I read and loved "World War Z". In fact, I've read it more than once. When I saw that Max Brooks had a followup coming out, I pre-ordered it on Amazon at least a year and a half before the book came out. Then I waited patiently while the release date kept shifting around. Finally, I got an email that "Recorded Attacks" had shipped, so I looked at Amazon to finally see what the book was about. It was then that I discovered that it was a graphic novel, when I was expecting a real novel. I was and remain hugely disappointed. It's a decent graphic novel, but there isn't any new material here. It's just a comic book rendering of the same recorded attacks that were briefly described at the end of "World War Z". Definitely not what I was hoping for, and had I known, I would not have purchased it in advance.

Well I finally figured out what all the hype was about. The illustrations give the book a visual framing that make me want to reread World War Z with this imagery swirling in my head (also a duly excellent read). And for those that don't normally want to attach gory images to their zombie stories, be not afraid! These are good, even for the squeamish among us. I've been a fan of Max Brooks' work and this book only strengthens my fandom!

If you've read any of Max Brooks earlier work or your just a fan of the genre, this is a MUST read. Amazing art work paired perfectly with the mind of Max Brooks. Why are you still reading this review? Go get it already!

So, I've now I've read World War Z and am in the middle of the Zombie Survival Guide (Audio). I'm a huge zombie fan, and loved World War Z, and can already tell I'm really going to enjoy the survival guide. When I grabbed this book up at barnes & noble, I was a little surprised to find that it was a graphic novel, but I like graphic novels. When I got home and actually started reading it, I realized there was not much to it. There are way more pages w/o words than with. The artwork is excellent, but I wish the writing would've been in depth. I mean, it's bland even for a graphic novel. It is enjoyable, and is a quick read, so you won't have to put too much time into it.

With that said, if you like great artwork of zombies eating people, and people destroying zombies, you'll enjoy it. I did, with some disappointment. Maybe that's because I bought it at barnes & noble for twice the price I could've bought it on Amazon (WTF was I thinking?). For $9 it's perfect. Anymore that that, I'd tell you to just get the full on Survival Guide.

I knew what I was getting so this is not a negative review because of the way the story was put together or the fact that it was a graphic novel. It is a sad reader marking a bleak day, knowing that the Max Brooks books have been so much better in those jolly old days of yore. I've enjoyed the Max Brooks sagas quite a bit, and have been plugging WWZ for a while now because of the way it mingles history and zombie attacks. Still, this book doesn't do anything but take a step back, throwing a monkey-wrench into many of the designs. This isn't to say that the book was not a good read, either. The piece was quick and dirty, had some nice zombie eateries planned out if you happen to change and need feeding advice, and it does make the undead creepy. The one thing it did do was take the name of Max Brooks and make me think one thing, but give me something that was totally different and not-so-lush in the taking.

When I saw that it was a graphic novel, I didn't back down because I thought "new." When I kept reading and saw that it was just a zombie attack going on record, I still kept thinking "new." And even when it was over, my mind told me to reread because it expected to find some sort of hidden "new." Unfortunately that did not happen and, in the words of some of my friends, I had to say "what was Brooks thinking?" In many ways I felt like i was a jilted lover that had been given photocopied prose, or someone that had answered the lottery with winning numbers only to find that it was my first junkmail attachment. I saw what I saw and I even new that it would not be the thing I wanted, but I kept thinking there would be something hidden in the wreckage. and there was something here - a story about an attack, and I guess that was what Brooks is deep down in his being. Still, after reading what I had gotten from him in the past, I felt like this was a regression. I have to say I did enjoy it on a zombie level, but the teeth that hurt were not the undead when it came to this saga.

If you want Max Brooks, I don't think it is here. I think it is in the storytelling capacity in the other books, and this was just some filler that got caught in my bookshelf. As I said before, I liked it beause it was a zombie attack, but it felt like it was thrown together quickly and like i had seen it before. So, if you want to know about this, then look at the pictures and think about what they are. Also, think about how many other people could do them and whether or not this is Brooks in his finest attire. I have to give it three stars because i read it more than once and liked it on a base level, but I cannot say to buy it because the author can do more.
It isn't about logging hours on the attack meter after you build a WWZ. It is about surprising readers with something different, and possibly giving us more than we have seen when crossing the undead street. And i have seen the ideas that this is good preZ stuff, but that only works when the book hasn't changed a few ideas on zombies.
Pro or con, I'm not sure. All I can say is that it feels wrong.