WWZ- Open discussion (Spoilers in boxes only)

[kah]

So far I am enjoying the book. It reads like the news, in bite-sized portions. I think it would be great for people that don't read much, but it's still good reading for those of us that do. I curious as to the reason for all the brand names, as well as giving all the interviewees names. It seems like a lot of names period, when he could have just as easily gotten by with titles. Soldier in such and such an army, or mayor of such and such a town. I'm not too far in, because I've been a bit distracted, so I'm reserving judgement on the name issue for now. The descriptions are fantastic and horrifying, as they should be, and I can't wait to have more time to really put away some pages.

[kah]

Am I the only one reading the book so far?

[kah]

:icon_poke222:

[neglet]

I'm fourth in line at the library to get my copy. This isn't usually my kind of thing, so I'm too cheap (and lazy) to buy a copy. So it's going to be a while for me. Sorry.

[Deacon]

Read it in September. Don't know if that counts.

[kah]

~sigh~ It's a good thing I've been taking my time, then. Well, I'll just keep posting my comments and hope you guys catch up before I'm finished.

[Al-Dog]

I'd finished it a couple of weeks ago. I enjoyed it. I've been running around a lot this weekend, so I haven't had the time to compose my thoughts yet.

I'll wait until more people have read it before I say anything.

[madi]

I started reading on Sunday night. I'm finding the book incredibly entertaining, maybe too much so, because I'm reading it when I should be doing other things.

I like that the author uses personal, place and product names. It gives the whole thing a more authentic feel as a future history. It is a very scary book, not just because of the subject matter, but because as you read the interviews, you can really see how this would be the way things would go down, at least in the first parts of the book. It's already went this way in the AIDS pandemic, and no doubt will again in any future pandemic

[kah]

Have you noticed that while he specifically names products and interviewees, when he is alluding to someone famous we know, he won't name names? Here's a good example of what I am talking about...

"...or even that little, rich, spoiled, tired-looking whore who was famous for just being a rich, spoiled, tired-looking whore.

Paris Hilton, anyone? The book is full of these, and none of them are outed by name, but with such accurate descriptions that we can all come to the same conclusion as to their identities.

[madi]

One of the things I particularly enjoy about this book is that you can identify with some of the people being interviewed. You either know them in your head, or you are them.

It's a well thought out look at how this whole thing could go down, I think, from the first reactions in China, to the varied reactions in the U.S., both on personal, and more frighteningly, on a political level. The early chapters remind me a lot of how people first reacted to the AIDS pandemic when it first became obvious, and I'm sure it's meant to. It sets you up for the more extreme things that happen in the war, like the Redekker plan, and all the its various copies.

I watched Night of the Living Dead for the first time last night. I was amazed how much what we popularly think of zombies, including how they are portrayed in this book, comes from one low budget movie.

[kah]

I agree with you completely, Madi. I just finished reading the section with the girl from Waukesha, WI, and thought the same thing. I am really impressed with Brooks' research. He makes me believe he knows what certain people in certain places would do based on their religion, culture, government, or even the history of the country/continent as a whole. For a spoof on war, it's a hell of a thinker.

[kah]

I am almost finished. It's actually pretty depressing that it's going to be over soon. I hope Brooks keeps writing, because he has a hell of a talent for painting pictures with his words.

[madi]

Well, I've finished the book. Actually, I finished it a while ago, but I haven't had a chance to post.

I enjoyed this book on more than one level. It was a good read, interesting, and a tale well told. I love how he used a Studs Terkel approach to interviewing to tell the tale of the war unfolding and how it eventually sort of ends.

It also paints what seems to be a chillingly accurate portrait of how the world would react to such a threat, even a more real threat of some kind of pandemic. It is very well thought out.

Finally, I love how he took the sort of traditional George Romero type zombie and made us see what it would really be like if they ever ventured past the farm houses and malls.

I am currently reading Stephan King's Cell. I just happened to pick it up at the supermarket while waiting in a very long line with people buying last minute yams and things. It sort of deals with the same thing, but in a much less interesting way. I'm about 1/4 of the way through the book and really about ready to give it up.

[neglet]

Well, I finally got my turn at my library's copy of this book, and I absolutely loved it. I read the whole thing in one day--I literally couldn't put it down.

Now, I'm not a big horror fan. I've never seen a zombie movie, and aside from the occasional Stephen King novel, I don't read horror. But there are two reasons I enjoyed this book. First, it's a book about a plague and surviving disasters, and I love that kind of book ("The Stand," "Lucifer's Hammer" being a couple of my favorites). I also think this book was so effective because of the oral history approach. It made the horror less immediate, because everything was told in hindsight, but it also made it seem so very plausible. Brooks didn't get into the details of how the plague actually worked, but there was so many other details that it was easy to overlook.

I've had at least two dreams about being in a zombie plague since reading this book, that's how much it's stayed with me. I definitely need to check out the companion volume, "The Zombie Survival Guide."

[kah]

I just finished the guide. I normally can't read anything that resembles instructions telling me how to do anything, but it was great! I agree completely with your opinion of WWZ.

I wish I could read books as fast as I used to, but I only get to read for 15 minutes here and there every few days with chasing the boy and my tv addiction. I can only imagine how powerful the novel was reading it in one day. It was a lingering creepy feeling I had for weeks while I read 10 pages at a crack, and I really enjoyed it. :)