Recent Reads: World War Z
14th February, 2009 - Posted by MashPotato - 2 Comments
I’ve never really been “into” zombies, so while I was interested in the sound of this book, I didn’t really expect too much… I was pleasantly blindsided by the awesomeness :D
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is exactly what it sounds like, a collection of stories from the survivors of a world-wide outbreak of zombies. Mindless destroyers of everything in their path, zombies brought humankind to the brink of annhilation, and now, ten years after the war, are still posing a quiet threat.
What’s most effective about this book is its realism and grittiness. Brooks not only goes into the actions of individual people, but all of human society. The cover-ups of early outbreaks in China, the pharmaceutical companies profiting from selling “vaccines”, the literal decimation of the Russian armies to prevent mutiny–the reactions of humans to the zombies are often as terrifying as the zombies themselves, and feel believable. The reporter-writing style suits the book well: there are no flourishes or embellishments, the survivors simply tell what happened as they saw it with clear, stark images:
One held the boy’s feet while the other grasped his hands. I tried to take a blood sample and instead extracted only brown, viscous matter. As I was withdrawing the needle, the boy began another bout of violent struggling.
One of my “orderlies,” the one responsible for his arms, gave up trying to hold them and thought it might be safer if he just braced them against the floor with his knees. But the boy jerkeed again and I heard the left arm snap. Jagged ends of both radius and ulna bones stabbed through his gray flesh. Although the boy didn’t cry out, didn’t seem to notice, it was enough for both assistants to leap back and run from the room [...]
The boy began to twist in my direction, his arm ripped completely free. Flesh and muscle tore from one another until there was nothing except the stump. His now free right arm, still tied to the severed left hand, dragged his body across the floor.
This, in combination with the great variety of interviewees, keeps the book clipping along at a quick pace. The writing itself is not something that will stick with you, but it’s very effective as a method of storytelling.
I did find that the pace slowed as humans began to get the upper hand, but I think that’s a result of there being many ways things can go wrong (and they do), but few ways things can go right (there’s basically one plan). Or maybe it’s my bloodthirstiness, I don’t know ;) More characterization would have been welcome for my personal tastes, but it’s not that kind of book. It’s a record of what happened, not the people it happened to.
Besides that, World War Z is an extremely entertaining, addictive read. Recommended, even if you’re not “into” zombies ;)
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2 Comments
lemmy101
February 15th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Awsomes. I’m definitely gonna check this out. Thanks Mashington ;D
MashPotato
February 16th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
I really think you’ll like it! :D
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