World War Z
An Oral History of the Zombie War
-
-
4.6 • 114 Ratings
-
-
- £5.99
-
- £5.99
Publisher Description
'An absolute must have ... Brooks infuses his writing with such precise detail and authenticity, one wonders if he knows something we don't.' Simon Pegg
It began with rumours from China about another pandemic. Then the cases started to multiply and what had looked like the stirrings of a criminal underclass, even the beginning of a revolution, soon revealed itself to be much, much worse.
Faced with a future of mindless man-eating horror, humanity was forced to accept the logic of world government and face events that tested our sanity and our sense of reality. Based on extensive interviews with survivors and key players in the ten-year fight against the horde, World War Z brings the finest traditions of journalism to bear on what is surely the most incredible story in the history of human civilisation.
Read the original cult novel that propelled the zombie genre into the mainstream - now a blockbuster film and game.
***PRAISE FOR WORLD WAR Z***
‘Prepare to be entranced by this addictively readable oral history of the great war between humans and zombies . . . Will grab you as tightly as a dead man’s fist.’ Entertainment Weekly
'As a horror story, it's exciting. As a parable, it's terrifying.' Empire 5* Review
'Brilliant.' Time Out
‘Brooks’ iron-jaw narrative is studded with practical advice on what to do when the zombies come, as they surely will. A literate, ironic, strangely tasty treat.’ Kirkus Reviews
‘A sober, frequently horrifying and even moving account. . . . Brooks has delivered a full-blown horror novel, laced with sharp social and political observations and loads of macabre, gruesome imagery.’ Fangoria
‘Max Brooks has charted the folly of a disaster response based solely on advanced technologies and brute force in this step-by-step guide to what happened in the Zombie War.’ Jeb Weisman, National Center for Disaster Preparedness
‘The book opens in blood and guts, turns the world into an oversized version of hell, then ends with and affirmation of humanity’s ability to survive the worst the world has to offer. It feels like the right book for the right times, and that’s the eeriest detail of all.’ The Onion
‘The best science fiction has traditionally been steeped in social commentary. World War Z continues that legacy. . . . We haven't been this excited about a book without pictures since well, since ever.’ Metro
‘Each story locks together perfectly to create a wonderful, giddy suspense. Brooks also has the political savvy to take advantage of any paranoia a modern reader might feel . . . The perfect book for all us zombie junkies.’ Paste
'The smartest novel about the undead you'll ever read… intricately detailed...utterly convincing - and terrifying.’ FHM
'Max Brooks really is the godfather of all the zombie stories.' The Sun
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Brooks, the author of the determinedly straight-faced parody The Zombie Survival Guide (2003), returns in all seriousness to the zombie theme for his second outing, a future history in the style of Theodore Judson's Fitzpatrick's War. Brooks tells the story of the world's desperate battle against the zombie threat with a series of first-person accounts "as told to the author" by various characters around the world. A Chinese doctor encounters one of the earliest zombie cases at a time when the Chinese government is ruthlessly suppressing any information about the outbreak that will soon spread across the globe. The tale then follows the outbreak via testimony of smugglers, intelligence officials, military personnel and many others who struggle to defeat the zombie menace. Despite its implausible premise and choppy delivery, the novel is surprisingly hard to put down. The subtle, and not so subtle, jabs at various contemporary politicians and policies are an added bonus.
Customer Reviews
Superb
Utter genius. Forget the completely different and inferior movie, this book is just perfect.
World War Z : An Oral History of the Zombie War
A recollection of conflict, and ultimately of a union, between the nations of the world in their attempt to reclaim a familiar planet taken from them by the undead. Penned by the brilliant Max Brooks, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is a post-apocalyptic collection of interview-like short stories.
Each story follows a similar formula; with Max Brooks (the in-universe interviewer) conversing with an individual survivor of the aforementioned Zombie War (the interviewee) in a specific location. Each story actively contributes to the over-arching narrative and describes the apocalypse as it begins, as it develops, and as it ends. There are no ‘filler’ stories here; with every interview, and with every horror re-lived serving the purpose of creating a world at a loss, and of emotional and political degradation. The result is an exciting collection of very different and personal conflicts between characters who, for the most part, each tell a unique story.
At their core, each story is a devastating, harsh tale of survival in an uncertain world. Brooks’s undead are a masterful tribute to the late genius of George A. Romero’s living dead and are both a formidable and believable presence. The relentlessness of the horde is something that Brooks masterfully describes across multiple stories. The novel is also surprisingly heartwarming at times; with the reclamation of the earth being an incredibly optimistic focal point. It paints the book as a journey to the rediscovery of hope.
However, the formula that each story follows becomes quickly mundane and repetitive. There is a distinct lack of voice amongst the interviewees, making them difficult to discern from one another. For some, the lack of emotional connection to the characters may impose on the overall reading experience. Interestingly, Brooks wrote the narrative so that the reader begins to care more for the plot itself; and not the characters who should be driving it. Those going into this particular novel must appreciate that it is not a ‘traditional’ zombie survival story. The story itself is a RECOUNTING of survival; and so one cannot fear for the life of the characters since, from the very beginning, it is established that the war between the living and the dead is over. However, it was never Brooks intention to write a traditional story. The novel, after all, is an oral history of the Zombie War.
Despite this I enjoyed the narrative. The idea of interviewing the survivors of a cataclysmic event, to describe said cataclysmic event, is a testimony to the ability and creativity of Brooks. However, by a lack of emotional connection, I walked away without caring for the fate of many of the characters . With a predetermined end, and their survival ensured, the novel was made interesting not by suspense but by Max Brooks’ depiction of total, unwaveringly realistic survival.