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Review by Andrew Walsh

I have a weakness for apocalyptic stories, which is probably why I love mostly everything zombie related. To paraphrase “28 Days Later,” when the living dead is involved “the end is really fucking nigh.”

So, when I heard about Max Brook’s ‘World War Z,” I just had to rush out and get it (which says a lot because I almost never shell out the bucks for a hardcover book). Brooks is the author of the popular “Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead,” a fictional citizen’s guide to surviving a zombie outbreak. “World War Z” is an oral history of how just such an outbreak could occur and almost destroy the world.

Written as a serious effort to chronicle the zombie war for future generations, “Z” traces the infection from it’s beginnings with a 12 year-old Chinese boy dubbed Patient Zero to a global pandemic that reaches all corners of the globe.

Each survivor tells a tale that puts another piece of the puzzle together. The reader follows the trail from China, to the Middle East, to Third World countries, and then right into the heart of the United States. You watch as the plague (named “African Rabies” by some) goes unnoticed until it is too late, resulting in what the book refers to as “the Great Panic.”

One of the many things I loved about this novel was the insane attention to detail. There is no figure too mundane, no weapon too technical for Brooks to describe. Every stone is turned in an effort to create a world the reader can become immersed in. Even the author bio on book jacket plays along. Instead of the usual factual information, we are given a description of “Max Brooks,” zombie historian.

Another thing I enjoyed was the global view of the outbreak. It wasn’t another Last Man on Earth scenario (or LaMOE as “WWZ” calls it). I wasn’t taken to another town, bunker, or mall where a group of survivors was making their last stand. It’s basically a collection of short, interconnected stories.

Fascinating, engrossing, political, and imaginative, “World War Z” took me away from the world in which I live and transported me to one full of horror, adventure, and survival. It is rare to find a book that leaves me wondering what happens after it is done. I wished I could jump into that world, fuck up some zombies, then jump back into my own, just for a day.

According to Entertainment Weekly, “WWZ” was the focus of a heated bidding war between Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio for the film rights. Brad Pitt was the victor, so we’ll see how the movie turns out. Hopefully it won’t be any worse than the trailer for the new “Day of the Dead.” At any rate, this was a great book that was worth the $25.

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