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Feed by Mira Grant

Source: Book Expo America
Audiobook, 15+
On Amazon and on Kobo

Feed (Newsflesh #1) by Mira Grant (a pseudonym for Seanan McGuire), read by Paula Christensen and Jesse Bernstein, is a post-apocalyptic world in which the traditional news is no longer trusted and zombies have taken over the world, just after humanity created a cure for cancer and the common cold in 2014.  Bloggers Georgia Mason, Shaun Mason, Georgette “Buffy” Meissonier, and Richard Cousins run a semi-popular blog that reports the news about zombies and politics, with Georgia considered a newsy, Shaun an Irwin or zombie poker, and Georgette handling the fictional stories/poems and tech behind the blog, After the End Times.  When they are selected to follow the campaign of Republican senator Peter Ryman, who is running for the presidential nomination in 2040, the blog skyrockets to the top of the feed as the campaign trail is wrought with danger from zombie herds and more.  Once Ryman gains the nomination and selects Texas Gov. Tate as a running mate to balance the ticket, Richard Cousins joins the team as another newsy.

I never asked to be a hero. No one ever gave me the option to say I didn’t want to, that I was sorry, but that they had the wrong girl.

Grant’s zombie book is horrifying, but funny, as Shaun and Georgia banter back and forth as only siblings can.  Virology and the source of the virus that causes the zombies is well explained, as is how it is transmitted, but at no point is any of this information presented in a dry or uninteresting way.  The addition of blog posts from the bloggers is a nice touch as well.  However, there were points while listening that some information about the transmission of the virus is repeated throughout the book and probably could have been cut out, particularly the bit about mammals under 40 pounds not turning into zombies like animals of larger sizes.  The audio is well done, and the characters are easily discerned from one another.  The narrators did a great job making the emotions of the characters tangible.

Feed (Newsflesh #1) by Mira Grant, read by Paula Christensen and Jesse Bernstein is a journey into a world dominated by corrupt government, news, and zombies.  This is a tension-filled, thrilling novel that presents a believable world in which zombies exist and are mostly contained.  The political machinations mirror those of today’s society, as is the government protocols that constrain movement of humans through infected areas.  Grant meshes the horror of zombie apocalypses, blogging, news, and politics very well, and there are nods to previous zombie fiction and movies, which are viewed as helpful to the society’s reaction to the infection.  Blood, death, and tragedy are expected, but the ending could surprise some readers, though as it is a trilogy, it should be anticipated.

About the Author:

Born and raised in Northern California, Mira Grant has made a lifelong study of horror movies, horrible viruses, and the inevitable threat of the living dead. In college, she was voted Most Likely to Summon Something Horrible in the Cornfield, and was a founding member of the Horror Movie Sleep-Away Survival Camp, where her record for time survived in the Swamp Cannibals scenario remains unchallenged.

Mira lives in a crumbling farmhouse with an assortment of cats, horror movies, comics, and books about horrible diseases. When not writing, she splits her time between travel, auditing college virology courses, and watching more horror movies than is strictly good for you. Favorite vacation spots include Seattle, London, and a large haunted corn maze just outside of Huntsville, Alabama.

Mira sleeps with a machete under her bed, and highly suggests that you do the same.

60th book for 2014 New Author Reading Challenge.

 

 

 

 

This is my 2nd book for:

Peril the Second:

Read two books of any length that you believe fit within the R.I.P. categories:

  • Mystery.
  • Suspense.
  • Thriller.
  • Dark Fantasy.
  • Gothic.
  • Horror.
  • Supernatural.

Comments

  1. I’m intrigued by the fact that there is stuff going on in the world besides the zombies and that everything is explained. I may give this a try at some point.

  2. Doesn’t sound like your typical zombie story and I say that in a good way.

  3. bermudaonion(Kathy) says

    I really liked this book in spite of the zombies and need to continue with the trilogy.

  4. Mira Grant’s Newsflesh trilogy is one of my favorites, and I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve re-read the books & the novellas. Now you’ve got me wanting to check out the audiobooks too – am I now on the Obsessive side of the line in the sand? o.O