World War Z

World War Z:  An Oral History of the Zombie War
by Max Brooks

While fashions come and go, zombies never get old.  Just look at the last 5 years of movies:  Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days later, Shawn of the Dead, Warm Bodies, and soon, Hollywood's rendition of World War Z.  Here we have spanned horror, thriller, comedy, romantic comedy, and blockbuster action, all in zombies.  There are also the slightly more sci-fi bordering on vampire ones like I am Legend, but whatever, the point is zombies are fascinating.  Through zombies one can explore human nature, disaster response, and preparedness.

This review undoubtedly lacks from proper context as this is my first experience with a proper zombie novel.  Sure, I've tried reading a little HP Lovecraft, but I haven't even cracked a Stephen King novel.  That said, I know a good book when I find one.  This is one of those books that will ruin the movie for you - once you read it, you'll see how much it will lose in translation to a movie (that said, I am looking forward to the movie).  But given its quality, don't worry about seeing the movie first and then reading the book.

In a typical book, there is an introduction, plot buildup, climax, and denouement.  Here, the title makes the book a forgone conclusion:  there is a worldwide war as humanity fights for its survival against zombies.  So how do you take a book with a known plot and keep it interesting?

Masterful writing and a unique format go a long way.  The book is a collection of a UN inspectors interviews, or rather the parts of interviews that were too personal for the official report.  Max Brooks demonstrates his skill as he writes in many different voices, reminiscent of Flowers for Algernon, creating a well conceived notion of the zombie apocalypse.  If and when the zombie apocalypse comes, I hope this book is used by the analysts and governments in defending and rebuilding humanity.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT.

With each interview, details of the rise of the zombies and the state of humanity are revealed.  Written flat out, the story would be borring, but presented as a series of unique perspectives from various times and places throughout the war, it is fascinating.  A simple statement about the virus spreading through human trafficking is not nearly as exciting as hearing the internal conflict of a trafficker.  Each chapter is a small window, disconected in time and space from all other chapters.  It leaves the reader feeling disjointed and uniformed.  But slowly, dripping with dramatic irony, enough information is acquired that the reader, like the survivors during the war, can build up a coherent picture of what is happening and what can be done.

The concept is so well thought out, it is remarkable.  With such attention to detail - government attempts at coverup, societal fragmentation, the failure of standard military practice, the South Africa plan - the story leaves you with a dreadful sense of inevitability.  How else could things turn out?  Given the current socio-economic-political state of the world, how else could things turn out?  Its a little depressing.

While the plot's ending is somewhat optimistic - the survival of humanity - it raises the question of an all too dark reality, In the face of great peril, can we put our differences aside to overcome the challenge at hand?  In stories like Watchmen (spoiler) where, optimistically  a common threat brings people together and ends longstanding wars and conflicts, WWZ shows a more realistic response.  Even a threat like the zombie apocalypse isn't enough to immediately overcome longstanding (and often well founded) mistrust between people.  Hardliners in positions of authority, in deteriorating chains of command, wield too much power and are just as likely to start a nuclear war as they are to avoid them.

Like all good books, it stands well on its own but is equally interesting as a reflection of modern society.