If you want to see zombie-like characters, I know a cheaper way. Just drive over to the local casino and observe the people at the slot machines until you've had enough...which shouldn't take too long. On no account play the machines! Odds are at least a hundred to one that you'll lose your money and run a very high risk of becoming a zombie yourself.

In the case of the book, is much time spent on the initial series of disasters that kill off most of the population?