Review of 'World War Z : An Oral History of the Zombie War : Complete Edition' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
World War Z is a phenomenal piece of writing. More so because it deals with zombies, which are so widespread in modern day media that they have almost become passé. Where The Walking Dead tries to use the lure of dealing with how the human mind deals with zombies and slowly becomes corrupted itself, Brooks rather deals with how our human world and infrastructure is overthrown and copes with a zombie war. That's not to say that he ignores humans, far from it. He takes every opportunity to explore the despair, hope, sadness and happiness that springs from our dealings with zombies.
Probably his masterstroke is in dealing with the world rather than focussing on just one country or area. It really brings home the scope and devastation of the war and makes the eventual recovery after the war even more impactful. Hearing from so many different people and cultures …
World War Z is a phenomenal piece of writing. More so because it deals with zombies, which are so widespread in modern day media that they have almost become passé. Where The Walking Dead tries to use the lure of dealing with how the human mind deals with zombies and slowly becomes corrupted itself, Brooks rather deals with how our human world and infrastructure is overthrown and copes with a zombie war. That's not to say that he ignores humans, far from it. He takes every opportunity to explore the despair, hope, sadness and happiness that springs from our dealings with zombies.
Probably his masterstroke is in dealing with the world rather than focussing on just one country or area. It really brings home the scope and devastation of the war and makes the eventual recovery after the war even more impactful. Hearing from so many different people and cultures gives us a wonderful cross section of opinions both god, bad and strange) as well as allowing us as readers to know that for all he bad the war did, it also helped humanity to grow closer together and appreciate each other more.
However good or bad the movie is, it will not change the fact that World War Z is one of the most amazing books I've read. Even if the mere mention of the word zombie makes you sigh with reluctance I'd enthusiastically advise you to read this or to at least get hold of the excellently crafted audiobook.
