Warm Bodies
Isaac Marion

R is a young man with an existential crisis - he is a zombie. He shuffles through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades, but he craves something more than blood and brains. He can speak just a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams.
After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and strangely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a blast of color in the dreary and gray landscape that surrounds R. His decision to protect her will transform not only R but also his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world.
Scary, funny, and surprisingly poignant, Warm Bodies is about being alive, being dead, and the blurry line in between.

I'm the type of person who always has to read a novel before seeing a movie. And when I heard that this was coming out soon as a film, I decided it was time to read the book. I'm very glad that I did and I have to say that as a first novel, I am quite impressed.

While this book will appeal to those who are into the zombie culture, it will also appeal to those that aren't. It's not just about mindless zombies killing people and eating their brains. In fact, these zombies can think and talk. Yes, they do eat people, but that is the food they need to stay animated and they do eat brains because they then have the memories of the one that they ate. It's a thin substitute for their own lost memories of life, but at least it's something.

R sees something special in Julie and decided to save her. He also starts to have feelings, wants, and needs and knows he needs to be with her. Some of the other zombies are fascinated by this as R undergoes changes that no zombie ever has before. Others, called Bonies, see this as a threat to their existence and will do anything to stop R and Julie from setting off a chain of events that might just prove love is stronger than death - and show a way for the dead to live again.

Knowing that this is the author's first published novel is quite impressive. Granted, it's not up to the standards of King or Koontz, but it's much better than most writers first works. The characters have feeling and depth - even the zombies - and the plot is unique, fresh, and makes it so you don't want to put the book down.

I highly recommend checking this novel out. It's well worth it and not something you have ever read before.

My rating: Four out of five snails.