World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $7.95 You Save: $7.00 (47%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
Book Review: Absolutely Amazing
Summary: 5 Stars
This book arrived today and as im currently on study leave I thought I'd start reading it straight away.
From about 2 in the afternoon when I picked up the book I have found myself increasingly reluctant to put it down. So far im only 170 pages in having had to keep stopping to "revise" and go out but in those 170 pages I've felt sadness had tears in the eyes, laughed out loud but overall had a vague feeling of unease as I realise my heart is beating a little faster and my hands just that bit sweatier as the realism of the book hits home. You might think that foolish but if you buy and read this book you will understand. Even now at the back of mind is asking what would I do, if madness happen and the dead walked.
This book is brilliant buy it and read it !
Book Review: An instant horror classic
Summary: 4 Stars
Rather than one long story, `World War Z' is written as interviews, with stories based before, during and after the Zombie War. These accounts are given by the survivors, which include the Army, doctors, scientists, civilians and even from a guy in space.
Some of the stories are so creepy and realistic, you do start to believe that these tales are actually true.
The story is gory, gruesome and scary, as you'd expect from a zombie novel.
WWZ is great to read in bite-sized chunks (no pun intended!) and can be enjoyed more completely if you have read Max Brooks' first book "The Zombie Survival Guide" beforehand, as there are many references to it throughout.
After you've read it, expect to be questioned by other people who have read it who will ask you "which story is your favourite?" as there are so many good ones to choose from.
Book Review: Marred only by stereotyping
Summary: 3 Stars
The plot is fascinating and some of the details are very powerfully imagined. For example, one story is about a group of celebrities holed up in a house outside of New York and they are watching the city being destroyed by zombies [on television, of course]- this is very believable written as it is from the point of view of a bodyguard of a celebrity. The description of the fighting on the streets of New York is quite frightening, as is a separate story that can best be called 'The Battle of Yonkers'.
However......stereotypes are more numerous than the zombies and more dangerous at least to the reader's attention! The Semper Fi marine, the superior know-it-all who understands the conspiracy and won't tell [shades of Robert Ludlum thrillers], the stiff upper lip Englishman [yes, he loves the royal family and survives in Windsor Castle!].....These nearly, but only nearly, ruin the book.
Brooks has his father Mel Brooks' gift for strange imaginings although on the macabre instead of the humorous side, although there is humour in the book as well. Some passages in the book are reminiscent of the zaniness of 'Blazing Saddles'. I hope Brooks will write many more books, but hopefully without the stereotypes that weaken the book. Then they would be 5-star page turners without a doubt.
Book Review: One of the Best
Summary: 5 Stars
Very well done. Written as an oral history a la The Battle of Britain. It never drops out of character.
A lot of the stories leave you wanting to know more detail. SOme of them could probably support novels in their own right.
My only minor gripe is that for a world history, it barely touches the UK, Europe or Africa. It concentrates on the US (fair enough - the author is American), and Asia (Russia, China). Most areas only get a single interviewee.
This is a minor quibble though - I would love to see more of this from the author. Be it histories (more detail), or full novels set in the world he has created.
Book Review: The best book of it's kind - ever.
Summary: 5 Stars
Having been bought Brooks' first book - The Zombie Survival Guide - as a gift, I was keen to read this more thorough treatment of the subject as soon as I new it was available.
I'm not a Zombie nut in the slightest - I enjoy horror, for sure, but the format of this book really appealed to me. A post-war documentary which is based on interviews with people who survived the Zombie plague sounded very interesting indeed.
I was not disappointed. Brooks' treatment of the subject is intelligent and well written, covering all aspects of the fallout of such an event occuring in the real world. The fallout from the plague affects the environment, politics, economies, communication, society and population to a point where the world that is spoken about toward the end of the book is a very different place to the world of today.
Nothing in this book is treated in the usual hammy way the subject of zombies usually is, and some of the imagery described by the dozens of characters in the book are staggering and genuinely unnerving.
At the end of the book, Brooks thanks George A. Romero due to his influence on the subject matter. The student has become the master in this book as Romero has never produced anything with the intelligence or depth of this truely stunning tome.
I absolutely cannot recommend this book enough. This is the first book I've actually read twice within a very short space of time I enjoyed it so much. It's no surprise it went straight to the number 1 spot of the New York Times best-sellers list.
Buy it - you really won't regret it.