My favorite books that take zombies in a new direction

Teens, monsters, mind control, conspiracies. Dashner’s YA book packs a punch and forms a fantastic conclusion to the Maze Runner trilogy. I personally loved that while the world’s biggest crisis is a zombie outbreak, the character’s struggle for survival began at a far more basic level – the teens’ need to know what lies beyond their clinical artificial reality.  

Each character is faced with enemies from without – monster and man, but they also need to come to terms with themselves. Do they embrace the old shadow of their former selves? Or do they find out who they can become in a new more dangerous world?  Each character is faced with a myriad of moral dilemmas that outweigh the threat of the monsters created by the flare, and it makes for a fantastic read.

This book had to make it into my list, because while it does have zombies, and terrifying ones at that, they serve as the backdrop for the heroine Temple to work out her inner demons while interacting with individuals who haven’t necessarily worked out their own. Ultimately, Temple is on a hero’s journey akin to the great journeys of Hercules, Jason, and Icarus.

I’ve always loved a flawed tragic hero, and I think Bell did a fantastic job not just with Temple, but with the rest of the cast. He managed to create a whole cadre of raw complex characters whose tragic and yet relatable actions will keep the reader in a constant state of agitation and hope.

I think Warm Bodies is perfect for a more mature audience. Personally, I’ve always been a Romeo and Juliet fan, and I love that Marion was bold enough to put a twist on the story that no one saw coming – the hot-blooded Romeo is transformed into the cold undead R. And yet in a world where violent delights seem to have no end, Julie proves to be the spark to the powder that ignites R’s cold heart once again. Marion’s prose is packed with cynical wit, and the story served as an oddly brilliant medium for tackling the modern everyman’s oppressive status quo.

I have to be honest, it’s hard not to recommend a zombie book set in a world where the cure for the common cold caused the outbreak. Given the current situation, it’s just too good of a play on all our fears. Of course, Feed predates the Covid-19 pandemic by nearly a decade, but it’s still a fantastic premise.  

The humans in Feed react to the virus in a predictable manner – lockdowns, blood checks, and rigorous government control. Set in this dystopia, the story follows a Newsie blogger and her band as they seek to unravel a conspiracy that could further mar the American landscape. Personally, I love Grant’s ability to build suspense and layer carnage with conspiracy.

Stony Mayhall is not like other boys. Discovered as a baby with a still heart but a moving body he is, as you may have guessed, among the undead. Nevertheless, the introspective witty youth will win your heart in the end. 

I personally love this zombie story’s deep dive into zombie politics and Stony’s anti-hero arc as he tries to discover the meaning of his own existence. And despite the heavy weight that puts on a zombie, Daryl Gergory still manages to have a lot of fun with the characters, the premise, and the plot.