I might be the weird one in this respect, but many times I lay in bed and wonder, what would happen in the event of a zombie outbreak? Would humanity crumble under the horde of walking dead, or stand united against the hellspawn enemies unleashed upon it.
World War Z, a novel written by Max Brooks, writes the story about the Great Zombie War.
For those of you unfamiliar with Max Brooks, he is, in fact, the son of Mel Brooks, who directed such important American films such as Spaceballs, Blazing Saddles, and Dracula: Dead and Loving It. Max's previous book was the
Zombie Survival Guide, required reading for anyone who wishes to defend themselves fromt he inevitable zombie attack. After finishing his last book, Brooks began thinking of a zombie future, and what the would would be like after zombies truly attacked us. So he set forth, with his pad of paper, bundle of daddy's money, and a total hard-on for zombies, and created a whole new genre for us to enjoy: Zombie Historical Fiction.
Now, I admittedly have not read much zombie literature (I don't even know of any other zombie books), but I have seen many zombie movies. In your typical zombie movie, you follow the story of a band of survivors, fighting for their lives in an isolated town. Their stories, while interesting, leave you with many more questions. What are other survivors doing? Are there any zombie safe-zones? Are world leaders and governments still at play, doing their best to protect their countries? World War Z tells that story, and if this book is any indication, that story is way more interesting than
pregnant women birthing zombie babies.Much of the enjoyment from this book comes from the suprises you read, so I will ask that anybody who wishes some of the book not to be spoiled, please stop reading (notice I make ask my readers to stop reading, disregarding the fact that I probably don't have any readers).
The magic of World War Z is that it not only tells the history of the zombie war, it makes seem like it really could happen. When I first read the book, I came to the conclusion that a zombie war is not only possible, but probably will happen very soon. From this starting point, you see the spread of the zombie infection, from refugees escaping China, to illegal organ transplants. With every chapter, you hear a different story from a different character, yet every story is connected, so you get the full picture of what happened. While you do get a story or two about a few lone survivors, struggling to live in the zombie apocalypse, the rest of these stories involve the conflict in a global perspective.
What World War Z succeeds the most in is putting the zombie war in the current geopolitical climate. You read about Israel abandoning the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem in order to secure her borders from the zombies. You read about a pharmeceutical company profiting on the zombie fear by selling useless preventative drugs. You read about the unwillingness of the American people to fight the zombie war until it's right on top of them, simply because the government ran out of money and political capital from the Iraqi War. Even little simple touches, like describing
Paris Hilton being brutally murdered in her penthouse, or explaining how
Geraldo Riviera managed to fire two shots from his pistol before being torn to shreds by zombies, greatly give the reader the sense that this is happening in his world.
For anybody with an interest in zombies, or anybody who follows world politics and power balances, World War Z is certainly worth the read. It is incredibly easy to read, and one of those books that you can either read in one sitting, or take in small bites, thanks to the modular chapters. I personally read it in three days, and find it was one of the most entertaining books I have ever read. For those of you who are interested, buy the book. As for me, I'm going to continue jogging and practicing small arms combat, in preparation for the walking dead.
Labels: THEY LIVE
