With the world of The Walking Dead, there are only so many TV shows you can dive into. And now that we know for a fact we won’t be getting any more Walking Dead spinoffs until 2027, we have plenty of time to check out different kinds of zombie media.
As a girl who also loves to read, I've found plenty of books that are great for casual The Walking Dead fans to get into. Here are four books you can check out if you have more time and want a reading experience rather than a viewing one.
The Stand by Stephen King
The first novel that I have to put on this list is The Stand by Stephen King, the absolute king of horror. The main premise follows a world where most of the population has been wiped out due to a lethal, weaponized strain of influenza, and because of this, the survivors (the remaining 1%) must figure out how to survive.
The Stand isn’t just a novel. It’s an experience. With 1,000+ pages, this is the kind of story that goes on and on with no end in sight until it comes to a massively and brilliantly written conclusion several hundred pages later.
While there are no walkers or zombies or anything else that might scare you, it explores divisions and what happens to society when it feels like there is nothing left to fight for. It follows the paths between good choices, morality, human nature, and so much more. And it really digs into the idea of how fast things fall apart when necessities are taken away from us.
There’s also a great TV adaptation of the book, so if you end up loving it, you should check out the HBO series.
World War Z by Max Brooks
I feel that if I didn’t put World War Z by Max Brooks here, my zombie card would be taken away. Yes, that famous Brad Pitt-led movie is based on an absolutely terrifying book.
The book isn’t exactly like the movie. Instead, it’s more of an oral history told through fictionalized interviews about how this world's horrors came to be and how the zombie pandemic began. Each interview tells the stories of survivors from all over the world and details how everything has changed.
With The Walking Dead, I think one of the biggest draws is that it digs deep into how people were changed by what happened and how the world changed. This is essentially that, but just without a serious linear story. It’s much more unique in how it delivers information, and that’s what makes it so good.
The movie does a great job of adapting it and turning it into a story people really love, but if you want the nitty-gritty, this is a great one to check out.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
If you want something similar to The Walking Dead, then The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan is a great choice.
The series is set in a world where most of the population has been turned into cannibalistic undead creatures. So, as those monsters roam the titular forest, the survivors must live behind a barricaded wall under a harsh regime called the Sisterhood of the Guardians.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth really dives deep into the morality of power. It’s also a great way to start a zombie series focused on one main character and her growth as she interacts with others. Two other books were published after this one to complete the trilogy, so you might as well read the first.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Last but not least, we have Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. In this story, we follow a group of survivors trying to rebuild their lives after a flu pandemic kills most of the population.
Honestly, I think Station Eleven is a great book for The Walking Dead fans if you want a series that is essentially just about hope and pure human survival. It has twists, turns, and moments of fear, especially when religious themes tie heavily into the plot. But in the end, it’s about people who change for better or worse during an apocalypse and what people will do to bring back civilization.
It’s not a series focused on zombies or anything else, but if you love good dystopian fiction, this is a great one to check out. And what do you know, there’s also a great adaptation of it on HBO Max.
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