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 enlarge | Author: Max Brooks
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $8.89
You Save: $16.06 (64%)
New (32) Used (36) Collectible (2) from $6.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  471 reviews
Sales Rank: 47202
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 5.9 x 1.3
ISBN: 0307346609
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780307346605
ASIN: 0307346609
Publication Date: September 12, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Like New , Same or Next Day Shipping , Guaranteed Satisfaction. 1-7
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| Customer Reviews:
 Breaking the rules is okay if you know the rules December 18, 2008
This is a great book. You should buy it and read it. But the book has some built-in flaws, such as:
This is a story without a hero, without character arcs, without relationships and a whole lot of other basic things that most stories possess.
Having said that, the book is so well thought out, well written, engaging and original that it works. Problem is, the end of the book has no climax. No hero's journey equals no climax. A truly great story has a hero and climax.
Of course, Max Brooks knows this. And breaking the rules is okay if you know the rules, which he does.
James Roy Daley
Author of The Dead Parade
The Dead Parade
 Surprisingly Effective, Believable and Emotive December 13, 2008
Let me preface this by saying that I am not a big fan of horror in general (outside of Lovecraft and King)and the zombie apocalypse sub-genre in particular. That being said, World War Z is one of the most effective and gripping books I've read in years. Indeed, it's the first novel in a long time that I've read in a single sitting.
"Novel," however, is not the most accurate way to describe it. As other reviewers have noted, this is written in the form of several short vignettes representing interviews with survivors of the Zombie War. As such, you might think that there wouldn't be any drama - after all, the subjects being interviewed all survived the war, so they are not at risk. This is not the case. Brooks deftly writes dozens of these short vignettes, and they evoke the horror and heroism, the despair and the drama of the war. There's not a lot of graphic violence here - this is not splatterpunk, and those looking for that genre should seek elsewehere. Rather, the horror comes as much from what is implied (how survivors managed to live through a winter without food, for example) as much as what is shown.
As such, it's a surprisingly emotionally affecting book, particularly given that none of the characters are seen for a long period of time (very few appear in more than one vignette). There are, admittedly, some errors (some of the military jargon and space technology/orbital mechanics are jarringly wrong, but only about 2% of readership will even notice this, so I won't mark the book down for it), and some aspects of the war cry out for more detail (how, in the midst of the Great Panic, were the Western States pacified and consolidated?). But these are minor quibbles.
You do NOT have to be a fan of horror to enjoy this book. Bravo, Mr Brooks.
 Dull December 11, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book was boring. A jumble of words and stories with nothing to say. I try to finish any book I start to read but it was a challenge with this book. To avoid boredom, stay away from WW Z, Monster Island and Monster Planet. Monster Planet was so incredibly dull it is one of the few books I could not finish. Half of it was bad enough.
Excellent books to read: Day by Day Armageddon, The Morningstar Strain Plague of the Dead and Dead Sea.
World War Z December 8, 2008
World War Z is an oral history of the events that had occurred in the final war, world war z. You will hear stories from every aspect, anyone from a hermit succluded in his apartment in japan, to military commanders spanned across the world. Max Brooks perfectly describes the horror and confusion that is erupted globally from the invasion. Stories of people who see their families die in front of them and there is nothing they can do to stop it. If you are a person who enjoys zombie apocalypse, this book will keep you on your toes.
 Okay, but why? December 8, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I guess I didn't get it or maybe I just read the book out of sequence? There are a lot of 5-star reviews for World War Z and for the most part I think the premise of the story is very edgy and creative, but it wasn't really a "story" per se. It was like reading a Reader's Digest account of a zombie plague. The writing was excellent and very descriptive but I guess I was hoping for an actual story with a plot not a documentary on the outbreak. Something along the lines of the 28 Days Later movie would have been pretty cool. Again, I realize the point of the book was an "Oral History" thereby making it a documentary styled story but, like I said, the start and end of the zombie plague weren't really mentioned so I had no basis of history to begin with.
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