Reviews tagging 'Child death'

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

22 reviews

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

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

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

mauvenotebook's review

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

gawdz0rz's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

decent book, well-written, interesting pov. 

i appreciated the (brief) mention of environmental impact of the war. i also learned some historical things while reading this. 

there were quite a few stereotypes of the characters that were not great, unfortunately. i also felt my brain and eyes glaze over every time there were details pertaining to military equipment or anything like that. 

i don’t remember the movie very well but from what i do remember, the book is not like the movie, which certainly isn’t a bad thing! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Child death, Cannibalism, Suicide, and Animal death

Minor: Classism, Homophobia, and Racism

whynotreadwithalex's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Gotta say, I love me a good zombie story! Picked up this audiobook because I absolutely love the movie and wanted to see how it all started. Although the book is COMPLETELY different from the film, it was enjoyable, adventurous, fast-paced, and, well, globally terrifying!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Body horror, Death of parent, Murder, Rape, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Death, Blood, Genocide, Child death, Alcohol, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Pandemic/Epidemic

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

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

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

theoldestbennetsister's review against another edition

dark informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

Some cool and interesting perspectives you wouldn't usually hear from in a zombie/apocalypse story. The sheer number of people and accounts made it a bit repetitive sometimes. But some of the accounts were just excellent zombie short stories on their own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Death, Suicide, Self harm, and War

Moderate: Child death, Xenophobia, and Animal death

Minor: Death of parent

jazhandz's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Gore, Gun violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Body horror, and Death

Moderate: Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Excrement, and Suicide

Minor: Cannibalism and Pregnancy

spilt_moonlight's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

Felt realistic, except for some artistic lisence (re: biology)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Cannibalism, and Child death

therealratking's review against another edition

dark informative tense fast-paced

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

5.0

"Most people don't believe something can happen until it already has. That's not stupidity or weakness, that's just human nature."

Whats the book about?
World War Z is comprised of multiple short stories from many diverse people across the globe. The book is set out in an interview type format and follows the rise and fall of the zombie war as perceived from different types of people.
Whats my opinion?
This is an excellent book for those who like alternate histories. The individual stories feel realistic and the low-simmer ever present horror of the undead adds an overarching tension that worms its way deep into your brain. Another element i loved about this book is its commentary on human nature and how society may react when faced with a seemingly invincible enemy.
I highly recommend this book to fans of zombies, history, science and realism.
One criticism is that their were very few female charcters and their personalities felt stereotypically shallow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Death, Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, and War

Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Animal death, Body horror, and Cannibalism