That book was so great and completely unique. I liked the movie - but it's only similarity to the book was the title.
Yeah, the book was great, it was a completely different POV as it encompassed the outbreak as a global event where the culture, race, gender, class status, demographics, geographics, etc.. only played a small role in the outcome. I've read the book twice already.
Only thing I was left wondering is where the virus actually came from. The first documented case in the book was the boy from the fishing village that got bitten on his foot underwater and brought the virus back to his village. It never really said where the virus originated from.
His other book ZSG Recorded Attacks is a great read too. Especially how the dormant virus was renewed again when someone in a museum scratched themselves with the tooth of a skull that was originally infected hundreds of years prior.