feathersmcgraw's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
1.5
I get what Brooks was going for with all four of these shorts, but this ain't it.
chrisbiss's review against another edition
3.0
This collection of four stories from World War Z author Max Brooks is good fun, and a nice addition to his growing body of WWZ-related works.
The book opens and closes with stories told in the same style as World War Z - that is, interviews with survivors of the war. It's a style that works well for Brooks, and I love getting a glimpse into the minds of the different characters that he has populated his world with. Opening story 'Closure, Limitied' (the title story of the collection) is the best of these two, in my opinion; it's an interesting look at one of the ways people might seek to profit from the fall-out of WWZ, and it's just an intriguing idea in general. The final story, 'Great Wall' looks at how China dealt with the war; it's nice to see Brooks moving away from Western-centric writing, though the story still feels very American despite taking place in China.
The second story in the collection is titled 'Steve and Fred', and it's easily the weakest story in the book. I'd go so far as to say that the book would be stronger as a whole without this story being included. It's little more than two vignettes that don't seem to be linked in any way at all. The first is ridiculously gung-ho and over top (which is fine, and fun, but in this case pointless) and the second has the potential to be an interesting little character study but never develops and never pays off.
By far the strongest story in this book is the longer piece 'The Extinction Parade', in which Brooks has a go at writing a vampire story set in the world of WWZ. It makes for gripping reading, and I certainly had never considered that the zombie apocalypse would be a catastrophe for creatures other than humans.
All in all this is a good little collection that adds nicely to World War Z, though it is by no means required reading.
The book opens and closes with stories told in the same style as World War Z - that is, interviews with survivors of the war. It's a style that works well for Brooks, and I love getting a glimpse into the minds of the different characters that he has populated his world with. Opening story 'Closure, Limitied' (the title story of the collection) is the best of these two, in my opinion; it's an interesting look at one of the ways people might seek to profit from the fall-out of WWZ, and it's just an intriguing idea in general. The final story, 'Great Wall' looks at how China dealt with the war; it's nice to see Brooks moving away from Western-centric writing, though the story still feels very American despite taking place in China.
The second story in the collection is titled 'Steve and Fred', and it's easily the weakest story in the book. I'd go so far as to say that the book would be stronger as a whole without this story being included. It's little more than two vignettes that don't seem to be linked in any way at all. The first is ridiculously gung-ho and over top (which is fine, and fun, but in this case pointless) and the second has the potential to be an interesting little character study but never develops and never pays off.
By far the strongest story in this book is the longer piece 'The Extinction Parade', in which Brooks has a go at writing a vampire story set in the world of WWZ. It makes for gripping reading, and I certainly had never considered that the zombie apocalypse would be a catastrophe for creatures other than humans.
All in all this is a good little collection that adds nicely to World War Z, though it is by no means required reading.
cakereads's review against another edition
1.0
this book is a mess, and none of the short stories had any of the greatness of [b:World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War|8908|World War Z An Oral History of the Zombie War|Max Brooks|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386328204s/8908.jpg|817]. i have major issues with the formatting too - did anybody even vet through before they published?? it's hard to read when you can't even figure out who is speaking. ugh. i knew there was a reason i put off reading this book even though i love wwz so much.
what a disappointment. i don't want to have this book associated with wwz :(
what a disappointment. i don't want to have this book associated with wwz :(
kenreid's review against another edition
1.0
Disappointing. Got this half price and it wasn't worth it.
Vampires removed the surprising realism Brooks successfully brings with this series. Such an odd ending to a great series.
Vampires removed the surprising realism Brooks successfully brings with this series. Such an odd ending to a great series.
cluelessleigh's review against another edition
3.0
It feels a little wrong to give a Max Brooks book just 3 stars but I was rather disappointed with it. It's a very short book (just over 100 pages), made up of 4 short stories. I'd expected them to all be set in the same world as World War Z but only half of them were. Those two were good, as you'd expect. Of the other two one was just a bit *nothing* and the other had vampires in. Vampires. I'm all for a little genre blending but the whole story - typically, the longest in the book - just annoyed me.
reanimatedreader's review against another edition
4.0
An addition to World War Z this tells more personal stories from survivors. The Closure Limited company is something I could imagine happening in todays society. I didn't enjoy the supernatural The Extinction Parade so much, mixing genres I don't think go well together.
otherwyrld's review against another edition
2.0
This was a short (a very very short) collection of just 4 short stories seemingly set in the same universe as [b:World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War|8908|World War Z An Oral History of the Zombie War|Max Brooks|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386328204s/8908.jpg|817]. I say seemingly because it is not specifically stated as such, it is just that the stories are all zombie related.
All are entertaining in their own way, the best of the bunch is probably the one which posits the question of how vampires might react to their food source all turning dead and inedible. It's a question that has been asked before, such as Spike's defense of humans in Buffy the Vampire Slayer by calling them "Happy meals on legs" and the film Daybreakers, but it is told in an entertaining way here. I also appreciated seeing points of view from other countries and cultures, such as the story set in China.
In the end though, such a small morsel doesn't really fill you up, and the author might have been better to wait until he had more stories to fill a book. This smells just like it is, a cash-in from the film based on his World War Z.
All are entertaining in their own way, the best of the bunch is probably the one which posits the question of how vampires might react to their food source all turning dead and inedible. It's a question that has been asked before, such as Spike's defense of humans in Buffy the Vampire Slayer by calling them "Happy meals on legs" and the film Daybreakers, but it is told in an entertaining way here. I also appreciated seeing points of view from other countries and cultures, such as the story set in China.
In the end though, such a small morsel doesn't really fill you up, and the author might have been better to wait until he had more stories to fill a book. This smells just like it is, a cash-in from the film based on his World War Z.
mssunnyskies's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
tanadon's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Good quick read. Interesting shorts stories about zombies.
claudia_marcela's review against another edition
4.0
¡Wow!
Las cuatro historias tienen un toque enloquecedor y desesperado, sobre todo la tercera. Pero la que más me gustó fue la primera, por ser desde el punto de vista de un vampiro y ser mucho más detallada y extensa que las otras, en cierto sentido tiene un grado de desesperanza mayor a las demás.
Las historias están narradas como si se tratara de documentales o historias verídicas, eso le da un punto a su favor, porque parecen verídicas.
Realmente recomendable.
Las cuatro historias tienen un toque enloquecedor y desesperado, sobre todo la tercera. Pero la que más me gustó fue la primera, por ser desde el punto de vista de un vampiro y ser mucho más detallada y extensa que las otras, en cierto sentido tiene un grado de desesperanza mayor a las demás.
Las historias están narradas como si se tratara de documentales o historias verídicas, eso le da un punto a su favor, porque parecen verídicas.
Realmente recomendable.