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blurrypetals's review against another edition
5.0
November 15, 2018:
[re-read in anticipation of the release of the final Warm Bodies book, The Living]
Holy guacamole am I fucking glad I decided to re-read this before I started The Living. As the release of the finale has drawn nearer and nearer, it became increasingly more and more apparent to me that I had zero fucking clue how this book had left things. Well, that's a bit hyperbolic, because I remembered some things, just nowhere near as much as I thought I had, especially when it came to the last third of the book. I think it's important I make the distinction, though, that this is more a comment on my state of mind at the time I read the book and not on the book itself because I had a similar experience when I went to read Everlife by Gena Showalter in February earlier this year and I realized I hadn't absorbed most of the book that preceded it, Lifeblood, and I read Lifeblood directly after I finished The Burning World in March 2017.
With all that said, I'm kind of glad I didn't remember so much of the book up until now because it made it possible for me to fall in love with it all over again, much the same way I've just done with Warm Bodies and The New Hunger with nowhere near the same amount of time in between one reading and the next.
One of the things I didn't forget about this book is just how fucking ballsy Isaac Marion was to make a book this weird and borderline derivative it is as a direct sequel to Warm Bodies. I fucking love it. I wish more writers were half as gutsy as Isaac was to turn this in to his publishers and I wish there were more publishers who would publish those gutsy writers (Isaac included) because this was one of the riskiest marketing moves I have ever seen before and, while it didn't end up paying off in a monetary way, it paid off in almost every conceivable way in the literary sense. Isaac is really excellent with setup and payoff in general, but he's achieved a master level of skill with it here, and I'm beyond excited to see which things The Burning World asks are answered in The Living.
Not only is this a really excellent sequel to Warm Bodies in every conceivable way, but, because I had sort of written off The New Hunger as a filler piece, there were plenty of things in this book that were set up in The New Hunger that were either paid off or referenced in some way that I never noticed when I first read this book last year.
I'm so incredibly excited to get home and download The Living off my Zola account. I have been waiting for a book called The Living for 7 whole years now and it is finally here, it's time to begin the final chapter. Throw open that basement door; I'm ready.
March 1, 2017:
Other than Christopher Moore's Secondhand Souls, which I had to wait eight years to read, Warm Bodies is the one book I've waited the longest to see a follow-up to. So, that said, I can't begin to describe how nervous I was, how often I speculated what the sequel could be like, and just how scared I was that this would be bad.
I can say with perfect confidence that this book is not bad; it is fantastic and the most natural progression from book to book I've had the pleasure of reading in a long time. It's impossible for me to view this book without taking into account the six years I waited to read it, but that time made this experience all that much more enjoyable. I got to read all the updates and teasers Isaac put out there over the years, I got to watch as this became more than just a sequel, as it became a tome that was so large and crazy and beautiful that it had to be split into to two novels, as it came to be known as The Burning World instead of The Living, as it came to be known the Living instead of just Untitled Warm Bodies Sequel...this book lived and changed just as much as Isaac Marion and his readers did and that's readily apparent throughout this story, especially if you compare it to Warm Bodies and The New Hunger.
I am so hungry for more yet also very, very satisfied with what we've gotten so far and I absolutely cannot wait (except I can; I'll wait another six years if I have to--hell, I'll wait more) to read The Living because Isaac, you are one of the best ones to ever exist and as always, I'm eager to devour whatever work you have in store for us next.
[re-read in anticipation of the release of the final Warm Bodies book, The Living]
Holy guacamole am I fucking glad I decided to re-read this before I started The Living. As the release of the finale has drawn nearer and nearer, it became increasingly more and more apparent to me that I had zero fucking clue how this book had left things. Well, that's a bit hyperbolic, because I remembered some things, just nowhere near as much as I thought I had, especially when it came to the last third of the book. I think it's important I make the distinction, though, that this is more a comment on my state of mind at the time I read the book and not on the book itself because I had a similar experience when I went to read Everlife by Gena Showalter in February earlier this year and I realized I hadn't absorbed most of the book that preceded it, Lifeblood, and I read Lifeblood directly after I finished The Burning World in March 2017.
With all that said, I'm kind of glad I didn't remember so much of the book up until now because it made it possible for me to fall in love with it all over again, much the same way I've just done with Warm Bodies and The New Hunger with nowhere near the same amount of time in between one reading and the next.
One of the things I didn't forget about this book is just how fucking ballsy Isaac Marion was to make a book this weird and borderline derivative it is as a direct sequel to Warm Bodies. I fucking love it. I wish more writers were half as gutsy as Isaac was to turn this in to his publishers and I wish there were more publishers who would publish those gutsy writers (Isaac included) because this was one of the riskiest marketing moves I have ever seen before and, while it didn't end up paying off in a monetary way, it paid off in almost every conceivable way in the literary sense. Isaac is really excellent with setup and payoff in general, but he's achieved a master level of skill with it here, and I'm beyond excited to see which things The Burning World asks are answered in The Living.
Not only is this a really excellent sequel to Warm Bodies in every conceivable way, but, because I had sort of written off The New Hunger as a filler piece, there were plenty of things in this book that were set up in The New Hunger that were either paid off or referenced in some way that I never noticed when I first read this book last year.
I'm so incredibly excited to get home and download The Living off my Zola account. I have been waiting for a book called The Living for 7 whole years now and it is finally here, it's time to begin the final chapter. Throw open that basement door; I'm ready.
March 1, 2017:
Other than Christopher Moore's Secondhand Souls, which I had to wait eight years to read, Warm Bodies is the one book I've waited the longest to see a follow-up to. So, that said, I can't begin to describe how nervous I was, how often I speculated what the sequel could be like, and just how scared I was that this would be bad.
I can say with perfect confidence that this book is not bad; it is fantastic and the most natural progression from book to book I've had the pleasure of reading in a long time. It's impossible for me to view this book without taking into account the six years I waited to read it, but that time made this experience all that much more enjoyable. I got to read all the updates and teasers Isaac put out there over the years, I got to watch as this became more than just a sequel, as it became a tome that was so large and crazy and beautiful that it had to be split into to two novels, as it came to be known as The Burning World instead of The Living, as it came to be known the Living instead of just Untitled Warm Bodies Sequel...this book lived and changed just as much as Isaac Marion and his readers did and that's readily apparent throughout this story, especially if you compare it to Warm Bodies and The New Hunger.
I am so hungry for more yet also very, very satisfied with what we've gotten so far and I absolutely cannot wait (except I can; I'll wait another six years if I have to--hell, I'll wait more) to read The Living because Isaac, you are one of the best ones to ever exist and as always, I'm eager to devour whatever work you have in store for us next.
rpych2's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
2.5
darquedreamer's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I just feel like we could have done without it. 🤷🏽♀️
ninamtx's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
laurajaylive's review against another edition
5.0
What a ride! More character development, more places to explore and far-fetched concepts. Sci-fi is so much fun! I loved learning more about R's past while he was learning about it too. The confusion and intricacies of the story continue, and I'm eager to see how Marion wraps it up in book three.
shlana's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
halloqueen9's review against another edition
5.0
I can’t believe I just learned about this series. It’s everything I want in a post-apocalyptic story. I would have never guessed that such a goofy movie would be based on such a great series. I could read about R & Julie forever!
lindsirae's review against another edition
3.0
The beginning and end were really enjoyable, but a good portion of the middle meandered too much and felt like it derailed rather than furthered the overall structure.
deadsparkles's review against another edition
3.0
This story was really enjoyable and I'm curious to see what happens in the third book. I really enjoyed the main character. However, the major thing I'll be taking away was just how pretentious and off-putting some of the writing was.
nicolemhewitt's review against another edition
4.0
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
It's taken years for us to get a sequel to Warm Bodies, but it was worth the wait. This book feels very different than the first book---more adult somehow (Julie turns 20 during the book, but it's more the tone of the book that I'm referring to than the ages of the characters). In this sequel, R is learning how to be human again, and struggling against remembering his past life. He doesn't want to dwell on the past. He just wants to move forward with Julie and help the other zombies crawl back to the world of the living. But the past won't completely let him go, and his avoidance is making it harder for him to re-humanize. Plus, Julie and R learn that there are sinister forces at work in their world---forces that will derail the progress they've made if they let it.
What Fed My Addiction:
Becoming human.
I was engrossed with R's struggle to become fully human again. His body and mind are slowly coming awake, but he doesn't have full control---it's as if he's still partially dead. They actually refer to the different states of being a zombie in that way---there are those who are still completely Dead, those who have a spark of life, those who are approaching being human again, and a few who are nearly there! R is focused on waking up and on becoming a part of the human world (being accepted by it is a whole other matter). He's there emotionally, but his body and mind are sluggish---not quite ready yet. I was fascinated with the zombies' struggle for humanity.
Dark times.
While the first book felt surprisingly light (for a zombie novel), this second book gets a bit grittier and darker. While R is struggling to gain his humanity, in some ways Julie is losing hers---and her hope. Nothing is working out the way she'd hoped---the zombies aren't all coming back to life and flourishing, and the humans aren't accepting the possibility of change. When things start to go awry, they go very awry, and Julie crosses lines she never thought she'd cross (and that R never thought she'd cross). The world is dangerous, and Julie has to become dangerous to survive in it.
The writing style.
It's been a while since I read the first book, but I don't remember being so captivated by the writing. Marion's style seems more poetic and philosophical in this book---to go along with R's burgeoning humanity.
Revelations.
Throughout the book we slowly learn more and more about who R was before he became a zombie. I have to confess that I suspected a lot of it very early on, but there were definitely many surprising details.
What Left Me Hungry for More:
The collective "we."
Some sections of the book are narrated by a sort of mysterious "we." These parts seemed even more poetic, filled with library metaphors that seemed to symbolize a depository of humanity or a collective consciousness. I never quite fully understood who we was, but I think it's supposed to be the human consciousnesses that have been suppressed by the zombies. R thinks of his past-life human soul (for lack of a better way to describe it) as a man in the basement. R doesn't want to let him out because he doesn't want to dwell on who he was before. So, I kind of got the impression that the we that narrated is a sort of collection of those human souls, waiting to impart knowledge to the zombies. They could (kind of) communicate with the zombies ... I don't know. If it seems like I'm not explaining it very well, that's because I didn't 100% understand it myself. And while contemplating it is mentally stimulating, during my reading my confusion sometimes pulled me out of the story a bit. (Plus, sometimes the library metaphors and the poetic language bordered on being too much for me.)
So, for me, this sequel was actually better than the first book. I look forward to finding out where Marion takes us with the next installment! I give this one 4/5 Stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
It's taken years for us to get a sequel to Warm Bodies, but it was worth the wait. This book feels very different than the first book---more adult somehow (Julie turns 20 during the book, but it's more the tone of the book that I'm referring to than the ages of the characters). In this sequel, R is learning how to be human again, and struggling against remembering his past life. He doesn't want to dwell on the past. He just wants to move forward with Julie and help the other zombies crawl back to the world of the living. But the past won't completely let him go, and his avoidance is making it harder for him to re-humanize. Plus, Julie and R learn that there are sinister forces at work in their world---forces that will derail the progress they've made if they let it.
What Fed My Addiction:
Becoming human.
I was engrossed with R's struggle to become fully human again. His body and mind are slowly coming awake, but he doesn't have full control---it's as if he's still partially dead. They actually refer to the different states of being a zombie in that way---there are those who are still completely Dead, those who have a spark of life, those who are approaching being human again, and a few who are nearly there! R is focused on waking up and on becoming a part of the human world (being accepted by it is a whole other matter). He's there emotionally, but his body and mind are sluggish---not quite ready yet. I was fascinated with the zombies' struggle for humanity.
Dark times.
While the first book felt surprisingly light (for a zombie novel), this second book gets a bit grittier and darker. While R is struggling to gain his humanity, in some ways Julie is losing hers---and her hope. Nothing is working out the way she'd hoped---the zombies aren't all coming back to life and flourishing, and the humans aren't accepting the possibility of change. When things start to go awry, they go very awry, and Julie crosses lines she never thought she'd cross (and that R never thought she'd cross). The world is dangerous, and Julie has to become dangerous to survive in it.
The writing style.
It's been a while since I read the first book, but I don't remember being so captivated by the writing. Marion's style seems more poetic and philosophical in this book---to go along with R's burgeoning humanity.
Revelations.
Throughout the book we slowly learn more and more about who R was before he became a zombie. I have to confess that I suspected a lot of it very early on, but there were definitely many surprising details.
What Left Me Hungry for More:
The collective "we."
Some sections of the book are narrated by a sort of mysterious "we." These parts seemed even more poetic, filled with library metaphors that seemed to symbolize a depository of humanity or a collective consciousness. I never quite fully understood who we was, but I think it's supposed to be the human consciousnesses that have been suppressed by the zombies. R thinks of his past-life human soul (for lack of a better way to describe it) as a man in the basement. R doesn't want to let him out because he doesn't want to dwell on who he was before. So, I kind of got the impression that the we that narrated is a sort of collection of those human souls, waiting to impart knowledge to the zombies. They could (kind of) communicate with the zombies ... I don't know. If it seems like I'm not explaining it very well, that's because I didn't 100% understand it myself. And while contemplating it is mentally stimulating, during my reading my confusion sometimes pulled me out of the story a bit. (Plus, sometimes the library metaphors and the poetic language bordered on being too much for me.)
So, for me, this sequel was actually better than the first book. I look forward to finding out where Marion takes us with the next installment! I give this one 4/5 Stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***