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Max Brooks returns with his second zombie related novel, "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War." Whereas his first novel, "The Zombie Survival Guide" gave precise instructions on how to prepare for a zombie uprising, this novel is a collection of interviews done by the author (we can only assume it's Brooks himself) with dozens of survivors of the Zombie War, a worldwide global catastrophe that had taken place a few years earlier.

He starts the novel by documenting the outbreak in China which was covered up by officials at the highest levels of government. Without warning, the plague of flesh hungry undead soon spills into parts of Asia, Europe and is soon transmitted globally. Brooks shows great political insight as he "interviews" the survivors, each one with their own idea regarding who is to blame regarding the outbreak. Those interviewed include: an elderly Chinese doctor who encounters what they refer to as "Patient Zero," the first zombie of the initial outbreak; and a doctor in South America who involuntarily performs a heart transplant with an infected heart and cleans up his own mess. These are just a few of the characters that Brooks introduces us to before the epidemic spreads and the world is in the grasp of the undead in what was called the "Great Panic."

The "Great Panic" is the section of the book where Brooks details the encounters between the undead and people around the world. Not everybody who fought and died in the Zombie War was a solider as Brooks introduces us to regular people who fought for themselves and their families. He interviews a family who decides to head north to Canada in the hopes that the cold would freeze the undead only to be faced with another problem: starving, desperate humans. Brooks also introduces the reader to a soldier who fought in the Battle of Yonkers, which was a battle between thousands of undead New Yorkers and US soldiers, who were ultimately defeated and forced to retreat. This is by far the bleakest section of the novel as it documents the last hope of mankind as the numbers of zombies multiply and hopes of humanity dwindle.

The section titled "Turning the Tide" documents how people around the world found ways to outsmart and eventually defeat the undead. Brooks interviews a man in South Africa, who gives Brooks insight into what was referred to as the "Redeker Plan." This was a strategy that involved soldiers grouping a select group of civilians into makeshift fortresses and essentially using them as bait to lure zombies away from "Safe Zones" so that soldiers and armed forces could clear any zombies from these zones, regroup, and then begin attacking legions of the undead. The plan, despite it's gruesome idea of using humans as bait, worked and would eventually be used by other nations as a way to start driving hordes out.

Brooks then moves on, interviewing witnesses and discussing the "Total War" that mankind had with the undead after they were able to unite and fight against a common enemy. It's an interesting read as Brooks talks to soldiers in the US services, including a young lady who found herself in zombie infested woods; a Chinese admiral who helped steal a Chinese sub where the crew brought their families and supplies to live at sea for months; and a particularly interesting account of an elderly Japanese man that was blinded at Hiroshima who survived in the wilderness, slaying zombies by the dozens with nothing but his wits and his sword.

Brooks does a terrific job of detailing so many different types of people and their struggles. He crafts each character wonderfully, giving them their own insight, feelings, and reactions to the rise of the undead. Brooks is able to make them relatable to the reader, such as the case of elderly blind man and a wheelchair bound man who is at first turned down by groups of extermination squads due to his ailment. He also does a tremendous job of making some characters downright horrid, such as an unethical pharmaceutical executive who made a hefty profit by marketing a bogus pill that would cure anybody of zombie ailments, which only lead to an increase in zombies.

Where Brooks excels at is making the book so realistic and disturbing on a global level. He details government officials who ignore the warnings of their people as well as the fall of governments around the world who denied all signs of the incoming Panic. He also describes the movement of millions of refugees who escape to neighboring countries, which in turn allows the plague to spread faster and wider. It's these passages that make the novel gripping as they are incredibly realistic and document a global chaos. While the situation itself is false, one could assume that a world wide panic of this sort would be this scary and horrific. Brooks ends the novel by interviewing those who are aiding in the rebuilding process, including those who hunt down the undead that will soon thaw out after being frozen in higher elevations.

The book is not without its humorous points such as a soldier who falls in love with the band Iron Maiden after destroying zombies while listening to their CD's. Brooks also parodies himself when one survivor says that a certain survival guide did not help at all and "must have been written by an American."

This is a great and enticing read that I had trouble putting down. Much like his first work, "World War Z," is gruesome, gripping, and ultimately an insightful read into the zombie genre.

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Ditulis oleh: Jack Thompson - Thursday, December 13, 2012