Max Brooks Talks Zombies in Vegas

“There’s nothing funny about being killed and eaten by zombies.”

True, but a lecture on zompocalypse survival tactics can be pretty funny. Max Brooks, author of the smash-hit books The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War came to the Clark County Library in Las Vegas on Friday night to discuss his views on the possibility of the zombie apocalypse and how best to survive it.

“I’m trying to save your life,” says Brooks, who approaches the subject with a humorous, irreverent tone and yet at no point denies the threat of zombie uprising as a very real possibility. Brooks started by explaining what the threat is and why zombies were a threat. Zombies, he explained, come to you, where other monsters you have to go out and find. To better prepare for a zombie threat, we must first divest ourselves of myths about zombie survival.

Brooks made frequent references to TV, movies, video games and so on, during the lecture, which certainly struck a nerve with the crowded theater, most of whom were young and pop culturally aware. “There won’t be random weapons and ammo and health packs lying around,” he says.

When asked what the most important asset you can have is, the crowd mainly responded “guns”. However, water, says Brooks, “ is the most important asset in a zombie outbreak.” The necessity of potable water in an emergency situation where treatment facilities may be compromised cannot be understated. Guns, he explains, “are more important for dealing with yahoos than zombies. Against the undead you need a melee weapon, something that does not need to be reloaded.”

As for the ideal motor vehicle, the consensus is a bicycle, since “cars have moving parts and it only takes one to break to make it useless. They also require gasoline.” Of course, if you’re using a bicycle or are on foot, you’ll need to stay in shape. “Start prepping now,” says Brooks. “You can’t cram for a zombie outbreak.”

Max also lectured of the importance of finding a solid group of people to depend on with a broad cross-section of skills, as well as a plan for where to go in case of emergency. “That first thought, get it out of your head. Go where noone wants go. Go check it out before Z-day. Get to know the people there.”

When confronted with the idea of a zombie outbreak, most people might say, “Zombies? Like that will ever happen.” However, if you can survive a zombie apocalypse, you can survive anything.

Max Brooks is also the author of Recorded Attacks, a graphic novel based on stories from The Zombie Survival Guide, available now. He is also writing a comic series for G.I. Joe that looks promising, since, in his words, “this time people are gonna die.”