For a zombie novel, this was actually strangely refreshing! Since the Walking Dead has premiered, I've had my face buried in zombie novels. Warm Bodies was my first zombie novel that had an ending that satisfied me. I understand that it's the end of the world and there are zombies running about and we're probably not going to get a happily ever after - but that's really not what I'm looking for either. I just want an ending! So many zombie novels I've read have taken what feels like a short cut by just sort of ... ending abruptly. And then calling it just a quirk of the genre.
Warm Bodies finally turns that around. You get an ending. Not a happily ever after, but it's an ending. Definitely a book I'd love to read the sequel for!
Warm Bodies is told from the viewpoint of a zombie - making this a fascinating read as "R" struggles to remember just who he is and what made him this way and if there could be anything left in the world that might matter more to him than ripping through human flesh. This is not a book for the squeamish - it's pretty detailed and descriptive. Definitely gave me some very vivid mental images!
I generally approached zombie 'romance' with a slightly hesitant fear. There are the obvious problems of being dead, and all the strange smells and maladies that must come along with that. It's difficult to really get invested in a story revolving around them. And yet, Warm Bodies somehow still made this romance sweet, without making me feel squeamish.
The premise that maybe there are more to zombies than we can see on the outside was especially interesting to read. Sure, they're all moaning and funky smells on the outside, but does that unequivocally prove that there's nothing else going on inside? What if they are simply trapped by their own disease?
Overall, I tore through this book. I haven't read a book this fast in months - because I just had to know what would happen next. As we all know, there's also a movie adaptation that came out this year, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the movie! I didn't really see how such a unique style narrative would translate well onto film, but I thought it did a great job and was true to the novel as much as it could be.
It was originally written as a standalone but the author decided to write another book. It *may* be out next year! I really enjoyed this for the same reasons as you-it was a different take on zombies, but still had the gore that zombies entail. Great review!
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