Author: Isaac Marion
Series: Warm Bodies #0.5
Date Started: May 27th 2013
Date Completed: May 30th 2013
Genres: Thriller, Dystopian, Action
Rating: Four stars
Review:
I enjoyed Warm Bodies, but I enjoyed this prequel more. I'm not sure whether that's because the story was focused on different people, or whether it was more maturely written or if I just liked the story more. But I definitely found this more interesting that the actual novel.
The New Hunger is the prequel to Warm Bodies, and sows the seeds of how protagonists Julie, Nora and R come into being the characters they are when the main novel begins. Set a few years earlier, each character starts off on their own and shows each individual journey and how their paths crossed over in a tragic set of events to join them together.
I can't remember whether Warm Bodies was written in the present text like this story (I think it might have been) but I did find the choice of style interesting. You don't find many books that let stories unfold as if they're happening as you read, and I still can't decide if I like the uniqueness or not.
Marion's writing style is very mature and I like the way he writes things not from a person's direct point of view, but still finds a way to represent their emotions and thoughts in the text.
Like I said before, I enjoyed this story more than the actual novel. I did like the actual novel, but I felt it was quite slow moving. The great thing about this novella is there's action almost all the time, and the story is clearly progressing at a steady pace throughout the chapters. The events were also a lot more exciting in my mind.
I was impressed that Marion was able to create a new story within the odd 160 pages (also an impressive amount of effort for a short novella) - whereas most short stories tend to struggle with creating an engaging plot. Since I already knew the main characters I had a vague idea of what happened to them before Warm Bodies, and I felt this did steal away the main climax for the book - although it was still very well presented and it did make me stop for a second to mourn that fictional tragedy.
Julie's character annoyed me a little bit in Warm Bodies - not enough to make me stop reading or hate her, just enough to make me frown every now and then. However, I feel this story made me understand her a little more, and in a way I almost wish I could have read this before the main book.
I suspected the zombie was R right from the beginning, although it did take a while for my theory to be proven. (I'm quite paranoid that I'm completely wrong now, but there you go.) I admit, his inclusion did make me wonder why none of the humans recognised him in the main book, but I'm sure logic can find a way around that.
Nora was my favourite character in Warm Bodies, so I was so relieved when I found out that The New Hunger included her a lot. I really liked her chapters - she's the most believable character in the story and I just generally enjoy her attitude and personality.
Addis is also adorable.
The pace was constantly continuous, which startled me a little since I found Warm Bodies lacking for speed in some places, and overdoing it in others. Overall, I definitely enjoyed this book, and I can see how Isaac Marion has learnt from his first novel. I hope the upcoming sequel to Warm Bodies will be even better.
I would recommend the book to anyone who likes dystopian and action thrillers. If you also like romance, you'd probably like Warm Bodies too. It doesn't matter which order you read these two stories in, although I think I would have preferred to read this first, so that I had some background knowledge for the main novel.
Image Source: http://cs417321.vk.me/v417321491/2b72/5qxmJsbG42A.jpg
I enjoyed Warm Bodies, but I enjoyed this prequel more. I'm not sure whether that's because the story was focused on different people, or whether it was more maturely written or if I just liked the story more. But I definitely found this more interesting that the actual novel.
The New Hunger is the prequel to Warm Bodies, and sows the seeds of how protagonists Julie, Nora and R come into being the characters they are when the main novel begins. Set a few years earlier, each character starts off on their own and shows each individual journey and how their paths crossed over in a tragic set of events to join them together.
I can't remember whether Warm Bodies was written in the present text like this story (I think it might have been) but I did find the choice of style interesting. You don't find many books that let stories unfold as if they're happening as you read, and I still can't decide if I like the uniqueness or not.
Marion's writing style is very mature and I like the way he writes things not from a person's direct point of view, but still finds a way to represent their emotions and thoughts in the text.
Like I said before, I enjoyed this story more than the actual novel. I did like the actual novel, but I felt it was quite slow moving. The great thing about this novella is there's action almost all the time, and the story is clearly progressing at a steady pace throughout the chapters. The events were also a lot more exciting in my mind.
I was impressed that Marion was able to create a new story within the odd 160 pages (also an impressive amount of effort for a short novella) - whereas most short stories tend to struggle with creating an engaging plot. Since I already knew the main characters I had a vague idea of what happened to them before Warm Bodies, and I felt this did steal away the main climax for the book - although it was still very well presented and it did make me stop for a second to mourn that fictional tragedy.
Julie's character annoyed me a little bit in Warm Bodies - not enough to make me stop reading or hate her, just enough to make me frown every now and then. However, I feel this story made me understand her a little more, and in a way I almost wish I could have read this before the main book.
I suspected the zombie was R right from the beginning, although it did take a while for my theory to be proven. (I'm quite paranoid that I'm completely wrong now, but there you go.) I admit, his inclusion did make me wonder why none of the humans recognised him in the main book, but I'm sure logic can find a way around that.
Nora was my favourite character in Warm Bodies, so I was so relieved when I found out that The New Hunger included her a lot. I really liked her chapters - she's the most believable character in the story and I just generally enjoy her attitude and personality.
Addis is also adorable.
The pace was constantly continuous, which startled me a little since I found Warm Bodies lacking for speed in some places, and overdoing it in others. Overall, I definitely enjoyed this book, and I can see how Isaac Marion has learnt from his first novel. I hope the upcoming sequel to Warm Bodies will be even better.
I would recommend the book to anyone who likes dystopian and action thrillers. If you also like romance, you'd probably like Warm Bodies too. It doesn't matter which order you read these two stories in, although I think I would have preferred to read this first, so that I had some background knowledge for the main novel.
Image Source: http://cs417321.vk.me/v417321491/2b72/5qxmJsbG42A.jpg
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