We have all heard the saying ‘too much of anything is bad” but that depends. Just because there are a lot of zombie books doesn’t mean the next one will be bad. Some like World War Z take a different approach and leave us wondering why nobody else thought to do this? Keep reading to find out why you should be reading this epic zombie novel!
World War Z Summary
When you open your book to read World War Z by Max Brooks, you will be surprised to find out it doesn’t read like most novels. Instead of a typical zombie thriller, you get a memoir of humanity. The protagonist is a journalist and he goes around the world interviewing people trying to find out the full story yet also capturing their suffering among other things.
By formatting it as a bunch of interviews, we get an interesting look at how the zombie epidemic happened and a lot of other events that followed. Brooks shows us a realistic look at the world and how divided we are. There is a lot of mistrust between countries and that will lead to avoidable mistakes.
Commentary
Growing up, I was obsessed with zombies and zombie apocalypses. And to this day, I still like reading zombie novels and seeing where the genre is now. World War Z was a great addition and I do recommend it even with its different approach. You will still be invested in the book and wonder how similar the actions would be in a real-life scenario.
I don’t know how high this book ranks on my favorite zombie list but it was a breathe of fresh air. Many people have seen the movie but I do recommend checking out the novel that inspired it. The movie changes the narration of the book so it works better for a watching audience. That was the best move for the movie but it loses a lot of dialogue that is critical to the novel.
Conclusion
If you love reading zombie novels, then this has to be on your read or to-read list. Instead of a typical zombie thriller, Brooks dives into the humanity aspect of “how could we let this happen?” It is novels like these that make reading fun and bring life to a common trope.
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