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Feed

Book 1 in the series:Newsflesh

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In the year 2039, twenty-five years after a virus caused humans and animals to become flesh-craving zombies, a team of bloggers is recruited to cover the campaign of a U.S. Presidential candidate. The story follows a set of siblings and their friend who happen to be bloggers set in the future where blogging has replaced the traditional media of today. The book is not about zombies but a political thriller where zombies happen to be in the world. The world this story is set in is so well written and vivid that readers stayed up late reading to finish it.

Characters:

The characters are well-developed and diverse, especially the strong sibling dynamic between Georgia and Shaun.

Writing/Prose:

The writing is engaging with witty dialogue and thorough descriptions, effectively immersing readers in the created world.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot follows a trio of bloggers as they uncover a conspiracy while covering a presidential campaign in a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies.

Setting:

The setting is a transformed America post-zombie apocalypse, where society has adapted to a new normal with stringent safety measures.

Pacing:

The pacing starts slowly as it builds the world, picks up significantly in the latter half, and ends with a thrilling climax.
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 ...

Notes:

Feed is the first book in the Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant, also known as Seanan McGuire.
The story is set 20-25 years after a zombie apocalypse caused by a rogue viral combination.
The main characters are bloggers following a presidential campaign, which is a unique twist on the zombie genre.
The book features a plausible explanation of zombies and their societal impact, highlighting themes of journalism, media, and politics.
Georgia and Shaun Mason are the adopted siblings and are notable for their strong bond, characterized by cooperation and dependence.
There are different types of bloggers in the story: Newsies (like Georgia), Irwins (like Shaun), and Fictionals (like Buffy).
Zombies are treated as a background threat rather than the main focus of the story.
The narrative style includes snippets from the characters' blogs, enhancing the storytelling.
The book's climax includes unexpected twists that can be quite emotional for readers.
Feed has been nominated for multiple awards, including the Hugo Award.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include graphic violence, particularly related to zombies and their attacks, as well as themes of death and betrayal.

From The Publisher:

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beat 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, 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.

Feed is the electrifying and critically acclaimed novel of a world a half-step from our own - -a novel of geeks, zombies, politics and social media.

Ratings (32)

Incredible (4)
Loved It (9)
Liked It (12)
It Was OK (5)
Did Not Like (1)
Hated It (1)

Reader Stats (81):

Read It (32)
Currently Reading (1)
Want To Read (39)
Did Not Finish (3)
Not Interested (6)

3 comment(s)

It Was OK
2 weeks

Rating: 3.5★ I enjoyed the narration by Paula Christensen and Jesse Bernstein. While I really liked the characters and will continue on to book 2 at some point, I don't know that I would have continued had it not been for the audio. I think I might have lost some interest when we got to the election portion had I been reading vs listening. The idea of blogging post-infection to spread the word was very cool and unique.

 
Incredible
1 month

Wow.

I mean, seriously. Fucking wow.

I expected to like this book. I find zombie stuff to be entertaining as all hell.

I did not expect to fucking love this book. Also, I did not expect to cry my damn eyeballs out, or I wouldn't have picked it to be my in-flight reading for my trip to New York this week. I generally prefer to save my pitiful weeping for more private moments... literally hiccuping with suppressed sobs next to a random person on a plane is embarrassing.

Here's the thing. I am not going to say this book was perfect. There were some issues, and I'll address them briefly in a moment. But what worked about this book worked to a truly spectacular degree.

The world-building was top-notch. The level of care that went into the details of this world is beyond impressive. Everything from the security systems to the details on the virus to the behind-the-scenes look at a political campaign... it was so richly detailed and layered that I utterly believed in this world. Which served as a great backdrop to...

George and Shaun. Their relationship, their personalities, their voices... they were some of the most real characters I have had the good fortune to meet. I can honestly say that I loved them. And I don't mean that in a "they're so entertaining, I just loved them" way. I mean that in a "when they were in danger, my heart was pounding; when bad things happened to them, I was fucking devastated" way. I

loved them. So that meant that from about pg 350 onwards, I was a wreck.

As an aside, I wonder how everyone took George and Shaun's relationship. I wonder if it weirded people out. I ask that just out of curiosity, because it didn't weird me out, not at all. I thought it was beautiful, and I... well, I don't want to give anything away, so all I'll say is that I personally read a lot into the subtext of their relationship, and I was more than okay with it - I wanted that for them.

Anyway.

Where I will lightly criticize is regarding the overall plot. The details of the big story are pretty nebulous to me. We saw very little of the evidence, and I don't know how George figured things out - I'd kill to get a look at those documents. So it reads like giant intuitive leaps, because we're not privy to the evidence the team is uncovering. As a result, I still don't feel like I really have a grip on the story.

Now, to be fair, that could very well be deliberate. This book is the first in a series, and it is entirely possible that this book is primarily world-building and stage-setting, while the next book focuses more on the details of the grand nefarious plot. So I am going to not worry about this point of criticism very much now, and just reserve the right to come back and revise my opinion after I finish the trilogy.

The second point of criticism is really a minor one: I wanted the villain to be someone else. Mostly because it was so fucking obvious - he was such a two-dimensional, mustache-twirling villain that eh. I was hoping for a little less predictability.

I'm also a bit baffled by the Senator, as he was a pretty inconsistent character. For the first half, he seemed to be more of a father-figure, almost. And then he took a stupid, ignorant, douche-baggy turn. It hasn't escaped me that pretty much the entire finale could have been avoided if he was less of a dumbass. So... I'm watching him with a bit of a skeptical eye.

All that said, I'm still giving this book 5 stars and placing it firmly onto my favorites shelf. Even if the plot in later books ends up being a disappointment, I don't think that anything can detract from my love for George and Shaun in this book.

I am both thrilled for and terrified of the next one...

 
Hated It
2 months

So much exposition

 
 
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