Thursday

Feed by Mira Grant

Title:   Feed
Author:  Mira Grant
Pages: 608
Genre: Horror
Source:  Netgalley 
In 2014, two experimental viruses—a genetically engineered flu strain designed by Dr. Alexander Kellis, intended to act as a cure for the common cold, and a cancer-killing strain of Marburg, known as "Marburg Amberlee"—escaped the lab and combined to form a single airborne pathogen that swept around the world in a matter of days. It cured cancer. It stopped a thousand cold and flu viruses in their tracks.

It raised the dead.

Millions died in the chaos that followed. The summer of 2014 was dubbed "The Rising," and only the lessons learned from a thousand zombie movies allowed mankind to survive. Even then, the world was changed forever. The mainstream media fell, Internet news acquired an undeniable new legitimacy, and the CDC rose to a new level of power.

Set twenty years after the Rising, the Newsflesh trilogy follows a team of bloggers, led by Georgia and Shaun Mason, as they search for the brutal truths behind the infection. Danger, deceit, and betrayal lurk around every corner, as does the hardest question of them all:

When will you rise?  [via GoodReads]
Mira Grant (a pseudonym for Seanan McGuire) has written about two of my favorite things... blogging and zombies.  Put them together and you have a winner - at least with me.  In Feed, Bloggers are seen almost as heroes.  If it weren't for them and their blog posts humanity would have had a lot more casualties during "The Rising".  Thanks to their posts giving pointers on how to kill a zombie humanity survived.  


It's been 20 years since the initial "Rising" and, bloggers/sister and brother team, Georgia and Shawn Mason along with their sidekick and all-knowing technological guru Buffy, have been selected to follow Senator Ryman throughout his presidential campaign.  As part of the Senator's press team, their mission is to bring the truth to the people.  To those people who remain indoors most of the time (obviously as part of their survival tactics), to see and learn of the man that may one day be their President.   They were hoping that their honest reporting might get them new followers and increase their blog ratings... they were definitely not thinking that their lives might be in danger - zombies being the least of their problems.

This book was excellent!  At a little over 600 pages it was a little intimidating at first and although it did have a slow start (there was a lot of explaining taking place in the beginning) about 100 or so pages in when conspiracies start flying, it really picks up.  I had a tough time putting it down actually.  I must confess that what initially made me want to read the book were the zombies, but I found that I was more captivated by the characters - Georgia, Shawn, Buffy, their blogs, the Senator, his campaign and the iminent danger caused by humans than I was by the actual brain munchers.

Told mostly in the first person through Georgia Mason's perspective and scattered blog entries (including Shawn and  Buffy's) you get a full scope of what's going through each of their minds.  Using these methods you are really able to connect with these characters.  Ms. Grant has a sense of humor since you can see it shine brightly in her characters.  You can also tell she did her research since there are a lot of pop culture references, George Romero idolizing... I'm sure many zombie flicks were watched in the making.

Now if you're looking for a zombie book full of blood and guts... this is definitely not the one.  The zombies are more like background noise.  You know they are there, you are even scared of what you might find just around the next corner, but they are not at the forefront of the story.  This story is about the characters, about a world that was changed by this zombie epidemic, a world left scarred but that survived nonetheless.  

I loved it!  There was action, adventure, betrayal,  political intrigue, even weapons of mass destruction... and through it all the possibility of becoming a zombie's main dish.  Needless to say, I have no complaints about this one.  I've been ranting and raving to anyone that will stop and listen.  So yes, read it!


My Rating:

16 comments:

Melissa (i swim for oceans) said...

Ok. I have a thing for zombies. Seriously. I'm sold on this one for sure! Fabulous review! :)

Anonymous said...

I have never heard of this, but it sounds absolutely fantastic! I have read very few zombie books and I can really see myself enjoying this one!

Great review!

Mary (Bookfan) said...

Wow, fantastic review, Nely!!

Cindy said...

This sounds really good and your review makes me want to read it NOW :)

Katie said...

I loved this book myself. It was one of the best things I read in 2011.

Anonymous said...

WOW- does Nely have a thing for zombies this year..?

lol- I need to start my z-challenge ASAP.

Nely said...

@Tina - Oh yes, I've been in a zombie mood these past few months. I'm trying to keep it down to 1-2 books a month though :)

Mrs. DeRaps said...

Wow! Five hearts! I'll have to keep this on my wishlist. Maybe I'll try it in audio? Hm. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the excellent review!

Rebecca Rasmussen said...

Ok, zombies are not normally my thing, but you have pushed me over the edge with this rave review. I will give the zombies another try! XO

Blood Rose Books said...

I Loved Loved this Book. It is what turned me to the Zombie genre. It was the first Zombie book that I read and I think it is still the best one that I have read. Glad you liked this too. I think everyone should read this book even if Zombies are not part of your normal reading experiences.

Cheers!!!

http://j9books.blogspot.com/

Kailana said...

Glad you enjoyed this. I looked at this book on NetGalley and thought it looked good. I will have to try and read it when it comes out.

Unknown said...

Great review!!! I have this one on my shelves and I love her work as Seanan McGuire!

I was afraid it was all Zombies Bloods and guts... glad to know its not =)))

Tara said...

Wow over 600 pages? It sounds like a really interesting story though so I bet it just flew by. Great review!

TheBookAddictedGirl said...

This looks amazing! It's on my Wishlist now.
Brilliant review!

vivi said...

Nice post of your blog, my friend. I like it very much. Keep posting, thanks

Katie said...

This is one of those books that I've always wanted to read but keep skipping over...well no more! I've got to read this. Great review!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
 
Blog designed by Dreamy Blog Designs using Cré@Bisontines I'm Yours Kit