I am thoroughly sick and tired of zombies. And while this isn’t a book, I watched and enjoyed The Last of Us recently and enjoyed it a lot.

Scratching my head, I eventually realized that the little human stories, the rich characterization and complex human relationships, were what overcome my resistance this particular rendition of the zombie apocalypse. So while the stories are set in a zombie apocalypse, the storytelling wasn’t all about zombies and whether the zombies were cool or gross or super-powered or whatever.

It was about the people–all sorts of people. Not just the cool people, not just the ones that died in gruesome ways. Joel is basically the daddest of dads, and Ellie is a smart-mouthed kid scared to be abandoned yet again.

I still won’t pick up other zombie media by choice. But I do respect a story with strong characters. And I respect a premise that can get out of its own way to instead provide a framework where stories about people can be told.

Have you guys run into books like that? Were the premise or big idea behind it really put you off, but something about the execution of the idea drew you in regardless?