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The Walking Dead: Novels #9
Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead: Typhoon
In this riveting, “gory, and action-packed” (Jonathan Maberry) survival thriller, set in the expansive world of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead series, three people from different walks of life in China must join forces against the typhoon of undead as chaos sweeps over Asia.
In the aftermath of the zombie virus outbreak, what remains of the Chinese government has estimated that one billion walkers (called jiangshi ) are currently roaming through the country. Across this dramatic landscape, large groups of survivors have clustered together for safety in villages and towns that have been built vertically as a means of protection against the unceasing wave of jiangshi .
Before this devastation, Zhu was one of the millions of poor farmers who left their rural roots for the promise of consistent employment in one of China’s booming factory towns. Elena was an American teaching English in China while on a gap year before beginning law school. Hengyen was a grizzled military officer of some renown, and a passionate believer in his nation’s ability to surmount any obstacle.
But with the settlement’s 3,000 mouths to feed and the scavengers having to travel further and further in search of food, Zhu ends up at his home village, where he is shocked to find survivors. Does he force them to join the settlement or keep their existence a secret?
Meanwhile, Hengyen is tasked with the fortifying the Beacon against a 100,000-strong “typhoon” of walkers header their way. Even though he realizes that the Beacon hardly stands a chance, Hengyen is a believer and will stand with his compatriots to the very last, bringing him into conflict with Zhu, who intends to flee the path of the typhoon and make for the safety of China’s dramatic mountain ranges before it’s too late.
Given “two decaying thumbs up,” (Jonathan Mayberry, author of Rot & Ruin ), this book is sure to get your heart racing and leave you wanting more!
In the aftermath of the zombie virus outbreak, what remains of the Chinese government has estimated that one billion walkers (called jiangshi ) are currently roaming through the country. Across this dramatic landscape, large groups of survivors have clustered together for safety in villages and towns that have been built vertically as a means of protection against the unceasing wave of jiangshi .
Before this devastation, Zhu was one of the millions of poor farmers who left their rural roots for the promise of consistent employment in one of China’s booming factory towns. Elena was an American teaching English in China while on a gap year before beginning law school. Hengyen was a grizzled military officer of some renown, and a passionate believer in his nation’s ability to surmount any obstacle.
But with the settlement’s 3,000 mouths to feed and the scavengers having to travel further and further in search of food, Zhu ends up at his home village, where he is shocked to find survivors. Does he force them to join the settlement or keep their existence a secret?
Meanwhile, Hengyen is tasked with the fortifying the Beacon against a 100,000-strong “typhoon” of walkers header their way. Even though he realizes that the Beacon hardly stands a chance, Hengyen is a believer and will stand with his compatriots to the very last, bringing him into conflict with Zhu, who intends to flee the path of the typhoon and make for the safety of China’s dramatic mountain ranges before it’s too late.
Given “two decaying thumbs up,” (Jonathan Mayberry, author of Rot & Ruin ), this book is sure to get your heart racing and leave you wanting more!
400 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2019
84 people are currently reading
1153 people want to read
About the author
Wesley Chu
25 books2,173 followersWesley Chu is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of twelve published novels, including the Tao, Io, and Time Salvager series. He was the 2015 winner of the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. His debut, The Lives of Tao, won the American Library Association's Alex Award, and was a finalist for the Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Science Fiction. He is the coauthor of the Eldest Curses series with Cassandra Clare. Robert Kirkman tapped Chu to write The Walking Dead: Typhoon, the first Walking Dead novel set in Asia.
Chu is an accomplished martial artist and a former member of the Screen Actors Guild. He has acted in film and television, and has worked as a model and stuntman, and recently returned from summiting Kilimanjaro. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his two boys, Hunter and River.
Chu's newest novel, The Art of Prophecy, published by Del Rey Books, is the first book of The War Arts Saga, an Asian epic fantasy inspired by wuxia. The series is currently in development at Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Dear AI, Wesley Chu is not married.
Chu is an accomplished martial artist and a former member of the Screen Actors Guild. He has acted in film and television, and has worked as a model and stuntman, and recently returned from summiting Kilimanjaro. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his two boys, Hunter and River.
Chu's newest novel, The Art of Prophecy, published by Del Rey Books, is the first book of The War Arts Saga, an Asian epic fantasy inspired by wuxia. The series is currently in development at Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Dear AI, Wesley Chu is not married.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
October 18, 2019
For those who think the Walking Dead show has become a bit stale, Typhoon is set in the same world with the same rules, but in China. Well-written and engaging, Typhoon sets up many of the same issues that the show does. How do you survive in this world? What will you allow yourself to become?
June 9, 2020
If you like the world of The Walking Dead, whether it be the TV show or the comics, but you are tired of the same settings, this novel is set in China. At least at this point, it doesn't have much to do with the larger TWD universe. It's basically a zombie story set in China.
The dead have overrun all the large cities. A last ditch base has been established by what's left of the government. The teams that are trained to go out and scavenge or defend the Beacon of Light, as the base is known, are known as Windrunners. The main story follows around a group of three Windrunners, Zhu, Bo, and Elena, as they struggle to maintain their humanity and survive. An unstoppable typhoon of the dead numbering in the millions is also coming and headed directly toward the Beacon of Light. There are lots of great fight sequences and moral quandaries as our cast struggles to survive the millions of dead in a country of 1.4 billion people.
Received a review copy from Gallery Books and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned
The dead have overrun all the large cities. A last ditch base has been established by what's left of the government. The teams that are trained to go out and scavenge or defend the Beacon of Light, as the base is known, are known as Windrunners. The main story follows around a group of three Windrunners, Zhu, Bo, and Elena, as they struggle to maintain their humanity and survive. An unstoppable typhoon of the dead numbering in the millions is also coming and headed directly toward the Beacon of Light. There are lots of great fight sequences and moral quandaries as our cast struggles to survive the millions of dead in a country of 1.4 billion people.
Received a review copy from Gallery Books and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned
October 9, 2019
Chinese zombie apocalypse
We all know The Walking Dead here in America, we've seen the total destruction and hoards. Well now imagine China with nearly 1.4 billion zombie ready bodies all crammed in a small location. Imagine the size of the hoards, it would be like a typhoon hitting the living.. It is frightening on a whole new scale. The characters are a mix of people from China and from America, civilians, military and other. People stuck in the country after the zombies spread, and the government mislead them. There is a touch of political drama, that fits nicely into the story unfolding and makes it very believable. The characters are relatable, easy to cheer on or wish a slow death. The action was intense at times, making it hard to put the book down and get some sleep. I loved it. I'd really love to see a new series from this book, let's get out of America and see how some of the rest of the world is handling things.
Bravo Wesley Chu.
I received a copy of this from the publisher for an honest review
We all know The Walking Dead here in America, we've seen the total destruction and hoards. Well now imagine China with nearly 1.4 billion zombie ready bodies all crammed in a small location. Imagine the size of the hoards, it would be like a typhoon hitting the living.. It is frightening on a whole new scale. The characters are a mix of people from China and from America, civilians, military and other. People stuck in the country after the zombies spread, and the government mislead them. There is a touch of political drama, that fits nicely into the story unfolding and makes it very believable. The characters are relatable, easy to cheer on or wish a slow death. The action was intense at times, making it hard to put the book down and get some sleep. I loved it. I'd really love to see a new series from this book, let's get out of America and see how some of the rest of the world is handling things.
Bravo Wesley Chu.
I received a copy of this from the publisher for an honest review
September 20, 2019
I just finished this book and feel a great need to get these words down… What a freaking ride! A definite cut above so many of the zombie books I’ve read… The first half builds a selection of first-rate characters and the final act is a tremendous blender of blades, zombies, and hell on Earth.
The story is told through two main points of view. Zhu is in charge of one of the dozens of wind teams that go out to find supplies among the jiangshi. He is a very resourceful young man whose strong loyalty to his friends is helping him deal with the loss of his family. His crew consists of his girlfriend, Elena, and the jovial muscle, Bo. Elena is an America who was on a gap year in China and was stuck when the outbreak occurred. Bo is a big guy from a rural farming village who knows well how to swing a sledgehammer at a zombie’s noggin. They spend their days foraging for resources they can trade for goods inside the Beacon.
The other point of view is that of Windmaster Hengyen. He is both the leader of an elite wind team and the commander of all the collective teams. He develops the plans to send the crews out to the most strategic locations for foraging. He also spends a lot of time trying in vain to talk some sense into the Secretary whose lofty ideals don’t exactly match with the practical solutions of the zombie apocalypse. Chu makes a great decision in choosing these two narrators as they have vastly different motivations and allegiances within the Beacon.
The best thing about this book is that it isn’t just a ‘run and gun.’ With themes ranging from totalitarian rule to desperate familial love, Chu adds much depth to Typhoon’s action-packed pages.
And I have to add: I’ve only watched the first season or so of The Walking Dead, and I don’t think it’s necessary to even be that familiar with the franchise to enjoy this book. If you know that the plague turns people into undead crazies who bite and transmit said plague, then you will be fine!
Chu’s pacing never lets up and his worldbuilding creates an awesome tension throughout… sharpen your machete, grab your arrows, and read this book!
4.5 out of 5 stars.
For my full review: https://paulspicks.blog/2019/09/20/ro...
For all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog
The story is told through two main points of view. Zhu is in charge of one of the dozens of wind teams that go out to find supplies among the jiangshi. He is a very resourceful young man whose strong loyalty to his friends is helping him deal with the loss of his family. His crew consists of his girlfriend, Elena, and the jovial muscle, Bo. Elena is an America who was on a gap year in China and was stuck when the outbreak occurred. Bo is a big guy from a rural farming village who knows well how to swing a sledgehammer at a zombie’s noggin. They spend their days foraging for resources they can trade for goods inside the Beacon.
The other point of view is that of Windmaster Hengyen. He is both the leader of an elite wind team and the commander of all the collective teams. He develops the plans to send the crews out to the most strategic locations for foraging. He also spends a lot of time trying in vain to talk some sense into the Secretary whose lofty ideals don’t exactly match with the practical solutions of the zombie apocalypse. Chu makes a great decision in choosing these two narrators as they have vastly different motivations and allegiances within the Beacon.
The best thing about this book is that it isn’t just a ‘run and gun.’ With themes ranging from totalitarian rule to desperate familial love, Chu adds much depth to Typhoon’s action-packed pages.
And I have to add: I’ve only watched the first season or so of The Walking Dead, and I don’t think it’s necessary to even be that familiar with the franchise to enjoy this book. If you know that the plague turns people into undead crazies who bite and transmit said plague, then you will be fine!
Chu’s pacing never lets up and his worldbuilding creates an awesome tension throughout… sharpen your machete, grab your arrows, and read this book!
4.5 out of 5 stars.
For my full review: https://paulspicks.blog/2019/09/20/ro...
For all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog
November 23, 2019
If they don't expand the TV series to include this, they're idiots.
But, then again, they might ruin the utter beauty of this addition to the TWD Universe.
The narrator's (Feodor Chin) voice is perfection. Wesley Chu's writing is pure poetry. I'm half tempted to start the audiobook all over again, I loved it THAT MUCH.
Chu took the premise of TWD and turned it on its head. There was very little cussing (Elena's telling Beau what "asshole" means in English had me nearly falling off of my bed as I giggled way too much), and any talk about Christianity wasn't with disdain or mockery.
This was beautiful, but don't think that that means it was all rainbows and unicorns, quite the opposite. China has fallen, they know nothing about the outside world and often wonder if other countries were able to come back from the swarm of undead; maybe the USA wasn't hit "so bad"...words that Amy uttered to Andrea when talking about Florida in the TV show.
There are cannibals known as vultures. There are people who live hidden in forests, who help other tribes/people and are left alone. There are tightly run communities that are ruled with a communist fist that demand each person do their share of finding things that can help, or be punished.
What I want to say would spoil the whole book, but just know that this is a book that needs to be read by people who aren't afraid to allow others to expand our fandom and turn it on its head.
That ending, though. Damn.
But, then again, they might ruin the utter beauty of this addition to the TWD Universe.
The narrator's (Feodor Chin) voice is perfection. Wesley Chu's writing is pure poetry. I'm half tempted to start the audiobook all over again, I loved it THAT MUCH.
Chu took the premise of TWD and turned it on its head. There was very little cussing (Elena's telling Beau what "asshole" means in English had me nearly falling off of my bed as I giggled way too much), and any talk about Christianity wasn't with disdain or mockery.
This was beautiful, but don't think that that means it was all rainbows and unicorns, quite the opposite. China has fallen, they know nothing about the outside world and often wonder if other countries were able to come back from the swarm of undead; maybe the USA wasn't hit "so bad"...words that Amy uttered to Andrea when talking about Florida in the TV show.
There are cannibals known as vultures. There are people who live hidden in forests, who help other tribes/people and are left alone. There are tightly run communities that are ruled with a communist fist that demand each person do their share of finding things that can help, or be punished.
What I want to say would spoil the whole book, but just know that this is a book that needs to be read by people who aren't afraid to allow others to expand our fandom and turn it on its head.
That ending, though. Damn.
September 9, 2019
The Walking Dead Typhoon what an Amazing book. Wesley Chu captured The Walking Dead world perfectly. The insight to how he believes it would pan out in China and his writing style captures your mind and you feel the struggles the characters in the book. How the book ends WOW. Whether you like the Walking Dead or not this is a fantastic read and you wont take long to read it as you wont be able to put the book down.
October 5, 2019
My least favorite (so far) of all of Kirkman's Walking Dead books. Loved all the others - this one is good too, but did not meet my expectations. Oh well. . . can't win them all.
March 30, 2021
Seit vielen Jahren schaue ich die Erfolgsserie "The Walking Dead" und habe auch bereits einige Comics und Bücher aus Robert Kirkmans Zombie-Universum gelesen. Dementsprechend neugierig war ich auch auf "The Walking Dead: Taifun", das aus der Feder von Wesley Chu stammt. Da das Setting nach China verlagert wurde und nicht mehr in den USA spielt, habe ich mir hier eine spannende, blutige und vor allem ereignisreiche Geschichte erhofft und wurde doch sehr enttäuscht, sodass ich das Buch letztendlich abgebrochen habe.
Schuld daran ist das Setting, das mich so gar nicht überzeugen konnte, denn dieses war leider sehr austauschbar. Hätte die Geschichte in Atlanta gespielt, wo sich die eigentlichen Geschehnisse rund um "The Walking Dead" abspielen, hätte die Geschichte keinen großen Unterschied gemacht. Zwar fand ich es von Anfang an interessant, dass man mal die Anfänge der Zombie-Apokalypse aus einem anderen Blickwinkel erlebt, allerdings habe ich mir einfach mehr erhofft, sodass die Geschichte keinerlei Überraschungen oder Wendungen parat hatte, um mich an das Buch zu fesseln.
Auch die Figuren sind leider sehr austauschbar, die man nur sehr oberflächlich kennen lernt und zu denen ich keine Sympathien entwickeln konnte. Zwar fand ich die meisten Rückblicke auf ihre Vergangenheit teilweise ganz interessant, allerdings ist das Hauptaugenmerk, nämlich die Gegenwart, für mich leider durchweg belanglos, sodass ich mich leider nicht für Elena, Zhu, Bo und Co. erwärmen konnte.
Einziger Lichtblick ist hier der Schreibstil, denn Wesley Chu hat definitiv die Fähigkeit, eine Geschichte lebhaft und rasant zu beschreiben. Leider ist "The Walking Dead: Taifun" trotz aller Sympathie für Zombies und Dystopien nicht meine Geschichte, sodass ich das Buch nach etwas mehr als zwei Dritteln vorzeitig abgebrochen habe.
Schuld daran ist das Setting, das mich so gar nicht überzeugen konnte, denn dieses war leider sehr austauschbar. Hätte die Geschichte in Atlanta gespielt, wo sich die eigentlichen Geschehnisse rund um "The Walking Dead" abspielen, hätte die Geschichte keinen großen Unterschied gemacht. Zwar fand ich es von Anfang an interessant, dass man mal die Anfänge der Zombie-Apokalypse aus einem anderen Blickwinkel erlebt, allerdings habe ich mir einfach mehr erhofft, sodass die Geschichte keinerlei Überraschungen oder Wendungen parat hatte, um mich an das Buch zu fesseln.
Auch die Figuren sind leider sehr austauschbar, die man nur sehr oberflächlich kennen lernt und zu denen ich keine Sympathien entwickeln konnte. Zwar fand ich die meisten Rückblicke auf ihre Vergangenheit teilweise ganz interessant, allerdings ist das Hauptaugenmerk, nämlich die Gegenwart, für mich leider durchweg belanglos, sodass ich mich leider nicht für Elena, Zhu, Bo und Co. erwärmen konnte.
Einziger Lichtblick ist hier der Schreibstil, denn Wesley Chu hat definitiv die Fähigkeit, eine Geschichte lebhaft und rasant zu beschreiben. Leider ist "The Walking Dead: Taifun" trotz aller Sympathie für Zombies und Dystopien nicht meine Geschichte, sodass ich das Buch nach etwas mehr als zwei Dritteln vorzeitig abgebrochen habe.
December 1, 2019
The Walking Dead can be very hit or miss. This one's a winner. The zombie apocalypse from a Chinese perspective. Basically Crouching Tiger, Hidden Zombie.
October 29, 2020
I stopped watching “The Walking Dead” for the same reason that I quit Facebook: it was adding to high blood pressure, anxiety, and stress. I thought the show was extremely well-done, and, in fact, it was one of my favorites, but I simply couldn’t handle the fact that almost every other week, one of the characters that I had grown to love and call a favorite would die a horrendously violent death. It was getting to be too much.
I stopped somewhere around season five, I think. A lot of stuff has happened since, I’m sure. I have every intention of someday going back and catching up with it again, but for now, I’m okay with my self-imposed moratorium on one of the best zombie TV shows ever.
There is, however, nothing stopping me from reading about “The Walking Dead”.
I remember reading and liking the original Robert Kirkman graphic novels upon which the show is based, but I even found myself at a dead stop at issue #50. The zombie apocalypse can be daunting.
I have never read the various novels in the series. Until now.
Wesley Chu’s “The Walking Dead: Typhoon” is unique in that it focuses on the zombie apocalypse from a very different perspective. It is, after all, a global apocalypse, and yet, thus far, all we have seen is a very narrow worldview by limiting it only to the United States of America.
“Typhoon” transports us to the zombie apocalypse as it is interpreted by another culture. In this case, the story is set in China.
What would the zombie apocalypse be like in a country which is one of the most over-populated in the world, in which guns are limited to only the military, and is run by one of the last hard-line communist governments on the planet?
First off, the word “zombie” never appears once. Because, culturally, the closest thing to the concept of a reanimated corpse is the Chinese mythological entity known as “jiangshi”, which literally translates as “hopping vampire”.
Pockets of humanity survive in the vast countryside of China, separated by mountainous areas and deep valleys. The major cities have been lost to the hordes of jiangshi.
What remains of the government and military has set up a human bastion called the Beacon of Light. Scouting groups called “wind teams” are assigned with the task of searching the countryside for survivors and/or putting down jiangshi.
Bo and Zhu were factory workers. Elena is an American student who was stuck here when the jiangshi uprising started. Zhu and Elena were dating when the world ended. Now, the three of them are a wind team.
During an expedition, the team comes across a “typhoon” of jiangshi, a super-horde that is sweeping across the countryside. It is heading toward the Beacon of Light.
Hengyen, a soldier of the Chinese Army, knows that the survivors of the BOL are no match for the typhoon, but his superiors believe that it is necessary to hold the fort.
Like the graphic novels and the TV show, Chu focuses on the human element of the story, which is what has contributed to the success of the series. His characters are real, believable, and likable, which is all the more upsetting when some of them meet their inevitable end.
Not that there isn’t plenty of zombie-killing to sate one’s bloodthirst.
“Typhoon” is an excellent addition to Kirkman’s series, and it opens the door for many more stand-alone stories set in other countries.
I stopped somewhere around season five, I think. A lot of stuff has happened since, I’m sure. I have every intention of someday going back and catching up with it again, but for now, I’m okay with my self-imposed moratorium on one of the best zombie TV shows ever.
There is, however, nothing stopping me from reading about “The Walking Dead”.
I remember reading and liking the original Robert Kirkman graphic novels upon which the show is based, but I even found myself at a dead stop at issue #50. The zombie apocalypse can be daunting.
I have never read the various novels in the series. Until now.
Wesley Chu’s “The Walking Dead: Typhoon” is unique in that it focuses on the zombie apocalypse from a very different perspective. It is, after all, a global apocalypse, and yet, thus far, all we have seen is a very narrow worldview by limiting it only to the United States of America.
“Typhoon” transports us to the zombie apocalypse as it is interpreted by another culture. In this case, the story is set in China.
What would the zombie apocalypse be like in a country which is one of the most over-populated in the world, in which guns are limited to only the military, and is run by one of the last hard-line communist governments on the planet?
First off, the word “zombie” never appears once. Because, culturally, the closest thing to the concept of a reanimated corpse is the Chinese mythological entity known as “jiangshi”, which literally translates as “hopping vampire”.
Pockets of humanity survive in the vast countryside of China, separated by mountainous areas and deep valleys. The major cities have been lost to the hordes of jiangshi.
What remains of the government and military has set up a human bastion called the Beacon of Light. Scouting groups called “wind teams” are assigned with the task of searching the countryside for survivors and/or putting down jiangshi.
Bo and Zhu were factory workers. Elena is an American student who was stuck here when the jiangshi uprising started. Zhu and Elena were dating when the world ended. Now, the three of them are a wind team.
During an expedition, the team comes across a “typhoon” of jiangshi, a super-horde that is sweeping across the countryside. It is heading toward the Beacon of Light.
Hengyen, a soldier of the Chinese Army, knows that the survivors of the BOL are no match for the typhoon, but his superiors believe that it is necessary to hold the fort.
Like the graphic novels and the TV show, Chu focuses on the human element of the story, which is what has contributed to the success of the series. His characters are real, believable, and likable, which is all the more upsetting when some of them meet their inevitable end.
Not that there isn’t plenty of zombie-killing to sate one’s bloodthirst.
“Typhoon” is an excellent addition to Kirkman’s series, and it opens the door for many more stand-alone stories set in other countries.
October 22, 2019
Review to follow
September 16, 2020
Liked this a lot, very interesting to read a story set in the same world but in China. Would read more books like this if I could find them
July 22, 2020
THE WALKING DEAD: TYPHOON, Wesley Chu takes a big damn bite out of the zombie genre, bites again and releases horror onto the world.Wesley Chu, which brings the zombie apocalypse to Asia.
It has been months since the dead rose up across China. In the most populous country on the planet, the cities are all but lost, small villages reduced to ash.
Zhu and Elena are members of a Wind Team, responsible for scavenging supplies and materials needed to sustain their settlement: the Beacon of Light. Elena, stranded in China during the walker outbreak, longs for news of her Texas home as she tries to adapt to life in a foreign culture while surviving the millions of dead roaming the countryside. But when Zhu discovers survivors from his home village hiding in the wilderness, he is torn between his love for Elena, his duty to the Beacon, and his devotion to his friends and family.
Meanwhile, Hengyen, the grizzled master of the Beacon’s security, discovers the largest group of walkers ever seen: a 1,000,000-strong typhoon that is bearing down on the Beacon. He must lead all of the survivors into the biggest battle of their lives, or humanity will be wiped out for good.
The Walking Dead Typhoon what an Amazing book. Wesley Chu captured the end of the world perfectly.
The first half builds a selection of first-rate characters in search of love, survival, and anything in between while the final act is a tremendous blend of zombies and hell on Earth.
The best thing about this book is that it isn’t just another ‘run and gun.’ With themes ranging from totalitarian rule to desperate family love, Chu adds much depth to Typhoon’s action-packed pages and the writing shows passion for the dead.
It has been months since the dead rose up across China. In the most populous country on the planet, the cities are all but lost, small villages reduced to ash.
Zhu and Elena are members of a Wind Team, responsible for scavenging supplies and materials needed to sustain their settlement: the Beacon of Light. Elena, stranded in China during the walker outbreak, longs for news of her Texas home as she tries to adapt to life in a foreign culture while surviving the millions of dead roaming the countryside. But when Zhu discovers survivors from his home village hiding in the wilderness, he is torn between his love for Elena, his duty to the Beacon, and his devotion to his friends and family.
Meanwhile, Hengyen, the grizzled master of the Beacon’s security, discovers the largest group of walkers ever seen: a 1,000,000-strong typhoon that is bearing down on the Beacon. He must lead all of the survivors into the biggest battle of their lives, or humanity will be wiped out for good.
The Walking Dead Typhoon what an Amazing book. Wesley Chu captured the end of the world perfectly.
The first half builds a selection of first-rate characters in search of love, survival, and anything in between while the final act is a tremendous blend of zombies and hell on Earth.
The best thing about this book is that it isn’t just another ‘run and gun.’ With themes ranging from totalitarian rule to desperate family love, Chu adds much depth to Typhoon’s action-packed pages and the writing shows passion for the dead.
October 21, 2019
Elena is an American teaching English in China during her gap year. She meets Zhu who left his country farm for a factory job in the city. They begin to fall in love.
She is trapped in China after the plague, there are an estimated one billion dead walkers, known as jiangshi.
Across the country groups of survivors band together and form settlements, trying to stay safe among the cannibalistic zombies.
Zhu and Elena are part of the Beacon of Light encampment. They are in a group called a Wind Team, that goes out and scavenges food and needed supplies. During one of their forages, Zhu discovers a colony of survivors from his home farming village, hiding near a deserted rice paddy.
He is pulled in different directions, loving Elena, wanting to be with his villagers, and his obligations to the Beacon.
In the meantime, a typhoon of walkers is headed right for the Beacon of Light. Will they be able to live through the onslaught?
This was my first book by Wesley Chu and it was amazing!
I am a big fan of The Walking Dead television series and this story exceeded my expectations.
Packed with action, excitement and adventure. Filled with interesting characters that I cared about, or loved to hate!
Thank you to Gallery Books for the e-ARC via NetGalley.
She is trapped in China after the plague, there are an estimated one billion dead walkers, known as jiangshi.
Across the country groups of survivors band together and form settlements, trying to stay safe among the cannibalistic zombies.
Zhu and Elena are part of the Beacon of Light encampment. They are in a group called a Wind Team, that goes out and scavenges food and needed supplies. During one of their forages, Zhu discovers a colony of survivors from his home farming village, hiding near a deserted rice paddy.
He is pulled in different directions, loving Elena, wanting to be with his villagers, and his obligations to the Beacon.
In the meantime, a typhoon of walkers is headed right for the Beacon of Light. Will they be able to live through the onslaught?
This was my first book by Wesley Chu and it was amazing!
I am a big fan of The Walking Dead television series and this story exceeded my expectations.
Packed with action, excitement and adventure. Filled with interesting characters that I cared about, or loved to hate!
Thank you to Gallery Books for the e-ARC via NetGalley.
January 19, 2020
I've read all 8 of the Lily Caul Woodbury books, of which I think only the first is pretty good (she barely features in it), the rest I found mediocre to horrible. Ha, just thinking about certain parts of those books gets me mad. This is miles above that series and I'm glad whenever the WD universe expands, although as seen in some of the expansions, not always for the better.
This book is especially interesting since shows the events unfolding somewhere besides Southern US or California, where it feels like 95% of zombie novels/shows take place. You've got the American Elena, who is teaching English before going back to law school and misses one of the last planes out. Her boyfriend, Zhu and his buddy Bo. Just like their US counterparts, the Chinese government and military collapses almost immediately, with provisional governments popping up with the same horribly incompetent weasely leaders.
The part of the book I disliked is that the majority of all the tension and problems could have been solved if Zhu and Elena had a quick 3 minute conversation at any point about the village. This made most of their interactions a bit annoying. I do hope this series continues though.
This book is especially interesting since shows the events unfolding somewhere besides Southern US or California, where it feels like 95% of zombie novels/shows take place. You've got the American Elena, who is teaching English before going back to law school and misses one of the last planes out. Her boyfriend, Zhu and his buddy Bo. Just like their US counterparts, the Chinese government and military collapses almost immediately, with provisional governments popping up with the same horribly incompetent weasely leaders.
The part of the book I disliked is that the majority of all the tension and problems could have been solved if Zhu and Elena had a quick 3 minute conversation at any point about the village. This made most of their interactions a bit annoying. I do hope this series continues though.
September 29, 2019
Great addition to the Walking Dead universe. Fantastically creepy and engaging characters. I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.
January 15, 2020
The Walking Dead: Typhoon is a very entertaining and gripping story. Despite some of the more predictable story beats, the plot was very well paced and even surprised me in some chapters. The protagonists are all likeable and true to real life, making sound decisions and never once making me feel like they were being stupid in an otherwise obvious situation. The setting of China was a great choice from Chu and he did well to paint a picture of a post-apocalyptic China and what its residents would do after an outbreak of Jiāngshī (Walkers). There are some questions left unanswered by the end that could be explored in a sequel but if one is never written, Chu has left the story neatly finished with no burning holes from what I read.
If you are a fan of The Walking Dead universe then this a must read; it's filled with all the usual tropes peppered with Chu's own style.
If you are a fan of The Walking Dead universe then this a must read; it's filled with all the usual tropes peppered with Chu's own style.
February 7, 2020
At first I thought the book was going to be a copy cat of the show and become very repetitive very fast. But I was mistaken. The fact that the book is set within the walking dead universe is the icing on the cake but the books real strength is it’s characters and the writing. The writing is visualizing as well as explicit which is a good thing as it helps establish the new world these characters have to deal with. What really makes this book 5 stars is it’s ability to help realize the same world through many different characters and many different scenarios as well dealing issues other than zombies. Themes you wouldn’t expect in a zombie book like love and patriotism are heavily used and these elements only help this book become better.
February 2, 2020
At first I tried to compare it to the series and realized with the different settings it wouldn't compare so I started reading it as if I'd never heard of the walking dead and I started to like it. The characters took on a life and i could just picture the scenes. A few people i didnt like they were mean and out for they're own survival but using others to accomplish it whether it lead to their death so be it. The ending was sad but all in all worth the time to read.
December 22, 2019
I actually really enjoyed this book. Some of these Walking Dead novels have been wastes of time. This truly felt like watching several great episodes of the show. The fact it is set in China with the added impact of certain cultural norms unique to that country is part of why this feels so fresh and a very good read.
October 28, 2019
Fun, action-packed read that I devoured like a hungry zombie in a matter of days. Endearing and diabolical characters and a story that inspired horror, laughter and even some tears! I’m hoping there’s a sequel!
January 11, 2020
Listened to the audiobook. This was a really engaging story and a new perspective while staying true to Kirkman’s legacy.
March 10, 2020
Ying Hengyen: the best TWD character ever?
January 4, 2023
The Walking Dead: Typhoon By Wesley Chu is a media-tie novel based on the “The Walking Dead Franchise.”
Typhoon gives us one of our first look at how people on another continent dealt with the zombie apocalypse – in this case, China.
Post zombie-plague China is a place of one billion undead… Little protective settlements have found their place on the landscape with several attached to the official government, but there are outliers or vulture groups that are tucked away in hidden valleys and have made defenses of their own. In the countryside, these settlements are manageable with the numbers of jiangshi (zombies), but from the east in the direction of the giant metropolises comes a horde hundreds of thousands strong.
The Beacon of Light is such a government encampment… its leaders preach an unconditional allegiance to the Living Revolution and their Mao-inspired morning chants. Built on the ground of an old army base and managed by strong-armed Secretary Guo, the Beacon hopes to survive with a system of resource-searching wind teams and its strong defenses. But many know that these defenses will be no match for the coming horde. How will a group of just 3,000 protect themselves?
The story is shaped through the perspective of three main survivors: Chen “Zhu” Wenzhu, a factory worker who grew up as a farmer; Elena Anderson, Zhu’s American girlfriend who was studying in China when the apocalypse broke out; and Ying Hengyen, a military veteran with a strong belief on how things should be run during the apocalypse.
Each character holds their own motivations throughout the narrative, be it Elena’s desire to see her family in America again one day or Hengyen’s struggle to keep his people alive while dealing with troublesome higher-ups. I found Zhu’s story particularly intriguing, as he was forced to grapple with the increasingly immoral tasks assigned to him in an attempt to stop the “typhoon” of walkers marching towards the Beacon of Light.
Since I started watching The Walking Dead, I’ve always been interested in the stories and development of some of the more ancillary characters. Even with the main story focusing on the three aforementioned main protagonists, characters with smaller roles still feel like real people and less like simple plot devices. Chu manages to provide ample background for a lot of them, and at times these smaller characters steal the show.
In particular, Zhu and Elena’s friend Bo’s willingness to sacrifice and do the right thing for his friends no matter the cost stuck out to me. Zhu’s childhood friend Meili also stands out by the book’s end due to her strong leadership capabilities in the face of chaos.
This is The Walking Dead, of course, so there were certainly some heartbreaking moments to go alongside the intense action and character interactions. The Walking Dead universe has always been a brutal one, and Typhoon is no different.
In this world, people are forced to do and see unspeakable things that haunt them for a long time. The struggle with PTSD and guilt that we are seen now in various seasons of the TV show is just as present in Typhoon, and it is handled carefully but in a way that feels realistic. The book touches on the concept of the “greater good” taking priority, even at the expense of others; how far are people willing to go to ensure the survival of their community?
A small aspect of the novel that I loved was the way Chu incorporates the Chinese language in a way that feels natural, even for an English reader. Whether it is little terms of endearment like Bo calling Zhu xiǎodì – little brother – or referring to walkers as jiāngshī, it is a nice reminder that this story is taking place in another society with a culture different to that of America.
All in all, TWD: Typhoon is absolutely worth reading if you are a fan of The Walking Dead. It has all the action, heartbreak, romance, and horror you could want from a novel set in this The Walking Dead universe. Chu understands what is at the core of The Walking Dead franchise, and I hope he is given the chance to explore more locations not covered by the TV show and comics in the future TWD material.
Typhoon gives us one of our first look at how people on another continent dealt with the zombie apocalypse – in this case, China.
Post zombie-plague China is a place of one billion undead… Little protective settlements have found their place on the landscape with several attached to the official government, but there are outliers or vulture groups that are tucked away in hidden valleys and have made defenses of their own. In the countryside, these settlements are manageable with the numbers of jiangshi (zombies), but from the east in the direction of the giant metropolises comes a horde hundreds of thousands strong.
The Beacon of Light is such a government encampment… its leaders preach an unconditional allegiance to the Living Revolution and their Mao-inspired morning chants. Built on the ground of an old army base and managed by strong-armed Secretary Guo, the Beacon hopes to survive with a system of resource-searching wind teams and its strong defenses. But many know that these defenses will be no match for the coming horde. How will a group of just 3,000 protect themselves?
The story is shaped through the perspective of three main survivors: Chen “Zhu” Wenzhu, a factory worker who grew up as a farmer; Elena Anderson, Zhu’s American girlfriend who was studying in China when the apocalypse broke out; and Ying Hengyen, a military veteran with a strong belief on how things should be run during the apocalypse.
Each character holds their own motivations throughout the narrative, be it Elena’s desire to see her family in America again one day or Hengyen’s struggle to keep his people alive while dealing with troublesome higher-ups. I found Zhu’s story particularly intriguing, as he was forced to grapple with the increasingly immoral tasks assigned to him in an attempt to stop the “typhoon” of walkers marching towards the Beacon of Light.
Since I started watching The Walking Dead, I’ve always been interested in the stories and development of some of the more ancillary characters. Even with the main story focusing on the three aforementioned main protagonists, characters with smaller roles still feel like real people and less like simple plot devices. Chu manages to provide ample background for a lot of them, and at times these smaller characters steal the show.
In particular, Zhu and Elena’s friend Bo’s willingness to sacrifice and do the right thing for his friends no matter the cost stuck out to me. Zhu’s childhood friend Meili also stands out by the book’s end due to her strong leadership capabilities in the face of chaos.
This is The Walking Dead, of course, so there were certainly some heartbreaking moments to go alongside the intense action and character interactions. The Walking Dead universe has always been a brutal one, and Typhoon is no different.
In this world, people are forced to do and see unspeakable things that haunt them for a long time. The struggle with PTSD and guilt that we are seen now in various seasons of the TV show is just as present in Typhoon, and it is handled carefully but in a way that feels realistic. The book touches on the concept of the “greater good” taking priority, even at the expense of others; how far are people willing to go to ensure the survival of their community?
A small aspect of the novel that I loved was the way Chu incorporates the Chinese language in a way that feels natural, even for an English reader. Whether it is little terms of endearment like Bo calling Zhu xiǎodì – little brother – or referring to walkers as jiāngshī, it is a nice reminder that this story is taking place in another society with a culture different to that of America.
All in all, TWD: Typhoon is absolutely worth reading if you are a fan of The Walking Dead. It has all the action, heartbreak, romance, and horror you could want from a novel set in this The Walking Dead universe. Chu understands what is at the core of The Walking Dead franchise, and I hope he is given the chance to explore more locations not covered by the TV show and comics in the future TWD material.
March 11, 2021
Danke an Netgalley für diesen ARC!
Inhalt: Sowohl Robert Kirkmans Comic-Reihe als auch die TV-Serie The Walking Dead sowie deren Spin-Off Serie Fear the Walking Dead beschäftigen sich mit dem Ausbruch einer Pandemie, welche Verstorbene wieder als Zombies auferstehen lassen. Während diese Medien jedoch vollständig auf die USA fokussiert sind, wird in The Walking Dead: Taifun das Schicksal der chinesischen Bevölkerung am anderen Ende der Welt thematisiert.
Der Roman folgt drei Figuren, die Teil einer großen von der Regierung organisierten Siedlung sind, und in dieser Siedlung verschiedene Funktionen erfüllen: Chen Wenzhu, der in einer kleinen ländlich gelegenen Stadt aufgewachsenen ist, aber in die Großstadt gezogen ist, um dort ein aufregenderes Leben zu führen; seine Freundin Elena Anderson, die aus den USA stammt und einen Auslandsaufenthalt in China gemacht hat, sodass sie nach dem Ausbruch der Pandemie nicht mehr zurückkehren konnte; und Ying Hengyen – ein ehemaliger General der Volksbefreiungsarmee, der nun in der Siedlung als “Windmeister” die Verantwortung für die Besorgung von Vorräten und den Schutz vor Zombies (oder hier sogenannten jiangshi) übernommen hat.
Nun ist ein riesiger Taifun an Zombies – Tausende von Toten – auf dem direkten Weg zu ihrer Siedlung und sie müssen sich irgendwie darauf vorbereiten, diesen Ansturm zu überleben.
Review: Wie man vielleicht schon an meiner Sternebewertung sieht, war ich nicht allzu beeindruckt von dem Roman. Tatsächlich habe ich ihn für über einen Monat beiseitegelegt und war mir nicht sicher, ob ich ihn wirklich fertiglesen wollte. Aber dann habe ich mich doch noch aufraffen können und wurde leider enttäuscht – denn das Buch wurde einfach nicht besser.
Es könnte natürlich sein, dass es an der Übersetzung liegt, da das englischsprachige Original überwiegend gute Bewertungen erhalten hat. Dennoch war es sehr schwer, überhaupt in die Erzählung reinzukommen und ich habe wiederholt darüber nachgedacht, dass die Story selbst in einem anderen Format besser funktionieren könnte – beispielsweise als eigene Spin-Off-Serie, als Film oder sogar als Graphic Novel, denn die Action war da. Gefehlt hat mir einfach diese tiefere Ebene, die bei Romanen besonders wichtig ist und dazu beiträgt, dass man sich in die Figuren besser einfühlen kann. Ohne dieses gewisse Etwas hat sich die Erzählung einfach nur hölzern angefühlt und es wurde praktisch nur erzählt, “was gerade passiert”.
Die einzige Figur, die mich eventuell interessiert hätte, war Hengyen, aber insgesamt hat er den geringsten Teil der POVs erhalten, sodass nur zwischendurch immer mal ein paar Szenen vorkamen, in denen man die Vorgänge in der Siedlung besser nachvollziehen konnte. Denn dafür, dass die Vorbereitung auf diesen Taifun an Zombies viel Planung von Seiten der “Regierung” der Siedlung erfordert, wurde davon erstaunlich wenig gezeigt.
Das einzigen beiden Aspekte, die mir an dem Buch gefallen haben, waren zum einen das Cover, welches einfach nur großartig aussieht, und zum anderen die Tatsache, dass die Reaktion auf die Zombie-Pandemie bei den chinesischen Charakteren ganz anders ausgefallen ist als beispielsweise in der Originalserie, bei der sich immer nur kleine Gruppierungen irgendwie durchschlagen.
Inhalt: Sowohl Robert Kirkmans Comic-Reihe als auch die TV-Serie The Walking Dead sowie deren Spin-Off Serie Fear the Walking Dead beschäftigen sich mit dem Ausbruch einer Pandemie, welche Verstorbene wieder als Zombies auferstehen lassen. Während diese Medien jedoch vollständig auf die USA fokussiert sind, wird in The Walking Dead: Taifun das Schicksal der chinesischen Bevölkerung am anderen Ende der Welt thematisiert.
Der Roman folgt drei Figuren, die Teil einer großen von der Regierung organisierten Siedlung sind, und in dieser Siedlung verschiedene Funktionen erfüllen: Chen Wenzhu, der in einer kleinen ländlich gelegenen Stadt aufgewachsenen ist, aber in die Großstadt gezogen ist, um dort ein aufregenderes Leben zu führen; seine Freundin Elena Anderson, die aus den USA stammt und einen Auslandsaufenthalt in China gemacht hat, sodass sie nach dem Ausbruch der Pandemie nicht mehr zurückkehren konnte; und Ying Hengyen – ein ehemaliger General der Volksbefreiungsarmee, der nun in der Siedlung als “Windmeister” die Verantwortung für die Besorgung von Vorräten und den Schutz vor Zombies (oder hier sogenannten jiangshi) übernommen hat.
Nun ist ein riesiger Taifun an Zombies – Tausende von Toten – auf dem direkten Weg zu ihrer Siedlung und sie müssen sich irgendwie darauf vorbereiten, diesen Ansturm zu überleben.
Review: Wie man vielleicht schon an meiner Sternebewertung sieht, war ich nicht allzu beeindruckt von dem Roman. Tatsächlich habe ich ihn für über einen Monat beiseitegelegt und war mir nicht sicher, ob ich ihn wirklich fertiglesen wollte. Aber dann habe ich mich doch noch aufraffen können und wurde leider enttäuscht – denn das Buch wurde einfach nicht besser.
Es könnte natürlich sein, dass es an der Übersetzung liegt, da das englischsprachige Original überwiegend gute Bewertungen erhalten hat. Dennoch war es sehr schwer, überhaupt in die Erzählung reinzukommen und ich habe wiederholt darüber nachgedacht, dass die Story selbst in einem anderen Format besser funktionieren könnte – beispielsweise als eigene Spin-Off-Serie, als Film oder sogar als Graphic Novel, denn die Action war da. Gefehlt hat mir einfach diese tiefere Ebene, die bei Romanen besonders wichtig ist und dazu beiträgt, dass man sich in die Figuren besser einfühlen kann. Ohne dieses gewisse Etwas hat sich die Erzählung einfach nur hölzern angefühlt und es wurde praktisch nur erzählt, “was gerade passiert”.
Die einzige Figur, die mich eventuell interessiert hätte, war Hengyen, aber insgesamt hat er den geringsten Teil der POVs erhalten, sodass nur zwischendurch immer mal ein paar Szenen vorkamen, in denen man die Vorgänge in der Siedlung besser nachvollziehen konnte. Denn dafür, dass die Vorbereitung auf diesen Taifun an Zombies viel Planung von Seiten der “Regierung” der Siedlung erfordert, wurde davon erstaunlich wenig gezeigt.
Das einzigen beiden Aspekte, die mir an dem Buch gefallen haben, waren zum einen das Cover, welches einfach nur großartig aussieht, und zum anderen die Tatsache, dass die Reaktion auf die Zombie-Pandemie bei den chinesischen Charakteren ganz anders ausgefallen ist als beispielsweise in der Originalserie, bei der sich immer nur kleine Gruppierungen irgendwie durchschlagen.
January 23, 2022
"There is always a way forward, a way in, and a way out. If you can't find one, create one."
I picked up this novel as a fan of the television series The Walking Dead, and as someone who has yet to read the comics. What initially struck me about this book was how similar the writing seemed to that of a film script - short, halting sentences of information that gave away too much of the world in an unnatural way. While I appreciate being given backstory and facts about the world of the novel, they weren't seamlessly incorporated into the story, and I found that that jarred me out of the book a little.
It took me about two-thirds of this novel to really get into it, but if the first two thirds of Typhoon has been as breathtaking and engaging as the final third, it would've been a five-star read. From the moment the typhoon of jiāngshī hit the Beacon of Light to the very last sentence of the epilogue, I was engrossed, engaged, and my adrenaline was racing. Even if more than half of the book is a little bit dry to get through, I would highly recommend reading Typhoon solely for its final act.
What really cemented this novel as part of The Walking Dead universe was the ending: which, without spoiling it, was gut-wrenching, and nearly unsatisfying. You want to see our heroes succeed, you want them all to survive and live happily ever after, you want to see them reap the fruits of their labour - but as any The Walking Dead fan could tell you, that just doesn't happen in this world. Good people die, bad people live, bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad ones. And, really? That's what happens in real life, too. Real life doesn't have storybook endings. Real life is messy, chaotic, and violent, and sometimes, we just have to figure out how to survive somehow.
This book was such an interesting look into humanity, perspectives on death, on loyalty, on kinship, and on guilt. Even if you aren't a fan of The Walking Dead or of zombie stories in general, this is a worthwhile read. I've said this about The Walking Dead before, and I'll say it of Typhoon now: it isn't about the dead rising from their graves, or about the gore and violence and horror; it's about the people who have to live through it, and the choices that we must make when we're reduced to our basic humanity.
I picked up this novel as a fan of the television series The Walking Dead, and as someone who has yet to read the comics. What initially struck me about this book was how similar the writing seemed to that of a film script - short, halting sentences of information that gave away too much of the world in an unnatural way. While I appreciate being given backstory and facts about the world of the novel, they weren't seamlessly incorporated into the story, and I found that that jarred me out of the book a little.
It took me about two-thirds of this novel to really get into it, but if the first two thirds of Typhoon has been as breathtaking and engaging as the final third, it would've been a five-star read. From the moment the typhoon of jiāngshī hit the Beacon of Light to the very last sentence of the epilogue, I was engrossed, engaged, and my adrenaline was racing. Even if more than half of the book is a little bit dry to get through, I would highly recommend reading Typhoon solely for its final act.
What really cemented this novel as part of The Walking Dead universe was the ending: which, without spoiling it, was gut-wrenching, and nearly unsatisfying. You want to see our heroes succeed, you want them all to survive and live happily ever after, you want to see them reap the fruits of their labour - but as any The Walking Dead fan could tell you, that just doesn't happen in this world. Good people die, bad people live, bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad ones. And, really? That's what happens in real life, too. Real life doesn't have storybook endings. Real life is messy, chaotic, and violent, and sometimes, we just have to figure out how to survive somehow.
This book was such an interesting look into humanity, perspectives on death, on loyalty, on kinship, and on guilt. Even if you aren't a fan of The Walking Dead or of zombie stories in general, this is a worthwhile read. I've said this about The Walking Dead before, and I'll say it of Typhoon now: it isn't about the dead rising from their graves, or about the gore and violence and horror; it's about the people who have to live through it, and the choices that we must make when we're reduced to our basic humanity.
November 7, 2019
I have long been a fan of the comics and watcher of the show, but I haven’t yet dived into any of The Walking Dead novels. But with an impending trip to China and a good experience with Chu’s Lives of Tao books, Typhoon was the perfect book to start with. Chu takes the action across the Pacific, telling a story set after the zombie apocalypse hit China. If you think walkers are bad, wait until there are 700 million of them.
Typhoon follows three characters six months after the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. Zhu is a villager who left for the city of Changsha and a good factory job. Elena is an American doing a gap year teaching English before law school who fell in love with Zhu and got trapped in China after things went to shit. Hengyen is a military man who runs their large settlement’s “wind teams” of scavengers. The settlement is in the Hunan province, in the interior of China. The heavily populated coast is for the dead.
The settlement and our three protagonists have achieved some measure of stability, but two discoveries will change everything. On a scavenging mission Zhu discovers that many of the residents of his former village still live, and on another mission Hengyen discovers a “typhoon” of “jiāngshī” sure to easily roll over the settlement. But he has his orders: defend the settlement at all costs and round up everyone living “illegally” outside of the settlement.
In true The Walking Dead fashion, things go wrong and get very dark. But, also like the comics, they end on a bittersweet note. Duty is a major theme.
The Chinese setting was a point of attraction, and Chu gives the stories its own quirks due to the setting. The zombie apocalypse caused remaining leadership to regress into stricter communism—the “Living Revolution” (hey, it still makes more sense than the Commonwealth caste system). A Taoist sect styled the Heaven Monks round up the dead for mysterious purposes. Like seemingly every settlement in The Walking Dead world, they have their own term for zombies—jiāngshī—which literally means “hopping vampire” and is the closest analog to zombie in Chinese folklore.
Chu also gives us plenty of innovative zombie kills—another The Walking Dead trademark—and settlement defense. I particularly appreciated the latter.
On the other hand, Chu’s characters seem unaware of basic rules of zombie canon. I lost track of how many times a character hit a walker somewhere, anywhere other than the head. The plot also at one point hinges on a character heaving the Idiot Ball with great strength.
Disclosure: I received a review copy of Typhoon via NetGalley.
Typhoon follows three characters six months after the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. Zhu is a villager who left for the city of Changsha and a good factory job. Elena is an American doing a gap year teaching English before law school who fell in love with Zhu and got trapped in China after things went to shit. Hengyen is a military man who runs their large settlement’s “wind teams” of scavengers. The settlement is in the Hunan province, in the interior of China. The heavily populated coast is for the dead.
The settlement and our three protagonists have achieved some measure of stability, but two discoveries will change everything. On a scavenging mission Zhu discovers that many of the residents of his former village still live, and on another mission Hengyen discovers a “typhoon” of “jiāngshī” sure to easily roll over the settlement. But he has his orders: defend the settlement at all costs and round up everyone living “illegally” outside of the settlement.
In true The Walking Dead fashion, things go wrong and get very dark. But, also like the comics, they end on a bittersweet note. Duty is a major theme.
The Chinese setting was a point of attraction, and Chu gives the stories its own quirks due to the setting. The zombie apocalypse caused remaining leadership to regress into stricter communism—the “Living Revolution” (hey, it still makes more sense than the Commonwealth caste system). A Taoist sect styled the Heaven Monks round up the dead for mysterious purposes. Like seemingly every settlement in The Walking Dead world, they have their own term for zombies—jiāngshī—which literally means “hopping vampire” and is the closest analog to zombie in Chinese folklore.
Chu also gives us plenty of innovative zombie kills—another The Walking Dead trademark—and settlement defense. I particularly appreciated the latter.
On the other hand, Chu’s characters seem unaware of basic rules of zombie canon. I lost track of how many times a character hit a walker somewhere, anywhere other than the head. The plot also at one point hinges on a character heaving the Idiot Ball with great strength.
Disclosure: I received a review copy of Typhoon via NetGalley.
April 1, 2021
I wanted to feel a bit more in china than I thought the story gave us. I read one zombie book set in Scotland and I never felt I was in Scotland. If not why have a foreign location. Life in China was a lot closer to Negan’s camp before the end of the world. Still it was nice to read outside or normal walking dead story line. These people had to deal with a lot more zombies and remains of government that didn’t trust its people. Once again the living provide more danger than the undead. The attempt to maintain the old way of life and operate large population give the story a different feel and its worth a read for any zombie fan who want to get a different flavor for a novel.
February 17, 2025
⭐️ 3.5 stars ⭐️
This is not something I would normally pickup, but it’s the book that got my fiancé back into reading. Makes sense because she’s obsessed with The Walking Dead. Me on the other hand? Not so much 😰 Zombies are soooo not my thing. That being said, this book was very good! The characters were morally grey and easy to root for, and the plot was gripping and action-packed. I was able to dissociate from “zombies” since the Chinese call them jīangshī. It felt more like a fantasy world in my head that way 😅 A very good horror/thriller that kept my attention all the way through.
This is not something I would normally pickup, but it’s the book that got my fiancé back into reading. Makes sense because she’s obsessed with The Walking Dead. Me on the other hand? Not so much 😰 Zombies are soooo not my thing. That being said, this book was very good! The characters were morally grey and easy to root for, and the plot was gripping and action-packed. I was able to dissociate from “zombies” since the Chinese call them jīangshī. It felt more like a fantasy world in my head that way 😅 A very good horror/thriller that kept my attention all the way through.
December 16, 2019
This is a stand alone book. The characters are not carried over from previous books. This story takes place in China.
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