With Halloween comes horror novels.
I just finished World War Z, on the recommendation of several sites.
Its very well written (unlike the last novel I read). No weird conventions. Solid research on several cultures. The story isn't told in the standard prose form. Rather, it is a series of interviews of the people who survived the zombie outbreak about a decade or so after. The stories, as a result, are very personal.
However, it _isn't_ a horror novel. It's a _disaster_ novel. It's like reading accounts of how people survived a hurricane or an earthquake. And I'd say only one-quarter of the book is dedicated to showing the horror of zombies.
The rest of the book is the USA rallying to save the world, with lasers, new weapons, inspirational films, etc. It even has a scene where the US president makes a speech in front of the UN. Ever seen Independence Day or Braveheart? "They can take away lives, but not our freedom!1!!one!". Something like that. It reads like an author tract to current geo politics rather than a zombie story. The USA, Israel, and India and their citizens are praised so often for their heroism it makes my head spin. On the other hand, North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Palestine, Russia, Africa and China _really_ get the shaft in the story -- they're either the cause of the zombie outbreak, the cause of its proliferation, nuke _themselves_, shown to be cowards, incredibly stupid, etc. I almost expect to see "you're part of axis of evil/terrorist, so that's why you're being overrun by zombies" stamped on some countries.
Despite the above, its still an interesting read. Just don't expect to be frightened beyond the first 50 pages or so, and the author tract can get annoying.