#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Prepare to be entranced by this addictively readable oral history of the great war between humans and zombies.”—Entertainment Weekly We survived the zombie apocalypse, but how many of us are still haunted by that terrible time? We have (temporarily?) defeated the living dead, but at what cost? Told in the haunting and riveting voices of the men and women who … voices of the men and women who witnessed the horror firsthand, World War Z is the only record of the pandemic.
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, 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.
THE INSPIRATION FOR THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
“Will spook you for real.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Possesses more creativity and zip than entire crates of other new fiction titles. Think Mad Max meets The Hot Zone. . . . It’s Apocalypse Now, pandemic-style. Creepy but fascinating.”—USA Today
“Will grab you as tightly as a dead man’s fist. A.”—Entertainment Weekly, EW Pick
“Probably the most topical and literate scare since Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds radio broadcast . . . This is action-packed social-political satire with a global view.”—Dallas Morning News
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I read this many years ago and loved it. I pick it up again every so often and am looking forward to reading Brooks’ next one.
The book is a set of stories that discuss the how humanity survived the Zombie apocalypse. It’s not a horror book really, and I would describe it as more of history book or look back at what happened. I’d also highly recommend it.
This is one of my top ten favorites. The movie was disappointing so if that’s all you seen, read this book asap!
Very predictable fare from the son of Mel Brooks, and not especially witty or funny.
Also, too violent, with a lot of repetitive scenarios. My recommendation would be to hold out for the video game, if there is one.
One of my favorite zombie novels. I like the movie okay but it has little in common with the book other than the title and the undead. You should really read the book.
It’s done in the format of an author, near the end of or maybe after the end of the zombie apocalypse, interviewing various people about their experiences. There’s a wide variety of stories.
I keep hoping HBO or someone adapt the book into a series but following the book’s format of several different stories from different people. I think it would be great done this way, either as a limited series or a continuing one.
This is such a unique book. It kept being recommended to me, which I thought was strange because I’m the last person to ever pick up and enjoy a zombie apocalypse novel, but since many people close to me insisted I would love it, I finally picked it up and was not disappointed. Yes, it’s about a zombie apocalypse, but the war against zombies is told as an ultra-realistic alternative history with detailed interviews with people from around the globe. Their experiences range from the family experience to the military one, from a blind man seeking refuge in the mountains to an astronaut stranded on the ISS to a pilot fighting her way through a ravaged freeway landscape. Each interview is told with such a distinctly strong voice that you get swept up and forget that each snippet is not it’s own novel. They pack powerful punches, even in just a few pages of narration. I did at times get lost in all the voices in the story, perhaps because I was so engrossed in first-person perspectives that I would forget names and be unable to recall them later. There’s also a lot of nitty-gritty military speak I ended up mostly skimming. Still, this book is a must-read, less about zombies and more a commentary on humanity, politics, and the effort to survive in chaos. It is a strangely cathartic book to read now, especially, when the world is facing a different type of pandemic.
The audioplay was excellent
Intelligent, fast paced “interview” style novel about world changing zombie apocalypse. Hard to put down. Very realistic!
This book takes you on a scary trip!! If you only saw the movie, the book is much better.
A fantastic voyage into the world of zombies. If you haven’t rewarded yourself with reading this yet, I highly encourage you to do so. You won’t be disappointed!
Boring
This is the kind of book you will think about long after you finish. The writing style was something very few have ever done and he completely nailed it. I love the different perspectives as we move through the zombie apocalypse and sometimes catching back up with characters later on. I loved how we got to see the beginning of the outbreak, middle of the apocalypse and then the rebuilding of the world.
This is a book I have read numerous times and enjoy it just as much as the first. Overall 5/5!
I was bored and wasn’t invested in any characters because this book was mostly a compilation of zombie short stories. I had hoped it was more suspenseful like the movie.
An interesting look at a zombie apocalypse and the war against zombies. The coming of the zombies and the war are told through various interviews. This is way different from the movie and I actually like it better. It did lull in parts and tended to drag a bit but was otherwise enjoyable.
Very different than you would think of for a Zombie book. No real story but rather a bunch of short stories from people of the event.
LOVED this book.
Totally treated zombies in a realistic manner.
Similar to how the cdc would treat any major outbreak.
1000 times better than the movie
I started this book thinking it was humorous but ended up discovering a serious description of what a worldwide zombie war would look like. Usually, when that sort of mistake happens I have a hard time enjoying it (because my expectations were so off), but I loved this book. That might sound strange to find such a story interesting, but I have to say that it was an incredible book. The author gives a realistic and fascinating account of a world war against the undead. The characters were realistic and all had their own voices, and though this is a style of book I don’t normally enjoy, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Such an original way to tell a story. Now often copied. And made to be so realistic. That’s what was truly scary.
Lots of cool, semi real perspectives on what a zombie war would be like
Read this before you watch the movie folks, as they take different approaches. Good read.