World War Z

World War Z has ended. Although it goes by many names, this is the one that has stuck. After zombies have ravaged the world and destroyed most of its population, one lone journalist takes it upon himself to interview survivors of the great war: the biggest war to ever hit planet earth. The war against the living dead. In one epic 300+ page collection of fictional interviews with veterans and survivors of the bloodiest event in future history, Max Brooks has created a zombie book that anybody who appreciates the genre will enjoy.

One of the things I really loved about this book was the fact that although the reader is going through interviews with vets or survivors of the apocalyptic catastrophe, you totally understand it all. It's fantasy, but it all seems real and it all makes sense. Each section of the book builds on the last one in a subtle way, therefore you feel as if you've been "educated" so to speak, about the history of the war. It's really clever. The interviews focus on the memories of soldiers, pilots, survivors, smugglers and more. Each one has a different point of view about the war. What is truly frightening, perhaps, is the fact that although World War Z is purely fiction, the governmental mishandling of the threat of the undead is chillingly similar to how many governments react to the presence of real threats today. Corruption. A media always looking for a sensational story, distorting the facts and thus leaving the public uniformed about the truth. Max Brooks has cleverly weaved harsh reality and the bloody, horrifying fiction of zombie lore together in a book that actually makes you think about the consequences of mankind's actions - or lack thereof. 

P.S. World War Z is now being made into a feature film that stars Brad Pitt. I'm not really sure what role he'll be playing - there are a million of them in the book - but I'm excited to see how the movie turns out! (I'll be the person in the theater covering my eyes)