This is the WARM BODIES ending we deserve.

We are ten thousand generations of humans and millions more of simpler things, a vast history of lives and experiences condensed like an ocean of oil, growing deeper and more refined with each new moment of beauty. We want to ignite. We want to be heat and light. After billions of years, we are running out of patience.

###

“What we had before is what burned the world down. I’m ready for a whole new everything.”

“Chairs on the ceiling,” Tomsen adds. “An otter for president.”

Gebre looks at us for a moment, then tosses up his hands and turns back to his husband. “Well. Okay.”

Gael erupts with laughter. “You’re out of touch with the youth, old man.”

“I might even agree with them,” Gebre says with a shrug, “but they’re hardly representative of the general population.”

“We might be someday,” Julie says. “Maybe sooner than you think.”

###

“No way around it, zombies are magic.”

###

WARM BODIES is a personal favorite of mine; if not in the top ten, then definitely the top twenty. (Hey, the likes of Margaret Atwood and Octavia Butler = stiff competition!) Until I met R. and Julie, never did I imagine that a book about the undead could be so beautiful and poetic. Romantic, even, and in a revolutionary, universal heartbeat kind of way.

THE BURNING WORLD proved a letdown (albeit a teeny tiny one), as Marion traded some of the ardor for action adventure; it felt almost like an intermission between the more important stuff. In all fairness, bridging the gap between the beginning and end of a trilogy is HARD, and the second book in the series is still filled with its share of beautiful, transformative moments. (I challenge you to find a more tragically exquisite scene than when Nora’s patient, Mrs. A, pulls herself from the pit of the plague, only to succumb to her injuries after enjoying a few brief moments of her newfound humanity.)

I’m not gonna lie: I was nervous as heck to read THE LIVING (especially right after the dumpster fire that was FURY, the series conclusion to another one of my faves, MENAGERIE).

Thankfully, THE LIVING is a harmonious marriage of the previous two books: it’s got the race-against-time action-adventure chops of THE BURNING WORLD, with all of the humor, heart, and humanity that made me fall head over heels for WARM BODIES.

THE LIVING picks up immediately after the events of The Burning World, as R., Julie, Nora, Marcus, and (Huntress!) Tomsen flee an imploding NYC. What ensues is a road trip across the United States – including an especially precarious and trippy (as in LSD) journey through the Midwaste – as they try to beat Axiom to Post; save their kids from being assimilated into Axiom’s military-industrial complex; continue to spread the Gleam to the Dead and Nearly Living; and confront their pasts.

For Julie, this means finding her Nearly Living mother before she dies a second time; for Nora, it means confronting – and perhaps forgiving – memories she’s tried long and hard to repress; and for R., it involves a trip to the basement, and bringing his crimes against humanity – as both the head of the Burners and the heir to the Atvist megacorp – to light. And they’re all chasing Tomsen’s white whale, BABL, hoping to bring it crashing down, thus opening the lines of communication to humanity.

One of the delights of THE LIVING is watching R. grow and evolve – and with it, his relationship with Julie. There’s this wonderful scene where Julie confesses that what first drew her to R. was his distinct lack of a background or baggage. He was a blank canvas on which she could project whatever she needed. Slowly, though, he has become full-fledged person – imperfections and all. R. didn’t have much of a choice when he devoured Perry; he was just following the plague’s biological imperative. But the towns that were consumed at his behest as a Burner, and the humans devoured by the machine that was Axiom? Those were R.’s doing. How could that young man grow into the monosyllabic zombie that Julie fell in love with? How can she reconcile the man she loves with the person he once was? How can he?

We also learn more about the nature of the plague; in general terms, it’s an allegory for the times we live in now, and one that’s perhaps more apt today than when the series began. The plague is forced unity and conformity; it is greed and pessimism. It is Axiom (Amazon, Blackwater, Purdue Pharma; Bethany Christian Services, CoreCivic, Wells Fargo): objectifying, tabulating, assimilating, corporatizing, mechanizing, consuming, regurgitating, and reassembling humans, nonhumans, and the natural world. It is apathy and stagnation; bigotry and tyranny. The only way through it? Love – and otter presidents.

The loveliest part of THE LIVING, far and away, is the Library: a subconscious, supernatural, subatomic collective consciousness. A vast, limitless record of everyone and everything that ever has been, and ever will be. Though it has a longstanding policy of steering clear of human affairs, the state of the world has become such that the Library can no longer bear silent witness. This burning world, so desolate yet still so full of potential, needs a nudge. A bit of wisdom. A tiny miracle.

And the so Library whispers, cajoles, and calls out to our protagonists. Well, the older ones; the younger ones, Joan and Alex and Sprout and Addis – they can flit in and out of the stacks at will. They are able to sip and guzzle from the Library’s incomprehensible stores of knowledge whenever they like. Perhaps they can even use this wisdom to bend the laws of reality. They are the next generation; our future.

I hope they don’t mind, but I’m going to pocket a small piece of the Library, and slip it into my own weird, godless magpie version of “religion, not quite a.” There it will rest on the shelves alongside Octavia E. Butlers’s PARABLESduology; Philip Pullman’s HIS DARK MATERIALS; Carl Sagan’s starstuff; Aaron Freeman’s essay, “You want a physicist to speak at your funeral”; and pieces of LIGHT FROM OTHER STARS and THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TIME TRAVEL, by Erika Swyler and Kate Mascarenhas, respectively, and among other things.

It’s strange and perhaps a bit confusing, but also as magnificent as all get out. Just roll with it and you’ll have an extraordinary time, I promise.

Also awesome and compelling and worth a mention: Nora’s reunion with Addis; Nora + Marcus; Tomsen vs. BABL; The Suggestible Universe; Paul Bark (sounds an awful lot like Paul Blart!); Gael + Gebre; random philosophical debates with strangers in dive bars; and the feeling you get when a ghost smiles at you.

Gleam on.

Thanks to the publishers for sharing this one. It's a fitting end to a brilliant series. My full review appears on Weekend Notes.

Such an eloquent and vastly thought provoking entry into the concept of what we think of as zombies. Very deep storyline that made me really have to think and I'm not even mad. At times heartbreaking, but what else is to be expected in a world where people are the minority and entities known as Nearlies and Mostlies are the majority? Not to mention Bonies. If you like Dystopian books, give this one a go!

Isaac Marion's use of storytelling is at it's full height in this stellar climax to his zombie romance. His ability to put this story to rest in a beautiful and thought-provoking way created a story that will persevere throughout generations and honestly, gave me more insight on what it means to truly be alive.

The Living picks up right where The Burning World ended, so I was glad that I had read them back to back. I was happy to discover that this last installment in the series was more hopeful and even more action-packed than its predecessor. It was like coming full circle. Someday I would like to reread all three and try to process it more slowly. I feel like there were levels to these books that I just didn't grasp because I was reading quickly to find out R and Julie's fate. I was sad to see them end, but satisfied with the way it all wrapped up.

It took me a while to review this title, as I hadn't read any of the previous books. Sad to say, that I am glad I hadn't until now.
I found this series a little odd, now I am the biggest fan of zombie stories, of pathogens, of viral warfare tales, but I found this series and this book hard to read.

R is starting to remember his life before becoming a zombie, and he wishes he didn't. Trying to redeem himself, he and Julie team up with their group of family and friends to fight the malevolent Axiom Group.
They leave New York with Tomsen, an unconventional journalist, driving a bright yellow RV named Barbara. They drive through the wastelands to return home , their mission to destroy the BABL jammer, created to choke free expression. They intend to open lines of communication across the country and help spread hope to what remains of the world.
A small band of determined individuals, trying to save humanity and stop the evil that R himself helped shape.
And once Julie finds out who he was, will she still love him?
An exciting conclusion to a brilliant series. A cast of characters that I felt like I knew personally and will be sorry to say goodbye to! A series I positively recommend.
Thank you to Zola Books and NetGalley for the free e-book in exchange for and honest review.

**Thank you to Net Galley and Smith Publicity for providing me with an ARC for an honest review**

In reading this book I feel I have broken a cardinal law that I established for myself when I took up the mantle Book Worm. I have to say that it’s not a pleasant feeling, but I think I’ll get past it once I start reading my next book. I read out of order!!! Dun-dun-dun!!!

The Living by Isaac Marion is the third book in the Warm Bodies series, the fourth book written in the Warm Bodies Universe. Again, this was a case of my not being aware that a movie was actually based off of a book prior to my viewing it. I really should just assume all movies come from books at this point until proven otherwise. It would help prevent awkward moments such as this in the future.

While I never read the first or second books, Warm Bodies and The Burning World respectively. Nor have I read the prequel novella, The New Hunger, and yet I managed to get my hands on the third and final novel in the series. Now, I had some concerns right from the jump, such as, would I understand what was going on? I mean, sure I had seen the film and loved it, but that was supposedly based on the first novel. Since then two other novels had been published. A lot can happen in two novels. There is no other way to say this except that I got lucky. Who knew that the first time I dare to read a series out of order that the author would provide a handy “previously on” reference guide in the book before the story even started. Isaac Marion, never change.

If you have read the series up until this point you might find my review a bit lacking with understanding. You see, despite Marion’s lovely summary of the previous books there were still things that I just could not grasp in this novel. Particularly some characters that I assume are key players in the second book.

So I will begin where this book begins, in an R.V. with R, Julie, Nora, Marcus, and the first character I don’t know, Huntress or Tomesen. We are also briefly introduced to Abram who is separated from the main group, but it seems to be a recent development as he literally passes the R.V. while riding a motorcycle down the same stretch of apocalyptic highway. It takes some run around of dialogue to finally conclude that they are in search of some children, but not just any children, R’s children.

I had to do a double take here. I was unaware that zombies could have children, but then of course I went through the whole thing of, “well technically he’s human again so I don’t know what the science is in regards to that process.” Then came the question of how much time has passed because these are not babies they are discussing, but like elementary school aged children. It was at this moment that I realized how much of mistake I had made in picking up a third novel in a series I had read nothing else of.

Things get cleared up though, as R explains through flashbacks and exposition that these are his adopted children. They were taken by the Axiom group (typical government like corporation that tries to take over the world post apocalypse, same-old same-old) along with another child named Sprout who is in fact Abram’s bio-child. We don’t get much in way of explanation as to why Abram has abandoned the group since they are seemingly out to fulfill the same goal. The only thing I could surmise is that Abram’s a dick who wants to do things alone. This inevitably causes problems later.

Throughout this long awkward road trip we start to understand both R and Marcus’ pasts, because apparently this is an issue that has not yet been dealt with. Let’s start with Marcus because he honestly is the easier of the two. When he was full zombie he killed Nora’s brother, this is a potential problem because Nora is now I guess his lover/girlfriend. It’s not super clear, but there are subtle hints at this. They find their way miraculously into Nora’s old neighborhood where she just happens to find her brother in their old house after…ten years…I think that’s what the character says. It’s here that she finally realizes who Marcus is and she straight up attacks him, leaves him for dead, takes her brother and runs.

This was bothersome as it felt like a cheap way to simply introduce the Fire Church, a group of religious fanatics that want to see the world burn instead of regain any sense of civilization. There are hints that the Fire Church and Axiom are working together – sort of – until now, because Axiom doesn’t trust the Fire Church, which is a good call because they want to burn them down. I mean that’s something they had to know when they first made this deal right? That’s like the Fire Church’s entire MO.

GOOD POINT: As convoluted as the story became in having both an evil corporation and an evil religious sector, I was kind of all in for it. It was like chaos coming in at all sides. This book really could have ended with everyone dying and would still have impressed me.

Now, back to R. His past includes both Axiom, as he is the grandson of it’s CEO, and the Fire Church as he was a co-founder. I couldn’t help but laugh at all this information. Like, R you are fucked no matter what you do. Understandably all he cares about is how his loved ones see him. Julie takes the information hard, as one would, but forgives him because this is a series about growth and being a better person. Or at least that is what I have surmised from my one reading of the third book in the series.

This is where things start to jump around and not make any logistical sense. We are at the Axiom compound called Post where everyone except Julie and R have been captured. Axiom has found a way to munch down the bones of the completely dead “bonies” in order to make a goop like substance to turn humans in to zombie-like slaves. Not much is explained as to why this is occurring. I mean as a reader you kind of just have to shrug and say, “Evil’s got to evil.”

A battle ensues between Axiom, what remains of the Fire Church, the bonies, and the rebels. It’s a hot mess when you think about it, but I give props to Marion for managing, for the most part, to keep it straight. I was a bit confused, but not enough that I couldn’t continue the story. So R has a bomb (don’t ask) and he plans to plant it in BABL (something I hope is explained in the second book) that runs the “news” being distributed across the country? World? Not really sure.

R was bit and then shot multiple times, so he lives. Abram was shot then bit, so he dies. (I think I figured that out finally) Axiom is seemingly destroyed and the Fire Church just kind of disbands, which is weird. There is some “after credits” scene where it’s implied that Julie is set up to be the next leader of the living, so fuck yeah!

(Actually Julie as a character was bothersome and if she’s the new leader the human race won’t last long. Don’t vote for Julie!)

GOOD POINT: I was waiting to mention the writing so I good gush as much as I possibly needed to. My god, this author can spin a word. There were times where I was confused as to what the story was doing, but I did not give a flying fuck because of how god damn gorgeous that prose was. Marion is so talented and I have no problem in admitting my obvious jealousy at his craft. Bravo to you good sir, you are something else. Honestly, I would recommend this book to everyone just to read his writing. I do hope he writes other things and to be honest I am so strongly tempted to go back and read the other books in the Warm Bodies universe just to experience that again.

BAD POINT: Your religious zealots were not nearly crazy enough.

4 Out of 5 Stars

My enjoyment of this book may have been lessened because I read The Burning World so long ago, and this is basically “part 2” of that story. That said, it kinda felt like I jumped in the middle of a narrative, but that’s expected! It just was hard to do! I recommend reading them back to back, definitely. Some of the concepts in this were a little too “out there” for what I usually go for, and one scene in particular was a little silly, but overall it acts as a solid conclusion to the series. Just... don’t go in expecting a big name reveal for R! I may have to reread The Burning World and The Living one day to truly appreciate them together! 4/5 Stars.

Everything comes to head in this fourth and final book in the series. Relationships are questioned, people are lost and found, old identities are discovered and new ones are forged.

I have to confess that I was considerably underwhelmed by the sequel, and I had serious problems with the writing style. Still, part of me hoped that this final book of the Warm Bodies series would be an improvement and a satisfying conclusion to R and Julie's story. Sadly it wasn't meant to be. The Living follows the same structure as the sequel and even intensifies the confusing writing style and structure as the end is coming near. Once again, I felt that the story in general lacks a proper plot and that both plot and characters were mostly all over the place and running into random trouble instead of following a coherent line. As for the writing style: especially the WE chapters were frustratingly confusing and there were too many jumps and switches between past, present and the different characters to make for a coherent story. I can forgive a zombie story not being scary and the humans being the bad guys for once. This is actually quite a refreshing angle. I can forgive the romance, especially since we are spared a love triangle. But between the writing, lack of proper plot and general feeling of confusement I can't say I had a great time reading The Living, and to be honest I was relieved when I finally reached the final page. I didn't find the ending particularly satisfying either... All in all not exactly a positive experience unfortunately.

This review will contain some spoilers so please consider avoiding reading it until after you've finished The Living! 

Some of the scenes are pure magic. The moment when Nora finds out M's secret, the whole episode in the church with R on stage, the big showdown regarding BABL and the very last scene of all were stunning. It's very difficult to talk about them all in detail, without giving some massive spoilers, but they made for a great read. In a way I wish there had been more scenes like the final one, as it's circularity was really something special. 

For me, the amount of chapters devoted to 'We' was a little frustrating at first. The characters I cared for most were all with Julie and R, so seeing the journey of other individuals mattered a little less to me. However, by the end of the novel, I found that the 'We' chapters were complementing the journeys of our main protagonists. The level of care and thought that was put into shaping the structure of this novel was impressive. I will be re-reading The Living in the future because of Isaac Marion's lyrical writing style. The prose sang and there were some really thoughtful comments on the nature of our lives and how tragedy shapes us. Learning more about 'The Library' was fascinating, especially in the latter half of the book. 

 In The Living some of the hard and fast rules established earlier in the series seemed to have been bent a little bit. Avoiding spoilers on this is tricky, so I'll just say that I'm referring to something that happens in the second half of the book which has a major impact on one of our characters. By the end of the novel I had a better sense of how this change in 'rules' came about, but perhaps the unpredictability of what happened is also a reminder of how things in life rarely follow a set path.

The world of Warm Bodies has expanded a lot since the first book and The Living shows this perfectly. I know this is the final book in the series but I do wonder whether there is room for more novellas like New Hunger expanding on the lives of some of the secondary characters. The author of the almanac is the person I'm thinking about most. The snippets we heard of Huntress' life were enough to make me want to read a lot more about her.

The Living is not only the conclusion of R's story but also a novel with lots of inbuilt commentary on our own changing world. A fascinating read and one I would recommend to all fans of Warm Bodies. 
I'm very grateful for the opportunity to read this final instalment in the Warm Bodies series through NetGalley -- thank you to NetGalley, Isaac Marion and Zola Books for the chance to read. The Living is published November 13th and is available online, as both a hardcover book and an e-book.