The Nardio Review of World War Z
By: Jasmine Greene
Is it Worth it?
Yes
What Did You Think Without Spoiling it?
Max Brooks does an incredible job of creating the history of the zombie apocalypse through first person accounts of the horror. It can be a bit difficult to get into the story in the beginning, however once you get past the first couple pages, the pace really picks up. While the story is a series of interviews, there is the standard book progression of beginning, conflict, resolution and end. What makes this book so interesting are the different voices and experiences in the book.
Why it Works
Max Brooks is no stranger to the zombie genre as he wrote the quintessential Zombie Survival Guide. This is definitely a far darker take on zombies than his first book, but infinitely better. The personal accounts really make it seem like the events in the book could and did happen. The helplessness and struggle in the book really come through all of these accounts. The human condition allowed the zombies to originally take control and nearly eradicate humankind, but it was also the human condition that eventually “won” the war. While the World War Z
The book has become so popular that there are plans to make the World War Z movie, produced by Brad Pitt. According to the rumors, the movie could be likened to The Bourne Series in its international scope, while still staying true to the book’s political message.
No Like?
What makes World War Z succeed is also why the book fails. It’s very hard to connect to all of the survivor’s stories. While they’re each talking about the same event, it’s hard to build up a lot of suspense. Each chapter has their own arc in the story, making the overall book feel disjointed. Without continuing characters, there’s really no one to root for. You never get emotionally connected to anyone because you only spend a handful of pages with each character.
Still, it was a fun read once and very well written. It took a while to get used to the format, however it was a thought-provoking and entertaining read.
Basic Information
- Author: Max Brooks
- Available through Amazon for $10.17 paperback
- 342 pages
- Tentative movie release date June 2013
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[…] but it still manages a good deal of suspense. Please note that while the movie is based off of the novel World War Z, it only references a couple events that happen in the […]