Max Brooks: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

I'll start off with World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. Not the best zombie book I have ever read, but it is quite good. The one thing that sets it apart, and I think is actually quite clever, is that this "novel" isn't told as a novel. Rather, it is told from the point of view of a reporter interviewing survivors several years after "World War Z", a world-wide zombie infestation.

This makes for a rather interesting story, where you don't really get all of the pieces, but get a much wider view of the events. There are stories collected from all over the world, giving the point of view of everyone from battle hardened soldiers to computer geeks in Japan.

The zombies in this book are of the "slow" variety, and must have their brains destroyed in order to be killed. One thing that this book focuses on that is often not touched upon in quite the same way as other "zombie" books, is just how hopeless and difficult it would be to deal with such a threat. One interview talks of cluster munitions being dropped on a horde of zombies with little effect. A weapon so devastating to the living has almost zero effect on the dead: only direct hits to the brain will stop the zombies.

It seems to me that Brooks is trying to say something about our current society in this book. Perhaps he feels we are in need of major change? Perhaps he foresees major pain and suffering due to lack of response to any major catastrophes? Me, I'm just happy to have brains and zombies.

Regardless, this book is well worth the read, and if you haven't already read it, I highly suggest you pick yourself up a copy. Click the link below to buy it now from Amazon.com.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War