World War Z by Max Brooks (son of Mel) is a compelling, horrifying account of how humanity is almost wiped out by a zombie plague. The story unfolds as a series of newspaper-style reports and interviews with the survivors. Starting with the doctor who discovers the original outbreak in China, the narrator crosses the world talking to soldiers, politicians, black-marketeers and others who played their part in the war. The result is an unusually well-written horror story, made all the more believable by the non-fiction structure of the narration.
Clearly fiction, I was more than a little surprised (but highly amused) when, browsing in one of my local bookstores, I found it prouddly displayed in the non-fiction section under History.
Then again, maybe there was a zombie outbreak and I missed it.
Did I?
1 comment:
LOL! Great find, the nonfiction placement--a librarian's dream.
I like books that shake things up a bit with format or strange takes, so I'll look for this one.
I recently finished a book that does the opposite, called AD 500 I think; it's a fictional accounting of a Roman expedition across Britain and Ireland. So it's non-fiction written as fictional non-fictional... something. Fun to read anyhow, history textbooks should be more like this.
Glad to find your blog!
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