Exhilarating and breathtakingly suspenseful, Isaac Marion’s debut novel "Warm Bodies" makes a zombie-human romance somehow romantic.
After a zombie plague infects the world, leaving the remaining survivors to fight and build fortresses to keep humanity from extinction, one of the undead falls in love with a human.
One of the few perks of being a zombie is obtaining victims’ memories through eating their brains. R – a zombie who only remembers the beginning letter of his name -- becomes infatuated with a victim’s girlfriend, Julie, after consuming her boyfriend’s brain.
Wanting to protect her, R begins a quest alongside Julie to stop the quickly spreading disease and discover what it means to be human.
The book’s plot never slows down. From the very beginning sentence, the book constantly flows with waves of action and thrilling dialogue to captivate its readers until the journey is over. Every chapter reveals a new problem, a new character, or a new thrill.
The novel targets a vast audience. R is a character who, though can barely speak, is lovable, Julie provides comedic relief in the dark reality of the plot, and many scenes provide guts and gore for horror fans.
With a movie based on the book, many may be misled by the film’s PG-13 rating. The book is suggestive, with sexual content, strong language, some drug use, and more.
The book nevertheless provides an exciting view on the zombie genre, even though the plot of "Warm Bodies" can be unbelievable at times. The audience just has to accept that zombies can speak, think, and do other humanly tasks. But if you can accept the small plot holes that usually accompany a fantasy novel, the book holds a lot of redeeming value.
An awesome joy ride, the novel leaves readers hungry for more. The book is moderately short – only 240 pages – yet it brings a great spin on death, humanity, and love.
But there’s still hope for more zombies. Marion has already confirmed that a sequel is in the works and the film will be released in February.
All in all, "Warm Bodies" is a thrill that, though a bit berserk, is outrageously addicting and fun.
Rating: A-
