http://www.reddit.com/r/blog/comments/duxob/max_brooks_author_of_zombie_survival_guide_and/

Hello Reddit, this is Max Brooks, and I'm here to answer some of the questions that you emailed me.

1.
And the first question is from ivankirigin: "Now there are hundreds of thousands of zombie aficionados, if not more. How would the story have to change to account for this?"

Well, that's a really good question, and you could go one of two ways.  I could change it, and put it in a world where people don't know about zombies, and I think that would be muhc more convenient.  But the truth is, my stories tend to focus on the fact that people do know there's a crisis and still don't do anything about it.

Because that's what I really believe.  I believe just becuase people know there's a threat out there doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to do anything to protect themselves.  I mean, you like at New Orelans.  People knew about water, and they knew the levies were gonna fail, and the federal government knew.

I live here in Southern California, and pretty much every couple of years, fires come and just burn away half the hillsides, and take away homes, millions of dollars in damage.  Sometimes people die.  Every couple of years.

And every couple of years, there's always a govt official on tv going "Boy, we, we weren't ready for this.  We had no idea."  And sure enough, right after the fires have been extinguished, people move right back into those hills.  So I think that's human nature to ignore a crisis.

So - roundabout way of saying I probably wouldn't change much.  Maybe some people who would know might protect themselves.  But I think society as a whole, they got better things to do than think about protecting them... their lives, their families, their nation.

2.
The second one is from smartlypretty, and she says "What's your personal favorite zombie novel, and why?  And which zombie tropes are most compelling to you?"

Well, you know, smartly, the thing about zombies now is that, there's so much of it out there, but when I started writing, there was nothing.  And after I wrote Zombie Survival Guide, I went back and kept trying to search for zombie books.  And I found one small one, almost a novella, and it was called Reign of the Dead by Len Barnhart.

And that's gotta be my favorite, just on principle because... Len wrote it - I call him Len like I met the guy - Len Barnhart wrote Reign of the Dead when there was nothing, not even Zombie Survival Guide.  I mean nothing, nobody was writing about zombies.  So clearly, the guy didn't do it to cash in.  The guy did it because he loved zombies.  He love the traditional Romero style zombie apocalypse, and he wanted to do something about it.  And he sat down, wrote a book, got it out there, so I encourage everyone to support him, and go out and find Reign of the Dead by Len Barnhart.

3.
This one is by swordpen. "What's your stance on domisticated zombies?"

[long pause]
Well, sword... pen.  I, I personally would not try to domesticate them, but this is America.  If you feel like this is your personal choice, and when there's hordes of flesh-eating ghouls coming for you, and instead of killing them, you'd like to teach them  how to wash dishes or mow the lawn or whatever, you do that, and you tell us how that all turns out.

4.
The next question is from VicePresidente: "If you could choose any five people in the world to be stuck with in the Zombie Apocalypse, who would it be and why?"

Well alright, listen, Vice, here's the deal.  I try to write realistically, you know.  I'm not sort of going in for cheap shock effect, like "Oh, who would I have on my team, if I could choose anyone?!"  You know, this isn't like a fantasy football draft, okay? Let's think realisitically, alright?  Forget fantasy.  If there was a real zombie outbreak, who would I want with me?  And the truth is, I would want the people that are most important to me.  Duh!  Okay?

So I would want my wife, my little baby son, my dog, my father, and Mr. T.

Moving right along.

5.
VirtualMatt writes, "Why do you think that, as of late, women seem to be infatuated with vampires (such as Twilight, True Blood, etc), while men seem to be enthralled by zombies?  In your mind, what is behind this dichotomy of living dead interest?"

Well, I actually think that's a bit of a generalization, and I don't like to generalize.  I think that there are... there are plenty of women who are into the zombie genre.  I've met plenty of them, and they're hardcore, and they're good to go.  And I'm sure there are men out there that are into vampires.  Haven't met any, but I'm sure they're out there..

There can be some... I guess you can generalize in that there are a percentage of men who are attracted to the zombie mythos.  And those are the kind of men who believe, I think, really in their hard parts, that a zombie outbreak wouldn't be the worst thing, you know?  Society crumbling... hey, maybe they don't get along with society anyway.  Maybe that's not such a bad thing if society crumbles.  And if it does, then they can be the hero.  Then they can be armed and dangerous and learn their survival skills.  And they can really be the alpha male that they believe that they've always had been, but society has denied.  So yeah, there's a percentage of men, and that's why they're into that.

As far as the percentage of women, I think we have to split that up into two categories.  There's the older generation of female vampire lovers, and that's a sexual thing, alright?  Because those generation of vampires were sleek and sexy.  We're talking like Frank Langella, the Dracula.  And we're talking about Brad Pitt as a vampire.  That... Sex.  Sleek and sexy.

Now there's a whole new generation, and that's the Twilight generation.  And good for them!  Because they're a generation of little tween girls, who are absolutely terrified of penises.  And finally, they have a vampire genre for them.  So good for them.  Suck their blood, just don't touch their boobies.  Twilight.  Uh, and that's pretty much it.

6.
Now moving on to Frothyleet.  And Frothyleet says, "Have you had any experiences with crazy people obsessed with zombies?"  And it says "Can you tell me some anecdotes about them?"

Well, I, I don't know... I think crazy is a relative word, because let's be honest, I'm the one who wrote the book.  So if people are called crazy because they're obsessed with zombies, who's the crazier: the people who read the book or the guy who actualy spent all his free time and wrote it?

But no, I've met some people who are really, really into this.  And I've met people who have some of my slogans tatooed on their arms, or the crossed weapons, you know the machete and the carbine, right there on the forearm.  More than one.

I don't know, I think as far as most fanatical, there was a guy once who asked me to make a dental impression.  Came up with that dental clay and asked me to bite, and I say "What are you doing?" And he said, "well I want to get your... teeth!  I want to get your teeth marks, so then I can tattoo your dental marks, your teeth marks, and I can say that Max Brooks bit me."

So, that was a little nuts.  But what was crazier: the fact that he asked me that... or the fact that I actually DID it?

7.
The next question, number six, is from eclipsed.  "Were there any characters or stories that didn't make it into the final edit of World War Z?"

Yeah, oh there were plenty.  The truth is, when I wrote the first draft, I just let the muse take me.  And I didn't write World War Z in order.  I wrote it depending on which story sort of spoke to me at the time.  I went with the passion.  So I wrote it all out of order.  Then when I went back to do a second draft, I had to put it in order.  And that was the hard part.  Then I really had to cut some stories.

And one of them, I'm really sad about, it's called the Great Wall.  And it's about a little girl, teenage girl, and she worked in a department store - perfurmes, things like that.  But, she finds herself as a refugee in China during the Zombie War, and she takes part in the rebuilding of the Great Wall.  Because in the story, China has withdrawn. That's their safe zone is the North.  So they withdraw to the North, and they rebuild the Great Wall as their barrier, like our version of the Rocky Mountains.

So, that story I really busted my hump on, as far as research goes.  I... oh my God, the maps, the books, trying to figure out this exact spot in China.  What did it look like?  What did that part of the Wall look like?  How much of it needed to be rebuilt?  But the truth is, once it was done and once I looked back as far as the second draft, it didn't fit anymore.  Because the story itself, the overall story arch, was sort of building to a crescendo, and it was a speed bump.  It sort of took the story in a different direction.  And I thought, "You know what?  It doesn't work."  And it's probably the best story I wrote.  But it just didn't work in the broader scheme, so I had to cut it out.  It's been published in some anthologies.  It's called Great Wall.

8.
Question 7 from raspywilhelmscream.  For those of you who don't know, Wilhelm Scream, it's the sound effect.  It is a scream, and it's been used in every horror film.  It's been used in Star Wars... oh God, everywhere.  Personally, my favorite, it was used in Them, the old black and white giant ant movie.  So, Wilhelm Scream, nice reference.

So he says, "What was it like growing up with Mel Brooks as your father?"

[rolls eyes]
[giant heave]
[long pause]

Wilhelm... [sigh] what do you.. what do you want me to say?  Alright, you want me to say that he was funny the whole time?  Was he witty?  Oh! It was a laugh a minute, Mel Brooks' house!  Oh, real funny guy!

You know what, Wilhelm?  It was really, really hard growing up in his house.  Okay?  And I'm not talking about the yellings or the beatings, alright?  That's every... -body's father does that.  I'm talking about the times when he would disappear.  When he and Carl Reiner would just get on their Harleys and just GO.  Nobody knew where they went.  And then my mother would have to send me out because she was too distraught.  She was just rocking back and forth, on her bed, with... with tranquilizers because she didn't know where he was. And I would have to go find my dad and Carl.  Or my dad and Carl, and Dom DeLuise, and Gene Wilder, Dick Van Patten, or as we used to call him, Ol' Stilleto Dick Van Patten because of the knife he always used to carry.  And then I'd have to find him in some motel room, and I'd have to clean the puke off my dad, and pull the heroine needle out from between his toes, and get him home.

And sometimes, I would have to bring in some help.  I would have to bring in the DeLuise boys, or old Rob Reiner, and we'd all have to clean them up.  And sometimes we'd have to do worse.  Because let me tell you something, raspywilhelmscream, it takes a LONG time to bury a hooker.

Is that what you wanna hear?  THAT's what it was like growing up with Mel Brooks.

[sigh] Alright.

9.
Next one is by... is by Dabakus.  Sorry, that was a tough one.

He says, "How do you feel about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?  Does it cheapen both zombies and Jane Austen?  Does zombie overexposure like this inherently demand a zombie backlash?"

Well, I gotta be honest with you, Dabakus, I haven't read it.  I haven't read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  And the truth is... so I can't judge it.  Maybe it's awesome.  It's not the kind of zombie story I would go for.  But that's my personal taste, you know?  That's my cup of tea.

I can tell you that I met Seth Grahame-smith, who is actually a very cool dude.  No pretensions.  Very nice, very complementary, we got along really great.  Haven't read the book.  So, when I read it, I'll tell you what I think.

As far as a zombie backlash goes, yeah, I think it has to come.  I don't know if it's gonna be a backlash in that people will suddenly turn on zombies, but I think... the truth is that they're really, really popular right now.  And EVERYBODY is writing a zombie book, because they think that's where the money is.  And people who ordinarily wouldn't even think of zombies, they're going there because they're following the money trail.  And the problem with that is that you're getting a lot of really crappy zombie books, and movies, and video games.  And I'm not saying Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is one of them.  Haven't read it.  I've seen a few others... WOW.  I mean it should just be called The Search for More Money - uh, trademark, my dad.

But that's true.  Whenever you get people all trying to find the money, and they produce less and less good material, people are gonna get fed up.  People are gonna say, "Oh, zombies?  It's gotten really bad."  And they're gonna move on to another genre where it's people really working hard to do something cool.

I have mixed feelings about it, because as a writer, the sort of zombie glut that's happening, it's great for me.  I'm selling more books than I ever deserved to.  And when that backlash happens, and people stop buying zombie books, I have no right to complain.  Like I said, I sold more books than I ever, ever deserved to.  If I never sell another Zombie Survival Guide, or World War Z, or even recorded a tax,  I got no right to complain.

It bothers me as a zombie FAN.  Because I like good zombie stories, and for me, it's getting harder and harder to sort of separate the wheat from the chaff.  Because I don't have a lot of time.  So for me to spend that time to go looking for a zombie book, and then to pick it up and find out it's really crappy, and it's just a guy looking to make a quick buck - that's upsetting to me.  You know, when I started, like I said, Reign of the Dead, Len Barnhart, I picked that up, you could feel the passion in that.  And you can feel the passion in early zombie projects, because these are people who knew they weren't going to make any money.  So they really wanted to do it.  And that comes through in anything people do, when they're not doing it to be successful, when they're just doing it because they can't NOT do it.

So, I'm not feeling a lot of that lately.  And what bothers me is that somewhere out there, someone's working on a really good zombie story.  And I'm talking much better than World War Z.  Right now, somebody is thinking of or making notes for or actually writing the next great zombie novel that is just going to blow World War Z out of the water.  People are gonna read this and go "Oh my God!  This... I thought *World War Z* was good.."  I'm gonna be one of those people.  I wanna read that.  But the problem is, that person, once they finish their Magnum Opus, the zombie genre may have passed away.  And they may go to publishers, the publishers may say "You know what?  We're done, we're done with zombies.  Enough."

And that great zombie story may never see the light of day.  And THAT's what upsets me.  Nothing else bothers me about a glut or a backlash.  It's that the next great zombie masterpiece is going to be crushed when public culture moves on.

10.
Next one and the last one: "What is in your personal zombie survival kit?"

That's a really good question.  I can tell you that it sort of depends sort of on where you live. If you live in Florida, you probably don't have to pack thermal underwear.  If you live up north, you probably need as much sunscreen as you probably would if you lived in Florida.  I think... if you're thinking of a zombie kit, you gotta think of sort of what you need for where you are and where you intend to go.

But I will tell you this.  You will not be shooting the whole time.  You will not be chopping the whole time.  But you will be sweating the whole time.  And you will need a way to purify water.  That's the most important thing, because if you run out of water and you dehydrate, you're gonna die a lot faster than if any zombie gets a hold of you.  You're gonna need a way to purify water, alright?

And when I say purify it, I mean so you can drink it.  It's not enough just to bring water with you.  You can't bring enough water with you.  You just can't.  You're... it's too heavy, you're gonna sweat, you're gonna dehydrate even more.  You need a way to purify a puddle, or a toilet, or a ditch.  Something like that.  So it's gotta be really good because dehydration will kill you... And also drinking unpurified water... Now I've never seen a zombie movie where somebody stagnant water and crapped themselves to death, but they will do that in real life!

So get yourself a good pump, good water pump, so you can filter out particulate matter, and some iodine pills so you can sterilize all the little protozoans, and viruses, and bacteria that's living in it.  Those are the most important things.  That's what I got.  I have to have it anyway, we live in an earthquake zone.

Also be very careful.  Get a good one, know what you're doing, and most importantly don't get one of those ultraviolet pens that you stick in the water, because it will purify it [snap] like that, but the problem is they break and they need batteries.

And that's pretty much, that's what you'll need.

So thank you all, thank you all for coming... [double-take] thank you all for... tuning in.  And that's it!

[pauses and stares at camera]

Oh yeah, I mean, if you nee- if you want some other advice to have, there's some other things you could have.  Like um, well I mean..

[begins shuffling around with various supplies]

This is a Hawken 50 caliber musket.  This thing is great for hunting bears and buffalo.  So if you wanna put that in your kit, that might not be a bad thing.

Oh, also, you might want a tomahawk.  It's good for, you know, chopping wood, and also if you meet someone, see there's peace pipe.  And.. and make peace with people.  So that's important.

Also, you're definitely going to need just a good knife.  Just a realistic knife, a very small, very easy Bushcraft knife.  Very important.

Oh, you're going to need one of these too.  This is rollup solar panels.  This is very important for just... if you need to recharge anything just in case.

Oh, and you're going to need a good pair of binoculars.  Make sure they're 10x power.  Zoom in.  Zoom out.  Always good.

And you're going to need a machete, no matter what.  This one has a sawback.  I don't think it's probably the best because you can't do that [pushes back end of machete with palm into hypothetical zombie] but just in case, you need a good sawback machete.

Oh, and take some seeds.  Very important if you're going to start a garden.  You're going to need that and you know, different kinds.  It also depends, make sure, good nutrition.

And always a good bottle of rum.  Because you're going to need to sterilize all the time.  It can also be a cooking fluid.  It can make fire. And you know, if you run out of options, this is a good way to go... So there's many things you need!  MANY THINGS