Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

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

7 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

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

eliaa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Genocide, Gore, Murder, Abandonment, Body horror, and Grief

Minor: Antisemitism, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Violence

bri__'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The writing is exceptional and the post-war documentary format is different to any other book that I've read. The inconsistency of the characters (apart from the narrator), provided a more broad perspective of 'World War Z' and also helped to make the experiences of each character feel more individual and unique. The book itself is well thought-out and it is evident that Max Brooks has done his research. While some stories I found boring and confusing, there were others that I found thrilling and overall captivating. That is the beauty of this type of format with a variety of different stories, there are bound to be ones that are favoured over the others and that makes the experience all the more personal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Excrement, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Cursing, Death, Medical content, Murder, Self harm, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, War, Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, and Gun violence

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Racial slurs, Ableism, Classism, Confinement, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual assault

asipofcozy's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful tense 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? Yes

4.0

Usually, most people pick up a cozy Christmas read or romance book during the winter. I am definitely not one of those people.

I have seen the World War Z movie multiple times and while not the best zombie movie out there it was really good and gave a new perspective to the zombie apocalypse. So finally, after many years, I decided to pick up the book. Please be aware the book is nothing like the movie as the book is told in a documentary/interview style and the movie follows one character...who isn't even in the book.

I really enjoyed the style of writing. It brought us closer to the situation and gave us many perspectives on the zombie war and what happened in those beginning days of the spread. 

Brooks really touched on the basic human instinct of survival, fear, and what would you do to survive. What many of these characters went through and what they had to do to survive was quite appalling at times. Brooks also touched on how society reacts to a global pandemic and war. While this book was written in 2006 it's like Brooks foreshadowed our own pandemic and how we as a real society would react...it's sad and upsetting to think about.

There were so many times where I underlined a part of the book because it reminded me of our own situation and pandemic. And while I get this was a piece of science-fiction, it really highlighted on humans' basic instinct and survival. In the end we are just like any animal doing what it takes to survive in a vicious world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Cannibalism, Child death, War, Animal death, Cursing, Rape, Genocide, and Suicidal thoughts

j_boehnke's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Genocide, Suicide, and War

mackenzi's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Violence and Gun violence

Minor: Xenophobia, Terminal illness, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Medical content, and Genocide