Title: Warm Bodies
Author: Isaac Marion
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Romance
Publish Date: October 14th 2010
Length: 270 Pages
'R' is a Zombie. He has no name, no memories, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He is a little different from his fellow Dead. Among the Ruin of an abandoned city, R meets a girl.
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion is a new twist on the classic tragedy Romeo and Juliet, bringing together wonderfully aspects of Comedy, Romance and Suspense. R is not like the rest of the dead who inhabit the Earth. He can't remember a single thing about his life before death, but he is different from the rest of his kind: He can talk, although not in a very sophisticated fashion, and he is probably the most sarcastic Zombie I've ever heard of. One day, when out on a hunting trip, he encounters a girl named Julie (R and Julie… Seeing the parallels yet?). Instead of eating her, he saves her a brings her back to his home in an abandoned airport. Something odd grows between the two of them, and through Julie's company, R seems to grow less and less dead. However, Julie can't stay hidden with him forever, not that she wants to, and with her Dad being the head of a group of humans trying to eradicate the Zombie race, things don't look good for R. But what if he was no longer Dead? Things are changing in the world, and R and Julie are just the catalyst needed to spark a revolution.
Review: I absolutely loved this book. As someone who isn't a fan of anything Zombie related (I get nightmares at Shawn of The Dead, what a wimp), I was surprised by how quickly I got into this book. R is the perfect blend of Sarcastic and Profound, and I never thought I'd find myself sympathising with a Zombie. The Romeo and Juliet parallels and quite obvious, (there's even a balcony scene) and at times I wish they'd been more subtle, however they do not spoil the book completely. Julie is a fairly well rounded character, some people have criticised her for being inconsistent just to facilitate the direction in which Marion wanted to take the novel, however, who wouldn't be pretty inconsistent when they've been kidnapped by a Zombie who wants to make friends?
As for supporting characters Nora is fantastic, I really love her as a character and she in some ways reminds my of Darcy in Thor (although that may be because I watched the films on the same day).
Yes, it is fairly predictable, but really, there were only two or three directions the story could have gone in, so it really isn't a fault in the writing. For me, as a step on my way to getting over my fear of Zombies, it was fantastic. It's funny and heartwarming, and a nice quick read. What's not to love?
Would I recommend it?: I would definitely recommend it to anyone like me who isn't overly fond of Zombie horror, but still wants to experience the genre. For those who love 'real' Zombie fiction (I'm talking full on nightmare inducing horror) this may not be for you, it's pretty tame compared to some of the other stuff out there. I'd also definitely recommend the film too, Nicholas Hoult is a wonderful R, and he's pretty gorgeous too which doesn't hurt (Is it weird to be attracted to a Zombie…?)
Rating: 7.5/10
Buy it here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Warm-Bodies-Isaac-Marion/dp/0099583828
