Book Review: World War Z

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

In the not too distant future a strain of "human rabies" breaks out in China, then in Africa but this strain of virus not only kills, it reanimates the victim after death. That's right. They become the living dead. If you get bit, you suffer immediate infection. Soon half the world's population is lost to the walking dead.

Billed as "the Studs Terkel of Zombie Journalism," author Max Brooks, takes us around the world capturing many survivor's stories of The Zombie War from the first outbreaks to The Great Panic to Total War to Victory. How do you defeat an enemy that doesn't feel fear or emotion, doesn't need to be clothed, fed, or sleep, grows larger with every bite and only dies when you destroy the brain? This is the struggle of the war against Zombies.

I don't even think one needs to be a Zombie or horror fan to enjoy this riveting and ultimately haunting book (I had two nightmares in the course of reading it.) Written in the style of a military document this book fills every gap and question one might have about zombies and how this modern world would react if attacked. Within this style the book cannot prevent itself from being a satire on the modern world and how we look and react to war and fear. I took my time reading this book and loved experiencing every fictional point of view as if it were real. This book is nothing short of a apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fan's wet dream. Two hugely severed thumbs up!

(click the link under the pic to visit the official website and take the survey to find out your chances of survival.)