World War Z

World War Z

First edition cover
Author	Max Brooks
Language	English
Genre	Horror, Satirical novel
Publisher	Crown
Publication date	September 12, 2006
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Hardback/Paperback), Ebook, Audiobook
Pages	352 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0307346609

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (abbreviated WWZ) is a novel by Max Brooks which chronicles a theoretical zombie apocalypse, specifically the titular "Zombie World War", as a series of after-the-fact oral history interviews with prominent survivors.

Though a follow-up to his humorously deadpan previous book, The Zombie Survival Guide, WWZ is much more serious in tone, and strives to be both factually and psychologically convincing. The book was released on September 12, 2006; a movie based on it is in the pre-production stage.

Description

Taking place in the 2010s, the book charts a war against the undead from global pandemic to mass panic, and then to an armed struggle to reclaim the planet. Rather than a grand overview or a single perspective, World War Z is instead a collection of individual accounts, each revealing an aspect of the larger plot and simultaneously presenting a very personal tale. These different accounts take the form of interviews. The book draws from post-apocalyptic and zombie literature. "The Great Panic" chapter describes the rout of civilization in a similar manner to H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds. The tales cover many genres -- the story of a Chinese admiral who spent the war on a submarine would fit easily among techno-thrillers. The viewpoint is not exclusively American, but focuses on the global nature of the struggle. This use of small personal tales creates a patchwork tapestry of the larger events unfolding in the book. Brooks addresses current issues such as environmentalism, the War on Terrorism and international health care. He also offers an interesting juxtaposition between the modern world and that of postwar Earth. For example, Cuba becomes the world's leading economy, Great Britain becomes a major producer of oil, and Tibet becomes the most populous country. This vision of a postwar Earth is startling in its contrast to that of today. It is implied that tribal groups such as South American Indians, Zulu of Southern Africa and Māori of New Zealand fared surprisingly well. One character relates an anecdote about how 500 Māori took on half of the Auckland horde, using traditional tribal weapons, and fared much better than the world's various military forces or Western civilians.

Background

As portrayed in the book, zombies are caused by some sort of pathogen, likely a virus. The disease is contagious through saliva, mostly transfered when one infected bites an uninfected. The disease is entirely communicable, and no cure or vaccine exists. Other animals, even microorganisms, will avoid the virus at all costs, as wild animals have been known to run in fear from zombies. Even zombie bites days old show no signs of bacterial infection. Infection of a non-human has always resulted in death. Symptoms begin with high fever and weakness. This phase of the disease lasts between a few hours to a few days, depending on the location of the bite and the constitution of the victim. Once the virus has sufficiently spread, the victim enters a coma phase. During this time, their body is altered. All bodily functions beyond those necessary for survival cease, while the rest are somehow transfered to the brain. When the coma ends, the victim wakes as a zombie.

Zombies in this book do not discriminate between brain tissue and other tissue, contrary to older zombie traditions. They do not need sleep, air or any other resource. They will wander, seeking any flesh they can find - animal or human. This could be argued as the virus' means of spreading to new host organisms by overstimulating a hunger response in the hosts' brain, resulting in the drive to consume flesh when there is no nutritional benefit to the zombie. They have been known to walk at the bottoms of oceans and even surface at a beach years later. They also are more susceptible to cold than uninfected. In colder regions, the zombies will freeze during the winter, only to thaw during the spring as though they never froze. Zombies will last years before they expire on their own, even longer if the climate will naturally preserve them. During the book's time, it is explained that some areas are expected to be cleared within 10-12 years after the end of the war.

When a zombie finds a victim, they will follow and release a moan. They will keep moaning until the zombie is destroyed. Other zombies who hear this moan will move to the source and investigate. The book describes a zombie moan as a chain reaction that turns one pursuer into hundreds quickly.

Brooks explains that World War Z follows the "laws" set up in the Zombie Survival Guide, and that the guide exists in the world he set up as a precursor to the the war.

Audio book

An abridged audiobook was published in 2007 by Random House, directed by John McElroy, produced by Dan Zitt, with sound editing by Charles De Montebello. The book is read by author Max Brooks, but includes many other actors taking on the roles of the many individual characters who are interviewed in the novel, including Mark Hamill, Alan Alda, Henry Rollins, Rob Reiner, Carl Reiner, Jürgen Prochnow, and John Turturro. The audiobook was awarded with the 2007 Audie Award for best Multi-Voiced Performance.

Film adaptation

A film adaptation is in development after the rights were obtained by Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment, with the screenplay being written by Babylon 5 and Rising Stars creator J. Michael Straczynski.
The current release date for the film is set for 2010, although this may be subject to change.

External links

• World War Z official website
• World War Z at IMDb