Despite the title, World War Z feels like the zombie apocalypse was the setting, not the focus. Max Brooks’ story is set in the aftermath of a near-extinction-level zombie plague, and uses a unique style of writing that frames the survivor’s stories as oral interviews of past events. The book follows the experiences of numerous survivors from different parts of the world, from different walks of life: soldiers, doctors, priests, movie stars, teenage shut-ins, filmmakers, and ordinary middle-class civilians who gained extraordinary stories during the ‘Zombie War.’
Going against the reputation of most zombie media, this book was surprisingly meaningful. Rather than mindless zombie-slashing action, the overarching theme of the story was how humanity, of all cultures and origins, is affected by being driven to the brink of extinction after so long at the top of the animal kingdom. Brooks takes a thoughtful, ‘Big Picture’ approach to his world. This isn’t a book that follows five people living in a shopping mall, it’s a book that asks how Cuba would weather a zombie apocalypse, how astronauts would fare aboard the ISS, and how a copyright lawyer would make themselves useful to a total-war economy, all in the same book. It looks at how the political and social differences of our world would manifest in the face of a zombie apocalypse.
Opening line: “It goes by many names: ‘The Crisis,’ ‘The Dark Years,’ ‘The Walking Plague,’ as well as newer and more ‘hip’ titles such as ‘World War Z’ or ‘Z War One.’”
Final line: “I thought it was a dream, sometimes it still feels like one, remembering that day, that sunrise over the Hero City.”
Favorite quotes:
“Most people don’t believe something can happen until it already has. That’s not stupidity or weakness, that’s just human nature.”
“Lies are neither bad nor good. Like a fire they can either keep you warm or burn you to death, depending on how they’re used…There’s a word for that kind of lie: Hope.”
“Sometimes you find your own path, sometimes it finds you.”