Warm Bodies

Plot

In a post-apocalyptic future, a male zombie in early stages of decay lives in a community of the dead at an abandoned airport near a city. He cannot remember his name and calls himself 'R'. Zombies hunt the living to eat their brains, reliving the memories and feelings of their prey. Zombies whose flesh has fully decayed are 'Boneys', acting as pack leaders to 'Fleshies', who retain traces of human behavior out of habit.

R, a Fleshy, dislikes eating human flesh, can form several coherent syllables, and collects objects in his home, a Boeing 747 airliner. During a hunt, R feeds on the brain of a young man named Perry and experiences his memories, seeing Perry's girlfriend Julie. R saves Julie, disguises her scent with zombie blood, and hides her in the 747. He gains her trust, feeds her from the airport restaurant, and entertains her with his treasures.

Julie teaches R to drive a car he started. R feels guilt over killing Perry but continues eating Perry's brain, experiencing many of his memories.

Related books

Isaac Marion released a prequel novella for Warm Bodies called The New Hunger on January 28, 2013, through Zola Books. Library Journal complimented its writing, and Cinema Blend gave a mostly favorable review, calling it more of an addition to the main story than a standalone work. Marion first mentioned a sequel on his blog in October 2012. Three years later, he said the project had expanded into two books, bringing the series to four total. The first of these, The Burning World, came out on February 7, 2017. Marion self-published a limited edition of the final book, The Living, on November 13, 2018.

Adaptations

A feature film adaptation starring Nicholas Hoult as R, written and directed by Jonathan Levine, was released in February 2013. The film also starred Teresa Palmer as Julie Grigio, Rob Corddry as M, and John Malkovich as General Grigio, with other principal cast including Dave Franco, Analeigh Tipton, and Cory Hardrict. In the film, Julie's father is not killed, and a city barred with walls replaces a stadium as the humans' primary residence. The official movie poster showing R giving Julie flowers is not in the movie but occurred in the novel. In May 2019, a Warm Bodies television series adaptation was announced to be in development, produced by Lionsgate.