city. The power grid is acting erratically, everyone’s experiencing headaches, and the newly dead are waking up in the city morgue. Grieving families find comfort in meeting their loved ones one last time. But are these creatures really them, or something more sinister?
15. Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
In a zombie-infested world, teenagers must find a job when they turn 15 or risk their rations being halved. Benny Imura doesn’t want to be a zombie hunter, especially if it means apprenticing with his boring older brother. But he has no choice, and the job might just teach him something besides bashing undead brains in.
16. Autumn by David Moody
In just 24 hours, 99% of the world’s population is wiped out. As the few survivors struggle to live in a suddenly empty world, the dead begin to rise. At first slow and blind, the undead begin to regain their senses, along with a healthy dose of violence against the living. Now the living are besieged by an endless horde of monsters, with no escape in sight.
17. The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
The problem with being a gravedigger in the isolated village of Colbren is that the dead don’t always stay that way. When these monsters, called bone houses, suddenly attack a new arrival in the village, a 17-year-old gravedigger has to venture deep into a forbidden mountain to learn the truth.
18. Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
When dead teenagers don’t stay dead, Oakvale High tries to be welcoming. But that’s not cool with everyone, and the living-impaired find themselves shunned. With all the hate they’re receiving, the recently dead have a legitimate concern. After all, there’s technically no law protecting them.
19. Monster Island by David Wellington
All of the developed nations have fallen to the zombie menace, but a group of survivors has managed to cling to life somewhere in New York City. They think they’re past the worst bit, but things are about to get way worse.
20. Suffer the Children by Craig DiLouie
A disease is claiming every child all over the world before shortly bringing them back to life. There’s one big change in them, though: they need human blood to continue surviving. When the blood supply begins to dry up, parents start competing against each other to keep their children alive.
What Is a Zombie?
Zombies originated largely from Haitian culture, where it’s believed dead people can be brought back to life by a bokor, a sorcerer or witch, to serve as slaves. Popular media took this idea and expanded it in different ways.
Now, in popular culture, a zombie is an undead creature brought back to life through scientific or magical means. They’re often depicted in a variety of ways, but the common elements are that they’re mindless and driven by a hunger for flesh.
Reading Zombie Fiction
I think what makes zombie fiction so appealing to many is the concept of human survival when faced against impossible odds. In zombie fiction, the monsters always hold the advantage. They don’t feel pain, don’t need to eat or sleep, and can infect with just a bite or a scratch. When the story ends with humanity winning, it makes us feel awesome—that even when we’re given a low chance of survival, we can still win.
Then there’s the fact that we just love being scared and actively seek that feeling out in popular media. Deep down, we know we’re not really in any danger. So reading zombie fiction fulfills all of the thrills without any of the risks.
Have you read any zombie fiction? Share your experience in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- 15 Best Post-Apocalyptic Books to Read Now
- 15 Vampire Novels for Lovers of the Supernatural
- 25 Mythical Creatures and Where to Find Them in Literature
- 8 H.P. Lovecraft Books To Read for an Existential Scare
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
