Blackout - Book Review

Hello

안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

BLACKOUT is the 3rd and final instalment in the Newsflesh series written by Mira Grant.

The book was published by Orbit Books on the 1st of June 2012.

Before the release of BLACKOUT, Mira Grant released FED, an alternate ending to the first instalment of the Newsflesh novel FEED.

BLACKOUT is set several decades after  the zombie apocalypse, the Rising. Kellis-Amberlee is a normally beneficial virus that, on the death of any host mammal over 40 pounds (18kg), "goes live" or "amplifies", and turns them into a zombie. Most humans reside in controlled zones, and blogs are now the primary source of news and entertainment.

The novel is written from the perspective of Georgia and Shaun Mason, siblings and blogger-reporters.

THE WORLD DIDN'T END WHEN THE ZOMBIES CAME.

WE JUST WISHED IT HAD.

The conspiracy that rules post-zombie America is alive and well. The same can't be said of the bloggers who dared to tell the truth as they found it. Now, with too much left to do and not much time left to do it in, Shaun Mason and his team must face mad scientists, zombie bears and rogue government agencies - and if there's one thing they know is true in post-zombie America is this:

Things can only get worse.

This book takes it's twists and turns and I remember being shocked by what unfolded within the novel. Even the second time round with knowing what was going to happen, I found myself holding my breath anticipating what was to come.

I think no matter how many times I read this book, there will be a rollercoaster of emotions, I know many people were left feeling weird by the end of this book, but I always keep an open mind and part of me was expecting it. Especially when you think about the actions and what was said in the first book.

As with the other 2 books, it's really well written, there is plenty of character growth and I think it concluded the story perfectly. I wasn't left feeling that I needed more to know what happened to characters, they all had the perfect closure to their story.

Mira Grant Novels

Newsflesh:

FEED

DEADLINE

BLACKOUT

Parasitology:

PARASITE

SYMBIONT

CHIMERA

Into the Drowning Deep

Alien: Echo

Canto Bight

Final Girls

Kingdom of Needle and Bone

In the Shadow of Spindrift House

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye

DEADLINE - Book Review

Hello

안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

DEADLINE is the second book in the Newsflesh series written by Mira Grant.

The book was published by Orbit Books and it was published in May 2011.

Mira Grant's interests in horror movies and virology inspired her to write the book, but she struggled with the plot until a friend suggested using an election as a framing device.

The novel has been praised for it's detailed worldbuilding, including the characters' awareness of previous zombie fiction - an element Grant found lacking in most horror works.

Without the framing device of a Unites States Presidential Election to use as in FEED. Grant chose to focus more on the zombie virus itself; how a lab-engineered virus developed and evolved, and how humans were responding to it, on both societal and biological levels. Grant also wanted to address the long term-impact of a zombie apocalypse on society and the associated psychological ramifications.

Other themes covered in the novel include medical ethics and human responsibility.

DEADLINE was originally to be titled Blackout, but was changed shortly before publication to avoid confusion with Connie Willis' Novel Blackout, which was published a year earlier in 2010.

Blackout was instead used for the 3rd instalment of the Newsflesh series.

The book was compared favourably with Max Brooks' World War Z that was released in 2006.

DEADLINE was also nominated for the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

SPOILER ALERT

Set after a zombie apocalypse and written from the perspective of blog journalist Shaun Mason, DEADLINE delves deeper into the conspiracy unveiled during the events of FEED, while depicting Shaun's attempts to deal with the loss of his sister Georgia.

DEADLINE delves more into the origins of the zombie-causing virus, and how humanity is responding to it on a societal, biological, and psychological levels.

NOTHING STAYS BURRIED FOR LONG...

Shaun Mason is a man without a mission. Not even running the news organisation he built with his sister has the same urgency as it used to. Playing with dead things just doesn't seem as fun when you've lost as much as he has.

But when a researcher from the Centre for Disease Control fakes her own death and appears on his doorstep with a ravenous pack of zombies in tow, Shaun's relieved to find a new purpose in life. Because she brings news: the monster who attacked them may be destroyed, but the conspiracy is far from dead.

Now, Shaun hits the road to find what truth can be found at the end of a shotgun.

The emotions I felt reading this book, I remember when I originally read this book series, it took me a while to get stuck into this one, because of how the first book ended. I was heartbroken, and even with the 2nd time round, I went into this book with the same feelings of heartbreak. Which I think makes this book so much harder to read, as you're feeling everything right along with Shaun. You really witness his spiral into madness, as well as seeing him fight to reach his goal of getting revenge for Georgia.

We get to meet more characters, as well as getting to know more about characters we met briefly in the first book.

Yet again there are times when my heart sunk, even reading it for the second time. I don't think I'll ever get over reading this series, no matter how many times I'll read these books, they'll always make me feel the same way, they'll still leave me shocked and crying.

I will continue to recommend each of these books, as they show not only different views from the characters, but they show you what life could be like because of a zombie outbreak.

'Gripping, thrilling and brutal' - Publishes Weekly

'A truly Shocking ending' - Daily Telegraph

'The zombie novel Robert. A Heinlein might have written' - Sci-Fi Magazine

Mira Grant Novels

Newsflesh:

FEED

DEADLINE

BLACKOUT

Parasitology:

PARASITE

SYMBIONT

CHIMERA

Into the Drowning Deep

Alien: Echo

Canto Bight

Final Girls

Kingdom of Needle and Bone

In the Shadow of Spindrift House

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye

FEED - Book Review

Hello

안녕하세요

(Annyeonghaseyo)

こんにちは

(Konnichiwa)

你好

(Ni Hao)

FEED is the first book in the Newsflesh series by Mira Grant.

The book was published by Orbit Books and it was published in 2010.

Mira Grant's interests in horror movies and virology inspired her to write the book, but she struggled with the plot until a friend suggested using an election as a framing device.

The novel has been praised for it's detailed worldbuilding, including the characters' awareness of previous zombie fiction - an element Grant found lacking in most horror works.

FEED came 2nd in the 2011 Hugo Award for Best Novel category.

FEED is set during the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse and written from the perspective of blog journalist Georgia Mason, FEED follows Georgia and her news team as they follow the presidential campaign of Republican Senator Peter Ryman. A series of deadly incidents leads Georgia and her brother Shaun to discover efforts to undermine the campaign, linked to a larger conspiracy involving the undead.

'ALIVE OR DEAD, THE TRUTH WON'T REST.

MY NAME IS GEORGIA MASON, AND I AM BEGGING YOU, RISE UP WHILE YOU CAN'

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had cured the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds, with one unstoppable command: FEED.

Now, twenty years after the Rising, bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives - the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will out, even if it kills them.

I think no matter how many times I read FEED, I'll always struggle to put it down, which to me is a sign of a good author. Mira Grant blew me away with this book and it's definitely one of my favourite books, as well as one of my favourite book series'. I love that it's told from Georgia's point of view and I love that she goes into the ins and outs of blogging after the Rising as well as the different roles each of her teammates play within their site.

Throughout the book we're taken on twists and turns, which still bring me to tears, give me that lump in my throat, has me holding my breath and keeping me on the edge of my seat, you're definitely taken on an emotional rollercoaster throughout the book.

I remember the first time I read this book, I had to have a moment to myself because I was in shock from the ending, I don't think a book has ever affected me in a way that I needed to have a moment to get over the ending, and even the 2nd time round, I still struggled to hold back the tears.

I've recently read that there is an alternate ending to this book, and I can honestly say that while the alternate ending would have been sad and heart breaking, I think this one, really pulls at the heartstrings as you've come to love each one of the characters, I also think throughout the book that you're friends and family with each of the characters too. For me while traumatising, it's the perfect ending for the first book.

I honestly can't put into words how amazing this book is, all I can do is recommend it, and hope you're just as hooked as I was and still am. I can only hope that one day there will be a series adaptation or even a movie series. I personally think this book and series work adapt really well to the screen, especially if Mira Grant is behind the wheel.

I can't wait to get back into the series with the 2nd and 3rd book and relive it all again, and I don't know what you're waiting for, go read it yourself and enjoy the ride.

'A truly shocking ending' - Daily Telegraph

'The zombie novel Robert. A Heinlein might have written' - Sci-Fi Magazine

Mira Grant Novels

Newsflesh:

FEED

DEADLINE

BLACKOUT

Parasitology:

PARASITE

SYMBIONT

CHIMERA

Into the Drowning Deep

Alien: Echo

Canto Bight

Final Girls

Kingdom of Needle and Bone

In the Shadow of Spindrift House

See you soon!

안녕

(Annyeong)

さようなら

(Sayonara)

再见

(ZaiJian)

Bye