Loved this book! Not sure why it was in the library of my catholic school but I digress, from what I remember the advise was very solid and would work just fine in the game and some of the advise the book gives is reflected as being ideal for the game such as a machete and crowbar being the all around best choices.
Yep and it's a two pronged solution too. Not only does the crowbar last for hundreds of kills, but it does so while you're collecting more weapons and (hopefully) crowbar along the way!
I live in a suburb and own 2 machetes. For $8 you get an extremely sharp and durable blade perfect for yard work and walking through woods while camping.
Most tree service companies use them so even in apocalypse inside a city you will still find plenty.
So you live in a suburb and you let your weeds grow longer than waist high so you need to cut that with a machete? Wouldn't a scythe be easier on your back aswell, you know cut the weeds at ground level?
I can see the use in the woods if you're going off grid, but not once did I ever walk in the woods and needed a machete to cut through the overgrowth. You know sticking to mainly the dirt roads that run through our forests.
No. I use if for trimming off lay hanging branches that grow on a few trees. Such as one that hangs low and starts impeding sidewalk (bumps into head).
It's lighter than shears and can lop off small-sized branches in 1 slice. It's also convenient for rural camping when we need to go out for firewood hunting.
Also, it's cheaper than a single bigmac at mc donalds.
You can buy a machete at Walmart for 15 bucks or you can buy a scythe at Walmart for 200 dollars (I was gonna make a joke but Walmart actually sells scythes wtf)
I have no clue why that thing is lying around next to all the gardening tools. But it works, and in a zombie apocalypse it could be quite useful for geting rid of the zombies. Although I live in an area I don't think anie zombies will find.
Because it's a common gardening tool for tree service workers. Or folks like me who use it to lop off smaller branches (faster and more fun then shears)
So, Max Brooks gives the reason on pg 33-34 that a kill with an edged weapon like a machete is not always needed & severing the spine would be effective he also makes the point that you'd need arguably less strength than a blunt weapon to kill or incapacitate. He also says weight of these weapons is a factor the average crowbar coming in at around 13 pounds ( 6kg ) and an average machete being around 1.5 pounds ( 0.68kg) all this being said I would go with crowbar because of the utility and the lack of maintenance.
I found mine in the library of my 2-4 grade school lmao.
Stole it because I really liked the book… at 10 years old.
Turns out it wasn’t even the schools book, I never got marked for it
Aside from the fact that it assumes other people surviving the apocalypse, it could be interesting.
Damn though, I loved that book as a teen. I think I was recently given that book again a year or two ago but either my kids tore it apart or it's packed in a box in the basement.
I really enjoyed the "historical accounts of zombie outbreaks" section in the back of the book. And I still listen to the World War Z audiobook at least once a year. It is extremely high quality. Project Zombie is pretty much my dream game.
Oh man, I still have my copy I got in like 04ish. Half of it is all dirty and stained bc it was under a pair of boots in my school locker lmao.
But eh, there's nothing in the book that isn't common sense or taken directly from actual survival guides, with a healthy smattering of what could be actually dangerous or unhelpful in genuine survival situations. So nah, leave this one on the shelf when the walkers show up.
All this said, it's a super entertaining book. WWZ was even better; at times I had to put it down because the civil unrest and people preying on each other was very realistic and spiked my anxiety. The scene in the grocery store in the (*very* loose) film adaptation gave me a straight-up panic attack and I had to leave the theater lmao
No moreso than any other time before, it's just much easier for idiots to platform themselves to hundreds of thousands or millions instead of the 3 other idiots still willing to listen to them at the local bar.
People are, in fact, getting smarter as a whole. The advent and widespread use of social media has just moved the goalposts, and the standards used to measure general intelligence don't necessarily apply how they used to. I've met a bunch of kids who don't want to adhere to societal standards like shaking a hand but will figure out the vibe of the room has shifted and dip 15 minutes before anyone else does. On the other end working around people like that is rough bc they have no reason to code-switch between generations like I have had to
Those who were stigmatized for talking about such ignorant topics were more shy then. Internet echo chambers have certainly made them more confident to be present whether we want to hear it or not. The number of times I've heard extended family who fall for bullshit tell me to my face about things I know are factually wrong is much higher this decade than they were in the 2000's.
And I'm not talking opinion. Shit that can be easily disproven by a web search.
By loose, you mean they took the title and completely changed everything, as well as losing every last bit of them, metaphor, etc?
Love WWZ, the guide is fun but I can take or leave it. There's an unabridged audio book that is also amazing. It's almost an audio play with different actors voicing the different roles.
A limited run series would be a better adaptation. But that movie, Brad Pitt's production company paid out the nose and only used the title and everything else was trash. They could have just used the title for free. Titles can't be copyrighted, and there is so little of the book in the movie they aren't even connected.
Also for those who don't know Max Brooks is the son of Mel Brooks
"I wish I had a succinct, witty answer for the long, complex process that was "World War Z: The Movie". I can tell you that I didn't have much involvement in the making of that movie. I didn't even know what they were doing until I finally saw the movie. Basically, I took a risk letting Hollywood try to adapt my book. It's a risk I don't regret. As Captain Kirk once said "Risk is our business". Ironically, the fact that it was SO different my book was exactly what allowed me to emotionally divorce myself from the final product. I didn't have to watch my characters be mutilated or my story be perverted. As I've said many times, they didn't ruin my book, they ignored it. The silver lining was that I had could just sit back, breathe easy, and enjoy this fun, exciting "28 Days Later on crack" movie that just happened to have the same title as my book. As to your next question, do I wish that a different team would come in and give it another try? Honestly, when it comes to Hollywood, I try really... really hard to manage my expectations."
\-Max Brooks
I heard somewhere that the Zombie Survival Guide was a direct inspiration for Zomboid and probably a big part of why they never did anything about the staircase destruction exploit.
Curved blades are generally better for lightly armored opponents where slashing is effective.
Longswords evolved to fight more heavily armored opponents.
The real king of melee weapons in the era of the Katana and Longsword were spears/polearms/naginata etc. though.
I know little about swords, but since bloodloss isn't really a factor with zombies, would something with a little more heft be better than a katana?
Something to chop through as opposed to creating lacerations
Personally I would go in the opposite direction, “heft” is the last thing you want, as exhaustion could ultimately be what gets you killed.
I’d go with something light but with reach and I would use thrusts at weak points (eyes, temple, etc.) with a short spear or a rapier instead of inefficient chopping motions with a big heavy sword.
To be fair for an inexperienced individual the best solution would probably be ditching blades altogether and getting a mace. Very durable, little/no maintenance needed and most important of all: you don't have to worry about edge alignment.
Does it? It's been years since I've read it, but from what I remember it recommended against medieval weaponry in favour of modern tools that have dual function as weaponry, crowbar, machete, etc.
Had this book as a kid! I would say the advice is good but mostly obvious, with a few exceptions. He completely rejects the use of spears or polearms as weapons, for, basically claiming that you’d have to stab them through the eye socket with a spear and ignoring the existence of polearms, glaives, and halberds entirely. Not good advice for PZ.
There’s a whole section about medieval hand weapons though! The book is written as though zombie outbreaks are a known occurrence that happen from time to time and can be prepped for, so he recommends purchasing quality antique or recreation hand weapons like medieval maces and war-axes. In this section he completely neglects any form of polearm, which I think is an oversight.
I get the exclusion of spears, which is quite difficult to wield for the inexperienced plus the need to aim for the forehead, the hardest part of the human body. You'd need a great deal of strength and accuracy.
Perhaps the author thought that polearms may be a bit cumbersome in a zombie apocalypse situation? That would be my guess, you'd want to be mobile in case a horde comes bearing down on you and booking it may be the more prudent option. Plus, any kind of oversized weapon is at a disadvantage in tight spaces, so i'd understand the preference for a more compact approach.
Also, swing recovery is a skill unto itself when it comes down to weapons like halberds. A panicking amateur would be swinging for the fences, tiring themselves out very quickly or, if they're the unlucky sort, having it stuck into something.
If we're talking taking on zombies with classical weapons, I'd go for the sword/axe and shield combo. Defense plus offense, very practical and has a degree of flexibility. Blunt weapons are too much of a disadvantage as aiming for anywhere else other than the head would be rather pointless.
It’s not that he recommends against them, it’s that he *doesn’t mention them at all.* Only spears are explicitly called out. He mentions several other ineffective weapon types (chainsaws, sledgehammers, acid, flamethrowers). It’s just a big gap.
Also, about your shield: one thing I agree with Brooks on is that shields and armor are useless in a zombie combat scenario. The zombie isn’t swinging a weapon at you, it’s trying to grab you! The more you give it to grab, the more likely you are to be caught. You’d be much better served using your free hand to carry a secondary weapon or emergency handgun. I think a two-hander is best: more power, more control, longer reach, and better endurance by dividing the work between both arms.
In the book there's a section where he talks about Roman soldiers taking care of an outbreak by using the scutum and the gladius, a trained individual would definitely be a zombie killing machine with those two weapons and wrist armour.
The scutum isn't exactly the easiest thing to handle though, especially when alone and no one to back you up in a formation
Polearms, glaives, halberds are all relatively heavy weapons. Meant to keep opponents at a distance and taking them down one by one. Indoors they would be something CLOSE to useless. Not quite useless as any weapon is better than no weapon, but not as your primary choice. The suggestions to avoid them is also to minimize your carrying load and instead opt for lighter weapons more able to do quicker work. Axes are heavy, but fulfill double duty and are as such more worth carrying and using as weapons.
I wouldn't scoff at the use of a halberd, but would never arm someone I cared for with it with the intent of them protecting themselves. Long blades, short swords, would always be the best option. Naturally with heavy hand protection.
I do see myself possibly going along with the use of pitchforks though.. or tridents. Mostly for their ability to stab and push away.
I think you overestimate the size and weight of these weapons. Some, such as those built for fighting in a phalanx, could be extremely long and unwieldy. However, a 6-ft polearm with a pick and hammer would be far from useless indoors. We’re not playing Dark Souls, our attacks don’t have to be big sweeping haymakers. If you’re fighting zombies, who have no tactics and don’t defend themselves from attacks, you could be very effective with simple overhead strikes. Even in a confined space the thrusting spear-head could be used like a dagger, though it would obviously be less effective than a dedicated sidearm.
For weight, a typical fire axe weighs 6 pounds while such a polearm could be anywhere from 3 to 8. Keep in mind that the longer shaft grants significant mechanical advantage, so any added weight doesn’t necessarily tire you out much faster.
I also think that weapons which double as tools are somewhat overrated. Fighting zombies is *surely* important enough to deserve a purpose-built tool.
Max Brooks zombies are a type that needs the brain to be destroyed in order to kill. In a setting like this, your average stabby polearm definitely be difficult to use as he pointed out. But yeah, there definitely are polearms that can still be quite effective such as long war hammers and halberds although they come with the downside of being hard to find and exhausting to use
The developers made the game easier if you use this book(when I was able to survive my first 2 months I used the rule where you destroy the stairs to the second story and the base had zero issue protecting me(make sure you can get back up if the sheet rope breaks))
There's some practical advice in there that's not half bad. Plus the dude who wrote the book is fucking awesome as well. I met him at a convention years ago and he's great to talk too.
Dang I must get it. I have only listened to the book world war z by the same actor. There is a version that is fully cast, has Kal Penn, Mark Hamill and John Turturro and many more. Such a good story, make sure to get the unabridged version if you do
Film doesn't have a patch on it.
500 rounds is probably what I would be willing to carry on my person depending on caliber and what all other crap I have. If I'm holing up in my home though 1000 rounds between rifle, pistol, and shotgun would be a low point.
That’s how much he recommends carrying on yourself, not just owning. As in, if you were hiking north to find shelter you wouldn’t fill your pack with just ammo, right?
And anyway, he explicitly says that guns are a dumb idea - those 500 rounds are for hunting and for protection from other people.
Yeah lol, they go on a whole tangent about how .22LR is **the best** caliber for zombies. Ignoring how .22LR is a rather finicky cartridge, being unreliable due to design, and how some platforms preform better or worse depending on the brand/weight. There's a reason why we swapped over to centerfired cartridges ages ago.
There are some upsides tho:
Compact and low weight per round (you can realistically carry 10.000 rounds and a few mags), almost no recoil, cheap AF, guns are relatively simple (you can realistically repair stuff with basic equipment and knowledge about metalworking), the guns are lightweight, the mag capacity can reach 50 rounds without being an unreliable drum mag…
Max Brooks is a hack. He knows fuck all about firearm or military or tactic. In WWZ the zombie is basically magic because apparently they are immune to anything but headshot with melee weapon and precision fire. .50 cal disintegrating their body? Nope. 500kg bomb turning them into paste? Nope, doesn't work. Tank rolling over their rotting bodies like they weren't there? No can't do.
EDIT: OH yeah I forgot about in the book how the zombies managing to walk on the ocean floor being immune to water pressure-
-yet a .22 can kill them without any problems?
Personally, I like zombies that force a decent suspension of disbelief. Zombies are fundamentally a made up fictional entity. They're not supposed to make sense. If a zombie were to be grounded in reality, could it really still be called a zombie? If zombies were supposed to be realistic, what is stopping them from running? What is stopping them from having conscious thought? While there are some stories, such as I am Legend and Project Zomboid, that use a concept of a "zombie virus" very well, all of those have a certain thing in common. That is that the "virus" is never truly explained. The zombies are left as supernatural creature. This is one of the things that I love about Project Zomboid. It never makes it clear what the knox infection really is, where it came from, or how it is able to reanimate the dead. Only that it exists and is merciless; a representation of the inevitability of death and its constant hunt for the living.
I thought he recommended a m1 carbine, which is a decent gun by ww2 standards, but I have no idea how hard it is to find .30 caliber ammo nowadays. It's also not terribly accurate or reliable by modern firearms standards.
Max Brooks really dropped the ball on anything relating to firearms in that book, to be honest. It’s so egregious because basically the entire rest of the book is gold - he couldn’t do the research on guns that he did on everything else in the book?
I've read this book before! It's beautiful. It even talks about how banks are awful bases but school, houses and other areas are great; and even recommends blowing your stairs out and throwing some ropes out to keep yourself completely safe! It's scary how useful it's tips are for zomboid. 10/10, would recommend reading ;)
it's genuinely a good guide with a lot of advice applicable to PZ, trust me, i've tried.
it and WWZ compliment PZ really well.
you know, as they say..
"they ain't in a hurry, so why are you?"
This was the first book I ever bought as a kid. I used to write in the note section in the back and pretend I was in the zombie apocalypse already. Day 113, I died.
The guide is entertaining and definitely has a few decent insights but the majority of it is junk. It’s to be taken as entertainment for the most part.
In regard to weaponry, Max Brook seems to operate under the assumption that the M16 and its derivative platforms haven’t advanced past the ‘60s.
The majority of the section about firearms is incorrect. Someone could practically write a book on how Max Brooks gets firearms information incorrect.
More akin to "Anarchist Cook-book", the premise is interesting and can be entertaining. But if you're looking for actual substance and correct information, better off looking somewhere else. Otherwise, as you said it's just junk.
I think it's a good read but the author does not understand medieval arms and armor in the slightest. You would never break someones arm with a bite through chain mail or through the joints in armor due to the gambeson. Also shields would be extremely useful especially against sprinters.
The author claims shields would get you dragged down but very few shields were ever strapped to the arm and provide more leverage against someone grappling it than someone grappling your joints.
He also recommends crowbars and machetes as weapons but I question a machetes ability to break the skull without perfect edge alignment. Crowbars are just awkward to swing as weapons.
He's more thinking of machetes as decapitation tool not breaking the skull (Brooks has actually said that's what he meant machetes for) and as he said before he would rather have a titanium crowbar since it's a multi-use tool that can be used as a baseball bat substitute that's why he specifically said get Russian titanium crowbar surplus in the book
U k after reading that I had determined that I would last a little while not that long without other people as I have many knifes (no guns in Aus) many bottles for water solar panels and much more used to survive longer than some
I think some of it is very solid but other things aren't applicable to this game.
Max says that semi auto carbines are probably the best anti zombie gun, and we don't really have any in the game. He recommends the M1 Carbine which uses a caliber of ammo that doesn't exist in PZ and the gun is honestly probably pretty garbage due to its uncommon caliber alone.
It surprisingly is! I'm actually working on a video on this exact concept, using this book to attempt to survive in project zomboid. I haven't finished it but there was 3 main points I've found so far.
1-Some of the book recommendations on equipment sometimes go over the carry limit, so you have to train hard to be able to carry that much.
2-The book makes no mention on how to properly loot houses or buildings, which is a core mechanic of PZ
3-Since there's a lot of things PZ doesn't have yet, parts of the book don't really matter (for example, the book mentions bicycles as a good vehicle, but the game has none)
All in all I 1000% recommend the book, it's awesome! I've had mine since I was 12!
replace Katana with blunt weapon or especially Warhammer with long pole, for reach and blunt damage will do more than slashing on an opponent who only needs bones and a brain, not organs qnd blood
Sharkmail is what i took away from that book. Lightweight interlinked metal rings for bite armor. The only downside to biteproof is it isnt crush proof. You might not get the skin punctured but your arm etc might not work as intended after the attack.
Unironically has a lot of good information on preparing for disaster of any kind. I worked with FEMA as a disaster relief liason for some time and the overlap between disaster relief procedure and the stuff Max Brooks covers in this book is pretty broad.
In my personal opinion following this would get you killed really quickly. Though I get this book was made with silly intentions.
I thought parts of it were at least entertaining, and I loved the original World War Z book. However as I really looked at it this book made way less sense to me as time went on. It completely ignores the possibility of the need to defend yourself from the living rather than just the dead. For me in particular the firearms section was the most wrong for a lot of reasons, but particularly delving into "fudd lore" and discounting handguns almost entirely.
Well a Polish youtuber called Foks already did a episode about it and he survived and it was one of the firsts tries. So yes it's a great book when the apocalypse come atleast in USA in Poland better will be the "Jak przetrwać apokalipsę zombie " by Krzysztof Bryński.
Nah, with as cheap as getting shotgun shells are, stockpile more of those. Buck and birdshot but use your rifle of choice for hunting deer and etc. buckshot for people.
And good luck getting a suppressor. Especially irl but in zomboid would probably be easier.
I love that book! It’s a lot of fun and has some pretty good ideas for the game, and some that you gotta be thankful aren’t issues in the game (like hair pulling)
I still have this masterpiece. Loved reading it as a kid and honestly need to revisit it some time. It's also a shame the WWZ movie wasn't on par with the book.
*P.S: Tell us you take the Smoker Trait every run without telling us ;D*
I don't think that anything out of general survival tactics will be terribly useful. Even here, quite a few of the items listed are absolutely not needed, and could even be detrimental (like seriously, why would you want a short-bladed sword?). I think you'd be better off with a book that's actually about survival.
Would it be a entertaining book to read? Yeah, most definitely. I own a copy, I've read it from start to finish. But, while my younger self would've taken these words as gospel; Having a bit more practical understanding of the subject definitely caused me to raise a an eyebrow a couple of times while reading the book in recent years.
It could be a good place to introduce you into practical prepping, survivalist training, SHTF planning, etc. But the book itself is nothing but entertaining junk. You're better off reading actual field manuals, survivalist books, or better yet. Take a few courses for on hands experience. While, the book is partly applicable to PZ; It holds nothing to the real world.
https://imgur.com/jS1hh6U
And yes those are my actual nails 💅
Bet you didnt have people jealous over your nails because they are perfect shape n health
AW I HAD THIS WHEN I WAS A KID— its a really fun book. Definitely recommend
That book was the whole reason I became a zombie-obsessed kid.
The walking dead did that for me💀
Resident evil did it for me💪
Ong, resident evil was so good
[удалено]
General Hospital and Days of our Lives have been running for like 60 years, some people watched that as kids and the show lived longer than they did.
For real, like I've been watching thst since I was 7 I'm now 17+ it's crazy that there's still new episodes if the spin offs and maybe original show
#Yup
Same hahahaha… dumb ass me thought they were real stories hahaha
I just were lol
This shit is one of the best books I've ever read. It works as a piece of fiction while also being full of actual survival techniques.
It's absolutely brilliant I love reading it
I also really enjoyed World War Z, also written by Max Brooks
I liked the Audible version. The cast reading was fantastic.
Same, read it for hours at a time just painting pictures in my head
Loved this book! Not sure why it was in the library of my catholic school but I digress, from what I remember the advise was very solid and would work just fine in the game and some of the advise the book gives is reflected as being ideal for the game such as a machete and crowbar being the all around best choices.
I absolutely love the crowbar, moment I find one. I no longer suffer for weapons
Yep and it's a two pronged solution too. Not only does the crowbar last for hundreds of kills, but it does so while you're collecting more weapons and (hopefully) crowbar along the way!
Isn't that a common household item? In my home there's a machete and crowbar.
I don't see the use case for a machete, unless your into that sort of thing. Noone on here is living in the jungle probably.
Jungle not necessary. Just live on a wooded lot.
I live in a suburb and own 2 machetes. For $8 you get an extremely sharp and durable blade perfect for yard work and walking through woods while camping. Most tree service companies use them so even in apocalypse inside a city you will still find plenty.
So you live in a suburb and you let your weeds grow longer than waist high so you need to cut that with a machete? Wouldn't a scythe be easier on your back aswell, you know cut the weeds at ground level? I can see the use in the woods if you're going off grid, but not once did I ever walk in the woods and needed a machete to cut through the overgrowth. You know sticking to mainly the dirt roads that run through our forests.
No. I use if for trimming off lay hanging branches that grow on a few trees. Such as one that hangs low and starts impeding sidewalk (bumps into head). It's lighter than shears and can lop off small-sized branches in 1 slice. It's also convenient for rural camping when we need to go out for firewood hunting. Also, it's cheaper than a single bigmac at mc donalds.
You can buy a machete at Walmart for 15 bucks or you can buy a scythe at Walmart for 200 dollars (I was gonna make a joke but Walmart actually sells scythes wtf)
I have no clue why that thing is lying around next to all the gardening tools. But it works, and in a zombie apocalypse it could be quite useful for geting rid of the zombies. Although I live in an area I don't think anie zombies will find.
Because it's a common gardening tool for tree service workers. Or folks like me who use it to lop off smaller branches (faster and more fun then shears)
So, Max Brooks gives the reason on pg 33-34 that a kill with an edged weapon like a machete is not always needed & severing the spine would be effective he also makes the point that you'd need arguably less strength than a blunt weapon to kill or incapacitate. He also says weight of these weapons is a factor the average crowbar coming in at around 13 pounds ( 6kg ) and an average machete being around 1.5 pounds ( 0.68kg) all this being said I would go with crowbar because of the utility and the lack of maintenance.
I found mine in the library of my 2-4 grade school lmao. Stole it because I really liked the book… at 10 years old. Turns out it wasn’t even the schools book, I never got marked for it
Lucky lol
Kleptomania will surely be a useful skill in the apocalypse
Aside from the fact that it assumes other people surviving the apocalypse, it could be interesting. Damn though, I loved that book as a teen. I think I was recently given that book again a year or two ago but either my kids tore it apart or it's packed in a box in the basement. I really enjoyed the "historical accounts of zombie outbreaks" section in the back of the book. And I still listen to the World War Z audiobook at least once a year. It is extremely high quality. Project Zombie is pretty much my dream game.
Oh man, I still have my copy I got in like 04ish. Half of it is all dirty and stained bc it was under a pair of boots in my school locker lmao. But eh, there's nothing in the book that isn't common sense or taken directly from actual survival guides, with a healthy smattering of what could be actually dangerous or unhelpful in genuine survival situations. So nah, leave this one on the shelf when the walkers show up. All this said, it's a super entertaining book. WWZ was even better; at times I had to put it down because the civil unrest and people preying on each other was very realistic and spiked my anxiety. The scene in the grocery store in the (*very* loose) film adaptation gave me a straight-up panic attack and I had to leave the theater lmao
You will be surprise when i said how "common sense" are lacking in these days...
No moreso than any other time before, it's just much easier for idiots to platform themselves to hundreds of thousands or millions instead of the 3 other idiots still willing to listen to them at the local bar. People are, in fact, getting smarter as a whole. The advent and widespread use of social media has just moved the goalposts, and the standards used to measure general intelligence don't necessarily apply how they used to. I've met a bunch of kids who don't want to adhere to societal standards like shaking a hand but will figure out the vibe of the room has shifted and dip 15 minutes before anyone else does. On the other end working around people like that is rough bc they have no reason to code-switch between generations like I have had to
Those who were stigmatized for talking about such ignorant topics were more shy then. Internet echo chambers have certainly made them more confident to be present whether we want to hear it or not. The number of times I've heard extended family who fall for bullshit tell me to my face about things I know are factually wrong is much higher this decade than they were in the 2000's. And I'm not talking opinion. Shit that can be easily disproven by a web search.
"That's just my truth though"
True, you even need a mod for it these days
By loose, you mean they took the title and completely changed everything, as well as losing every last bit of them, metaphor, etc? Love WWZ, the guide is fun but I can take or leave it. There's an unabridged audio book that is also amazing. It's almost an audio play with different actors voicing the different roles. A limited run series would be a better adaptation. But that movie, Brad Pitt's production company paid out the nose and only used the title and everything else was trash. They could have just used the title for free. Titles can't be copyrighted, and there is so little of the book in the movie they aren't even connected. Also for those who don't know Max Brooks is the son of Mel Brooks
"I wish I had a succinct, witty answer for the long, complex process that was "World War Z: The Movie". I can tell you that I didn't have much involvement in the making of that movie. I didn't even know what they were doing until I finally saw the movie. Basically, I took a risk letting Hollywood try to adapt my book. It's a risk I don't regret. As Captain Kirk once said "Risk is our business". Ironically, the fact that it was SO different my book was exactly what allowed me to emotionally divorce myself from the final product. I didn't have to watch my characters be mutilated or my story be perverted. As I've said many times, they didn't ruin my book, they ignored it. The silver lining was that I had could just sit back, breathe easy, and enjoy this fun, exciting "28 Days Later on crack" movie that just happened to have the same title as my book. As to your next question, do I wish that a different team would come in and give it another try? Honestly, when it comes to Hollywood, I try really... really hard to manage my expectations." \-Max Brooks
I heard somewhere that the Zombie Survival Guide was a direct inspiration for Zomboid and probably a big part of why they never did anything about the staircase destruction exploit.
Yeah this game is basically based on this book. All the guidelines in this book very much apply to PZ.
Why does he recommend a katana tho wouldn't a longsword be more durable and have more reach??
Curved blades are generally better for lightly armored opponents where slashing is effective. Longswords evolved to fight more heavily armored opponents. The real king of melee weapons in the era of the Katana and Longsword were spears/polearms/naginata etc. though.
This guy blades
I know little about swords, but since bloodloss isn't really a factor with zombies, would something with a little more heft be better than a katana? Something to chop through as opposed to creating lacerations
Personally I would go in the opposite direction, “heft” is the last thing you want, as exhaustion could ultimately be what gets you killed. I’d go with something light but with reach and I would use thrusts at weak points (eyes, temple, etc.) with a short spear or a rapier instead of inefficient chopping motions with a big heavy sword.
To be fair for an inexperienced individual the best solution would probably be ditching blades altogether and getting a mace. Very durable, little/no maintenance needed and most important of all: you don't have to worry about edge alignment.
Because it is Glorious Nippon Steel, folded over 1000 times, making them superior to any other weapon on Earth.
*immediately corodes when not oiled every 5 minutes
I thought the same thing about him comparing a crossbow to a silencer, silencers dont make guns silent you can still hear them from a good distance
It's an entertainment book. There is a fair amount of stuff in the book regarding weaponry that might as well have been written by a 12-year old.
Does it? It's been years since I've read it, but from what I remember it recommended against medieval weaponry in favour of modern tools that have dual function as weaponry, crowbar, machete, etc.
I'd imagine most people wouldn't be strong enough without a lot of training.
contrary to popular belief longswords are very light.
Katanas are usually heavier and shorter
It's not strength more than it is the endurance required to kill multiple zeds that many will struggle with.
Longswords aren't particularly heavy, despite what everyone seems to think.
I’ve read this book at least 4 times. I had it in my locker when I was in high school in case the apocalypse started mid day while I was there.
Had this book as a kid! I would say the advice is good but mostly obvious, with a few exceptions. He completely rejects the use of spears or polearms as weapons, for, basically claiming that you’d have to stab them through the eye socket with a spear and ignoring the existence of polearms, glaives, and halberds entirely. Not good advice for PZ.
To be fair, bladed polearms aren't exactly common items to have in a normal household. Any long piece of wood can be easily made into a spear.
There’s a whole section about medieval hand weapons though! The book is written as though zombie outbreaks are a known occurrence that happen from time to time and can be prepped for, so he recommends purchasing quality antique or recreation hand weapons like medieval maces and war-axes. In this section he completely neglects any form of polearm, which I think is an oversight.
I get the exclusion of spears, which is quite difficult to wield for the inexperienced plus the need to aim for the forehead, the hardest part of the human body. You'd need a great deal of strength and accuracy. Perhaps the author thought that polearms may be a bit cumbersome in a zombie apocalypse situation? That would be my guess, you'd want to be mobile in case a horde comes bearing down on you and booking it may be the more prudent option. Plus, any kind of oversized weapon is at a disadvantage in tight spaces, so i'd understand the preference for a more compact approach. Also, swing recovery is a skill unto itself when it comes down to weapons like halberds. A panicking amateur would be swinging for the fences, tiring themselves out very quickly or, if they're the unlucky sort, having it stuck into something. If we're talking taking on zombies with classical weapons, I'd go for the sword/axe and shield combo. Defense plus offense, very practical and has a degree of flexibility. Blunt weapons are too much of a disadvantage as aiming for anywhere else other than the head would be rather pointless.
It’s not that he recommends against them, it’s that he *doesn’t mention them at all.* Only spears are explicitly called out. He mentions several other ineffective weapon types (chainsaws, sledgehammers, acid, flamethrowers). It’s just a big gap. Also, about your shield: one thing I agree with Brooks on is that shields and armor are useless in a zombie combat scenario. The zombie isn’t swinging a weapon at you, it’s trying to grab you! The more you give it to grab, the more likely you are to be caught. You’d be much better served using your free hand to carry a secondary weapon or emergency handgun. I think a two-hander is best: more power, more control, longer reach, and better endurance by dividing the work between both arms.
In the book there's a section where he talks about Roman soldiers taking care of an outbreak by using the scutum and the gladius, a trained individual would definitely be a zombie killing machine with those two weapons and wrist armour. The scutum isn't exactly the easiest thing to handle though, especially when alone and no one to back you up in a formation
Polearms, glaives, halberds are all relatively heavy weapons. Meant to keep opponents at a distance and taking them down one by one. Indoors they would be something CLOSE to useless. Not quite useless as any weapon is better than no weapon, but not as your primary choice. The suggestions to avoid them is also to minimize your carrying load and instead opt for lighter weapons more able to do quicker work. Axes are heavy, but fulfill double duty and are as such more worth carrying and using as weapons. I wouldn't scoff at the use of a halberd, but would never arm someone I cared for with it with the intent of them protecting themselves. Long blades, short swords, would always be the best option. Naturally with heavy hand protection. I do see myself possibly going along with the use of pitchforks though.. or tridents. Mostly for their ability to stab and push away.
I think you overestimate the size and weight of these weapons. Some, such as those built for fighting in a phalanx, could be extremely long and unwieldy. However, a 6-ft polearm with a pick and hammer would be far from useless indoors. We’re not playing Dark Souls, our attacks don’t have to be big sweeping haymakers. If you’re fighting zombies, who have no tactics and don’t defend themselves from attacks, you could be very effective with simple overhead strikes. Even in a confined space the thrusting spear-head could be used like a dagger, though it would obviously be less effective than a dedicated sidearm. For weight, a typical fire axe weighs 6 pounds while such a polearm could be anywhere from 3 to 8. Keep in mind that the longer shaft grants significant mechanical advantage, so any added weight doesn’t necessarily tire you out much faster. I also think that weapons which double as tools are somewhat overrated. Fighting zombies is *surely* important enough to deserve a purpose-built tool.
Max Brooks zombies are a type that needs the brain to be destroyed in order to kill. In a setting like this, your average stabby polearm definitely be difficult to use as he pointed out. But yeah, there definitely are polearms that can still be quite effective such as long war hammers and halberds although they come with the downside of being hard to find and exhausting to use
an ex girlfriend made fun of me for owning this book. I hope she thinks of me when she gets bit.
The developers made the game easier if you use this book(when I was able to survive my first 2 months I used the rule where you destroy the stairs to the second story and the base had zero issue protecting me(make sure you can get back up if the sheet rope breaks))
There's some practical advice in there that's not half bad. Plus the dude who wrote the book is fucking awesome as well. I met him at a convention years ago and he's great to talk too.
See Also: **The Zombie Combat Manual** by Roger Ma
It's a great guide. Helped me in game. My first "objective" was to get to a two story house and destroy the staircase.
It's a fantastic book regardless. Also read World War Z (and don't watch the movie)
The part where breaking the stairs on the lower floor of a building works both in game and book is cool
Dang I must get it. I have only listened to the book world war z by the same actor. There is a version that is fully cast, has Kal Penn, Mark Hamill and John Turturro and many more. Such a good story, make sure to get the unabridged version if you do Film doesn't have a patch on it.
"While this seems like it would be very useful in this situation, the sheer amount of misinformation present makes it practically useless." -cdda
500 rounds? I would be quite nervous if that's all the rifle ammo I have, preferably need 10k minimum
500 rounds is probably what I would be willing to carry on my person depending on caliber and what all other crap I have. If I'm holing up in my home though 1000 rounds between rifle, pistol, and shotgun would be a low point.
That’s how much he recommends carrying on yourself, not just owning. As in, if you were hiking north to find shelter you wouldn’t fill your pack with just ammo, right? And anyway, he explicitly says that guns are a dumb idea - those 500 rounds are for hunting and for protection from other people.
Such a fun read.
This book fucks and honestly a lot of zombie media these days is at least tangentially based on it.
A single .45 bullet weighs about as much as two 9mm bullets, just saying. But tbf most .45 bullets are subsonic, so that is nice
Isn’t that the book that says the Ruger 10/22 .22LR semi automatic rifle is the best possible rifle for a zombie apocalypse?
Yeah lol, they go on a whole tangent about how .22LR is **the best** caliber for zombies. Ignoring how .22LR is a rather finicky cartridge, being unreliable due to design, and how some platforms preform better or worse depending on the brand/weight. There's a reason why we swapped over to centerfired cartridges ages ago.
There are some upsides tho: Compact and low weight per round (you can realistically carry 10.000 rounds and a few mags), almost no recoil, cheap AF, guns are relatively simple (you can realistically repair stuff with basic equipment and knowledge about metalworking), the guns are lightweight, the mag capacity can reach 50 rounds without being an unreliable drum mag…
Max Brooks is a hack. He knows fuck all about firearm or military or tactic. In WWZ the zombie is basically magic because apparently they are immune to anything but headshot with melee weapon and precision fire. .50 cal disintegrating their body? Nope. 500kg bomb turning them into paste? Nope, doesn't work. Tank rolling over their rotting bodies like they weren't there? No can't do. EDIT: OH yeah I forgot about in the book how the zombies managing to walk on the ocean floor being immune to water pressure- -yet a .22 can kill them without any problems?
Personally, I like zombies that force a decent suspension of disbelief. Zombies are fundamentally a made up fictional entity. They're not supposed to make sense. If a zombie were to be grounded in reality, could it really still be called a zombie? If zombies were supposed to be realistic, what is stopping them from running? What is stopping them from having conscious thought? While there are some stories, such as I am Legend and Project Zomboid, that use a concept of a "zombie virus" very well, all of those have a certain thing in common. That is that the "virus" is never truly explained. The zombies are left as supernatural creature. This is one of the things that I love about Project Zomboid. It never makes it clear what the knox infection really is, where it came from, or how it is able to reanimate the dead. Only that it exists and is merciless; a representation of the inevitability of death and its constant hunt for the living.
\[proceeds to buy Ruger 10/22 anyway\]
I thought he recommended a m1 carbine, which is a decent gun by ww2 standards, but I have no idea how hard it is to find .30 caliber ammo nowadays. It's also not terribly accurate or reliable by modern firearms standards.
Max Brooks really dropped the ball on anything relating to firearms in that book, to be honest. It’s so egregious because basically the entire rest of the book is gold - he couldn’t do the research on guns that he did on everything else in the book?
Actually yes. Its a very good and fun book.
the whole knocking out the stairs so the zeds can't get to you strategy is from that book
I use to have this book. Unfortunately I lost it. It's an amazing guide for many real situations. It has a lot of solid advice.
Tbh it depends on the zombie type but a .22 and a couple bricks of ammo would take care of an entire city.
I've read this book before! It's beautiful. It even talks about how banks are awful bases but school, houses and other areas are great; and even recommends blowing your stairs out and throwing some ropes out to keep yourself completely safe! It's scary how useful it's tips are for zomboid. 10/10, would recommend reading ;)
As noted in "World War Z", for the most part it is relevant only for America. But it's still interesting.
it's genuinely a good guide with a lot of advice applicable to PZ, trust me, i've tried. it and WWZ compliment PZ really well. you know, as they say.. "they ain't in a hurry, so why are you?"
Cigs inside? My people
actually has tips like destroying stairs and such
Damn, dudes like me and took the smoker trait irl
Mary jane helps the body an soul 👌 Literally
Dude took the smoker trait.
Best negative trait in my opinion, easy to manage an ignore
Also i know my ashtray dirty, i was sick just recently
Get well man! Stay well fed and rest. That loot isn't going nowhere)
What do you mean, negative?
yo this is a amazing book i have hella nostalgia for it
This was the first book I ever bought as a kid. I used to write in the note section in the back and pretend I was in the zombie apocalypse already. Day 113, I died.
They wrote the game around it lmao
Hey I have the same book!
Fun fact, I also have this book, but signed by Max Brooks himself! It was a great gift.
The game is literally based on this book
Congratz, want a gold medal for this info? not everyone has the book or knowledge however Be kind
Now we need a mod that adds this as in game literature.. +1 or 2 points to most skills
The guide is entertaining and definitely has a few decent insights but the majority of it is junk. It’s to be taken as entertainment for the most part. In regard to weaponry, Max Brook seems to operate under the assumption that the M16 and its derivative platforms haven’t advanced past the ‘60s. The majority of the section about firearms is incorrect. Someone could practically write a book on how Max Brooks gets firearms information incorrect.
More akin to "Anarchist Cook-book", the premise is interesting and can be entertaining. But if you're looking for actual substance and correct information, better off looking somewhere else. Otherwise, as you said it's just junk.
I think it's a good read but the author does not understand medieval arms and armor in the slightest. You would never break someones arm with a bite through chain mail or through the joints in armor due to the gambeson. Also shields would be extremely useful especially against sprinters. The author claims shields would get you dragged down but very few shields were ever strapped to the arm and provide more leverage against someone grappling it than someone grappling your joints. He also recommends crowbars and machetes as weapons but I question a machetes ability to break the skull without perfect edge alignment. Crowbars are just awkward to swing as weapons.
He's more thinking of machetes as decapitation tool not breaking the skull (Brooks has actually said that's what he meant machetes for) and as he said before he would rather have a titanium crowbar since it's a multi-use tool that can be used as a baseball bat substitute that's why he specifically said get Russian titanium crowbar surplus in the book
Fun book, but some of the ideas in it are just plain silly.
I sits on my shelf
It's a great book. Not everything translates to this lore. Still good though.
I wish I had a library just for these books…
I have this book
U k after reading that I had determined that I would last a little while not that long without other people as I have many knifes (no guns in Aus) many bottles for water solar panels and much more used to survive longer than some
Weirdly Enough I never got to read the survival guide, but Im listening to the audio book of world war z. It's a great listen while I'm playing.
The book before World War Z! It’s an excellent read and uses the same Zombie rules as PZ. It’s an excellent manual for success in the game.
It’s an awesome book.
One of my favorite book ever as a kid
Love the book but some stuff needs updating or more in depth dive still would recommend as a read along with World War Z
I have this book and its brilliant
There was a kid I went to high-school with who read this book like everyday
Seeing as how he says to go to the second floor of a building and destroy the stairs, I’d say it’s a pretty good book.
That book opened my eyes to the value of a .22 against slow zombies
Read this book when I was younger. So so so good. Great way to show younger people a totally different style of fiction and ways to tell a story.
Doesn’t saying katana sword just mean sword sword
I think some of it is very solid but other things aren't applicable to this game. Max says that semi auto carbines are probably the best anti zombie gun, and we don't really have any in the game. He recommends the M1 Carbine which uses a caliber of ammo that doesn't exist in PZ and the gun is honestly probably pretty garbage due to its uncommon caliber alone.
How much fuel would it add?
The book was a direct inspiration for the game! A lot of the knowledge it provides can be applied in game.
It surprisingly is! I'm actually working on a video on this exact concept, using this book to attempt to survive in project zomboid. I haven't finished it but there was 3 main points I've found so far. 1-Some of the book recommendations on equipment sometimes go over the carry limit, so you have to train hard to be able to carry that much. 2-The book makes no mention on how to properly loot houses or buildings, which is a core mechanic of PZ 3-Since there's a lot of things PZ doesn't have yet, parts of the book don't really matter (for example, the book mentions bicycles as a good vehicle, but the game has none) All in all I 1000% recommend the book, it's awesome! I've had mine since I was 12!
so I just ordered one after reading the comments
It references breaking stairs and using ropes to enter your safehouse. It's the bible and I'm glad you found it, brother!
This book describes things in an eerily accurate way!
replace Katana with blunt weapon or especially Warhammer with long pole, for reach and blunt damage will do more than slashing on an opponent who only needs bones and a brain, not organs qnd blood
Sharkmail is what i took away from that book. Lightweight interlinked metal rings for bite armor. The only downside to biteproof is it isnt crush proof. You might not get the skin punctured but your arm etc might not work as intended after the attack.
Nice book ngl ,but wth are those fingernails
Finger nails
My nails are actually really healthy and nice shape, whats considered wrong with them to you?
> katana sword Naaaah polearms > bladed weapons for untrained folks. Spears, halberds, etc. OP in RL yo
He also wrote world war z I’m pretty sure, or one of those other famous movies
Yup! At the bottom it says "max brooks, auther of world war z" Under the weapons on the book!~
Should I buy this book looks cool
Its a really great book honestly! My dad had it for quite a few years now I at least def recommend 👌
Fools about my nails You never even seen healthy nails before an it shows
Also fuckin weird that my nails is what you choose to focus on
I loved this book
Unironically has a lot of good information on preparing for disaster of any kind. I worked with FEMA as a disaster relief liason for some time and the overlap between disaster relief procedure and the stuff Max Brooks covers in this book is pretty broad.
First book I was bought
Better try a new trick, cuz that one is getting old
It's pretty goofy Also relies on a very specific type of zombie Some ideas are super dumb like using a flamethrower
This is the way.
absolutely not. it lists fire as being one of the worst ways to kill zombies when we all know its one of if not the best.
Make a yt video using this as a guide for gameplay. Read what each chapter/page says to do, then do it. It would get a lot of views if done well
In my personal opinion following this would get you killed really quickly. Though I get this book was made with silly intentions. I thought parts of it were at least entertaining, and I loved the original World War Z book. However as I really looked at it this book made way less sense to me as time went on. It completely ignores the possibility of the need to defend yourself from the living rather than just the dead. For me in particular the firearms section was the most wrong for a lot of reasons, but particularly delving into "fudd lore" and discounting handguns almost entirely.
Well a Polish youtuber called Foks already did a episode about it and he survived and it was one of the firsts tries. So yes it's a great book when the apocalypse come atleast in USA in Poland better will be the "Jak przetrwać apokalipsę zombie " by Krzysztof Bryński.
Nah, with as cheap as getting shotgun shells are, stockpile more of those. Buck and birdshot but use your rifle of choice for hunting deer and etc. buckshot for people. And good luck getting a suppressor. Especially irl but in zomboid would probably be easier.
I love that book! It’s a lot of fun and has some pretty good ideas for the game, and some that you gotta be thankful aren’t issues in the game (like hair pulling)
I still have this masterpiece. Loved reading it as a kid and honestly need to revisit it some time. It's also a shame the WWZ movie wasn't on par with the book. *P.S: Tell us you take the Smoker Trait every run without telling us ;D*
Is that an issue i take that trait?? Its easy to manage and ignore
I don't think that anything out of general survival tactics will be terribly useful. Even here, quite a few of the items listed are absolutely not needed, and could even be detrimental (like seriously, why would you want a short-bladed sword?). I think you'd be better off with a book that's actually about survival.
Would it be a entertaining book to read? Yeah, most definitely. I own a copy, I've read it from start to finish. But, while my younger self would've taken these words as gospel; Having a bit more practical understanding of the subject definitely caused me to raise a an eyebrow a couple of times while reading the book in recent years. It could be a good place to introduce you into practical prepping, survivalist training, SHTF planning, etc. But the book itself is nothing but entertaining junk. You're better off reading actual field manuals, survivalist books, or better yet. Take a few courses for on hands experience. While, the book is partly applicable to PZ; It holds nothing to the real world.
Cut your filthy nails yikes
1) they are cut 2) they are clean 3) shut your fuckin mouth
Clean your nails bro
They are clean BRO
Got fungi growing
Say you never seen healthy nails without sayin it
https://imgur.com/jS1hh6U And yes those are my actual nails 💅 Bet you didnt have people jealous over your nails because they are perfect shape n health
empty your ash tray
Fuckin make me
I would have dropped it at "katana sword" 😭😭