Totally, totally different from what I expected. I've only read a handful of zombie books but this was such a different approach. I almost gave it three stars because I started to lose interest, especially towards the end. Really I was never really interested, more intrigued. I was intrigued with Brooks' ability to step outside the box of what is traditional and jump head first into what is real, which is why I gave it four stars. From beginning to end the war was covered. Anytime you thought "well but that doesn't make sense," when reading other zombie novels, he covered it. Whenever you thought, "but what about?" he covered it. Going back to the realism, that was my favorite part. It was so real I could see it actually happening and the way it happened. The politics, the military, the camaraderie and violence with one another. Honestly, though the movie appears to be very different (based on the trailer) from the book, I'm stoked to see it. I think I'll be reading his Zombie Survival Guide book. Very out of the box this book was, while still being in the box. Meaning he didn't follow the styles and approaches that other zombie novels do but he stayed in the box because he kept it real. I can commend that for sure!