The best zompoc books (zombie + apocalypse)

Mike Talbot is the main character in Mark Tufo’s series, and he’s beloved by the hundreds of thousands of people who have read the sixteen-book epic. Mike’s story follows his survival in the wake of a botched vaccine spreading an undead plague, but as we discover, there’s far more happening beneath the surface of his reality. There are companion novel series’ connected to Zombie Fallout, and they expand on the events in this core saga. But, telling you their titles might spoil some of the world development. If you enjoy brutal survival, with powerful emotional realism and sarcastic humor that will have you holding your sides, this is a premier series in the zompoc genre.

Autumn is a two-stage apocalypse story that spills out the horror of the world ending from a mysterious infection, followed up by a second, species-crushing wave of terror as the dead return to life to finish the job the infection began. Autumn is dark, and brutal, and is an older book in the genre, but a refreshing take on the trope of zombies. It’s filled with beautiful imagery and characters with depth and runs into a six-book series.

Sarah Lyons Fleming has an almost supernatural ability to create human tension amongst powerfully real characters. In her four book series she creates a tremendous amount of terror and melancholy amongst her troupe of friends as they travel through unending hordes of the dead. Sarah’s series crosses seasons and years, bringing in the effects of weather, and the environment, and expands the terror of the monsters into a blood-soaked boomerang that Keeps. Coming. Back.

Zompoc novels that involve kids are a tough pill to swallow, but David and Wesley have done something totally different with their story of a field trip gone awry in the early days of the apocalypse. One part Lord of the Flies, one part Night of the Living Dead, the three books in the Feral Children series sees school kids surviving the zombie apocalypse trapped in the city zoo, and it follows them as they befriend the animals there, and then step out with those animals at their backs. The Feral Children gives you the opportunity to read about clever kids surviving the horrors of the undead, as well as getting the chance to read about what a bear might do when faced with the undead.

Rot & Ruin picks up late in the apocalypse, so late, in fact, it’s solidly in the post-apocalyptic period of the end of this world. This is the only book amongst these recommendations that are advertised and listed as being for a young adult audience, but as an adult, I enjoyed this book and series thoroughly. Rot & Ruin’s two main protagonists—the Imura brothers—are endearing, and sweet, and tough, and are fun to follow as they try to make a difference that’s been irrevocably destroyed by the undead plague. It’s filled with equal parts dread, and hope, and is a standout in the genre.