World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War in Lambda Sci-Fi

Jun 28, 2013 Fangs for the Fantasy rated it it was amazing

It's now ten years since the world was almost destroyed by zombies and Max Brooks has determined that the stories of the survivors must be told for the benefit of future generation. The zombie war was almost an extinction moment for humans, as they found all of the military tactics they had developed didn't work on zacks. The technology we expected to ensure our superiority was absolutely useless.

Patient zero was Chinese and the disease spread to the uninfected to the west through the use of ill It's now ten years since the world was almost destroyed by zombies and Max Brooks has determined that the stories of the survivors must be told for the benefit of future generation. The zombie war was almost an extinction moment for humans, as they found all of the military tactics they had developed didn't work on zacks. The technology we expected to ensure our superiority was absolutely useless.

Patient zero was Chinese and the disease spread to the uninfected to the west through the use of illegal organ transplant. It was believed at first that people were suffering from a form of rabies and a vaccine was created, giving people a false sense of safety. Government corruption and bureaucracy meant that many died, who did not have to die. People seeking to make profit in the face of disaster, caused the infection to spread even faster, as they illegally transported infected peoples across borders. The only country which reacted quickly was Israel and by being the first to shut their borders, actively worked to protect their citizens.

I must admit that I chose to read this book because of the movie by the same title, which is set to be released in June of this year. From the clips, I expected an action book and that is far from what World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is about. It is a story about desperation, government corruption, families, the military, the environment and most importantly the human spirit and our drive to survive. Brooks makes the story of this zombie war international, which is absolutely unique in this genre. Most zombies books speak about an infection breaking out in the U.S. or one country, leaving the reader with no idea of what is happening in the rest of the world.

Unlike other books in this genre, there really is no protagonist in this story. Every 3-4 pages, Brooks moves onto a new account of the zombie war. This means that the readers must invest in the setting itself, rather than the characters. It is helped by the fact that World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is a global account and therefore the experiences continue to vary and are based on the world's various cultures. For instance, residents of the U.K. didn't have guns to protect themselves because of their strict gun control laws and so broke into museums and stole medieval weapons. Her Maj stayed in London and opened Windsor castle to survivors. The North Koreans simply disappeared below ground, while Cuba moved quickly to eradicate the danger on the Island and opened its doors to Americans fleeing the danger.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War dealt with practicalities like law and order. What happens when it becomes impractical to imprison people for crimes? The solution for the Americans was public whippings and using shame to force people to conform. What happens to people when white collar jobs like lawyers and executive assistants have no useful skills to help rebuild the world and how does this effect their sense of self? When one finds oneself being lectured to by the man who used to unplug your toilet, the world has clearly changed. I found this to be a realistic treatment of class and thoroughly enjoyed how realistic it was.

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Mar 29, 2013 Christopher rated it it was amazing

very well done "history" of the zombie wars. told as a series of oral histories. while each short story is stand alone, put together they tell a complete story. very clever! ...more

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