3/5 stars.
ebook, 291 pages.
Read from July 10 to 24, 2013.
This book was nothing like I was expecting. I thought it would get the standard one plot and story whereas what I was actually presented with was a collaboration of short stories/oral narratives that are centered around the same plot. With that being said, it was very effective.
The one consistent but barely talked about character in the book is the narrator, or rather the person carrying out the interviews, otherwise each chapter is a different character speaking about their experiences before, during and after “Z” day. I have yet to see the movie but now that I’ve read the book I’m really baffled as to how it was pulled off seeing that the book is just a collaboration of different stories. I suspect that they made something more of the interviewer, which, there is part of me that hopes that they do as I was left wishing I knew more about the person who conducted all of these heart-retching interviews. I wanted to know his story, so maybe the movie will take that stance. Once I watch it, I will update my review.
I think that Brooks was very successful in portraying what a real-life zombie invasion would be like, and let’s be honest, it would be as terrifying as he describes. I actually have Zombie related dreams more than I would like to admit and I’m certain it’s because the idea of something like this actually occurring definitely strikes a fair amount of fear into me. I also appreciated the wide scope of characters that he had. He had people from all over the world with different backgrounds and moralities and that is truly what made this story dynamic and terrifying. I felt that he was able to get an accurate grasp of humanity and the different people that shape it. What we as humans would do to each other during a chaotic event like this is what inspires more horror than the zombies themselves.
I’m very glad that I finally got around to reading this cult-classic. I think that I’ve read at least two zombie themed novels now, including this one. Now that I’ve read that standard classic I feel that I can venture the genre more if I wanted to.
The Pluviophile Writer 