Customer Reviews

Warm Bodies: A Novel

5 star:		(74)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

WARM BODIES is a witty, original, beautiful, unexpected and entertaining book with tremendous heart, about a Zombie, "R" in a ruined world, who falls in love with Julie, a living girl who is one of the few remaining people, and the daughter of a harsh security minded General in charge of the city where most of the living reside. R meets Julie when he eats the brain of her long time boyfriend Perry, and appropriates his memories of this wonderful girl. In the middle of the feed, R sees her in the room, and manages to keep himself and the other zombies from attacking her and then brings her back to the airport where they live. The story has so many things going for it, it's hard to know where to begin. The character of R, a kind of Edward Scissorhands like saintly child, who begins to grow and learn from his newfound relationship with Julie. And Julie is pretty terrific too, assertive, tough but honest about what she needs and wants. I could go on and on about the intricacies and nuances of the novel, but I wouldnt want to ruin anyone's read of this beautiful book. It is really worth the time to get to know these characters.

One night during some myspace lurking I stumbled upon his page from a mutual friend and instantly became enthralled in his short stories, music, art, and overall genius. I've been following him as he has gained more notoriety and continued to amaze with his literary growth. I purchased a self-published version of this novel and read it in a day. I couldn't put it down. R as a character is someone you shouldn't necessarily root for, he is a zombie after all. Marion makes it possible to want a simple zombie to succeed and be accepted. I cannot recommend a book more highly, read the novel and then find his website, the hours spent will not be wasted!

An arresting and occasionally disquietening book above love, life, and eating brains! Yes, the life of a zombie is somewhat mundane, but overlooking the occasional chow down on fellow humans, and how a cerebellum can be tasty pocket snack, I found this book really compelling and interesting to read. A different and intriguing approach, and I couldn't put it down. I could describe it as Twilight with Zombies, but it would be an injustice to the book, which was certainly one of my best reads this year. Recommended highly! A sensitively handled relationship between avowed enemies, it builds to a satisfying climax, and resolution.

Isaac Marion can write, there's no doubt about that. It's the storytelling he needs to work on.

From the beginning I fell in love with R's voice, even if it was a bit ridiculous for a zombie to know and use words that I had to continuously look up in the dictionary. I was intrigued and cared for R and his instant dead undead family. I wanted to know more, so I read on.

R started to evolve. He couldn't just think eloquently anymore he could, occasionally, express himself fluently too. And as his higher brain functions evolved and reawakened, he started losing his zombie traits and I quickly started losing interest.

I cared more about R's nameless wife cheating on him than I ever cared about Julie. That's not for lack of trying on the author's part, because Marion gave me every opportunity to see Juliet as a complex individual, I just didn't see any chemistry between her and R, excluding the ick factor of kissing a corpse.

Also, the world building lacked certain finesse. Over a decade after the government's collapse there's still lip gloss readily available to a young woman kidnapped and held captive by zombies. Okay, I admit, she could have had it in her pocket and used it sparely. But I'm not sure I buy a decade old iPod's battery holding power for several days, especially if she's turning up the volume. And I'm still wondering how exactly did she find and add all those mp3s on the thing since computers weren't mentioned.

As the issue of sex proves, Marion really needs to work on staying true to the rules he's created.

I haven't mentioned Perry yet and that's because I don't really know what to think of him. He was dead before I got to know him and my brain isn't really orientated to this new way of thinking that maybe death isn't the end after all.

Having said all that, I can see why this book has over 4 star rating average. I enjoyed reading the first quarter of it, but the rest just wasn't my cup of tea.

I am a zombie virgin. Well, I was. I had never read a zombie book before Warm Bodies was sent to me by Regal Literary free of charge for review. This is the ARC that I'm reviewing. And of course, this in no way influenced my review of Warm Bodies. That being said, I loved my first zombie book! It was a really sweet love story, full of philosophical questions about life, a glimpse into a not so unrealistic future and it was a well written adventure.

"R" is a zombie with a lot of questions and no answers. He's like an amnesiac living in a world surrounded by other amnesiacs except for the fact that "R" wants to know who and why and how and what now and is there more while the rest of the amnesiacs are content to sit for days on end staring or standing or sitting. Right from the start we know that "R" is different. He's disgusted by his hunger and the way he has to feed himself, but accepts it as inevitable. But he still stands out from the crowd, sitting in cars trying to remember how to drive, playing records, trying to talk, get people to tell them their names. He is appalled at their feeding habits, stopping to wash the blood of the dead from him in a puddle on the street. Issac Marion writes so eloquently "There is a chasm between me and the world outside of me. A gap so wide my feelings can't cross it. By the time my screams reach the other side, they have dwindled into groans." (p.8) The entire story is written from "R's" point of view, told mostly in his mind as he's a zombie of few words.

Julie is the other main character in this story. She lives in the stadium where all the protected people live, safe from the zombies unless they venture out. There is a little bit of farming going on inside, but most of their nutrition is gotten through pills as the food produced is not enough to sustain everyone living inside the stadium. The seats have been taken out so that houses have been made and there is a city living within the stadium. People are still having children, teenagers are still falling in love and some people are still hoping for a cure to the plague or curse or whatever it was that caused the zombies. Julie's outlook on the zombie situation is a little different than her military father's. He has become so single minded on winning that he's lost all sight of what's important, living instead of killing. Julie doesn't blame the zombies for eating people. She knows it's what they have to do to survive. Even when her boyfriend is killed, she's not upset at the zombies.

But when Julie and "R" meet and talk and begin to know each other (not in the biblical sense) "R" starts to change. He begins to feel more human. He wants to protect her. Please her. All the things, a boyfriend would do for his girlfriend. And the more time he spends with her, the less zombie like he becomes. He can string words together to form sentences. He searches out food for her when she's hungry. She teaches him to drive. All the while, he doesn't feel the desire to eat her brains. Or eat anyone. From this point on the story goes really fast, and yes, I will say, "R's" character does indeed go through major character growth. Julie's does as well. They get into trouble and out and in again and I don't mean missing curfew I mean scary trouble. Imagine, the world is dead. All the houses in all the neighborhoods are empty. There is a great chance of either being attacked by zombies or people for both of them. When she's in his world, at least they are a little slow, but if he's in her world, there's no disguising him and very few ways of getting out.

Issac Marion paints a bleak future of the world to come. I am not saying that I believe in zombies, but what if in all our building and oil drilling and bombing and deforestation and killing off of the rain forests we uncovered something that should never have been uncovered. An organism that when released in the air spreads some kind of plague. We already have a flesh eating bacteria. It doesn't take much to stretch my imagination to believe in the world spread out before me in Warm Bodies. It's not that complicated. It's our world today, only a lot fewer people surviving in it.

The ending was satisfying, yet I wanted more. I wanted to see what the rest of the world looked like and what "R" and Julie's place in the world might be. Though I feel like the ending was conclusive, if Isaac Marion wanted to, this could definitely be a series. It would have a different spin on the next book, but it would be interesting to see what happens next.

There was a little talk about sex, but it was minor. Today's music is more explicit than this was, so anyone 13 and up should be comfortable reading this book. If you're squeamish, there is talk about eating brains and blood and all the messy stuff that goes with that. So you know, but you should expect that with a zombie book, I'd think.

I definitely enjoyed this book. I don't relate to zombies, but "R" had some good thoughts and he was extremely likable even for a zombie. I'd read another book about zombies by Isaac Marion just because it wasn't what I expected at all. It wasn't about killing and power and control. It really was a love story between two very different characters and having hope when you think there isn't any to be had.

Every now and then, there's a book so prolifically amazing that you ignore the fact that its subject matter is something that you absolutely detest. For me, that book was Warm Bodies. Despite the fact that I love zombie movies, I have an extreme dislike for zombie books (save a few)... until now. Perhaps I was reading the wrong type of zombie books? Or maybe I just gave up too soon when I read a few bad ones in a row? Either way, Isaac Marion's novel has completely changed my mind about the matter and I am now more open to the world of zombies in modern literature.

One of the things that sticks out so profoundly about this novel is the fact that R - the main character, a zombie - actually still holds on to some human attributes and there's more going on than just "Mmm... braaaiiiinnnnsss" in his thought process. On top of that, there's still feelings involved... which is something we don't see much of when it comes to the living dead. R wants to be more than what he is. He craves to feel, love and have more than just a normal zombie life. He's a character that will surprise you at how easily you can relate to and empathize with.

It would be against all crimes of this blog not to point out that I did creep out a little with the romantic interest in the novel. It was just something I couldn't wholeheartedly get behind. However, as disturbing as it was for me, it was also very beautiful and seemed to fit naturally into the story as a whole.

The story was amazingly written. R's perspective was completely enthralling and the story as a whole was nothing short of incredible. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop reading... even at the parts that made me cringe! The world building in Warm Bodies wasn't much different from present-day society... only, you know, it has zombies and stuff - which is something I am almost certain does not exist. Yet.

If zombie romances are your thing, then you absolutely MUST pick up a copy of Warm Bodies. Right now. If they're not your thing, then I would recommend picking up a copy of Warm Bodies. Right now. I have a feeling Marion will change your mind and steal your heart with this novel.

Weird and wonderful, gory and glorious. I never expected to like a zombie romance this much!

I have to admit I wasn't entirely satisfied with the ending (hence the missing fifth star), although it was also not unexpected and made sense. But I liked almost everything else about this book, from the beautiful, lyrical but never purple writing, to the three-dimensional, real characters who came alive on the page.

Warm Bodies is my new favourite book:-)
I cannot praise it highly enough.
It's beautifully written with an amazingly original plot.
The hero is the kind of guy you wish would fall in love with you (yes, even though he's a zombie) and the heroine is tough and feisty and wonderfully real.
Don't make the mistake of thinking this is just another YA romance substituting zombies for vampires. Warm Bodies is in a class of it's own.

I was reluctant to read this book, honestly, after reading that Stephanie Meyer recommended it. I expected it to be directed towards the younger crowd,, and to not have any real substance, so at first I just had the free sample sent to me...
I was HOOKED. If you only read 1 zombie book, let this be the one. This is DEFINATELY worth the 9.99 price! Most zombie books I read once and forget, as they blend in with every other one I have ever read. I can't imagine forgetting this book! I will be reading it again in the future...
I will definately be looking for more from this author. Writers like this are rare... I get excited whenever I run across one of them!

When I first came across "Warm Bodies", I was to say the least skeptical. A zombie love story? Especially when this is the author's first novel. But Isaac Marion completely blew me away! This is zombies like you've never experienced them before. A heart-warming story with characters you can't help but care about and love, a new and original plot line, and the desolate setting of destroyed future America hooks you in and won't let you go until the very last word which leaves you begging for more! I got my copy this morning and finished it within a few hours. I couldn't put it down. I love this book and will reread it in the future. I recommend it to zombie lovers the world over. I do caution people, there are a few gore scenes, mentions of sex, drugs, etc, but nothing really graphic. Worth the read, worth the buy.