"World War Z" by Max Brooks

I recently picked up a copy of World War Z at a friends house. They were generous enough to let me borrow it to completion. I held off watching the film version so I wouldn't have a preconceived notion of the story. Boy, am I glad I did. The novel version portrayed the spread of the zombie infection as a slow, years long, unrelenting plague that even the health professionals were unable to pin down. The zombies in the written version move slowly but deliberately, wearing down obstacles and unceasingly pursuing their prey. Whether it be a zombie digging the side of a sand dune for four days until it lost the scent of a mole or the numerous zeds dragging their upper body towards humans even after their bottom half has been blown off. The idea of a swarm of zombies slowly and steadily seeking, not just the death of but the infection and, subsequent, conversion of, all humankind. This novel was written in a clever manner. Composed in a series of interviews, jumping around the planet from all varieties of people, the narrative gives us initial impressions of the zombie epidemic through the preliminary battles and into the victorious years nearing the end of the plague. The expertise of military officials, world health agents and governmental figures was shown in an intelligent, individually crafted way. I enjoyed the different idioms and phrasing used by characters depending on the countries from which they came. The movie was a huge disappointment but this novel was a fun, compelling read.