‘Hungry Hearts’ – Gary McMahon (Abaddon Books)

One of the things that I love about Abaddon Books is their ‘It could have almost been designed with me in mind ‘Tomes of the Dead’ series of zombie books. I’ll be the first to admit that the quality can vary. For every ‘Tide of Souls’ or ‘I, Zombie’ there is an ‘Anno Mortis’ or ‘Death Hulk’... For anyone looking for a regular fix of zombie fiction though I don’t think you can go too far wrong with what’s on offer here.
I’m always excited when books come through the door but I was even more excited when a copy of ‘Hungry Hearts’ (due for a November release) turned up. ‘Tide of Souls’ was a definite step in the right direction, for the ‘Tomes of the Dead’ line, and I was eager to see if ‘Hungry Hearts’ kept things going in the same manner. It did...

When the undead rise up in the city of Leeds, rookie policeman Rick Nutman is more interested in getting home to his new wife than he is in upholding the law in a city gone mad. It’s a real shame then that someone else got there first... Daryl has always wanted to be a serial killer and now he has the perfect opportunity to get started... on Rick’s wife.
A zombie invasion is a time for new beginnings and second chances. When Rick’s wife returns as a zombie his immediate thoughts are to go looking for an elusive cure that might not be anything more than a rumour. When Rick’s wife returns as a zombie, Daryl has a chance to gain the immortality that he craves. Daryl is looking to become the only serial killer to kill the same person twice.
The chase for answers, and satisfaction, is on...

The best zombie fiction isn’t about the zombies themselves as it is the journey of survivors, through this new landscape, and how they adapt. ‘Hungry Hearts’ takes to this approach whole heartedly, not only charting the character’s physical progress but also charting their progress across a gradually deteriorating mental landscape. It’s interesting to not the contrast here, while Nick sinks lower and lower into despair Daryl seizes the moment and rides a wave of manic energy while everything disintegrates around him. The resolutions for each character don’t come as too much of a surprise but do not lack in intensity or horror (we also get a zombie’s perspective, from Rick’s wife, and this is where the real twist lies...) Not only are these hard times but our ‘heroes’ are evolving in new and unexpected ways to deal with them. As a result, ‘Hungry Hearts’ is not a book for the squeamish or easily shocked! Whilst Daryl is a fairly run of the mill serial killer (the real shocks coming from the torture of his mother); Rick has the best character exploration, not surprising seeing as he is still trying to maintain a relationship with his zombie wife! McMahon explores what this actually means, in all practicality, and also draws a fine picture of a man clinging on to his love (bordering on obsession) while slowly breaking down. Again, be warned as McMahon translates all aspects of a normal relationship across to this zombie setting (definitely not for the squeamish!). While he doesn’t go the whole way, the fact that it could have done illustrates perfectly the pressure that Rick is under...

Stepping back from the character studies... McMahon sets his story against a horrifying backdrop of the dead returning from the grave. Humans still have the capacity for most evil but McMahon doesn’t pull any punches when describing the undead onslaught! Civilisation is crumbling and the nervous energy this generates in the characters drives the story along at a tremendous rate. It’s very easy to keep the pages turning here!
Even when the initial terror dies down, we are still left with a group of people struggling to survive and this creates pressures of its own which keeps things moving nicely.

The only thing I wasn’t too sure about were the nods to ‘Dawn of the Dead’ and ‘Day of the Dead’ at the beginning and end of the book. I’m all for a bit of homage but if it’s laid on too thick then it detracts from the story itself. The beginning sequence in particular came across as a ‘nod’ so emphatically that I found myself having to work hard to get back into the story after that realisation. I was looking for more hints and that meant I wasn’t reading the book for the story itself...

Any niggles, such as these, are very minor ones though. ‘Hungry Hearts’ is another strong addition to the ‘Tomes of the Dead’ line and well worth any zombie fan’s time...

Nine and a Quarter out of Ten