Reviews

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

jacobferrell's review against another edition

3.0

I think that the overkill of zombie references in pop culture today hurt my view of this otherwise good book. It seemed a little boring compared to The Walking Dead (comic, not TV series). I liked the writing and perspective of the narrator, but the setting just doesn't have any suspense left in it.

weejman33's review against another edition

4.0

The COVID-19 Pandemic brings a level of legitimacy to this book that is downright terrifying.

hazee's review against another edition

4.0

Obviamente es muy fatalista y salí hecha bolita, toda awitada. Pero eso no quita que su representación de un apocalipsis zombie desde el ámbito político, económico, social y ecológico me haya resultado tan orgánico, que siento que esto bien podría pasar (aunque igual el formato de entrevista ayuda mucho) A fin de cuentas eso último fue lo que hizo que me awitara.

Siento que es un poco pesado de a ratos, pero realmente disfrute la mayoría, es una lástima que la película no le haya hecho justicia. Leí por ahí que planeaban hacer una serie, pero por cuestiones de presupuesto el proyecto no avanzó, lo cual es una pena, ya que me habría encantado ver la masacre de Yonkers en una adaptación.

mauvenotebook's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Great book. Some of the characters were a little weak, and you can definitely tell it was written in 2006, but it still holds up really well.  The choice of format was very original, and I liked how he included characters from all over the world instead of focusing on the US and Western Europe like most zombie novels.

My favorite stories were the one about the Russian priest, the one about the downed pilot, the entire Todd Waino arc, and the one about Arthur Sinclair.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Violence, and War

Moderate: Abandonment, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Suicide, Rape, Gore, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jasmin_nami's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

meat_muffin's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

savduggan's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

whimsicalmeerkat's review against another edition

4.0

This book is laid out as a series of interviews, living up to its oral history subtitle. It has an odd sense of similarity to The Christ-haunted Landscape, presumably because of the interview format. I found it far more compelling than I expected. It presents a sense of hope for survival yet refrains from glorifying humankind in a way not often seen in the zombie subgenre. Don't get me wrong, I love the genre in general, but this was definitely a different take. It was also really funny at points.

aphelionconnection's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I've never read a horror book that felt so... Real.

gothamballer39's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This book really shines as an audiobook. I absolutely loved reading it the first time around, but hearing the whole cast of characters with all their accents and inflections was really cool. Made the stories even more human. I love that the author voiced the interviewer too!