quote:Originally posted by Lard Lad: I have some time on my hands this week, so I decided to finally sit down and read Max Brooks' zombie epic "World War Z". I'm about a quarter thru it so far, and it's pretty gripping and has a believability to it that I wasn't expecting.
It's told as a series of interviews post-apocalypse in such a way as we experience the story chronologically from the earliest stages all the way through. It includes perspectives from opportunists who found a way to underhandedly capitalize on the epidemic...to those who were there near the presumed ground zero...to government officials who handled the impending threat in an attempt more to assuage the masses rather than actually do much to combat it...to unexpected and logical ways the plague spreads...to simple but harrowing stories of survival.
And that's just a sample of what I've already read in less than 100 of 350-ish pages. We're barely into where the shit really hits the fan, and it's already a major page-turner!
My wife's had the book for over a year, and I always intended to get around to reading it. Well, the time is now, folks. If you're into the zombie subgenre or horror in general or just gripping reading told in an uncoventional manner, I can already tell you that "World War Z" is for YOU! It clearly deserves its reputation as a quality book.
EDIT: Oh yeah, first zombie work I know of that shows the global perspective!
Finished it. Enjoyed it and would definitely still recommend it, especially to my fellow zombie nuts.
After a while, though, I'd say that the format lost its novelty. Some pieces were a lot more captivating than others. Having everything being told in hindsight was kind of a suspense-killer, knowing that the narrator lives to tell the tale. And the purpose of many chapters was not to tell a story so much as to explain certain procedures and how certain things happened.
But there were stil many chilling, memorable moments. And, again, so many ideas were presented that made you realize that this was totally what would happen if there was ever a zombie apocalypse in real life. It was very well thought out and expertly crafted by Max Brooks.
Probably the one thought that occurred to me repeatedly as I read the book was that this was one of the very few works in the genre that painted the zombie apocalypse as a scenario in which mankind and its society would ultimately survive, albeit with its population severely decimated. That's not a spoiler. It's obvious if you read the back cover, the table of contents or even just the first few pages.
In pretty much every other "serious" zombie movie, comic book or whatever, survival seems either unlikely or impossible. In World War Z there's a light at the end of the tunnel, even if it's not so terribly, overwhelmingly bright. Taken alleghorically (as I think the book is meant to be on some level), that's kind of comforting, even as the book pulls pretty much no punches.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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I liked WWZ as well. I thought, as you did, that there were some really good moments that could have been more dramatic if told 'in the moment.'
Max Brooks has obviously given the topic a lot of thought, and it really pays off here. I believe it will be a fun movie to watch, if it ever does get made/finished.
Also enjoyed his Survival Guide.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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My wife has the Survival Guide as well. I intend to read that one at some point when the mood hits, as it did for WWZ. Again, I can't see any fan of the genre not benefitting from reading WWZ at some point.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Dev - Em: "Night of the Living Trekkies"
It's zombies at a Star Trek convention. What's not to love here. So far it's just ramping up, but actually pretty good.
Finished this up today. It's a pretty easy read and moves quickly once things get really going.
It's a definite different take on the whole Zombie thing...what the difference is involves the cause (yep, you find out exactly what's behind it.)
The zombies are pretty standard, with one main difference, that works into the 'twist' above.
The convention setting makes for a fun distraction during all the carnage that happens. Leading to some fun jokes and quotes being thrown around. Some great stuff about Red Shirts...in a way that you would not expect.
I recommend it to people that really love the zombie genre, and want something just a little bit different, but very familiar.
From: Turn around... | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
quote:Originally posted by Eryk Davis Ester: ]
Currently reading the Hugo-nominated space opera Leviathan Wakes. Fun read for the most part so far, but I'm reserving judgment until I get to the end.
Finished this. The verdict: solid read, though I'm a little disappointed this apparently is among the best of the best in the current sci-fi field.
The basic plot is about an evil corporation that starts a war between Mars, Earth, and the Asteroid Belt in an attempt to distract everyone from their experiments with an alien zombie virus from beyond the solar system. The main characters, the survivors of a destroyed vessel that transports ice from Saturn to the Asteroid Belt and a Ceres-born detective searching for a missing girl who turns out to be tied into the evil plot, are fairly cliched though well-written. Nothing in it really stood out as "completely ass-kicking awesome" in my mind, however. Most of it could easily have been the plot of a cheesy SyFy movie.
[ April 27, 2012, 01:54 PM: Message edited by: Eryk Davis Ester ]
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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Leviathan Wakes was quite readable and I agree that is was generally cliched. The one thing I did like was Holden the XO's belief that everyone should know everything and the tendency of that to cause a whole bunch of problems.
Right now I've started the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher. Dresden is a Chicago-based wizard/detective. He's pretty much the standard down-on-his-heels private eye, except he doesn't seem to drink much and isn't much of a hit with the ladies, and the magic adds a nice touch.
posted
I have finished the book recommended by FC "Company of the Dead". Great book, but I'm going to wait for FC to appear again before discussing it.
Right now I am reading the following: Virus by Robin Cook Night of Knives by Ian C Esselmont Complete Wizard of Oz by Frank L Baum
From: Fort McMurray | Registered: Nov 2004
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I just finished "How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had it Coming" by Mike Brown. I thought it was a wonderful tale of how Brown discovered Eris and several other big objects at the edge of the solar system. I recommend it to anyone who has even a passing interest in astronomy.
From: Cincinnati | Registered: Jul 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
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^^I've thought about reading that for awhile, so I'll add it to my list!
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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Well, I'm pretty much finished Virus and it reminded me of why I don't read Robin Cook. His plot is ok, but his methods of writing leave no measure of suspense. He doesn't just foreshadow upcoming events, he completely telegraphs them. In addition to that, there was not a single likeable character in the novel. Sure they all had a good quality or two, but they were all overwelmingly dislikeable, hateful, self involved asshats. I've been forcing myself to finish it. Thank the stars I only have a couple of chapters to go!
From: Fort McMurray | Registered: Nov 2004
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Viridis, I tried your mailbox twice but it's full, so here's my question on Lightholler from Company of the Dead. The details are a bit murky now - I got the book from the library so don't have it here to re-check.
The team left Lightholler in New York City, then headed out west. Later, Lightholler showed up there. I thought he had gone off to die in NYC, or would just not have survived the timeline change. So I couldn't figure out how he was still in the picture.
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I'm just going to throw the whole thing in spoilers tags....
Click Here For A Spoiler Do you mean when they got the machine working and made a pit stop in NYC on the way to get Wells?
Lightholler went off in NYC to save himself in the tunnel. The early part of the book where the masked person saved Lightholler from the kidnappers...that was future Lightholler. During that encounter he was shot, but managed to make it back to the team before collapsing. They took him with them to the past and when they arrived the machine started to overload. Lightholler chose to go off to oblivion rather than die in the desert and stayed in the machine while the team left.
Many years later the machine reappears in Roswell with Lightholler still (alive) inside. Kennedys now adult daughter expected this and was waiting with a medical team to save him.
At the very end of the book, back in our time, we see Wells in Vegas again. A limo with two old folks inside who have a strange conversation with him. The two old folks were Kennedys daughter and Lightholler.
Lightholler could continue to exist as the author had already established with Wells that someone could change the timeline and continue to exist in the new one.
I hope thats what had you wondering, but....
Click Here For A Spoiler Either the Author didn't do the research, or (way cooler idea) the timeline was not restored correctly. Kennedy'd daughter sends Lightholler to Newfoundland in eastern Canada immediately after the Roswell crash to recover from his injuries. Newfoundland didn't even vote to join Canada till the year after Roswell and didn't join till two years after.
From: Fort McMurray | Registered: Nov 2004
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