World War Z
World War Z by Max Brooksby Max Brooks
Shares rank 5 of 6 horror novels by recommenders
People recommend it as a short, action-packed read that is easy to get through; one reader says the movie didn't live up to it.
People recommend it as a short, action-packed read that is easy to get through; one reader says the movie didn't live up to it.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 60%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Short, action-packed and easy to read
“I loved the short action packed book which seemed like an easy translation”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “A Man Who Reads Books for a Living (One Every Two Days)” Extended cast audiobook edition is great
“the extended cast edition is great with a mixed cast”
Comment from 28 Dec 2025 in “Things and Stuff of 2025” Enjoyed it enough to re-read
“Overall I really enjoyed it. I should re-read it…”
Comment from 10 Aug 2026 in “Protopia”
Other horror novels people recommend
The four most recommended other horror novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House of Leavesby Mark Z. Danielewski | 19 | 4 | 83% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Terrorby Dan Simmons | 12 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Carrion Comfortby Dan Simmons | 9 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| The Shiningby Stephen King | 4 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| World War Zby Max BrooksThis page | 3 | 2 | 60% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Overall I really enjoyed it. I should re-read it…”
“the movie sure as hell didn't”
“I loved the short action packed book which seemed like an easy translation”
“WWZ used to let me play offline alongside bots, but no more.”
“the extended cast edition is great with a mixed cast”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.