Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Title: Warm Bodies
Author: Isaac Marion
Publisher: Vintage Books
Release Date: 31st January 2013
Genre: Horror, Romance, Young Adult

Summary: 
R, or so he calls himself, is a zombie. He has no memories of his former life, just the fact that he thinks his name begins with the letter 'R.' However, unlike his fellow zombie comrades in his colony, R has dreams. He still eats humans though. However, when he saves the life of Julie, one of the few remaining humans, everything changes.

Breaking the rules of logic and zombie-kind, R shows that all is not lost when you start to decay and have no pulse or functioning brain.

Review:
If you think this is going to be some gory story about a zombie apocalypse; you will be bitterly disappointed. I was. I mean, I knew that it was going to involve a dysfunctional and impractical love story, but I was expecting there to be a bit more gore and action! Not the scariest zombies, in my opinion. However, I think the fact that the book goes against and, in places, mocks the genre, is what makes it so special and cute. Yes, it is cheesy. Yes, it is just a modern and gory take on Romeo and Juliet (hence the names of the characters). And yes, the zombies are more like cuddly creatures than killing machines. But it works.


The zombie related humour which is threaded throughout the plot was one of my favourite aspects of the book. For example, I loved the idea that zombies talk to each other through a series of groans and that they can even get married in their own weird way. They can even adopt children. Bizarre. I felt that this was made 100 times better with the narrative voice of R. He is so cute, weird and hilarious; he just makes the book what it is.

However, I think that the plot was poorly paced as it was too fast during the action sequences and too slow during the mundane, day-to-day lives of the characters. I mean, detail is great but not in unnecessary places where it stops the flow of the story.

Rating: 8/10. Modern and gory. There is a film adaptation which I am yet to see.

You can buy Warm Bodies from Amazon here.