March 28, 2016
Bestseller Marion's prequel to his 2012 zombie love story, Warm Bodies, is much less ambitious and more successful than the longer book. He doesn't break any new groundâa daunting challenge given the growth of this horror subgenreâbut does manage to effectively convey the despair of those who have, for now, survived the zombie apocalypse that has devastated Earth. The narrative alternates among three perspectives on life after the calamity. R is newly undead and struggling to understand his situation. Young siblings Nora and Addis, abandoned by their parents, struggle to stave off starvation and to avoid being eaten in a deserted Seattle. Twelve-year-old Julie Grigio and her parents travel the northwest United States in an SUV, hoping for refuge in Canada, only to find it a false hope. Their paths all eventually cross, but the story lines and the ethical challenges (does one stop to help a suffering stranger, who may turn out to be a threat?) are largely familiar.