Books Like Slow Burn: Zero Day

Books Like Slow Burn: Zero Day

With their relentless hunger for human flesh and the ability to continue despite grievous wounds, zombies are the ultimate monsters for many people. Traditionally, these monsters are depicted as slow and shambling, making it easier for ordinary humans to outwit and outrun them. However, a new breed of faster, intelligent zombies has also become more popular thanks to video games such as the Resident Evil series. No matter their origins or levels of intelligence, zombies continue to be terrifying creatures that continue to play an antagonistic role in many best-selling novels. For example, in Slow Burn by Bobby Adair, the lead character Zed Zane finds himself infected and fighting for his life in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. For more books where survivors have to fight for survival after a zombie apocalypse, check out the following books like Slow Burn: Zero Day.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

by Carrie Ryan

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is the first novel in the series of the same name by Carrie Ryan. All that the protagonist, Mary, has ever known is her village, which is surrounded by a fence protecting everyone from the zombies, which are referred to as the “Unconsecrated.” The village is also run by the Sisterhood, whose word is law. However, Mary’s world is thrown into chaos when the fence is breached, and she has a choice between staying and fighting or running into an unknown world filled with zombies.

Dark Recollections

by Chris Philbrook

Dark Recollections by Chris Philbrook

Dark Recollections by Chris Philbrook is the first book in Adrian’s Undead Diary series. The book chronicles the life of Adrian Ring in a diary format as he talks to his laptop, which he named “Mr. Journal.” After surviving the day of the zombie apocalypse, Adrian continues trying to survive in a world plagued by the undead. However, zombies are not his only problem, as Adrian also has to deal with other desperate survivors and his own guilt over making it through “That Day” when so many others didn’t. 

The Reapers Are the Angels

by Alden Bell

The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell

Temple is a 15-year-old trying to survive in the zombie-infested world of The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell. She can’t remember a time before America fell to the zombies as it happened before she was born already. What is left of civilization tries to survive in meager enclaves, but Temple is forced to leave her place of safety after she is assaulted and kills her human attacker. Temple flees to escape the vengeful brother of the man she killed, and while journeying across the blighted landscape, she acquires a traveling partner. 

The Enemy

by Charlie Higson

The Enemy by Charlie Higson

The Enemy by Charlie Higson offers a twist on the zombie genre with an infection that targets adults. Everyone above the age of fourteen fell ill, and while the lucky ones died, the remaining ones remained as crazed, confused, and hungry zombies. All the children under the age of fourteen were spared but found themselves in a world where everyone, from their parents to the police, was out to kill them. When a gang of children hears rumors about a safe place to hide, they set out on a quest across London to reach it. Their journey will take them through the city, down alleyways, through deserted houses, and into the underground, all while the grown-ups lie in wait. 

Dead of Night

by Jonathan Maberry

Dead of Night by Jonathan Maberry

Jonathan Maberry gives readers a unique twist on the typical zombie outbreak story in his novel Dead of Night. It begins with a prison doctor injecting a serial killer on death row with an experimental serum. His goal is to dish out even more punishment to the killer by letting him retain his awareness even as his body rots away in the grave. But, unfortunately, the body ends up at the mortuary, where it wakes up hungry, infected, and contagious. 

Dead City

by Joe McKinney

Dead City by Joe McKinney

Dead City is the first book by Joe McKinney in the Dead World series. It is set in the aftermath of the Texas Gulf Coast and half of the Lone Star State getting battered by five cataclysmic hurricanes in three weeks. However, things go from bad to worse when a deadly virus breaks out amid the wreckage, transforming the dead into flesh-eating zombies. It only takes a few hours for the undead plague to spread across Texas, leaving San Antonio police officer Eddie Hudson and a small group of survivors fighting for their lives. 

The First Days

by Rhiannon Frater

The First Days by Rhiannon Frater

The First Days is the first book in the As the World Dies series by Rhiannon Frater. The two lead characters, Katie and Jenni, are just two ordinary women who are thrown together by circumstances when the zombie apocalypse occurs. However, the duo quickly forms a powerful zombie-killing partnership and even manages to rescue Jenni’s stepson from an infected campground. As they flee from the zombie horde, they find sanctuary in a tiny, fortified Texas town. 

Zombie Road: Convoy of Carnage

by David A. Simpson

Zombie Road: Convoy of Carnage by David A. Simpson

Convoy of Carnage is the first book in the Zombie Road series by David A. Simpson. The protagonist, Gunny, is a truck driver and veteran minding his business over a cup of coffee at the Three Flags Truck stop when all hell breaks loose. He soon finds himself trapped inside the building with dwindling supplies as the zombie apocalypse unfolds outside. With the nearest safe zone two thousand miles away, the survivors at the truck stop know their chances of reaching it are slim. However, if they stay, they are guaranteed to die, so even a slight chance is better than nothing.