Brooks, son of famous comedian and movie director, Mel Brooks, wanted to create a scenario within both books that seemed completely real and feasible.
The books differ from one another quite a bit in their style and approach. In the survival guide (published first), he attempts to give the background of the zombie virus, highlight important outbreaks throughout history and give a comprehensive plan for surviving a zombie outbreak.
The Zombie Survival Guide gives all of the appearances of a nonfiction reference book, and aside from the zombies, is completely accurate.
In the second book, World War Z, Brooks takes a completely different approach. He writes from a first person perspective, interviewing key players in the conflict, looking back in an attempt to identify the main issues which lead to the collapse of global integrity in the face of the undead plague.
Together, both books serve to enhance the realism of an otherwise fictional situation.
As is the case with zombie literature and film, it is an ideal format for making social commentary. And Brooks does just that. He places mainstream politics, government, economy and religion under scrutiny, when he puts fictional pressure on the foundational aspects of security, safety and response to emergency situations.
The books are both available to borrow from Randolph County Public Library.
Feel free to join us for our next meeting, on Thursday, February 16th in the downstairs Meeting Room.
