In his novel World War Z, Max Brooks uses journalistic entries to create a post-apocalyptic world where zombies (yesssss!) have threatened to overcome humanity. His approach incorporates the use of the premise that a reporter is compiling interviews with survivors into a chonicle of the entire zombie infestation from the first wave through the eventual triumph of the humans.
At first, this 'report' grabbed me with the strength of its unique approach and fast-paced change of character. Brooks keeps his interview segments short, so each new character the reader is introduced to is only present for ten pages at most; many keep their recollections to only three pages, or even less. A couple of characters make brief reappearances in the final post-apocalypse part of the story, but the vast majority are gone after serving their purpose of telling their own tiny experience. The storytellers range in age and station, varying from young adults to retired officers, wealthy people who got their hands and consciences dirty in order to survive and children whose parents tried to kill them before the zombies could. One drawback to this kind of storytelling, however, is that there is no main character for the reader to attach to; the only creatures that are constants are the zombies, who have no voice of their own (this would have been an interesting addition, had Brooks been able to figure out a way to include it). With no individual protagonist, during times when the pace slows, there is less of an incentive to pick the book up. One could make the argument that Humanity is the protagonist, but since that's more of an abstract concept it doesn't really help the reader to be invested. This is one area that Robopocalypse, a novel with a similar concept, did better - the author gave us a set of interwoven characters to root for.
As I mentioned, the novel had a strong beginning; there was a wide variety of perspectives given, and the voices were very different. The ending was also fairly strong, and I enjoyed finding out what had happened to one character, a woman who had been a child when the invasion occurred, in particular. The tales of those trying to escape, protect their families, or cope with infected loved ones were well-written and emotionally charged. The middle third of the novel, however, was dominated by military voices, and at that point, the tone flattened out for quite awhile. Many of the 'interviewees' had basically similar stories, and I didn't feel anywhere near the emotional connection to them as I did to those presented in the first third of the novel because their interviews focused more on strategies and battles.
Another issue was that the zombies were killed in a shockingly mundane way - you had to hit them in the brain. This was so obvious that it almost hurt my own brain. Who wouldn't know that you couldn't shoot a zombie in the chest, when they obviously don't rely on a heartbeat? Also, there is no notation of how the first zombie was created, or where the disease came from, and that would have been welcome creativity.
One interesting portion, however, was an obvious connection and critique to the current military engagements around the world, as the sluggishness and rigidity of the American military was criticized in its inability to change tactics and fight according to new, guerrilla rules. Also fun was the fact that the zombies would freeze solid in the upper hemisphere winters, or could be half frozen into a lake and yet still snapping and grabbing with its unfrozen limbs. The concept of the undead being able to bob along in the ocean was interesting as well, and I think more could have been done with that.
I think a main problem with this novel is that it takes itself too seriously. There is no humor present, really, at all; WWZ is at times as dry as the report-status it purports itself to be. This is not to say that I didn't enjoy the novel, just that at times it could have benefitted from a little good-natured poking at itself. With all the short stories included in the larger context, it would have been easy to inject a few colorful characters inside to spice up the longer spells of military strategy description.
Overall, WWZ was a fairly good read, enough so that I finished it in a few days of off-and-on reading. Since I have read both, and seen them compared in several sites, I will say this; if you are more interested in personal connections, Robopocalypse is the armageddon book for you. If you prefer more streamlined, documentary approaches to your end-of-days scenarios, WWZ will be the more fitting choice.
Rating: three out of five stars. A fairly unique effort with an uneven engagement factor for the sci-fi inclined government-report fan.
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