Warm Bodies: A Novel

Isaac Marion

Apr 2011 · The Warm Bodies Series Book 1 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

“Gruesome yet poetic…highly original.” —The Seattle Times
“Dark and funny.” —Wired
“A mesmerizing evolution of a classic contemporary myth.” —Simon Pegg
“A strange and unexpected treat…elegantly written, touching, and fun.” —Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler’s Wife
“Has there been a more sympathetic monster since Frankenstein’s?” —Financial Times

In Warm Bodies, Isaac Marion’s New York Times bestselling novel that inspired a major film, a zombie returns to humanity through an unlikely encounter with love.

“R” is having a no-life crisis—he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he is a little different from his fellow Dead. He may occasionally eat people, but he’d rather be riding abandoned airport escalators, listening to Sinatra in the cozy 747 he calls home, or collecting souvenirs from the ruins of civilization.

And then he meets a girl.

First as his captive, then his reluctant house guest, Julie is a blast of living color in R’s gray landscape, and something inside him begins to bloom. He doesn’t want to eat this girl—although she looks delicious—he wants to protect her. But their unlikely bond will cause ripples they can’t imagine, and their hopeless world won’t change without a fight.

Ratings and reviews

I actually read this book twice - the first time i was pleased by the overall story and the writing style. A few weeks later i went back to re-read certain passages, and ended up re-reading the whole book as I got even more out of the story the 2nd time. Definitely a worth while read, that plays a very different slant on the human-zombie connection!

Writing a book with "mythical" creatures is always a hard job. One of the reasons is because there aren't any official documents stating how they should act or look like. As a result, we always end up going for what is the most "popular" view. In my own concept, zombies are nothing more than walking corpses with only the utmost primary function of the brain still functioning, and that would be the need for feeding, regardless of the methods and obstacles. That being said, I will state that even though the book was well-written, it didn't reach half of my expectations. I respect the author's decision to write a romance with a zombie as one of the members of the party and I do have an idea of how hard it must be to make it plausible for the readers. The thing is that in my opinion some concepts should not be broken. Vampires suck blood. Werewolves are humans turning into wolves-like monsters. And zombies are dead people. They are putrefying bodies. They don't look "nice". They have the stench of a corpse. They can't talk, they can't communicate because the cells responsible for the diction are probably no longer functional. If a zombie can talk or have dreams or desires, then the creature is simply no longer a zombie. Perhaps this was the biggest "mistake" of the book. The story itself is not strong. There are no particularly elaborated conflicts or intrigues. It's another teenage romance. In this case, ANY other creature would have made it better. Spirits, mutants, beings from other planets or even a new kind of humanoid monster. They would have made a better story. Maybe the fact that the definition of what is a "zombie" is what didn't make this book so easy to accept. How can you take it seriously when the said "zombie" can even drive a car? Nice romantic story. Well-written, nothing too deep that will want to make you think about the mysteries of humanity. But not my style.

I have to say, I really, really enjoyed this book. However, like others have been saying, I think I just enjoyed it all too fast. I am hungry for more because I was able to go through this whole book in just one day! I would love to see more story! I'd definitely recommend this one!

About the author

Isaac Marion grew up in the mossy depths of the Pacific Northwest, where he worked as a heating installer, a security guard, and a visitation supervisor for foster children before publishing his debut novel in 2010. Warm Bodies became a #5 New York Times bestseller and inspired a major Hollywood film adaptation. It has been translated into twenty-five languages worldwide. Isaac lives in Seattle with his cat and a beloved cactus, writing fiction and music, and taking pictures of everything. Visit IsaacMarion.com for more on these endeavors.