World War Z and the End of Civilization

I've been in a post-apocalyptic mood lately (as least as far as my reading goes). I've read The Road three times and watched 28 Weeks later and Children of Men. I also finished reading World War Z.

Overall, I have to say I enjoyed it.

I had some issues at first. I wasn't thrilled with it being a "history." Since it's written after the war I already, in a sense, know how it's going to end and that causes it to lose all sense of immediacy.

I wasn't thrilled with the interview/Q and A style. There was no chance to get into a sort of narrative flow when the "voice" changes every four pages. Every time I started to get into a particular story it would change gears and there would be another narrator and too many of the interviewees sounded the same.

On the upside, it's an engaging read that moves well.

It covers a globe-spanning pandemic and the idea of including everywhere from Japan and China to Iceland and South America, even a submarine crew and astronauts at the International Space Station, worked well.

The overall story arc was very satisfying. Too many "horror" novels end in a way that feels tacked on. This had a sense of completeness without pandering.

There were some great zombie scenes (though for me too few) and Brooks sets up the scenarios and paints the scenes almost cinematically (it shouldn't surprise anyone that they're working on a film).

No zombie story is complete without its social commentary, and this was as well done as any I've seen, and that’s the books obvious strength. It was as much a commentary on the incidents of the Zombie War as it is about the incidents of the real world.

I'm planning on reading Cell next...but any and all suggestions are welcome.

I haven't yet bought World War Z, but I've uploaded the audio book to my iPod. I haven't listened to it yet, but it looks like an audio book done right. I like that they hired respectible actors to do the different 'interviews'.

Tell me what you think of Cell. It wasn't what I thought it would be, but I really liked it. (Though I hate the 'tall' mass market paperback format!)

If you can handle your zombie apocalypses on a smaller scale, I'd recommend Dead City by Joe McKinney. It's a first novel, but I thought it was done pretty well and is a zombie book that doesn't seem to get much attention.

I'm about 70 pages into Cell, and i agree with you that it's not what I was expecting...at least not yet anyway.

I've had my eye on Dead City. The other book people have been suggesting is Monster Island. I think it's cool that Wellington has put his books online, but I fully intend to buy a copy.

No zombies in these, but you might enjoy them;
I read Oryx and Crake this year and it might end up on my list of bests for the year.

The Stand is a classic P.A. type novel. Better than Cell, but different and much, much longer.

The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard has stuck with me for more than a decade after reading it.

You know, I haven't read any of David Wellington's books yet, but I picked up all three of the Monster trilogy and 13 Bullets due to his good press.

I thought 13 Bullets was top notch. Haven't gotten to David Wellington's zombie books yet, but plan to very soon.

I read all three: Monster Island, Monster Nation, and Monster Planet. Frankly I enjoyed the World War Z more, and Wellington takes the Zombie motif much further than most, but they were good reads. I recently finished Plague of the Dead by ZA Recht, which was pretty good, but it felt like a set for future books. I have Dying to Live by Kim Paffenroth in my TBR file, and I think it will rise to the top pretty soon. (I really enjoyed his Gospel of the Living Dead.)

But now I am filling in some blanks and reading Interview with the Vampire. A bit late perhaps, but I will see how far it will take me.

Oh, and if you like graphic novels, The Walking Dead is pretty good.

Arctic,

I'm curious to know what you think of Interview With the Vampire. I've avoided reading any Anne Rice due to the whole 'weepy, erotic vampires' mystique. But I've been thinking I should maybe try that first one at least.

I think Interview with the Vampire is really good, it was written well before the others.

So far I am liking it. Her style is interesting. I would call it seductive. Not flowery, although she can get that way at times. The erotic part is an undertone, and not, like say Anita Blake, overpowering. I just finished part I.

In terms of other horror novels I have read, her writing stands head and shoulders above the rest. (Some one described JK Rowlings prose as "sturdy' which works with most horror writers I have read. Rice is more literate.)