chloeprowse's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide and Animal death
katheaton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Usually, most people pick up a cozy Christmas read or romance book during the winter. I am definitely not one of those people.
I have seen the World War Z movie multiple times and while not the best zombie movie out there it was really good and gave a new perspective to the zombie apocalypse. So finally, after many years, I decided to pick up the book. Please be aware the book is nothing like the movie as the book is told in a documentary/interview style and the movie follows one character...who isn't even in the book.
I really enjoyed the style of writing. It brought us closer to the situation and gave us many perspectives on the zombie war and what happened in those beginning days of the spread.
Brooks really touched on the basic human instinct of survival, fear, and what would you do to survive. What many of these characters went through and what they had to do to survive was quite appalling at times. Brooks also touched on how society reacts to a global pandemic and war. While this book was written in 2006 it's like Brooks foreshadowed our own pandemic and how we as a real society would react...it's sad and upsetting to think about.
There were so many times where I underlined a part of the book because it reminded me of our own situation and pandemic. And while I get this was a piece of science-fiction, it really highlighted on humans' basic instinct and survival. In the end we are just like any animal doing what it takes to survive in a vicious world.
I have seen the World War Z movie multiple times and while not the best zombie movie out there it was really good and gave a new perspective to the zombie apocalypse. So finally, after many years, I decided to pick up the book. Please be aware the book is nothing like the movie as the book is told in a documentary/interview style and the movie follows one character...who isn't even in the book.
I really enjoyed the style of writing. It brought us closer to the situation and gave us many perspectives on the zombie war and what happened in those beginning days of the spread.
Brooks really touched on the basic human instinct of survival, fear, and what would you do to survive. What many of these characters went through and what they had to do to survive was quite appalling at times. Brooks also touched on how society reacts to a global pandemic and war. While this book was written in 2006 it's like Brooks foreshadowed our own pandemic and how we as a real society would react...it's sad and upsetting to think about.
There were so many times where I underlined a part of the book because it reminded me of our own situation and pandemic. And while I get this was a piece of science-fiction, it really highlighted on humans' basic instinct and survival. In the end we are just like any animal doing what it takes to survive in a vicious world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Gun violence, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Violence, Cannibalism, Child death, War, Animal death, Cursing, Rape, Genocide, and Suicidal thoughts
rynstagram's review against another edition
4.5
This book was a pleasant surprise. I didn't think it was gonna be bad by any means, but it really surpassed all expectations. The narrative is so wide-reaching and exhaustive, discussing things about a zombie war/infestation that I never would have thought of--religious repercussions both personal and community-wide, people who take advantage of disaster situations for personal gain, feral children and animals, new mental illnesses, etc. The "interviewer" goes all over the world to interview people who were involved in the war in all sorts of different places--not just different countries and regions, but different climates, under the sea, in isolation in the wilderness, even at the International Space Station. If this were real, I would be impressed by the interviewer's thoroughness.
I think the main thing that was missing was more exploration of more indigenous communities. There's not a dearth of indigenous characters, but the communities' responses to the zombie plague isn't really explored.
I like how self-aware this book is. There's bigotry, but only on the part of the characters. The author seems to include bigotry or fanaticism or general assholery to give a more comprehensive view of humanity dealing with a crisis. Without this, I wouldn't believe the story, even if it's not fun to read that part.
The biggest problem I have with this book is that characters' POVs are rarely repeated. Only a couple have more than one interview section throughout the book until the last chapter called "Good-Byes". I ended up forgetting names easily because of this, and when they showed up in other people's stories or as interviewees, I had to do a lot of flipping back. In order to get the full experience, I think I would need to reread this book at least once more.
All the interviewees sounded like real people, and sounded different from each other, which is hard to do just with a couple POVs, let alone dozens. And I am a big fan of the whole meta-media thing where creators pretend that their fiction is a real thing, hence the "oral history" part of the title and the "Introduction" describing the circumstances of the collection of these interviews. I love a good footnote, and the organization of interviews into related sections made the narrative more cohesive.
Damn, who knew a zombie book could be so cool? (Not me, that's for sure!)
I think the main thing that was missing was more exploration of more indigenous communities. There's not a dearth of indigenous characters, but the communities' responses to the zombie plague isn't really explored.
I like how self-aware this book is. There's bigotry, but only on the part of the characters. The author seems to include bigotry or fanaticism or general assholery to give a more comprehensive view of humanity dealing with a crisis. Without this, I wouldn't believe the story, even if it's not fun to read that part.
The biggest problem I have with this book is that characters' POVs are rarely repeated. Only a couple have more than one interview section throughout the book until the last chapter called "Good-Byes". I ended up forgetting names easily because of this, and when they showed up in other people's stories or as interviewees, I had to do a lot of flipping back. In order to get the full experience, I think I would need to reread this book at least once more.
All the interviewees sounded like real people, and sounded different from each other, which is hard to do just with a couple POVs, let alone dozens. And I am a big fan of the whole meta-media thing where creators pretend that their fiction is a real thing, hence the "oral history" part of the title and the "Introduction" describing the circumstances of the collection of these interviews. I love a good footnote, and the organization of interviews into related sections made the narrative more cohesive.
Damn, who knew a zombie book could be so cool? (Not me, that's for sure!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Death, Abandonment, Suicide, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Medical trauma, War, and Body horror
Minor: Animal death, Cannibalism, Child death, Colonisation, Alcohol, Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, and Classism
lexb7007's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I read this book a long time ago and finally got around to listening to the audiobook. The audiobook is amazing and I have to say it is the best way to read this book. Having the variety of voices really makes the book stand out and more emotional, in my opinion. Overall, I think it’s a great book. I love international politics and Brooks’: evaluation of how certain countries would react during a crisis is fascinating, especially when you compare it to the COVID pandemic. A lot of similarities for sure.
Other than that, I noticed someone mentioned that there should have been more narratives from women and not just military/political men and I agree with that. But, still super enjoyable nonetheless!
Other than that, I noticed someone mentioned that there should have been more narratives from women and not just military/political men and I agree with that. But, still super enjoyable nonetheless!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and War
jselliot's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
World War Z. Yet another book that was far, far better than the movie. I enjoyed the take on the epistolary style, too, because it isn't something you typically see in the zombie genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
epsyphus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I've read this twice. I've read several zombie books and watched a lot of zombie movies and this book is the best piece of zombie media.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Body horror, and Gore
kbkbkbkbkb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
ashurah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Cannibalism, Cursing, Death, Gore, and Violence
katebond's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
romanaromana's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
1.5 stars.
More trigger warnings here: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/17494 (nothing in this review except zombies and mentions of violence).
There is a moment in World War Z, towards the end, where one character asks the interviewer 'Do you really care about all this?', to which the interviewer responds 'Yes'. It's fair to see me and the interviewer are in disagreement.
World War Z unfolds the truth of the zombie war from the perspective of those who fought and lived it.
I'll begin with the positives before I release the negative drawl that will undoubtedly dominate this review:
Max Brooks clearly researched a lot for this novel, which is always appreciated. I think he was brave to cover such a breadth of topics and bring politics into his zombie narrative so overtly.
Some of the characters' stories were genuinely engaging and gripping. The issue is that these were too few and far between.
And here comes the drawl...
I had issues with the way Max Brooks utilised his oral storytelling. The idea is great and I think it had the potential to work really well, but I struggled with the sheer number of characters that were interviewed because very few of them appeared more than once. This resulted in a hugely fragmented narrative that had almost no cohesion. It was just a string of anecdotes, with their only connection being the living dead.
The majority of these voices also had a tendency to waffle and overshare. This wasn't a case of fleshing out the story or adding life to their recollections; this was pure pointlessness. I mean, 300 pages in do I really care about the mechanics of a diving suit? Even 50 pages in I wouldn't have cared to be honest, but seriously?
The politics also got a bit much as it ultimately lessened the impact of the zombies themselves, who became almost irrelevant as Brooks made way for his political theories and continental conflict of humans. I understand that this was the story he was choosing to tell, and one which undoubtedly required a lot of thought, but I was bored of it.
I really wanted to like this more because zombies are intriguing and, frankly, the film made this seem like it would be a real thrill. But I've made the executive decision not to associate the two forms because, as Brooks himself admitted, they have nothing in common. And on that note, good riddance to this version.
More trigger warnings here: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/17494 (nothing in this review except zombies and mentions of violence).
There is a moment in World War Z, towards the end, where one character asks the interviewer 'Do you really care about all this?', to which the interviewer responds 'Yes'. It's fair to see me and the interviewer are in disagreement.
World War Z unfolds the truth of the zombie war from the perspective of those who fought and lived it.
I'll begin with the positives before I release the negative drawl that will undoubtedly dominate this review:
Max Brooks clearly researched a lot for this novel, which is always appreciated. I think he was brave to cover such a breadth of topics and bring politics into his zombie narrative so overtly.
Some of the characters' stories were genuinely engaging and gripping. The issue is that these were too few and far between.
And here comes the drawl...
I had issues with the way Max Brooks utilised his oral storytelling. The idea is great and I think it had the potential to work really well, but I struggled with the sheer number of characters that were interviewed because very few of them appeared more than once. This resulted in a hugely fragmented narrative that had almost no cohesion. It was just a string of anecdotes, with their only connection being the living dead.
The majority of these voices also had a tendency to waffle and overshare. This wasn't a case of fleshing out the story or adding life to their recollections; this was pure pointlessness. I mean, 300 pages in do I really care about the mechanics of a diving suit? Even 50 pages in I wouldn't have cared to be honest, but seriously?
The politics also got a bit much as it ultimately lessened the impact of the zombies themselves, who became almost irrelevant as Brooks made way for his political theories and continental conflict of humans. I understand that this was the story he was choosing to tell, and one which undoubtedly required a lot of thought, but I was bored of it.
I really wanted to like this more because zombies are intriguing and, frankly, the film made this seem like it would be a real thrill. But I've made the executive decision not to associate the two forms because, as Brooks himself admitted, they have nothing in common. And on that note, good riddance to this version.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Cannibalism, Suicide, Violence, War, Injury/injury detail, Gun violence, and Gore