Review: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Warm Bodies

Author: Isaac Marion

Publication Date: January 1st 2010

Publisher: Vintage

Genre: Zombies/Post Apocalyptic/Romance

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Synopsis:

A zombie who yearns for a better life ends up falling in love—with a human—in this astonishingly original debut novel.

R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He doesn’t enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra. He is a little different from his fellow Dead

My Thoughts: I will admit, and I'm sure you know, that my whole reason fro reading this was because I was planning on seeing the movie in theaters (and I did!) and I really don't like to watch a movie when I know it's based off of a book if I haven't already read the book. Well, I have to say I'm so glad that they made this into a movie, I might have missed it otherwise! It's too funny! I never thought I would say that about a zombie book before!

So why is this funny? Well because it's from a zombie's point of view! R in fact. All he can remember is that he thinks his name started with an R, so that's what he goes by. Not that he has many people to talk to, not really. Zombies don't really talk, they most grunt at each other and a few can get some words out, like R and M, his best friend. Since we're in R's head, we do actually get plenty of coherrant thought's from him, it seems to just be speaking that he has the most difficulty with. R doesn't like being a zombie, not really and he really doesn't like that he has to kill to survive. Because he doesn't just want to die, which can happen, so instead he is forced to kill and eat humans. Brains seem to be like a drug to zombies, it gives them the memories of their victims temporarily when they eat them and since they can't dream and have no memories of their own, it's something they enjoy.

So when R and some other zombies go on a hunt and find some humans, something weird happens and he brings home Julia, disguised as a new zombie. For some reason he couldn't kill her and didn't want anyone else to either. Can zombies really love? Something strange begins to happen to him and he can't figure it out.

Warm Bodies is very enjoyable. There were so many parts that had me laughing at R's antics. There is a bit of "zombie sex" in it, so not really good for younger teens. Although the image that was put in my head had me laughing hysterically (I have a bad sense of humour, but apparently Isaac Marion shares that with me). I enjoyed the writing style and the story is relatively short and quick to read. I read it in less than a day. I will say that the ending in the books is different from the movie in some ways, if you have seen it. Also, the boney's aren't as scary in the book as the movie. I've also just discovered that there is going to be a sequel, so I'll be looking out for that. Isaac Marion has a great writing style which I really enjoyed, so I have to check out more by him. I definitely recommend this one!

Review: The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze

The Last Princess

Author: Galaxy Craze

Publication Date: May 1st, 2012

Publisher: Poppy

Genre: Dystopia / Post Apocalyptic

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Synopsis:

A series of natural disasters has decimated the earth. Cut off from the rest of the world, England is a dark place. The sun rarely shines, food is scarce, and groups of criminals roam the woods, searching for prey. The people are growing restless. When a ruthless revolutionary sets out to overthrow the crown, he makes the royal family his first target. Blood is shed in Buckingham Palace, and only sixteen-year old Princess Eliza manages to escape. Determined to kill the man who destroyed her family, Eliza joins the enemy forces in disguise. She has nothing left to live for but revenge, until she meets someone who helps her remember how to hope-and love-once more.Now she must risk everything to ensure that she does not become... The Last Princess.

My Thoughts: Yes, I know, another dystopian. I seem to be on a roll with these, but they are just so good. The Last Princess is not an exception, I really enjoyed reading it. It is really well written and fairly quickly paced. This was my first introduction to Galaxy Craze's writing and I couldn't be more pleased. Also, look at that cover! It's just so pretty, I love the colours and how the girl on the cover is mostly a silhouette. 

The Last Princess is a post-apocalyptic world. There was seventeen days of natural disasters that basically destroyed the earth. Now England is cut off from the rest of the world, if they even survived, and most of the remaining population is starving. The woods are dangerous, full of cannibalistic Roamers, and the New Guard travels from town to town, pillaging and recruiting, forcefully. Eliza and the rest of the royal family are doing alright, but food is even running out for them. Then they throw a ball and their father, the King, is murdered. Eliza manages to escape, but her siblings, Mary and Jamie, are captured and imprisoned. The story revolves around Eliza and her determination to get vengeance for her family by killing their parent's murderer.  

I thought Eliza was a very strong character. She grows and changes a lot from the beginning of the book. Though things seem hopeless at times, she manages to continue on her way and overcome her hardships. She goes from being a princess who  has never known the sufferings of her people, such as starvation, to becoming a soldier and fighting for her families lives and the peoples freedom.  

There is a bit of romance in The Last Princess  but not really that much. I like that it doesn't really focus on romance. Although, there is a bit of shocking news about the love interest, Wesley.  

Overall, The Last Princess is a great post-apocalyptic that seems fairly realistic. Since it's natural disasters that cause this world. So that is a somewhat scary thought. It's a quick read and I was barely able to put it down. Definitely one to add to your TBR. I highly recommend this if you are a dystopian fan.

Thank you to Hatchette Book Group Canada for the review copy.

 

Review: The Raie'Chaelia by Melissa Douthit

The Raie'Chaelia

Author: Melissa Douthit

Publication Date: March 27th, 2011

Publisher: Lucky Bat Books

Genre: YA/Fantasy

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Synopsis:

When Chalice sets off for Branbury in the middle of the night with her grandfather's instructions, she has no idea of the dangers that await her. The King's men have destroyed her home village of Canton and she is suddenly thrown into a Terravailian world that she does not know. Lost and alone, she is hard pressed to evade the iron grasp of the madman who rules the land. With the help of a friendly Chinuk, an old man, and a book that she discovers along the way, not only does she find true friends and true love, but she also finds her true self and what it means to be the Raie'Chaelia.

My Thoughts:  If you are looking for a book that is different from the current trend of premises and is unique  in it's story line, characters, and world, then this is the book for you! It's not an edge of your seat thriller, but it does pack the perfect amount of suspense and compelling story-line to keep you turning the pages, as well as a perfect sprinkling of romance, which of course has it's own little twist.

The setting of the story is wonderfully unique one. The idea is very fascinating and creatives so much room for opportunity and further story development. I would describe it as a post-apocalyptic/medieval world.
A very long time ago, there was an ice age that affected, from my guess, us at our present time. This ice age forced what survivors there were to live underground for thousands of years. This caused all races and languages to merge into one. Then years later they felt a great shaking of the Earth, which caused areas of their underground area to collapse, dividing them into three groups. So, upon emerging, they had 3 different races, the Terravaillain, the Naeon, and the Lost Ones. They also discovered that they now had two moons, and the suns path had reversed. These people were left with little to no knowledge of what humans were like before the ice age. They are simply described as 'having a form of knowledge that aided them in survival and development', and as 'great thinkers'.

The main character in this story is a  teenage girl named Chalice. She lives with her Grandparents, without any real knowledge of who her parents were and what her past is. Her Grandfather had promised to tell her the details when the time was right, but now that their home village is under attack, and he is sending her away to protect her, it doesn't look like she will get to find out any time soon. She is a very gentle, sweet girl. I almost want to describe her as soft, although she really isn't soft, she is trained to fight and protect herself, which she can do very well!

Chalice carries a very significant birthmark on her shoulder that she has pondered the meaning of her whole life. While she was running from her village with a letter from her Grandfather she comes upon a creature called a Chinuk, which I could best describe as a big teddy bear, and he drops a curious book while running from her. Towards the end of this book is a poem, with her birthmark at the end of it. This poem happens to be a prophecy, and it speaks of her. The prophecy essentially says she is the one who will return the rightful king. Currently the world is ruled by a usurper, before him all were ruled by a great, kind king, who disapeared suddenly only to be replaced by this tyrant named Dar'maalda. With this shocking new piece of information, and the possibility to finally learn about her past she sets out to discover where this path leads. Making good friends, and great enemies along the way, and also discovering love, sadly, a love that may not be possible.

For the rest of the story we get to follow Chalice on her adventures; great and horrifying. Along the way she slowly discovers more and more about  herself, where she comes from, and who she is destined to be. The story itself is so wonderfully descriptive. Douthit creates amazingly vivid imagery, seemingly, with ease. She paints beautiful pictures in your mind that you are guaranteed to fall in love with. You will be picturing spectacular scenery, characters, and everything in-between that she has created for us in such a way that you feel you are right there, enveloped in her awesomely unique and breath-takingly beautiful world.

This is the first book of a trilogy, and I am very anxious to carry on to the second of the three!

I also wanted to add this little quote from the book that really stood out to me, and I think also is a great line to pull from the story to almost describe it's theme.

"Logic knew nothing of human emotion. It could not tell you anything about your heart."