Reviews Literature / World War Z

[Audiobook review] They're coming to get you, TV Tropes!

When I found out that one of my favourite mockumentary-type novels were made into an abridged audiodrama, I was giddy. The book reads very much like a series of transcribed interviews (which was the author's intent, I am sure), and this makes it perfect for the change in medium.

The audiodrama leaves out several parts of the plot, mostly unimportant overseas stuff, such as the tense cleansing of Paris, the bit with the astronauts, and the Russian revolution. This does not, however, alter the novel's impact much. It mostly focuses on the American side of things, but gives enough glimpses of the rest of the world to remain coherent.

The voice acting is patchy, but never terrible. Some of the voice actors seem to be reading the book, rather than telling the story. Also, the text itself has not been altered to fit the medium. Written language and grammar is, after all, significantly different from spoken language, and it shows, especially when the voice actor is less than great.

The voice actor that shines is, of course, Mark Hamill, playing army veteran Todd Wainio. From Yonkers to Hope, the character's feelings and motivations shine through, and the audiodrama does not waste this potential.

Overall, it's a pretty good audiodrama, well worth your time. However, I recommend reading the book first. The left-out parts are perhaps not integral to the story, but gives an impression of a bigger world, where the zombie war has implications reaching further than the U.S. of A.

tl;dr Yeah, it's alright.