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Has anyone written "rationalist fiction" about a zombie setting? Something like what Worm [0] was for superheroes. Something that isn't just a genre-savvy parod

Has anyone written "rationalist fiction" about a zombie setting? Something like what Worm [0] was for superheroes. Something that isn't just a genre-savvy parody of the flaws of characters in zombie films, but a serious exploration of a band of survivors working to build a community/society to survive and thrive against the zombies. It's probably hard to make it entertaining if one is in the mindset of mainstream tropes, but there's probably a way to make it work. [0] https://parahumans.wordpress.com/ https://parahumans.wordpress.com/

walshemj 8y ago
The Day of the Triffids sort of counts here I think
- lobster_johnson 8y ago
  It's a very smartly written novel that holds up very well. It's also unusually grim for the era. Steven Soderbergh's Contagion also comes to mind as an example of a realistic, scientifically accurate depiction of an epidemic. Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain, while not being about zombies, is a very science/fact-based exploration of a hypothetical outbreak. A much less scary scenario, though; the pathogen only affects a single, isolated town which is quickly secured, and all of the action occurs in the experimental underground science lab where they study it. The 1971 film is also fantastic, and holds up really well.
  - perplex 8y ago
    Funny enough, the Contagion movie was funded by Jeffrey Skoll a billionaire philanthropist. The purpose was too educate the public on the reality of a pandemic and importance of health organizations. There are other movies too, all designed to compel social change. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-giving-pledge-a-new-club-for-billionaires/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-giving-pledge-a-new-club-fo...
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michaelkeenan 8y ago
I haven't read it yet myself, but John Ringo's Black Tide Rising series is on my reading list with this note from a rationalist-fiction-loving friend of mine: "There'll be like twenty pages of epic zombie fighting, and then thirty pages on the logistics of salvaging supplies from abandoned ships. And the characters are complicated and nuanced but nearly everyone is super competent (or dies)."
dflock 8y ago
World War Z the book is more or less this, on a global scale. The movie has nothing to do with the book, except wasting the license.

walshemj 8y ago

The Day of the Triffids sort of counts here I think

lobster_johnson 8y ago
It's a very smartly written novel that holds up very well. It's also unusually grim for the era. Steven Soderbergh's Contagion also comes to mind as an example of a realistic, scientifically accurate depiction of an epidemic. Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain, while not being about zombies, is a very science/fact-based exploration of a hypothetical outbreak. A much less scary scenario, though; the pathogen only affects a single, isolated town which is quickly secured, and all of the action occurs in the experimental underground science lab where they study it. The 1971 film is also fantastic, and holds up really well.
- perplex 8y ago
  Funny enough, the Contagion movie was funded by Jeffrey Skoll a billionaire philanthropist. The purpose was too educate the public on the reality of a pandemic and importance of health organizations. There are other movies too, all designed to compel social change. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-giving-pledge-a-new-club-for-billionaires/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-giving-pledge-a-new-club-fo...

deleted 8y ago

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michaelkeenan 8y ago

I haven't read it yet myself, but John Ringo's Black Tide Rising series is on my reading list with this note from a rationalist-fiction-loving friend of mine: "There'll be like twenty pages of epic zombie fighting, and then thirty pages on the logistics of salvaging supplies from abandoned ships. And the characters are complicated and nuanced but nearly everyone is super competent (or dies)."

dflock 8y ago

World War Z the book is more or less this, on a global scale. The movie has nothing to do with the book, except wasting the license.