World War Z - Awesome zombie stories

World War Z is a collection of war stories from a fictional zombie war that swept the planet sometime in the near future. It is from author Max Brooks, who is the son of famed writer/director Mel Brooks, and is the follow-up to his wildly successful Zombie Survival Guide. This book is currently being adapted into a feature film.

At the end of Zombie Survival Guide were a series of short stories describing various zombie encounters throughout history. I think these short tales opened the door for this book, which is written like a series of short stories that tie into the main plot. Basically, the world was overrun with zombies after a virus spread over the Earth, and this book is written from the perspective of a journalist who is chronicling the survivor's stories. It features interviews with soldiers and civilians, and each person has a unique story to tell.

If you are a fan of zombie fiction, chances are you've already read this book. If you haven't already, you're missing out on one of the best collections of zombie stories ever written. I'm looking forward to seeing how the movie will turn out, because this book doesn't have any main characters or central plot lines. I just hope the movie doesn't dumb this down into nothing but a bunch of horror violence and lose the social commentary inherent in all the best zombie stories.

Part of what makes these zombie stories work so well is the way they tie into the real world. During the interviews with military personnel, the running theme involves the soldiers trying to fight an enemy they do not understand. The zombies are incapable of caring for their own life or well-being, and they move forward with relentless, reckless abandon. In many ways, you could liken the zombies to the suicide bombers who regularly attack soldiers and civilians in the Middle East. Just like the zombies, those terrorists are driven by impulses that many of us don't understand, plus it's always a disadvantage to fight someone who doesn't care if they live or die.

One of the best stories involves a huge battle early on in the zombie war. It takes place in a metropolitan area, and the media is there to provide full coverage. The story is dictated by one of the mid-level commanders there, and he talks about how his superiors obviously had no idea what they were doing because they had the guys dressed down in bulletproof armor and other things that did no good. It's not like the zombies were shooting at them, he said. This particular story goes into a lot of detail in how the zombies attack as well as what it takes to kill them. It also contains a nice but of satire in regard to media coverage of war.

Some of the other stories are more personal and involve individual accounts of sole survivorship. One of them involves a paratrooper who is coached through a zombie-infested area by some unseen woman on a radio. Another is a rather off-the-wall story about a blind man who uses his other senses to stay alive despite being surrounded by zombies. Each story is very well done and the characters are all stand out on their own.

I greatly enjoyed World War Z and highly recommend it for both being unique and well-written. The author's attention to detail is what puts this above your average zombie story. The audiobook version features a full cast of very well known actors, including Mark Hamill (Star Wars) and Alan Alda (MASH). Brooks appropriately voices the part of the interviewer.