Okay, I have spent the weekend consuming World War Z by Max Brooks. Now this is the kind of book that is normally wayyyy out of my lane, but it was actually recommended by one of the usual military strategy websites I read daily and I decided to check it out. I was sucked in immediately and had trouble putting this book down over the weekend.It is a strange mixture of sci-fi, narrative history and pure schlock. I mean seriously- a book about a zombie war? But, when I heard the author was the son of Mel Brooks, I had to check it out. I must say the writing is really, really outstanding and it was not what I expected at all. I have read many oral histories of World War II, Vietnam, and the Iraq War and this book could easily have been written by Studs Terkel.
The attention to detail, while capturing the spirit of retelling the period when humanity almost became extinct is very well done by Mr. Brooks. What makes the book really work is that Mr. Brooks does not get bogged down in the scientific details and doesn't tell you everything that happened, just weaves together various points of view to convey a sense of the "history" of the time and the "experiences" of the survivors.
Now, I really enjoy alternate or counterfactual historical novels anyway, and this is one of the best I have read, ever.
I've never seen a zombie movie, but I may have to check one out.
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