World War Z by Max Brooks
How many of us are still troubled by the zombie apocalypse, despite the fact that we survived it? The living dead have been (temporarily?) defeated, but at what cost? World War Z is a unique account of the epidemic, told in the eerie and compelling voices of the men and women who experienced the horror firsthand.
Unimaginably near to wiping humanity was the Zombie War. Max Brooks journeyed across the United States and around the world, from shattered cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most isolated and hostile parts of the planet, propelled by the necessity of preserving the acid-etched first-hand recollections of the survivors.
He preserved the testimonies of men, women, and occasionally children who had direct encounters with the living hell of that terrible era, or at the very least, the undead. World War Z is what happens. We have never before had access to a text that so effectively captures the magnitude of terror and fear, as well as the unbreakable spirit of resistance, that engulfed human society during the plague years.
World War Z by Max Brooks
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The book moves quickly. I thoroughly loved Brooks’ in-depth analysis of the zombie foe’s true character and methods for defeating him. Our humano-centric military philosophy is completely abandoned since he never stops and lacks any sense of guilt, regret, ethics, or morals. He is not intelligent, quick, or capable of rational thought. The zombie is a “self-contained, automated unit,” and there is no individual or group will to fight to target and disable him. Eradication is the only choice, and it needs to be carried out with the right training and tools. Brooks devotes a lot of time to this, making for highly interesting reading.
Zombies don’t have an issue with water because they are already dead. They sink because they are unable to swim, or more accurately, they sort of walk around the bottom. If the water becomes shallow, they may approach you and grip you.
What did it all mean in the end, then? For those who made it through, it was a forced return to the energy and satisfaction of life, having to be conscious and vigilant, having to protect the entire world against a common adversary for survival, and a forced return to a simpler, substantially more empty earth. It was a basic reset even if it wasn’t about starting over. The weak and ignorant were mercilessly eliminated at the end, leading to an undead Malthusian solution.
He gave the zombie genre a new perspective by incorporating it into our everyday lives. His characters respond as we would anticipate them to. He used the numerous viewpoints method, which is difficult to write but one that I really like as a reader because it allows you to see the war [through the eyes of] several characters. It falls under the heading of being a “useful” book because it is so realistic; I appreciate how he plays with how bureaucracies are resistant to change and inaccurate information.
