Page 11 - Gears and Ears July 2013

Book Reviews

World War Z by Max Brooks
A Hundred Summers by Beatriz WIlliams

Overview: “The end was near.” —Voices from the Zombie War

The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the
urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those
apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from
decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and
inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes

children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful
time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so
powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that
gripped human society through the plague years.

Reviews: “Possesses more creativity and zip than entire crates of other new fiction titles. Think Mad Max meets The Hot
Zone. It’s Apocalypse Now, pandemic-style. Creepy but fascinating.” - USA Today”

Prepare to be entranced by this addictively readable oral history of the great war between humans and zombies. . . . Will
grab you as tightly as a dead man’s fist. A.” - Entertainment Weekly

“Probably the most topical and literate scare since Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds radio broadcast. . . . This is action-
packed social-political satire with a global view.” - Dallas Morning News

For some lighter Summer fare, you might try:
Overview: The year is 1938, and Lily Dane is looking forward to another
quiet summer at Seaview, the beach community of her childhood. But her

visions of an idyllic summer are ripped apart when she discovers that her ex-
fiancé, Nick, and her ex-best friend, Budgie, will be summering in Seaview as
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well. Old resentments and hurts surface as Lily is forced to relive her
heartbreak all over again.
Review: Williams combines an atmospheric, sun-filled setting with a
gripping plot, amazingly drawn characters, and an examination of deep-seated
prejudices that culminate in the perfect summer read. The plot of A Hundred
Summers might seem a bit mundane, but don’t let the beach-novel nature fool
you: this is an intricate novel that is an absolute pleasure to read from

beginning to end. Williams writes with such an engaging style, and the result is that this novel is so
easy to fall into. The characters, both major and minor, absolutely leap off the page. If you want an
absolutely perfect summer read, stop looking and pick up A Hundred Summers immediately. It’s
incredibly enjoyable and completely consuming. I, for one, can’t wait to see what Williams does next.
-- Swapna Krishna