World War Z

I wouldn't have asked this if I actually could obtain copies of the books, but... What's the origin of Solanum? Is it natural, or man-made bioweapon Gone Horribly Right? If the former, then how did the epidemic in China start?

Nothing on the relevant article mentions anything that could answer these questions, so I bring them up here.

That said... I so don't want to think of what the hell happened to the Norks/Kimmies. The Way Is Shut is damn scary enough as it is.

edited 11th Dec '12 8:07:22 AM by MarqFJA

Natural. The Zombie Survival Handbook has a chapter about recorded zombie outbreaks throughout history, the earliest suspected outbreak predates civilization.

Wow. That's one good piece of fanfiction there. I don't usually bother with fanfic because it tends to be below crappy, but that one was a very satisfying read.

Now tell me you're the author and this thread is just a ruse for advertising your work, please!!!

No, I'm not the author. You can find a link to my ff.net profile on my Contributor page.

Ok, with the movie having come out last week, I got curious enough to read the book (a movie tie-in PB, not unlike how I got introduced to Starship Troopers), and... I'm not really sure what the hype is about.

I mean, it wasn't a bad read (save the Yonkers scene, which has been ripped on elsewhere on these forums so I'll just leave off with shaking my head at the kid's ball pit filled with idiot balls the military brass were jumping around in ), but overall I was somewhat underwhelmed given the hype it's seen in some corners of the internet.

I won't say that my money was wasted on the book, but I can probably think of better things to have done with the $8 I spent on it (the county library copies all had several months waiting lines, each).

[edit] Also, I agree "The Way Shut" was excellent, and gave me a bad case of the heebie-jeebies.

[edit2] And in regards to the start of the China epidemic, Patient Zero for the action covered in WWZ (which isn't the oldest outbreak known) was a 12 year old boy who got bit by a zombie from an ancient burial ground that got flooded over by the construction of the Three Gorges dam. Kid and father were diving in the lake formed by the dam to retrieve stuff in the village that was destroyed by the lake's formation.

edited 1st Jul '13 5:15:48 PM by Nohbody

They made a movie about WWZ? Why didn't I hear of this?!

Solanum, in the Guide, has been around since prehistory. So not a weapon.

^^ Yup, it's a thing.

However, going from the release date info from IMDb, it doesn't look like there's a Saudi Arabia release, so you'll have to wait until it comes out on video or schlep over to one of the other countries in the region (I dunno where in SA you live so no clue on how long a trip that would be... but I'm going to hazard a wild guess that it's too long just to see one movie, even in a place where gas is [IIRC] dirt cheap ).

edited 2nd Jul '13 8:21:50 AM by Nohbody

Wow this thread is old.

I just wanna say that I love World War Z. It’s probably my favorite piece of Zombie media. It has so much I enjoy and get into. The political commentary, the excellent world building and the fact that the story is grounded in realism.

For the most part.

WWZ is the only zombie medium I have ever consumed, but even factoring Necessary Weasels in, the biology around "Solanum" was just too wrong to pass muster for me.

Even the book notes that the virus doesn't make sense biologically.

Of course it doesn't; a virus that drives its infectees to kill others in order to spread its infection? Not to mention the fact that it's able to survive in a dead organism to begin with.

Actually, that's not implausible; pathogens only need a living organism to reproduce, not to persist. So if killing the host provides some advantage, e.g if the corpse draws flies that can transmit the virus to new (living) hosts, it can be done.

Rather, the issues I have are:

• There is a well-established naming convention for viruses that this one doesn't adhere to. One would think we knew at least if it was a DNA or RNA virus, for one thing.
• A virus is never going to have a 100% mortality rate, period. By definition, a virus is heavily dependent on the host, and thus there will always be unsuitable or partially suitable hosts. So you'd have some immune and partially zombified individuals.
• A smell that all animals except for the main target can recognize is never going to arise in evolution, period. Absolutely not in the deep sea, at any rate.