~Post by Joe T.
“It goes by many names: “The Crisis,” The Dark Years,” “The Walking Plague,” as well as newer and more “hip” titles such as “World War Z” or “Z War One.” I personally dislike this last moniker as it implies an inevitable “Z War Two.” For me, it wall always be “The Zombie War,” and while many may protest the scientific accuracy of the word zombie, they will be hard-pressed to discover a more globally accepted term for the creatures that almost caused our extinction. Zombie remains a devastating word, unrivaled in its power to conjure up so many memories or emotions, and it is these memories, and emotions, that are the subject of this book.”
So begins World War Z, Max Brooks’ oral history of the zombie war. Inspired by Studs Terkel’s Pulitzer Prize winning account of World War II, The Good War, which was a collection of oral accounts of the war from people who lived and breathed it, the novel is marvelously structured and tells the story of the zombie apocalypse from its first outbreak in China to its last, if not final, defeat many years later. Harrowing, horrific, heart breaking, and at times humorous, it is, in my opinion, the crowning work of zombie fiction, taking what George Romero gave us over 40 years ago with Night of the Living Dead and following the idea all the way through, something that Romero and his acolytes have really failed to do. So, if you’re a fan of the hit television show The Walking Dead, then this is a must read book for you.
And reading this book in December is our treat for you. For the fourth meeting of The Nightmare Factory (BookPeople’s fabled horror book club), after November’s fantastic get together for Chris Buehlman’s Those Across The River, we will be reading World War Z. And if you’ve already read the book, or don’t have time to read the book, I cannot recommend enough the audio book version. Drawing upon a large cast of well-known actors (Max, being the son of Mel Brooks and Ann Bancroft, has a wide array of connections to draw upon) to supply the voices of the characters telling the story, it is one of the best audio books I have ever had the occasion to listen to. Because I love this audio book so much, we are making it available as a book club selection in addition to the print book, so that if you pick up the book OR the audio book and tell the cashier at BookPeople that it is for the club, you will receive a 10% discount. So come on out and get your zombie on, you won’t be disappointed.
For December, The Nightmare Factory Book Club will be meeting on Tuesday December 20th at 7:00pm at the 3rd floor conference room at Book People Book Store.
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