Book Review: World War Z by Max Brooks

Summary

We still don't know quite how it started. We do know that we won, and we're trying to get the world put back together. Or rebuilt into something new. A little of both. We know that the zombies came, and they drove us to drastic measures to get rid of them. Humanity survived, and this recounting of perspectives on the war sheds light on just how we survived.

That's my summary. Here's the one I pulled from http://www.maxbrookszombieworld.com/

We survived the zombie apocalypse, but how many of us are still haunted by that terrible time? We have (temporarily?) defeated the living dead, but at what cost? Told in the haunting and riveting voices of the men and women who witnessed the horror firsthand, World War Z is the only record of the plague years.

Context

Epidemics happen. Sometimes, we never find a cure for the disease. Sometimes we do. Sometimes the disease is completely out of the blue, something we couldn't have seen coming. That's the case with World War Z. There are times when the origination of the disease (or condition, whatever you want to call it) doesn't matter any more. When something gets so out of control, all you can do is fight it as best you can. Humanity will always struggle to survive. That's plain in this novel.

Style

I loved the format of World War Z. This interview-like setting made listening to the audio version on Audible all the more effective. A great cast recounted their own parts in the events leading up to, participating in, and cleaning up after the war. The content itself is staggering in some cases (I was near tears at one point toward the end) and the performances are perfect for this format. The changes in accent, speech pattern, and tone are all worth paying attention to in this novel. It is an experience.

My Thoughts

For someone who doesn't like zombies, I sure have been reading a lot of zombie stuff lately. Huh... Honestly, I couldn't care less if it were zombies we were up against or some other creature. Zombies just seem so overdone to me. I guess it's pretty clear why the zombie factor isn't why I picked up World War Z. Honestly, I picked it up because of the format of it. The recounting of events by different people with different perspectives, backgrounds, and geographical locations.

I was not disappointed. And I was even rewarded with a believable-- VERY believable-- account of what a world war against the zombies could be like. This was a thorough, thought-provoking recounting of a fictional war that had me from the onset. It can be very easy to sink into this story and wonder if this really happened... somewhere else, just outside of your own little world.

Would I Recommend This Book? I actually would! Whether you're a fan of zombies or not, a fan of war/action stories or not, or a fan of history (real or false) this is a good read. Giving it a rating is a little hard for me, because I want to give it a high rating just because of the awesome cast who performed it. I try to give the story itself the rating... and honestly, I still think World War Z deserves a solid, surviving 5 of 5 stars.

For more information on the author, visit http://www.maxbrookszombieworld.com/