World War Z - Book Review

Peregrine · 02-19-2007, 12:48 AM

So I was looking for an audiobook to listen to on my iPod on a long car trip, and I ended up checking the Amazon.com editor's list of the 50 best books of last year, I saw a really neat looking one, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, by Max Brooks. I bought it on Audible and listened to it this weekend. All I can say is wow!

The book is basically formatted as the stories of various survivors of a fictional all-out war with the living dead, in the format of other oral history books you may have read that document the German, or American, or Japanese sides of WW2, basically people tell their experiences, some of them are important like generals or government officials, many are just regular people. It's really important to know going in that this is not played for comedy like, "We got a bunch of friends and guns and headed for a shopping mall!" It's not a Romero rip-off. Many of the stories are gripping and to be honest moving, real experiences. This is helped a lot in the audiobook version by there being a full cast, each story is told with appropriate accents and really brings a lot of realism to the book. On the down side, the audiobook is abridged, so I'm going to pick up a copy of the book to see what I missed!

The zombies in the book are simple, they're undead, trying to eat the living, and can only be killed by decapitation or a bullet through the brain. If you're bitten by a zombie, you are sick for a few days then die and become a zombie. Some of the best parts of the book are a US soldier talking about how pre-war weapons, no matter how powerful and technically sophisticated, were basically useless, most of them were based on either techniques that didn't hurt the zombies (mines blowing off feet, artillery shell concussion killing people) and that the general idea of making your opponent fear you through some kind of "shock and awe" doesn't work when your opponent doesn't feel fear. These were some of the reasons that the zombies almost won.

Overall, I loved this book, it was really well done and focused on the action all over the world with a lot of interesting survivors of the war. It did stoop to some cheap shots at the current administration, talking about war weariness and military over-use from Iraq being a reason why the US didn't take the fight to the zombies at first, but ignoring that it's a great, entertaining read, especially if you're interested in zombies.

sabotai · 02-19-2007, 01:26 AM

I read this book last summer and really loved it.

Yeah, he does take shots at the administration, but he also takes shots at the media as well so it's pretty even handed. Also consider that everything is said from the perspective of a character. It would be pretty unrealistic for some people to not blame the government or some people not blaming the media or pointing out the short comings of either.

Definately recommend this book. I'll probably give it another read soon. One of the best books I've read in years.

Antmeister · 02-19-2007, 01:52 AM

Thanks Peregrine for the review. I am not sure to go for a non-abridged version of the audiobook (if there is one) or just read the novel. The way you described the audiobook sounds much more appealing at this point and it would be neat to listen on one of those long distance trips. This book sounds cool because it is alternative history with a horror slant.

Peregrine · 02-19-2007, 01:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antmeister

Thanks Peregrine for the review. I am not sure to go for a non-abridged version of the audiobook (if there is one) or just read the novel. The way you described the audiobook sounds much more appealing at this point and it would be neat to listen on one of those long distance trips. This book sounds cool because it is alternative history with a horror slant.

I think there are unabridged versions in audiobook format but they are CDs you have to order, I picked up the MP3 version which is abridged because you can download it immediately. The cast was really good, Alan Alda, Mark Hamill, John Turturro, Rob Reiner, etc.

Swaggs · 02-19-2007, 02:30 AM

I found this kind of interesting: Max Brooks is Mel Brooks and Anne "Mrs. Robinson" Bancroft's son.

KWhit · 02-19-2007, 08:35 AM

The audiobook was outstanding. I listened to the abridged version from Audible. I wish they had the unabridged version available, but I didn't feel like I was missing part of the story.

The way the audiobook was cast truly made the characters come alive. These are outstanding actors at the top of their games on this one.

The writing is great, but I'd recommend going for the audiobook. It was very well done.

KWhit · 02-19-2007, 08:36 AM

Dola-

The only thing I would add is that the abridged audiobook is just too short! Only about 6 hours. I wanted it to go on and on.

Honolulu_Blue · 02-19-2007, 09:09 AM

I'm in the midst of reading this book now. Great stuff for any zombie enthusiast.

I definitely like his portrayal of the undead. It's how they're supposed to be. The moment zombies start either running/jumping (e.g., Dawn of the Dead re-make) or "thinking" ("Land of the Dead") it's pretty much game over.

Raiders Army · 02-19-2007, 09:22 AM

I thought the book was somewhat meh. I much preferred Monster Island by David Wellington. I mean, I thought it was okay but about two-thirds of the way through the book the "hook" of the book lost its appeal. It was interesting to see a story unfold through articles and not the traditional narrative initially but it got old about two-thirds of the way into it. That being said, there are very few zombie novels out there.

Desnudo · 02-19-2007, 12:34 PM

So, where do you go, if not to a shopping mall?

Raiders Army · 02-19-2007, 01:14 PM

A prison

Qwikshot · 02-19-2007, 01:18 PM

I would go to work...fully enclosed pharmaceutical company...

sachmo71 · 02-19-2007, 03:15 PM

Max Brooks also wrote "The Zombie Survival Guide"...anyone pick this one up?
I remember seeing it, and laughing about it, but I never heard much about it.

http://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Surviva...e=UTF8&s=books

sachmo71 · 02-19-2007, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

I thought the book was somewhat meh. I much preferred Monster Island by David Wellington. I mean, I thought it was okay but about two-thirds of the way through the book the "hook" of the book lost its appeal. It was interesting to see a story unfold through articles and not the traditional narrative initially but it got old about two-thirds of the way into it. That being said, there are very few zombie novels out there.

Seems he has another out, called Monster Nation.

http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Nation...e=UTF8&s=books

Honolulu_Blue · 02-19-2007, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sachmo71

Max Brooks also wrote "The Zombie Survival Guide"...anyone pick this one up?
I remember seeing it, and laughing about it, but I never heard much about it.

http://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Surviva...e=UTF8&s=books

I bought it. I liked it. Then again, I am a sucker for all things zombie (so long as it's done "right").

Raiders Army · 02-19-2007, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sachmo71

Seems he has another out, called Monster Nation.

http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Nation...e=UTF8&s=books

Have it and am reading it right now, in-between other books. Monster Planet is supposedly his third book in the series. Monster Island was a serialized novel published on the web: http://www.brokentype.com/monster/.

The book has extra chapters that the website does not.

Honolulu_Blue · 03-19-2007, 06:26 PM

I finally finished "World War Z" on the way to Washington, DC last week. I loved it. Really a great book. I loved the geo-political stuff, the survival stuff, and of course, the zombie stuff. It felt like a very genuine "what if".

In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I bought the audio book when Lady H_B and I were forced to drive back from DC thanks to some bad weather (two days before we left) and computer failures by U.S. Airways. We rented a car and stopped in a Borders outside of Pittsburgh. We bought the audio book and the last 5 hours flew by. Lady H_B even started reading the "interviews" that were left out.

In related news, the movie rights to "World War Z" were recently purchased. I have no idea how they'd make it into a coherent movie (it'd work much better as a TV series), but the idea makes me happy.

Crim · 03-19-2007, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peregrine

The cast was really good, Alan Alda, Mark Hamill, John Turturro, Rob Reiner, etc.

I think I found the "potshots at our current administration" culprit!

Crim · 03-19-2007, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I definitely like his portrayal of the undead. It's how they're supposed to be. The moment zombies start either running/jumping (e.g., Dawn of the Dead re-make) or "thinking" ("Land of the Dead") it's pretty much game over.

I found this to be funny. So, umm, HB, how are werewolves supposed to be? Cuz I saw a movie one time and the guy was running on two legs while in wolf form. I saw that and thought, "this is pretty much game over."

Honolulu_Blue · 03-20-2007, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crim

I found this to be funny. So, umm, HB, how are werewolves supposed to be? Cuz I saw a movie one time and the guy was running on two legs while in wolf form. I saw that and thought, "this is pretty much game over."

I don't have strong views on how werewolves are supposed to be. I'm pretty flexible on matter. I am cool with a biped werewolf or the full-blown four-legged variety. I am cool with a werewolf only changing on the full moon or a werewolf being able to change at will.

Zombies, on the other hand, are a different matter. I have strong views on the topic and there is definitely a "right" and a "wrong" way to portray zombies. "World War Z" did it the right way.

Honolulu_Blue · 03-27-2008, 02:42 PM

As most probably know, the movie rights to "World War Z" were scooped up right away by Brad Pitt's production company.

Here's the latest info on the script:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/36168

When Max Brooks published WORLD WAR Z a few years ago, I couldn’t help but notice. It’s a beautifully written book that has a fantastic central conceit, and as much as I loved reading it, I was skeptical about a film adaptation. It seemed like it would probably be an excuse to do a big-budget lowest-common-denominator horror film.

Hats off, then, to the folks at Plan B, which is Brad Pitt’s production company. They were the ones who optioned the novel, and they hired J. Michael Straczynski to adapt it, fresh off his success on THE CHANGELING.

Now, with THE CHANGELING coming out this November as a Clint Eastwood-directed prestige picture, JMS is finally poised for that breakthrough in features that he hasn't had yet. I hear Eastwood’s movie really works.

Now who's going to step up and direct WORLD WAR Z and turn it into the Oscar bait it should be? Peter Jackson? Sam Raimi? This demands a big name who can handle a big picture. This isn’t just a good adaptation of a difficult book... it’s a genre-defining piece of work that could well see us all arguing about whether or not a zombie movie qualifies as “Best Picture” material.

The book is an oral history of the great zombie wars, compiled by a nameless editor as part of a government report. The book is all of his unfiltered data, since much of it was censored from the official report. That’s all the narrative that the book offered, but it was enough for JMS to use, and the result is much sadder than I would have expected. In the first five pages, we see GERRY LANE collecting stories, and the first two interviews are with a flight attendant and a border guard. Both manage to play as horror shock beats, but the way they’re told also sets the tone right away... JMS is after the human truth underneath the horror, and in a way, that makes it much, much harder to take.

The world of the film reminds me of CHILDREN OF MEN on the page. Realistic but set in the near-future, in the aftermath of the zombie wars. We see a flashback to Gerry being given his assignment to write a report about “where the system worked, where it didn’t, how and in what ways the various organizational infrastructures failed.” It’s a politically shitty job because no one wants to know that they were responsible for anything that went wrong. Gerry’s hesitant because it’s going to take at least six months away from his family, just as the world is starting to right itself. He takes the job, and as he travels to his first interview, we see how hard travel has become. I hate going through airport security these days, but at least I don’t have to strip naked and subject myself to a blood test. Yet.

JMS does a great job of etching the details of a world that has already faced its darkest moments and is now trying to put things back in order. His first stop is China, and right away, he can see that it’s not going to be an easy job. His first subject, Dr. Tsai, is supposed to be interviewed through a “translator,” despite the fact that he speaks flawless English.
Tsai’s account of his first encounter with zombies at New Dachang is awful and horrific, and right away, it’s apparent that a combination of bureaucracy and military strategy is responsible for a sort of passive evil, and Tsai feels enormous guilt about it. He leads Gerry to his next interview, which leads him to his next, and one of the things that the script does so well is depict survivors who are starting to wonder if survival is a victory of any kind. There’s a story about black market organs that is just brutal, an off-the-record conversation with a CIA friend, and an insane beach sequence that I can’t wait to see on film. All in the first 50 pages.

Right now, I’m dying to know who’s planning to make this film. I haven’t heard a director’s name attached to it yet, and that astounds me. This was already done, felt like, ready to be filmed, and I’m curious if more work’s been done since this April 2007 draft.

But whatever the case, I love this script. Love every dark, somber, upsetting page of it. This is a horror epic, a serious, sober-minded adult picture waiting to be made, and it’s one of the best pieces of screenwriting craft I’ve encountered in a while. It’s not often I get excited by the actual words on the page as a read, but JMS pulled it off here, and I hope some badass filmmaker steps up to the challenge he laid down in the very, very near future.

ISiddiqui · 03-27-2008, 03:06 PM

Wow... that sounds great. I like how they keep the whole "Oral History" concept. I was afraid they may have tried to make it more action-y and abandon the fact that people are talking about their experiences.

I just finished reading the book, and I have to say it was one of the most amazing things I've read.

Kodos · 03-27-2008, 03:32 PM

Just ordered this and the Zombie Survival Guide. I love love love zombies! And I can't even really say why...

Just started reading I Am Legend last night. Great book! Sucks that I have to work today.

Anthony · 03-27-2008, 03:35 PM

i stayed away from the Survival Guide cuz it seemed too tongue in cheek. WWZ was more of a coherent story.

bob · 03-27-2008, 03:46 PM

I still think this would have been done better on HBO as a miniseries - like Band of Brothers.

KWhit · 03-27-2008, 03:47 PM

WWZ was great.

sterlingice · 03-28-2008, 09:05 AM

I did the audio book on this a while back, thinking it was kindof something mindless and escapist and instead enjoyed it much more as I thought it was basically political commentary and satire wrapped up in a zombie book. Kindof like how "Deep Impact" would have been if it was a book (maybe it is) and had the time to explore, in-depth, how people would have reacted. Or at least make some good guesses and then throw in some fun "in theory" stuff- kindof like a tourney upset bracket where you know you're going out on a limb and they won't all happen but you're hoping against hope that some do.

(note: that's enough little similes for one post...)

The movie is going to be impossible to encompass the depth of the book not because it's a hugely complex great work of literature but because there are some pretty major facets of the book that would each take a couple of hours to delve into. There's the aforementioned political satire along with making it a zombie movie as well as trying to grab the human interest/emotional side, etc- and there's just not enough movie for that.

Also, as an aside, I think this was a book that really lent itself to audio book format and I highly recommend it that way. They have a pretty good voice cast doing all of the characters and the book's content, as it is an oral history, really suits the audiobook format.

SI

st.cronin · 03-29-2008, 03:29 PM

According to the website, my odds of surviving a zombie apocalypse are 36%.

JeeberD · 03-29-2008, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KWhit

WWZ was great.

Agreed. I read it about a month ago and enjoyed the hell out of it...

sterlingice · 03-29-2008, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by st.cronin

According to the website, my odds of surviving a zombie apocalypse are 36%.

Mine would not be good but I was surprised it was as high as 31%

Then again, in WWZ, it wasn't exactly a planet-wide apocalypse. More like a large plague.

SI

Mustang · 07-22-2010, 04:41 PM

World War Z author Max Brooks gave the folks over at MTV Movies a bit of an eye-opener today while sitting down for an early Comic-Con interview. After years of sitting in development hell it seems the adaptation of his best-selling novel will be toplined by none other than Brad Pitt, who's company Plan B purchased the rights back in 2007.

With the A-list star attached, Paramount Pictures is now pushing forward with the project in hopes of having it in theaters by summer 2012. Director Marc Forster is attached to helm from a screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan and J. Michael Straczynski. The studio has likewise grabbed the movie rights to "The Zombie Survival Guide" and "The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks" graphic novel.

Plot Concept: Based on the Max Brooks best-selling novel about a worldwide infestation of flesh-eating zombies, Brooks -- the son of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft -- wrote a detailed tale in which a researcher for the U.N. Postwar Commission interviews survivors from countries all over the world, 10 years after the crisis, to gather a first-person post-mortem on a war that obliterated every country on the map.

Sun Tzu · 07-22-2010, 04:43 PM

Best news I've heard since I found out about that AMC Zombie series.

Absolutely awesome.

JediKooter · 07-22-2010, 04:45 PM

+1000. I'd rather have 100 bad zombie movies than one more fucking Twilight movie.

Sun Tzu · 07-22-2010, 04:49 PM

Amen brother.

claphamsa · 07-22-2010, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JediKooter

+1000. I'd rather have 100 bad zombie movies than one more fucking Twilight movie.

incredible! MG gets banned for posting a Chive pic... and you suggest that there is such ting as a BAD zombie movie... yet you have not been banned yet???????/

WHERE IS THE JUSTICE!

Sun Tzu · 07-22-2010, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by claphamsa

you suggest that there is such ting as a BAD zombie movie... yet you have not been banned yet???????/

WHERE IS THE JUSTICE!

Honolulu_Blue · 07-22-2010, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by claphamsa

incredible! MG gets banned for posting a Chive pic... and you suggest that there is such ting as a BAD zombie movie... yet you have not been banned yet???????/

WHERE IS THE JUSTICE!

You want a bad zombie movie? Go see anything Romero's done since "Day of The Dead". Them is some sad, bad zombie movies. Or worse, you can check out that ridiculous "Day of the Dead" re-make or whatever the hell it was (not Snyder's "Dawn of the Dead" re-make, that was awesome).

JediKooter · 07-22-2010, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by claphamsa

incredible! MG gets banned for posting a Chive pic... and you suggest that there is such ting as a BAD zombie movie... yet you have not been banned yet???????/

WHERE IS THE JUSTICE!

Slight slip of the tongue...er...I mean, fingers on the keyboard.

Atocep · 08-13-2011, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mustang

World War Z author Max Brooks gave the folks over at MTV Movies a bit of an eye-opener today while sitting down for an early Comic-Con interview. After years of sitting in development hell it seems the adaptation of his best-selling novel will be toplined by none other than Brad Pitt, who's company Plan B purchased the rights back in 2007.

With the A-list star attached, Paramount Pictures is now pushing forward with the project in hopes of having it in theaters by summer 2012. Director Marc Forster is attached to helm from a screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan and J. Michael Straczynski. The studio has likewise grabbed the movie rights to "The Zombie Survival Guide" and "The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks" graphic novel.

Plot Concept: Based on the Max Brooks best-selling novel about a worldwide infestation of flesh-eating zombies, Brooks -- the son of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft -- wrote a detailed tale in which a researcher for the U.N. Postwar Commission interviews survivors from countries all over the world, 10 years after the crisis, to gather a first-person post-mortem on a war that obliterated every country on the map.

Unfortunately, the movie is shaping up to be nothing like the book.

World War Z movie synopsis is nothing like the book, internet melts down

sabotai · 08-13-2011, 01:23 AM

"The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself."

ugh.....

Atocep · 08-13-2011, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabotai

"The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself."

ugh.....

Yeah, they're pretty much turning it into every other zombie movie out there.

sabotai · 08-13-2011, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Wow... that sounds great. I like how they keep the whole "Oral History" concept. I was afraid they may have tried to make it more action-y and abandon the fact that people are talking about their experiences.

So much for that....

Ryan S · 08-13-2011, 01:35 PM

Strange coincidence you should bump this today. Earlier today I passed by signs telling me that parts of the centre of Glasgow will be shut down next week for the filming of this movie. The poster warns that there may be car crashes and explosions...

Apparently Glasgow is going to double as Philadelphia.

TheFoosballWizard · 08-14-2011, 12:07 AM

I read this one a few weeks ago. It's definitely a fun read, especially if you're into ZAHHHHMBEEEEEZ.

If anyone is looking into getting this book, my review and tons of others are available on GoodReads.

Honolulu_Blue · 09-07-2011, 03:11 PM

Based on some odd footage taken from the shooting of this film appears as if they are veering further away from the source material in two significant ways.

1. Fast zombies. Unlike the zombies in the book, which were your tradtional slow, shuffling around Romero zombies, the ones (apparently) shown in the footage run fast like in "28 Days Later" and the "Dawn of the Dead" re-make.

2. You get bit, you turn pretty quickly. We're talking seconds here. This, again, is more similar to how the infection worked in "28 Days Later" than your typical zombie movie.

http://youtu.be/Ma8l5udOlvc

sabotai · 09-07-2011, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

1. Fast zombies.

They're really trying to have Max Brooks show up and kill everyone involved, aren't they?

JPhillips · 09-07-2011, 05:26 PM

I wonder how they'll handle the zombie defeat. Watching days of shooting zombies so that they form a giant pile isn't very interesting on film.

sterlingice · 09-07-2011, 06:48 PM

Sounds like all they did was buy the title to the book

SI

Honolulu_Blue · 11-06-2012, 11:12 AM

So, I guess the first official trailer for "World War Z" is coming out in a few days. So, of course, there is a preview of the trailer (previews of trailers are so stupid, but, whatever...):

World War Z Trailer, News, Videos, and Reviews | ComingSoon.net

It looks pretty awful.

The zombies seem to be fast. I don't really mind fast zombies - I loved "28 Days Later" and "The Dawn of the Dead" re-make, both great zombie films - but it really dramatically changes a lot of what happened in the book. It also looks like there is just a ton of horrible zombie-horde CGI going on.

Ah well...

wade moore · 11-06-2012, 11:14 AM

Hrm, yeah.. I'm usually not very picky about book adaptations, but yeah...

02-19-2007, 01:52 AM	#3
Antmeister Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: At the corner of Beat Street and Electric Avenue	Thanks Peregrine for the review. I am not sure to go for a non-abridged version of the audiobook (if there is one) or just read the novel. The way you described the audiobook sounds much more appealing at this point and it would be neat to listen on one of those long distance trips. This book sounds cool because it is alternative history with a horror slant. __________________ "I'm ready to bury the hatchet, but don't fuck with me" - Schmidty "Box me once, shame on Skydog. Box me twice. Shame on me. Box me 3 times, just fucking ban my ass...." - stevew

02-19-2007, 02:30 AM	#5
Swaggs Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000	I found this kind of interesting: Max Brooks is Mel Brooks and Anne "Mrs. Robinson" Bancroft's son. __________________ DOWN WITH HATTRICK!!! The RWBL Are you reading In The Bleachers?

02-19-2007, 09:09 AM	#8
Honolulu_Blue Hockey Boy Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Royal Oak, MI	I'm in the midst of reading this book now. Great stuff for any zombie enthusiast. I definitely like his portrayal of the undead. It's how they're supposed to be. The moment zombies start either running/jumping (e.g., Dawn of the Dead re-make) or "thinking" ("Land of the Dead") it's pretty much game over. __________________ *Steve Yzerman*: 1,755 points in 1,514 regular season games. 185 points in 196 postseason games. A First-Team All-Star, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Selke Trophy winner, Masterton Trophy winner, member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Olympic gold medallist, and a three-time Stanley Cup Champion. Longest serving captain of one team in the history of the NHL (19 seasons).

02-19-2007, 01:18 PM	#12
Qwikshot Pro Starter Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: ...down the gravity well	I would go to work...fully enclosed pharmaceutical company... __________________ "General Woundwort's body was never found. It could be that he still lives his fierce life somewhere else, but from that day on, mother rabbits would tell their kittens that if they did not do as they were told, the General would get them. Such was Woundwort's monument, and perhaps it would not have displeased him." Watership Down, Richard Adams

03-19-2007, 06:26 PM	#17
Honolulu_Blue Hockey Boy Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Royal Oak, MI	I finally finished "World War Z" on the way to Washington, DC last week. I loved it. Really a great book. I loved the geo-political stuff, the survival stuff, and of course, the zombie stuff. It felt like a very genuine "what if". In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I bought the audio book when Lady H_B and I were forced to drive back from DC thanks to some bad weather (two days before we left) and computer failures by U.S. Airways. We rented a car and stopped in a Borders outside of Pittsburgh. We bought the audio book and the last 5 hours flew by. Lady H_B even started reading the "interviews" that were left out. In related news, the movie rights to "World War Z" were recently purchased. I have no idea how they'd make it into a coherent movie (it'd work much better as a TV series), but the idea makes me happy. __________________ *Steve Yzerman*: 1,755 points in 1,514 regular season games. 185 points in 196 postseason games. A First-Team All-Star, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Selke Trophy winner, Masterton Trophy winner, member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Olympic gold medallist, and a three-time Stanley Cup Champion. Longest serving captain of one team in the history of the NHL (19 seasons).

02-19-2007, 01:26 AM	#2
sabotai General Manager Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Satellite of Love	I read this book last summer and really loved it. Yeah, he does take shots at the administration, but he also takes shots at the media as well so it's pretty even handed. Also consider that everything is said from the perspective of a character. It would be pretty unrealistic for some people to not blame the government or some people not blaming the media or pointing out the short comings of either. Definately recommend this book. I'll probably give it another read soon. One of the best books I've read in years.

02-19-2007, 08:35 AM	#6
KWhit Coordinator Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Conyers GA	The audiobook was outstanding. I listened to the abridged version from Audible. I wish they had the unabridged version available, but I didn't feel like I was missing part of the story. The way the audiobook was cast truly made the characters come alive. These are outstanding actors at the top of their games on this one. The writing is great, but I'd recommend going for the audiobook. It was very well done.

02-19-2007, 08:36 AM	#7
KWhit Coordinator Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Conyers GA	Dola- The only thing I would add is that the abridged audiobook is just too short! Only about 6 hours. I wanted it to go on and on.

02-19-2007, 09:22 AM	#9
Raiders Army Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Black Hole	I thought the book was somewhat meh. I much preferred Monster Island by David Wellington. I mean, I thought it was okay but about two-thirds of the way through the book the "hook" of the book lost its appeal. It was interesting to see a story unfold through articles and not the traditional narrative initially but it got old about two-thirds of the way into it. That being said, there are very few zombie novels out there.

02-19-2007, 12:34 PM	#10
Desnudo Coordinator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Here and There	So, where do you go, if not to a shopping mall?

02-19-2007, 01:14 PM	#11
Raiders Army Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Black Hole	A prison

02-19-2007, 03:15 PM	#13
sachmo71 The boy who cried Trout Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: TX	Max Brooks also wrote "The Zombie Survival Guide"...anyone pick this one up? I remember seeing it, and laughing about it, but I never heard much about it. http://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Surviva...e=UTF8&s=books

03-27-2008, 02:42 PM	#21
Honolulu_Blue Hockey Boy Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Royal Oak, MI	As most probably know, the movie rights to "World War Z" were scooped up right away by Brad Pitt's production company. Here's the latest info on the script: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/36168 When Max Brooks published WORLD WAR Z a few years ago, I couldn’t help but notice. It’s a beautifully written book that has a fantastic central conceit, and as much as I loved reading it, I was skeptical about a film adaptation. It seemed like it would probably be an excuse to do a big-budget lowest-common-denominator horror film. Hats off, then, to the folks at Plan B, which is Brad Pitt’s production company. They were the ones who optioned the novel, and they hired J. Michael Straczynski to adapt it, fresh off his success on THE CHANGELING. Now, with THE CHANGELING coming out this November as a Clint Eastwood-directed prestige picture, JMS is finally poised for that breakthrough in features that he hasn't had yet. I hear Eastwood’s movie really works. Now who's going to step up and direct WORLD WAR Z and turn it into the Oscar bait it should be? Peter Jackson? Sam Raimi? This demands a big name who can handle a big picture. This isn’t just a good adaptation of a difficult book... it’s a genre-defining piece of work that could well see us all arguing about whether or not a zombie movie qualifies as “Best Picture” material. The book is an oral history of the great zombie wars, compiled by a nameless editor as part of a government report. The book is all of his unfiltered data, since much of it was censored from the official report. That’s all the narrative that the book offered, but it was enough for JMS to use, and the result is much sadder than I would have expected. In the first five pages, we see GERRY LANE collecting stories, and the first two interviews are with a flight attendant and a border guard. Both manage to play as horror shock beats, but the way they’re told also sets the tone right away... JMS is after the human truth underneath the horror, and in a way, that makes it much, much harder to take. The world of the film reminds me of CHILDREN OF MEN on the page. Realistic but set in the near-future, in the aftermath of the zombie wars. We see a flashback to Gerry being given his assignment to write a report about “where the system worked, where it didn’t, how and in what ways the various organizational infrastructures failed.” It’s a politically shitty job because no one wants to know that they were responsible for anything that went wrong. Gerry’s hesitant because it’s going to take at least six months away from his family, just as the world is starting to right itself. He takes the job, and as he travels to his first interview, we see how hard travel has become. I hate going through airport security these days, but at least I don’t have to strip naked and subject myself to a blood test. Yet. JMS does a great job of etching the details of a world that has already faced its darkest moments and is now trying to put things back in order. His first stop is China, and right away, he can see that it’s not going to be an easy job. His first subject, Dr. Tsai, is supposed to be interviewed through a “translator,” despite the fact that he speaks flawless English. Tsai’s account of his first encounter with zombies at New Dachang is awful and horrific, and right away, it’s apparent that a combination of bureaucracy and military strategy is responsible for a sort of passive evil, and Tsai feels enormous guilt about it. He leads Gerry to his next interview, which leads him to his next, and one of the things that the script does so well is depict survivors who are starting to wonder if survival is a victory of any kind. There’s a story about black market organs that is just brutal, an off-the-record conversation with a CIA friend, and an insane beach sequence that I can’t wait to see on film. All in the first 50 pages. Right now, I’m dying to know who’s planning to make this film. I haven’t heard a director’s name attached to it yet, and that astounds me. This was already done, felt like, ready to be filmed, and I’m curious if more work’s been done since this April 2007 draft. But whatever the case, I love this script. Love every dark, somber, upsetting page of it. This is a horror epic, a serious, sober-minded adult picture waiting to be made, and it’s one of the best pieces of screenwriting craft I’ve encountered in a while. It’s not often I get excited by the actual words on the page as a read, but JMS pulled it off here, and I hope some badass filmmaker steps up to the challenge he laid down in the very, very near future. __________________ *Steve Yzerman*: 1,755 points in 1,514 regular season games. 185 points in 196 postseason games. A First-Team All-Star, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Selke Trophy winner, Masterton Trophy winner, member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Olympic gold medallist, and a three-time Stanley Cup Champion. Longest serving captain of one team in the history of the NHL (19 seasons).

03-27-2008, 03:06 PM	#22
ISiddiqui Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Decatur, GA	Wow... that sounds great. I like how they keep the whole "Oral History" concept. I was afraid they may have tried to make it more action-y and abandon the fact that people are talking about their experiences. I just finished reading the book, and I have to say it was one of the most amazing things I've read. __________________ "A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages" -Tennessee Williams

03-27-2008, 03:32 PM	#23
Kodos Resident Alien Join Date: Jun 2001	Just ordered this and the Zombie Survival Guide. I love love love zombies! And I can't even really say why... Just started reading I Am Legend last night. Great book! Sucks that I have to work today. __________________ Author of The Bill Gates Challenge, as well as other groundbreaking dynasties.

03-27-2008, 03:35 PM	#24
Anthony Banned Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Astoria, NY, USA	i stayed away from the Survival Guide cuz it seemed too tongue in cheek. WWZ was more of a coherent story.

03-27-2008, 03:46 PM	#25
bob College Starter Join Date: Oct 2004	I still think this would have been done better on HBO as a miniseries - like Band of Brothers.

03-27-2008, 03:47 PM	#26
KWhit Coordinator Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Conyers GA	WWZ was great.

03-28-2008, 09:05 AM	#27
sterlingice Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Back in Houston!	I did the audio book on this a while back, thinking it was kindof something mindless and escapist and instead enjoyed it much more as I thought it was basically political commentary and satire wrapped up in a zombie book. Kindof like how "Deep Impact" would have been if it was a book (maybe it is) and had the time to explore, in-depth, how people would have reacted. Or at least make some good guesses and then throw in some fun "in theory" stuff- kindof like a tourney upset bracket where you know you're going out on a limb and they won't all happen but you're hoping against hope that some do. (note: that's enough little similes for one post...) The movie is going to be impossible to encompass the depth of the book not because it's a hugely complex great work of literature but because there are some pretty major facets of the book that would each take a couple of hours to delve into. There's the aforementioned political satire along with making it a zombie movie as well as trying to grab the human interest/emotional side, etc- and there's just not enough movie for that. Also, as an aside, I think this was a book that really lent itself to audio book format and I highly recommend it that way. They have a pretty good voice cast doing all of the characters and the book's content, as it is an oral history, really suits the audiobook format. SI __________________ Houston Hippopotami, III.3: 20th Anniversary Thread - All former HT players are encouraged to check it out! Janos: "Only America could produce an imbecile of your caliber!" Freakazoid: "That's because we make lots of things better than other people!"

03-29-2008, 03:29 PM	#28
st.cronin General Manager Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: New Mexico	According to the website, my odds of surviving a zombie apocalypse are 36%. __________________ co-commish: bb-bbcf.net knives out

07-22-2010, 04:41 PM	#31
Mustang Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Wisconsin	World War Z author Max Brooks gave the folks over at MTV Movies a bit of an eye-opener today while sitting down for an early Comic-Con interview. After years of sitting in development hell it seems the adaptation of his best-selling novel will be toplined by none other than Brad Pitt, who's company Plan B purchased the rights back in 2007. With the A-list star attached, Paramount Pictures is now pushing forward with the project in hopes of having it in theaters by summer 2012. Director Marc Forster is attached to helm from a screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan and J. Michael Straczynski. The studio has likewise grabbed the movie rights to "The Zombie Survival Guide" and "The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks" graphic novel. Plot Concept: Based on the Max Brooks best-selling novel about a worldwide infestation of flesh-eating zombies, Brooks -- the son of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft -- wrote a detailed tale in which a researcher for the U.N. Postwar Commission interviews survivors from countries all over the world, 10 years after the crisis, to gather a first-person post-mortem on a war that obliterated every country on the map. __________________ You, you will regret what you have done this day. I will make you regret ever being born. Your going to wish you never left your mothers womb, where it was warm and safe... and wet. i am going to show you pain you never knew existed, you are going to see a whole new spectrum of pain, like a Rainboooow. But! This rainbow is not just like any other rainbow, its...

07-22-2010, 04:43 PM	#32
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	Best news I've heard since I found out about that AMC Zombie series. Absolutely awesome. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

07-22-2010, 04:45 PM	#33
JediKooter Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: San Diego via Sausalito via San Jose via San Diego	+1000. I'd rather have 100 bad zombie movies than one more fucking Twilight movie. __________________ I'm no longer a Chargers fan, they are dead to me Coming this summer to a movie theater near you: The Adventures of Jedikooter: Part 4

07-22-2010, 04:49 PM	#34
Sun Tzu Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: In the thick of it.	Amen brother. __________________ I'm still here. Don't touch my fucking bacon.

08-13-2011, 01:23 AM	#40
sabotai General Manager Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Satellite of Love	"The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself." ugh..... Last edited by sabotai : 08-13-2011 at 01:24 AM.

08-13-2011, 01:35 PM	#43
Ryan S Quarterback Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: London, England	Strange coincidence you should bump this today. Earlier today I passed by signs telling me that parts of the centre of Glasgow will be shut down next week for the filming of this movie. The poster warns that there may be car crashes and explosions... Apparently Glasgow is going to double as Philadelphia.

08-14-2011, 12:07 AM	#44
TheFoosballWizard n00b Join Date: Jul 2010	I read this one a few weeks ago. It's definitely a fun read, especially if you're into ZAHHHHMBEEEEEZ. If anyone is looking into getting this book, my review and tons of others are available on GoodReads.

09-07-2011, 03:11 PM	#45
Honolulu_Blue Hockey Boy Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Royal Oak, MI	Based on some odd footage taken from the shooting of this film appears as if they are veering further away from the source material in two significant ways. 1. Fast zombies. Unlike the zombies in the book, which were your tradtional slow, shuffling around Romero zombies, the ones (apparently) shown in the footage run fast like in "28 Days Later" and the "Dawn of the Dead" re-make. 2. You get bit, you turn pretty quickly. We're talking seconds here. This, again, is more similar to how the infection worked in "28 Days Later" than your typical zombie movie. http://youtu.be/Ma8l5udOlvc __________________ *Steve Yzerman*: 1,755 points in 1,514 regular season games. 185 points in 196 postseason games. A First-Team All-Star, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Selke Trophy winner, Masterton Trophy winner, member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Olympic gold medallist, and a three-time Stanley Cup Champion. Longest serving captain of one team in the history of the NHL (19 seasons).

09-07-2011, 05:26 PM	#47
JPhillips Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Newburgh, NY	I wonder how they'll handle the zombie defeat. Watching days of shooting zombies so that they form a giant pile isn't very interesting on film. __________________ To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.. - Mr. Rogers

09-07-2011, 06:48 PM	#48
sterlingice Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Back in Houston!	Sounds like all they did was buy the title to the book SI __________________ Houston Hippopotami, III.3: 20th Anniversary Thread - All former HT players are encouraged to check it out! Janos: "Only America could produce an imbecile of your caliber!" Freakazoid: "That's because we make lots of things better than other people!"

11-06-2012, 11:12 AM	#49
Honolulu_Blue Hockey Boy Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Royal Oak, MI	So, I guess the first official trailer for "World War Z" is coming out in a few days. So, of course, there is a preview of the trailer (previews of trailers are so stupid, but, whatever...): World War Z Trailer, News, Videos, and Reviews \| ComingSoon.net It looks pretty awful. The zombies seem to be fast. I don't really mind fast zombies - I loved "28 Days Later" and "The Dawn of the Dead" re-make, both great zombie films - but it really dramatically changes a lot of what happened in the book. It also looks like there is just a ton of horrible zombie-horde CGI going on. Ah well... __________________ *Steve Yzerman*: 1,755 points in 1,514 regular season games. 185 points in 196 postseason games. A First-Team All-Star, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Selke Trophy winner, Masterton Trophy winner, member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Olympic gold medallist, and a three-time Stanley Cup Champion. Longest serving captain of one team in the history of the NHL (19 seasons).

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