Tagged: shaun mason

Blackout by Mira Grant

(Cover picture courtesy of A Dribble of Ink.)

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, it’s this:

Things can always get worse.

Being the snarky, rather opinionated person I am, I am rarely lost for words.  But after reading Blackout,the last book in the Newsflesh trilogy, there’s only one thing to say.

Wow.

After that enormous cliffhanger at the end of Deadline, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Blackout and when I did, I wasn’t disappointed.  Funny, dark, suspenseful and full of plot twists, Blackout was no disappointment.  And it even had a satisfying, if not entirely happy, ending.  What else could I really ask for?

In Deadline, Mira Grant explains the Kellis-Amberlee virus itself so we can understand things like reservoir conditions and spontaneous remissions.  But in this last book, we find out pretty much everything about the virus, including why mosquitoes have suddenly become a vector.  As you have probably guessed, this new vector is manmade and Dr. Abbey has her hands full figuring out the structure of this new threat before time runs out.

One of the recurring themes throughout the trilogy is the importance of the truth, but this features even more prominently in Blackout.  Shaun, Becks, Alaric, Mahir and a character I won’t mention because it’s a spoiler have some very tough choices about whether the truth is really the best thing.  I had serious doubts about their resolve, especially near the end, but the team stays true to themselves.  Sadly, one of my favourite characters dies, but at least they go out in a blaze of glory protecting those they love.

And now, to lighten things up, here’s one of my favourite parts of the whole novel (Warning: language not suitable for younger readers):

“I, Shaun Phillip Mason, being of sound mind and body, do hereby swear to poke dead things with sticks, do stupid shit for your amusement and put it all on the internet where you can watch it over and over again.”  (Pg 4)

That pretty much sums up Mira Grant’s sense of humour, doesn’t it?

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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Deadline by Mira Grant

(Cover picture courtesy of Orbit Books.)

Shaun Mason is a man without a mission.  Not even running the news organization 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 CDC researcher fakes her own death and appears on his doorstep with a ravenous pack of zombies in tow, Shaun has a newfound interest in life.  Because she brings news—he may have put down the monster who attacked them, 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.

After Feed cured me of my irrational zombie fear, I decided to read the second book in the Newsflesh trilogy: Deadline.  I’m really glad I did because it builds on things hinted at in the first book very well.  If you don’t want to read any spoilers, I suggest you stop reading right now.

It’s been a year since Georgia died, but since Shaun talks to her in his head constantly, it feels like she’s a major character.  Shaun talks to her aloud and accepts that he is mentally ill because he doesn’t want to let go of his adoptive sister.  His point of view is very different from George’s because he’s more reckless and unsure of himself and what he’s doing.  I guess that’s a natural response to shooting your sister in the spinal column after she’s been injected with live Kellis-Amberlee.  Deadline follows Shaun’s quest for the truth and throughout the journey he has a lot of character development as each new, horrible revelation comes to light.

The focus of Deadline isn’t politics like it was in Feed.  Instead, it focuses a lot more on the Kellis-Amberlee virus itself.  The level of detail Mira Grant has put into her world-building is fantastic and, unlike a lot of zombie novels, she explains what causes people to turn into zombies.  Truly, this is science fiction at its finest because it has a fast-paced plot while paying attention to character development and world-building.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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Feed by Mira Grant

(Cover picture courtesy of Tansyrr.)

The year was 2014.  We had cured cancer.  We had beaten the common cold.  But in doing so we had 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, 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.

“Our story opens where countless stories have ended in the last twenty-six years: with an idiot—in this case, my brother Shaun—deciding it would be a good idea to go out and poke a zombie with a stick to see what happens.”

When a book starts out like this, you know it’s going to be good.  As many of my readers know, I have a serious fear of zombies that was triggered when I watched Dawn of the Dead at the age of eight.  I bought this book to cure myself of this irrational fear and I truly think Mira Grant’s biting wit (pardon the pun) and excellent characters have cured me.  Zombies don’t scare me any longer, so now I can get on with my review.

Feed is told mostly from the point of view of Georgia Mason—George for short—and she is an excellent narrator.  She is a three dimensional character that is brave, resourceful and protective of her reckless brother Shaun.  And unlike many female characters, she doesn’t fall in love through the course of the story.  In fact, there is no romance whatsoever for the main characters, which is definitely a refreshing change.

I would call Feed more of a political thriller with zombies than a zombie book with politics.  The political atmosphere in a post-Rising world is very different from what it is now, but it makes a lot of sense in the context.  There is much less active participation because of the fear of the Kellis-Amberlee virus infecting you.  And of course the reclamation of zombie-infested lands like Alaska and parts of California is the hot-button issue of the day.  As George and Shaun uncover a conspiracy while on the campaign trail with Senator Ryman, the plot moves along even more quickly than before toward its tragic ending.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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