Nerds That Geek Book Review: 'World War Z'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

The zombie apocalypse continues to permeate all levels of entertainment.  We have seen it return to film with a vengeance, the living dead invade our living rooms every Sunday night and yes, in their own special way the undead have even managed to shuffle into literature with their appearance in the 2006 best-selling novel by Max Brooks; World War Z.

The world stood on the brink. Mankind faced extinction. There was panic in the streets, governments were helpless to act when the unthinkable had come to pass. The dead had returned to life and were feasting on warm human flesh. Yet during this darkest hour, as humanity faced extinction, the tide at last turned and man reclaimed the world from living death. But to ensure that man will never again face such a horrible fate, one man will reach out to learn the truth of what went so horribly wrong.  

I'll just get this out in the open right now, I loved this book. Yes, I know, I'm a zombie fanatic and it is exactly why I picked up this book to begin with, but the follow up to Max's first satirical zombie novel; The Zombie Survival Guide is an incredible book through and through. Filled with homages to all the great zombie stories that came before it, World War Z does an outstanding job of showing us what a pandemic of any kind might look like, and it features some fascinating reflections upon our own world since the bickering, ignorance, and profiteering that are present in this tale are things we see discussed on the nightly news the instant anything goes wrong in the world .  

Of course, such stupidity is amplified in a book like this, but there is a level of discomfort while reading this novel for one simple reason, it reminds you of all the bad things we've seen unfold on television in recent years. But most importantly, all real-world parallels aside, this is a downright terrifying novel as well. There are sequences, specifically the Battle of Yonkers, that evoke utter terror in the reader with Brooks' smooth writing style and realistic approach.
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This is definitely a must read for any horror enthusiast or book worm in general. The story is gripping, and even though you learn up front that man managed to survive this awful plague, there are times where you wonder exactly how we made it out alive.  

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