World War Z
By Max Brooks
(Broadway Books, Paperback, 9780307346612, October 2007, 352pp.)
The Short of It:
Slightly different take on the zombie stories you’ve read before.
The Rest of It:
I think everyone has read this one or at least seen the movie starring Brad Pitt, but it took me forever to read the book. I finally got to it just because The Walking Dead ended for the season and I was still twitchy for more zombie action.
It’s different from anything I’ve read before because it’s told through survivor accounts and interviews. Right away, you know that there are survivors and that the world did not, in fact, end with the plague. I must say that knowing this up front sort of lessened the suspense factor for me a little bit. The thrill of reading about the apocalypse is that you never know how it’s going to end. Here though, many of the accounts are provided by the military and what these men and woman went through while fighting in World War Z. Some handled it better than others but I was most taken with the civilian accounts. Some, very detailed.
Overall, it was an interesting read for me. Entertaining without being over-the-top or unbelievable. I think its “real” factor is what makes this book work and that such a thing could happen anywhere makes this a chilling read. I have not seen the movie, but I have been told by others that the movie is the scarier of the two.
Source: Borrowed
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