Book Review: World War Z

Source: Amazon.com

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

From the book’s cover:

**The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, “By excluding the human factor, aren’t we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn’t the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as ‘the living dead’?”

Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission.

Eyewitness reports from the first truly global war

 

The author, Max Brooks. He's pretty serious about this whole zombie thing, you see.  Also of note, this is the first time I remember ever putting more than one picture into the book's Amazon.com synopsis.  That is one dang long synopsis! / Source: Wikipedia.org

“I found ‘Patient Zero’ behind the locked door of an abandoned apartment across town. . . . His wrists and feet were bound with plastic packing twine. Although he’d rubbed off the skin around his bonds, there was no blood. There was also no blood on his other wounds. . . . He was writhing like an animal; a gag muffled his growls. At first the villagers tried to hold me back. They warned me not to touch him, that he was ‘cursed.’ I shrugged them off and reached for my mask and gloves. The boy’s skin was . . . cold and gray . . . I could find neither his heartbeat nor his pulse.” —Dr. Kwang Jingshu, Greater Chongqing, United Federation of China

“‘Shock and Awe’? Perfect name. . . . But what if the enemy can’t be shocked and awed? Not just won’t, but biologically can’t! That’s what happened that day outside New York City, that’s the failure that almost lost us the whole damn war. The fact that we couldn’t shock and awe Zack boomeranged right back in our faces and actually allowed Zack to shock and awe us! They’re not afraid! No matter what we do, no matter how many we kill, they will never, ever be afraid!” —Todd Wainio, former U.S. Army infantryman and veteran of the Battle of Yonkers

“Two hundred million zombies. Who can even visualize that type of number, let alone combat it? . . . For the first time in history, we faced an enemy that was actively waging total war. They had no limits of endurance. They would never negotiate, never surrender. They would fight until...

The review: 

The short version up-front: Well, I liked the movie based on the book.  And now that I've read the book, I can say that, as is often the case, the novel was better.  But why?  Read on, if you are interested in the specifics, or just take my recommendation that World War Z is worth the look if you like zombies, or even just big natural disasters, in any way, shape or form.

I know this image is from the movie version of Brooks' work. And yes, I realize many people bag on the film when comparing it to the book.  I agree that the book was better.  But I think the film promoter crew did a really clever job using an image that is so iconic.  The fall of Saigon, turned into the fall of... well, humanity.  Nice touch. / Source: reviewtrailer.com

You know, the old wheeze about zombies over-running the living is so well-trod these days that it practically has become part of our national consciousness.  And there is certainly reason for this, seeing as whatever people fear is a reflection of what is primarily on their minds.  So what exactly does the zombie represent?  It can be many things, and I'll leave the speculation on what the modern world fears for another day.  Suffice it to say, zombies are here in a big way, and most people have some contact with the idea of the walking dead on a regular basis (even if it's just another damn commercial for another stupid zombie/zombie-ish movie on the TV).

Given that fact, it is not surprising that someone would go to the effort to come up with a "realistic" scenario involving a mass zombie outbreak.  World War Z is such an effort.  The author takes the points-of-view of numerous survivors of a hypothetical "zombie war," and delivers a sweeping overview of the events, and the results, of such a war.  To note: when it says "War," the book is referring more to a contest of wills on a massive scale.  We're not talking zombies armed with tanks and such here (though that might be fun/cool to read about too).  It is a matter of humanity, with their ability to adapt and use what they have to survive (or not, as is often the case in this story) vs. the walking dead, who have their lack of the need for any support (food, shelter, weapons), and their very nature as relentless killing and feeding machines.

There was little, if anything I had to complain about in World War Z.  The author has certainly done his research.  Yes, there was one point where he has an air force pilot talk about excess planes that were scrapped due to the shift in needs of air power from actual combat over to supply and airborne transport, and the character mentions "Tomcats" - which are already out of service at this point and would not be mentioned by anyone who knew what they are talking about (they might as well say "Phantoms" in US service, as that would also show a lack of true understanding on the subject).  But this is a small quibble. I am sure lot's of people who read this book could point to other small quips like this in fields they are well versed in.  But this is beside the point.  Even despite the novel's probable small flaws, it takes an unflinching look at how a zombie outbreak would affect our world as a whole, as does it in a spell-binding way.

The battle in the novel (I forget the city the battle itself is named for, but I think it was U.S. East Coast area) was especially well written.  Brooks obviously understands that American military doctrine can be, due to the high tech arsenal we oftentimes rely on, inflexible, and this could easily lead to casualties and - inevitably - defeat. / Source: screenrant.com

One thing more to note, and then I'll conclude this rather short review.  I found out after the fact that the audiobook version I listened to was the abridged version.  I usually skip these sort if I can, but perhaps when I sought my copy, this was the only one I found.  Who's to say?  Either way, I usually hate abridged books, as it feels like you are getting only half the story.  Maybe this isn't so, but tell me: if you watched an abridged movie, would that be as good?  Sure, people can say the theater-length versions of the Lord of the Rings films are pretty good, and in one particular case I'd almost argue it is better than the more drawn out version, but does that mean I would rather not have the full extended cut?  No sir.  I am not that sort of person.

This being mentioned, I will point out that the abridged audiobook was excellent.  The actors pulled in to narrate the text were first rate, including some pretty big names (or relatively big, depending on your views).  This included Carl Reiner, Alan Alda and even Mark Hammil.  These were three who were easily recognizable to me, but I am sure there were others whose names were not as known but whose faces probably would be, if the two were combined.  I'd be saying, "oh yeah, that guy/gal."

A fan-made propaganda poster that fits the book's plot well. Oh, just to note, I mention a part of the cast of the audiobook in my review.  Here is a link to a more comprehensive list of participants.  Wow!  That is quite an illustrious ensemble.  Beats the film cast handily. / Source: geektyrant.com

As I usually note, there is the violence level of the book, and of course the mature themes, and also some hard language involved.  This certainly isn't a kid's book, by any means.  World War Z was a visceral (forgive the pun) ride, and even managed to blow my expectations away with its scope, delivery, and even relevancy.  I am sad to say that I would lay odds, if the world ever faced such a scenario (unlikely as it may be, but some sort of global epidemic? - yeah, could happen), World War Z is in many scary ways very much how things would occur.

Learn more about World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, by Max Brooks, on Amazon.com

The parting comment:

Have I used this clip before?  I'd swear I have. Anyway, that's pretty convincing evidence, if you ask me.  All it takes is somebody who really wants to make zombies a reality and is scary good with DNA manipulation... and has the right lab to do it in.  Like say, a rogue state.  Ah yeah.  There's the plot of a movie for you.  Yes, I know it's been done.  Zombies have been over-done, if you ask me.  We need some more banshees.  Banshees get so little coverage in popular monster fiction.  At least as far as I know.  If you know better, leave me a comment, and I'll check it out.