Hungry Hearts

Author(s): Gary McMahon

Publisher: Abaddon Books

Publication Date: 15 th November 2009

Name of Reviewer: Mark ‘Wally' Wall

Review: Hungry Hearts revolves around two sets of people; Sally and her husband, Rick and Daryl and his dying mother. The book starts with undertones of the film ‘Rec', with Rick's police unit checking out a disturbance within a block of flats. Everything quickly descends into chaos and it's discovered that they have been thrown into a situation where the dead are reanimating. The reanimation process is happening all across the country and Daryl sees this as his perfect opportunity to carry out his darkest desire: to kill Sally Nutman.

It's no big secret that he does so, as it's written on the back of the book. The only question is, will he be able to kill her again? What happens next, plays out as a good little game of cat and mouse between the newlyweds and Daryl, while it mixes a touch of the serial killer/crime genre with the horror/zombie genre to great effect. I didn't relate much to any of the characters, except for the old man (Stan) and his grand-daughter (Tabby), who Rick runs into halfway through the book. They are in a normal ‘scared' state of mind because of all the crazy zombies running about and except for being truly awestruck that my dreams had come true, is probably how I would feel about the situation too.

It's not that I didn't believe the other characters, it's more the fact that I have never come across them in my life. I'm sure there are policemen out there who have a stash of weapons hidden behind their wardrobe and I'm sure there are also psychos, like Daryl, who wish to slit the throat of anything with a heartbeat. The book did, however, bring up the eternal question of, “what would I have done in that situation?” It throws around a lot of interesting human behaviour and emotion issues and is essentially a love triangle story, with zombies chucked into the mix for good measure. Suspense is built up pretty well and flits between chapters for Rick's story and chapters for Daryl's story, leaving some cliff hangers between chapters, so it keeps you reading.

 

Zombie Fear Factor: 4 Brains Out of 5

The zombies in this are scary. Not scary enough to warrant 5 stars, but scary enough to be able to give you a nasty bite that could lead to gut munching! The only reason I didn't give it that one extra star of fear is that the characters seemed to be able to deal with and dispose of them quite easily. A quick bosh to the head or bullet through the skull does the trick, although it is hinted at that they can still carry on going with partial brain matter intact. To our main characters, the fear factor didn't seem to be there as much. The policeman has seen dead bodies before and is trained for unusual situations and the serial killer wants to see dead bodies, so he's in his element.

Zombie Behaviour: 5 Brains out of 5

Hungry Hearts contains both fast and slow zombies, depending on how long they've been dead. I like this idea, as it takes into account decomposition and even rigor mortis. If they've only just died, they come back as fast as a normal human, but a short while after will experience rigor mortis and slow down. Once those effects have worn off, they will speed up again, to slow down gradually as they rot. They want to eat human flesh and will keep trying to do so, even if it means they have to eat their own. They can't drive cars, or use weapons, but there are hints of recognition in their brains still. There are full chapters, which focus on Sally's thoughts as a zombie and in between “hungry” and “meat”, you can pick out a few words to do with her surroundings.

Zombie Threat: 3.5 Brains out of 5

Apart from at the beginning of the book, it doesn't really expand on what is happening with the rest of the world. It just focuses on the situations the five main characters run into. The zombie threat seems pretty huge when they're talking about it, but all of the characters seem to be able to get around places unscathed, or at least find easy enough ways to get out of sticky situations. It's as if it's not so much about the zombies, but about the obscure love triangle between Rick, Sally and Daryl. The main threat in this story is other people, who are just out to save themselves.

Gore Content: 5 Brains out of 5

The gore content isn't over the top, but what is there makes you squirm, as Gary McMahon is great at describing all the gross little details. Parts that stick with you include administering a dose of morphine with a needle in the eye, Daryl trying on parts of his first victim's face and a zombie eating his own guts, because it can't move to reach any fresh meat. It also gets under your skin when he's talking about how Daryl is getting off from torturing his mother and is great at describing what's going on inside the killer's head.

Overall Quality: 4 Brains out of 5

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of the genre, as it's easy enough to read and gives a good twist on the zombie genre, like the rest of the Tomes of the Dead series. The author uses lots of metaphors and similes, but I think this is a great way to convey some of the horror within the book. I do like his style of writing and can definitely see him going on to write some more successful horror books and even this one getting some more recognition with time. There are lots of references throughout the book. There are a few nods to Dawn of the Dead, like with Rick's inner monologue about zombies returning to the places they recognise from their previous life and relating it to consumerism.

As with a lot of the Tomes of the Dead series, I could definitely see this being turned into a film. The synopsis seems a little strange, but the way it plays out is quite cinematic, even with Daryl trying to think up titles of his own serial killer biopic. I did really enjoy this book and it's a great addition to the series, but I don't think it holds up as well as I, Zombie or The Words of their Roaring.

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