Living Through Hell On Earth

 

This might have been the best book I have read in the last few years. If you have sometime over the holidays to curl up with a good read I recommend “World War Z”. This GEM is written by son the Mel Brooks (Yes, that Mel Brooks), Max Brooks has carved his own Romero style niche. I dig how Brooks even gives play full nods and jibs at his previous work (Z.S.G.).

If you like zombie lit but are getting bored with viscera and nihilism, this is a great antidote. Brooks has taken his ironically deadpan "Zombie Survival Guide" and made a whole world out of it. Pretending to be an oral history of humanity's struggle against zombie hordes, this book has a cast of dozens, most of whom speak for only a few pages before yielding to other voices. As a result, we get a truly international view of the great crisis, and the situation and responses faced by people in a variety of settings. Each individual vignette is unique and special…from Tibetan smugglers to dirigible pilots to ex-politicians…each 'interview' has its own distinct voice. The feeling of reading the accounts of some of the bravest souls who have ever (never!) walked the earth.

As Brooks envisions it, the zombie plague encompasses the threat of terrorism and global war, natural catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina or the devastating tsunami, and global disease scares like avian flu and SARS.

Some of the best things about "World War Z" to me are the quality writing, the surprises of the plot and scenarios, and also the poignancy of the emotional impact. The experiences of the combat soldiers are deep and moving, and other sections like the struggle of a pilot trapped behind "enemy lines" and best of all, the K-9 handler's tale are brilliantly done and add both pathos and innovation to portrayal of human experience during the Zombie menace.

There is such depth, though, to his imagination that it is almost staggering to question how long Brooks sat in development of his zombie world. The varying responses by governments, the responses by different citizens, or even the effects of weather and climate on zombies are all explored to full, yet sometimes questionable, understanding. One of my personal favorites…The "Lobo"…a combination shovel and battle-axe put to great use throughout the novel. It is one of but many ingenius concepts envisioned by Brooks in his personal post-apocalyptic world…this is a world that everyone should explore.

Peace, DAG!