140 pages
Review by Hereward L.M. Proops
Zombies, eh? They're getting everywhere these days. It
seems you can't even step out of your front door without stumbling over yet
another shambling horde of the undead. Movies, comics, video games all seem to
be full of the flesh-hungry ghouls and even if the product being sold isn't
strictly zombie apocalypse-themed, the addition of at least a few zombies is
virtually guaranteed to shift a few more units. The question is: are we
reaching our zombie saturation point? Is our over-familiarity with the necrotic
creatures going to remove any sense of dread and terror that we once felt for
them?
There was a bit of a scramble for this one when it
arrived on the submissions desk at Booksquawk HQ. I'd read Isaac Marion's
rather brilliant zombie romance “Warm Bodies” and had wanted to review it but
was pipped to the post by Paul Fenton (who also enjoyed it thoroughly). When
Zola Books contacted us to let us know that they would be publishing Isaac
Marion's prequel to “Warm Bodies” on the 28th of January, Fenton immediately offered
up his services once more. A burning rage took hold of me. Why should Fenton
get all the tasty zombie fun whilst I am served up plate after plate of
lukewarm Killer Crab crap?
I sprang into action, opening the gate to the deer
enclosure and freeing the thirty or so red deer we keep in case of just such an
emergency. The deer tore out of the building and into the nearby park. Fenton
couldn't control himself. With a triumphant howl, he dropped to all fours and
set off in pursuit. Pat Black, hitherto firmly ensconced in his mouldering
armchair in the corner of the office gave up toying with the idea of finally
releasing “Snarl” on Kindle, leapt to his feet and began to follow. “Fenton!”
he yelled as he watched the strange chase vanish into the distance, “Fenton!
Jesus Christ!”
With Black and Fenton out of the way, my chance had
come.
“I'll do it!” I yelled, perhaps somewhat louder than
was necessary.
Disturbed by the noise, Bill Kirton's rheumy eyes
snapped open. He lifted his head from the chaise lounge to glance about the
room, muttered something about young people these days before slipping back into
a deep curmudgeonly slumber.
“I'll
do it,” I said once more.
Melissa
Conway looked down at me from behind her enormous gold desk. There was pity in
her eyes. She could see how much I wanted this.
“What
about Nash?” she asked, inclining her head towards the obsidian sarcophagus
that stood by the water cooler.
A
muffled voice could be heard from within the jet black coffin, telling us all
to bugger off.
“Nash
doesn't want this one,” I helpfully translated.
“Very
well,” Conway sighed. “Just don't piss around with it. Stick to the facts.”
“Of
course,” I replied, flexing my enormous biceps.
Perhaps
now you see how much I wanted to review this book. Isaac Marion's first novel
took the tried-and-tested concept of a zombie apocalypse and ran with it in a
totally unexpected direction. A zombie love story? It shouldn't have worked but
it did. The film rights were sold and the movie (by the same company that brought
us the Twilight franchise) came out last week. In one swift movement, Isaac
Marion became the contender for Max Brooks' crown of King of Zombie Novelists.
After Brooks' last effort, the hugely disappointing “Closure Limited”, Marion's
ascent to the throne seems increasingly likely, especially when you've read “The
New Hunger”.
In
a genre that is getting alarmingly over-crowded, it can't be easy to make a
name for yourself, but Isaac Marion seems to have achieved this. As with “Warm
Bodies”, the real strength of “The New Hunger” is not in the author's use of
gore or shock tactics but in warm, believable characterisation. Marion
understands what so many horror writers don't... if the reader doesn't connect
with the protagonist, then they don't care when they are in mortal danger.
Sure, it's always entertaining to read about someone being eaten alive by a
swarm of decaying zombies (at least I find it entertaining), but when the
person being eaten alive is someone that the reader actually cares about,
that's when the author starts being able to push those emotional buttons that
help transform pulp horror into genuinely great fiction. “The New Hunger” is a
great example of this. There are no scenes of graphic violence, bloodshed or zombies
tearing people apart for the majority of the novel. Sure, the book has zombies
in it and their presence is a constant threat to the main characters but Marion
wisely avoids the splatter, instead concentrating on developing his cast of
unlikely heroes.
As
a prequel, “The New Hunger” does a nice job of (re)introducing the characters
from “Warm Bodies” and filling in a little bit of detail about their past.
Interestingly, we aren't told how the zombie apocalypse began. We're given a
hint that the world went to shit through a wave of wars, economic collapses and
natural disasters. To top it all, just when things couldn't seem to get any
worse, the dead started getting up and walking around. This lack of explanation
might irritate a few readers who expect this novella to detail how it all began
but it worked well for me. Non-specific zombie outbreak always seems that
little bit more unsettling than one induced by a chemical spill or radiation
from a falling satellite. Like the characters in the story, we don't know how
it happened nor do we know how it will end and this sense of uncertainty really
adds to the gloomy atmosphere. As I said before, this isn't really about the
zombie apocalypse – it's about people and how they struggle to make sense of it
all.
The
story has three separate strands that (briefly) come together at the end.
Firstly, there's the story of “the tall man” as he wakes up to his new un-life
as a zombie. We're with him as he takes his first tentative, shambling steps.
We're there when he experiences his first pangs of hunger for human flesh. And
you know what? It's beautiful. Some of the best writing in the book details the
zombie's confusion and bewilderment as he explores the world around him. He
might well be a monster but Marion enables us to see the world through his eyes
and empathise with his situation. The zombie, though hungry for warm human
flesh, still clings to the last vestiges of his humanity that are buried deep
within his subconscious mind. By the end of the story, we learn that the zombie
is R, the hero of “Warm Bodies”... this doesn't really come as much of a huge
revelation to those who have been paying close attention but it is nice to see
how Marion has interwoven R's story with that of the other protagonists in the
novel.
We
meet Julie, R's love interest from “Warm Bodies” when she is a twelve year old
girl on the run with her parents. Julie clings to the memories of her life
before civilisation turned to chaos but we see her optimism being gradually
eroded by the horrific things she witnesses. Her father has not yet become the
complete tool he is in “Warm Bodies” but is definitely on the way there.
Julie's mother acts as a buffer between the two but the cracks are already
beginning to show in the family unit.
The
final strand of the story follows Nora (who is Julie's best friend and
confidante in “Warm Bodies”) and her six year old brother Addis. Abandoned by
their junkie parents, sixteen year old Nora is shunted into the role of parent
and guardian for her kid brother. She's doing a pretty good job considering the
circumstances. Nora tries, as much as possible, to shield her young brother
from the true horror of their predicament. Unfortunately for her, Addis is at
the age where he doesn't miss a thing. The loving but occasionally fraught
relationship between brother and sister is handled extremely well and is
undoubtedly one of the book's strongest points. Those emotional buttons I
mentioned earlier? This is one of them and Marion chooses just the right moment
in the narrative to start hammering on it.
Accessible,
engaging and heartfelt, “The New Hunger” is a cracking read. Being a novella,
it can comfortably be read in one sitting but I'd recommend taking a bit more
time to savour it. Fans of “Warm Bodies” are going to lap this up. Though not
as witty as Marion's debut novel, “The New Hunger” displays the same great
depth of character and sensitivity. Even those who are unfamiliar with the
author's previous work will find much to enjoy in it. This is zombie fiction
with both a brain and a great big heart. Although I still worry that we might
be nearing the zombie saturation point, Isaac Marion has proven that, for the
time being, there is still some life left in the genre.
Hereward L.M. Proops
No comments:
Post a Comment