Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

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

24 reviews

gr4cie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense fast-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

This is such an intriguing and new way to capture a zombie book. By having it as a documentary style, and gaining multiple peoples perspectives you get a full captured view of how this world works and how it was shaped. Absolutely draws you in and you won’t want to put it down. Keeps your attention at every turn 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

rochelleisreading's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

elizakay's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, and War

Moderate: Mental illness

charmarie's review against another edition

fast-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Torture, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: War

holistichistorian's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring sad tense 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

4.75

World War Z is unlike any book I’ve ever read. As a work of historical fiction, I find it extremely interesting. I thoroughly enjoy its interview style, it kept me turning pages and made for an interesting and surprisingly fast read. I found the excerpts from other countries (such as in the Around the World, and Above chapter) much more interesting than the many from America, the interview of Mister Khan from Rajasthan in particular. I felt that the ‘show, don’t tell’ aspect of this novel worked quite well in parts, eluding to certain world events and leaders as if the reader were a part of that universe and was already familiar with them. The emotional beats were well placed and fitting, I never felt overwhelmed but the grief and despair of the characters were warranted and written well. As a fan of horror, gore and all that comes with it, I am satisfied. There were plenty of gruesome depictions of zombies and battles, I found the retelling of combat just as gripping and tense as if I were watching it in real-time. 

 

As for my gripes, there are only a few. I found some of the characters, especially from the military, to be slightly too similar in their personality which, at points, made it difficult to differentiate accounts. Furthermore, as previously stated, I found that there was too much focus on America, both in its status during the war and in the amount of Americans interviewed. However, I do understand this novel’s fixation since the author is himself American. I’m sure a British author would have written too much about Britain. As for the depictions of other countries and cultures, I felt like this was absolutely necessary for a novel about a world war. I am interested to hear how other people feel about the accuracy of this representation. 

 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I wish there was more on Scotland but I found some form of comfort or relatability in most of the characters in any case. I feel like it’s a must-read for any zombie nut and, possibly, for any aspiring historian as a fun bit of fiction. I recommend this to anyone who likes their action adventure on the dark side - it has depressingly realistic moments. Proceed with caution if you find mental health difficult to read about. I hope many more find World War Z as exhilarating a read as I have! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug use, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Torture, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

danielrenediaz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Gun violence

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, Violence, Death of parent, and War

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

crusoe's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Positives. World War Z is a brilliant piece of speculative fiction that realistically explores how a war on zombies (or any major world war for that matter) functions. The interviews with different individuals who survived the war feel extremely realistic, from their different approaches to the war rooted in their culture and personal experience, to the easy ways in which they talk about their expertise. It is fantastically written and showcases every angle and emotion you might find in a war like this without getting lost in the detail.

Dislikes. Many characters are introduced throughout the interviews and at the end, when they are revisited, this makes it harder to keep track whose story is being continued. Other than that, no notes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

mjones14's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad slow-paced

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

3.75

Really though I was going to like this more than I did. I think all in all the film is better than the book, but I presume this is because I don't read much nonfiction which this is in the style of. Beautiful world building though and impressive in its global scope

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Alcohol

corabookworm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense 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? N/A

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic