In a book with as grand a scope as World War Z, it would only make sense that there would be some untold stories floating around. In Closure Limited, author Max Brooks has released four more short stories, as well as an intro that explains how he got into the zombie business in the first place.
Coming in at a slim 124 pages, these feel like tales that were left on the cutting room floor from the original book, and the quality is a bit shaky. The title story, 'Closure, Limited: A Story of World War Z' is the story of a rather ingenious entrepreneur after the dust settled from the Zombie War. He and his employees mine the areas that are still infested with zombies, capture them, and let their customers use them for a sense of 'closure.'
'Steve and Fred' gives the reader a perspective that couldn't be gotten from the interview format of World War Z. Here, a man is trapped in a water closet, with only a book. As the days go by, the sound of the Zeds never leaves the door to the bathroom for long, and his grip on reality gets harder and harder to hold on to.
'The Extinction Parade' is by far the weakest story in the collection. Our characters are a group of vampires, who have lived alongside humanity and the zombies since the beginning of time. At first, they think it's funny that the humans aren't taking care of the zombie flare-up very well, but as time goes on and their food source dies off in record numbers, the vampires start to wonder what the future might bring.
Finally, in 'Great Wall: A Story from the Zombie War', we return to the journalistic storytelling of World War Z. Our UN observer interviews a Chinese woman who fled North after the war broke out. Eventually she reached an offshoot of the Great Wall, and along with other refugees frantically works to rebuild the Wall. But, unlike in the Xia Dynasty, this time it's to protect the North from the threat from the South.
We're also treated to an Introduction by the author. Here, we're treated to Brooks' first encounters with zombies, and the train of thought that caused him to write The Zombie Survival Guide.
Overall, the stories here are decent, but not amazing. As with most 'deleted scenes' in movies, there's generally a reason they were left out. Only the first story is up to the quality of his novel, but the rest are readable nonetheless. Fans of Brooks may want to check it out, but it might be better suited to a cheap ebook release than the physical release it got.
Highs: The title story is actually a morbidly fascinating look at the human psyche.
Lows: Brooks really did his universe a disservice by introducing vampires into an otherwise realistic situation.
Verdict: An uneven collection, worth reading once but perhaps not purchasing.
Further Reading: Under a Graveyard Sky, Boneshaker
The world has risen from the ashes, and our narrator has gone out to collect the memories of those who lived through the collapse in Max Brooks' World War Z.
The origin of the infection is hazy, mainly due to the world's refusal to acknowledge what is now impossible to ignore: the dead have risen. At first attributed to a new form of rabies, those bitten have all the attributes of a classic literary zombie: dead, rotting flesh; no apparent consciousness, no reaction to pain, and an insatiable hunger for living flesh. Only the destruction of the brain stops them. Decapitation leaves a biting severed head, drowning creates an underwater menace and freezing only delays them until springtime when they thaw.
Due to this lack of early response, along with the globalization of trade and travel, not to mention human smuggling, the outbreak becomes out of control before anyone can get a handle on it. Even a decade after victory is declared in the US and China, more northern countries like Iceland are still considered a loss. Every so often, especially near bodies of water and in the springtime, a few zombie bites happen, but it's nowhere as bad as during the height of the fighting.
Our narrator works for the United Nations Postwar Commission. He traveled the world, getting first-hand accounts of how the war was fought from India to Cuba and everywhere in between. Unhappy with the dry presentation that the UN published, he publishes this account to tell the stories of the people who lived through the worst disaster to befall the human race. From a feral child who watched every adult she'd ever known be killed, to a hikikomori in Japan who has to face a real life full of infecteds, to the speculation about what the hell happened to North Korea, every group of people responded to the crisis in different ways.
Well known for his Zombie Survival Guide, Max Brooks already has a well thought out zombie apocalypse universe to work from and this planning shows in World War Z. Neatly sidestepping the scientific explanations by having the outbreak happen too fast for groups like the CDC to get a firm grasp on it, and letting the reader know quickly and clearly exactly what these zombies can and cannot do, Brooks never surprises the reader with information he should have had earlier or contradicts himself. While some of the stories work better than others, overall World War Z is a fun 'what if?' book that is more analytical than scary.
Highs: The responses that each country makes is completely in line with that place's culture and self-identity
Lows: Another author might have used this as a treatment for a series of novels, each focusing on one or two groups for the duration of the War, and perhaps that would have been a more satisfying format
Verdict: A fun read that is longer than it seems, and a must for the zombie enthusiast
Further Reading: Under a Graveyard Sky, Feed
