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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
dark
funny
informative
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
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
It's weird, but I really liked this. It's not remotely funny. Brooks takes the zombie threat far, far too seriously for that. Of course, that's also why it's hilarious. Brooks deadpans through the whole thing; the real humor and, I suppose, blood-curdling terror of the Guide is that, as far as this books knows, Brooks is as serious as the grave. The undead are coming, guys. Just a matter of being prepared when they do. Yikes.
The Zombie Survival Guide is a book of unrealized potential. Brooks has such a command of his voice that, when reading this book curled up in bed on a dark, rainy night, you begin to wonder if you have indeed bolted your door and closed your blinds or if you really do have enough food or if your college baseball bat that's been sitting in your closet for years will be adequate defense for the hordes of undead.
But, in some spots, it's just sloppy satire. The Guide is caught halfway between full-blown 'honest satire' and pussyfooting around fabricated 'studies.' This is what continually woke me up from my dream of suspended belief. Each time Brooks states something along the lines of 'studies/tests were unsuccessful' I can't help but sit back and remember he's making up a story for humor. How hard would it have been to fabricate some footnotes and a faked bibliography?
Still, good for a bathroom reader or a coffee table conversation starter, and, dare I say, perhaps providing some truly helpful tips should a zombie outbreak actually occur.
But, in some spots, it's just sloppy satire. The Guide is caught halfway between full-blown 'honest satire' and pussyfooting around fabricated 'studies.' This is what continually woke me up from my dream of suspended belief. Each time Brooks states something along the lines of 'studies/tests were unsuccessful' I can't help but sit back and remember he's making up a story for humor. How hard would it have been to fabricate some footnotes and a faked bibliography?
Still, good for a bathroom reader or a coffee table conversation starter, and, dare I say, perhaps providing some truly helpful tips should a zombie outbreak actually occur.
This book is hugely overrated. It's not bad at all, but I don't think it holds a candle to World War Z, a much better book by Brooks.
There are two main problems with this book:
1. The science. If you don't know your science, don't try to write about it. I can forgive ignorance if you aren't making a point of the science, but if you are, at least try to get it right. This is, of course, so much worse with biology for me since I'm a biologist, but it was so bad I kept coming back to being annoyed by it.
2. Too much flashy, console-gaming violence and not enough with the practicalities.
All in all, it is a fun little book, and I'll be quite happy to pull out a couple of the arguments in the book with the people that I generally have zombie-survival-strategies arguments with.
There are two main problems with this book:
1. The science. If you don't know your science, don't try to write about it. I can forgive ignorance if you aren't making a point of the science, but if you are, at least try to get it right. This is, of course, so much worse with biology for me since I'm a biologist, but it was so bad I kept coming back to being annoyed by it.
2. Too much flashy, console-gaming violence and not enough with the practicalities.
All in all, it is a fun little book, and I'll be quite happy to pull out a couple of the arguments in the book with the people that I generally have zombie-survival-strategies arguments with.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Not my cup of tea but needed a book that started with Z to finish out the 2018 A to Z challenge. Done and done!