Dante's Heart
WWZ: A Review
Jesse Kavadlo
Unlike our most inspired and revered
monsters—Dracula’s vampire, Frankenstein’s
mad scientist and his horrific creation, Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’s transformations—all
Victorian-era works that have continued to rise
from the grave in film, literary zombies are
surprisingly scarce. Aside from I Am Legend,
a book more famous in its many movie forms,
the number of zombie novels pales in
comparison to its nearest relative, the
vampire. And the reasons are not surprising:
Jesse Kavadlo
Unlike our most inspired and revered
monsters—Dracula’s vampire, Frankenstein’s
mad scientist and his horrific creation, Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’s transformations—all
Victorian-era works that have continued to rise
from the grave in film, literary zombies are
surprisingly scarce. Aside from I Am Legend,
a book more famous in its many movie forms,
the number of zombie novels pales in
comparison to its nearest relative, the
vampire. And the reasons are not surprising:
Shelley’s monster waxes poetic, Stoker’s Dracula’s verbal threats and taunts
are part of his arsenal of terror, and eloquent Dr. Jekyll leaves behind
detailed letters. But what is there to say, rather than show, about zombies?
And what would the zombies themselves have to add? The answer is the same
either way: aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.
So it is with some surprise that Max Brooks' World War Z: An Oral History
of the Zombie War thankfully does not reflect its subject matter: it is smart
and, after a suspenseful buildup, fast, as a good work of contemporary scary
fantasy should be. But what is more, Brooks seems to understand the
monster narrative better than the average pulp writer, better than any writer
since Anne Rice. By taking the form of an “oral history,” Brooks gets to do
those things that a monster story does best: on the one hand, foreshadow,
Page 2
are part of his arsenal of terror, and eloquent Dr. Jekyll leaves behind
detailed letters. But what is there to say, rather than show, about zombies?
And what would the zombies themselves have to add? The answer is the same
either way: aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.
So it is with some surprise that Max Brooks' World War Z: An Oral History
of the Zombie War thankfully does not reflect its subject matter: it is smart
and, after a suspenseful buildup, fast, as a good work of contemporary scary
fantasy should be. But what is more, Brooks seems to understand the
monster narrative better than the average pulp writer, better than any writer
since Anne Rice. By taking the form of an “oral history,” Brooks gets to do
those things that a monster story does best: on the one hand, foreshadow,
Page 2
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