Feed (Newsflesh, Book 1) (edition 2010)

Spring-Summer 2010

Feed introduces Georgia Mason (George), Shaun Mason, and Georgette Meissonier (Buffy) – bloggers covering an upcoming Presidential Election 20 years after two viruses, that were meant to cure the common cold and cancer, combined and brought the dead to life.
I have to say right off the bat that this author does an amazing job with this book. Rather than your typical zombie book where it briefly explains why there are rotting corpses wandering the streets eating people and then proceeds to focus solely on said zombies; Feed delves into details of the world itself and explains it in near perfect detail. The story pulls you in from the very beginning and even though at times you think that the explanation could have been shortened, it was worth it. So worth it. When you reach the mid-point of the book, the excitement starts to pick up and it gets SO GOOD. Once you reach that point? Well, I was practically hyperventilating the entire time waiting to see what happened next… I couldn’t read fast enough.
And the ending? Wow. So completely and utterly heart breaking. I’m not quite sure how you could NOT cry, even a little bit. I don’t want to give a single thing away because those little shockers are what make the book. I just wanted to pass on my two cents and say that this book is amazing and well worth the time and effort to read.
( )

I want to make it clear before anything else: I am not rating this book on its actual quality. This is not a well-written book. The characterisation in this book is not terribly complex. Objectively, this is Not a Very Good Book.

And I loved the shit out of it.

This book is just so goddamn goofy and enjoyable and I love it to pieces and probably the best part is I wasn't expecting to. I liked George a lot, which probably helped, and for once I didn't actually see the first couple of plot twists coming (the latter few were a bit more predictable). The other characters are for the most part one-dimensional and I don't even care. I just really ENJOYED myself while reading this, despite my reservations, and really, what more can you ask for?

I have nothing constructive to say about this at all, do I? ( )

I'm wavering between three and four stars for Feed. I'll start with the things that annoyed me -- and it's really one big one: the narration. There is no reason given for why the narrator is saying all these things: if she were narrating in her head, there'd be no need for the massive infodumps, because she knows what's going on and how the zombie apocalypse started. Also, for plot reasons, it shouldn't be in past tense, it doesn't make logical sense for it to be in past tense, unless she's narrating from beyond the grave: if that's the case, there's no explanation of that. She also mentions details that don't turn out to be relevant, in a way that makes me expect them to be -- e.g. mentioning backup batteries and how Buffy didn't check them, and then it just doesn't mention them again.

Also, I have to say, I didn't get emotionally connected with the story until the end of the second part, and I wasn't really emotionally connected until the end of the third. Mind you, I fought tears through the fourth and fifth parts, so it's not as though I never connected with it.

I enjoyed the characters, particularly the minor ones: Mahir, Senator Ryman, Emily Ryman. I did think the villain was a bit of a cardboard cut-out: you knew he'd be evil all along, just because the narrator doesn't like him.

If zombies freak you out, I don't recommend it. If disease freaks you out, I don't recommend it. If you want a zombie book with politics and an emotional kick, I recommend it. Just don't blame me if the narrator bugs you and the first part is kinda slow. ( )

This book follows a trio of bloggers as they follow a presidential candidate on the campaign trail. Everyone's infected with a virus that will reanimate you after death, and spontaneous amplification is always a minor possibility. I like how George Romero is hailed in this world as a prophet that basically helped keep what little of humanity alive as survived. Georgia (who goes by George) and Georgette (who goes by Buffy) are both named after him and I'm sure Shaun (George's brother) is also a nod to "Shaun of the Dead". The creepiness of the world comes a lot from the draconian measures people have to take to avoid getting their virus amplified. The CDC plays a huge role in the book. The culture of the bloggers felt very well done, a continuation of the current state of the online world. I loved the relationship between George and her brother, despite very different personalities they take care of each other and support each other. George's problem with her eyes (the virus replicated in them and her pupils won't contract) is handled well, you get the sense that she's found coping mechanisms, but that it can still leave her helpless. The book took a little while to get over playing with the world building and into the main plot, but it was interesting finding out how things worked. ( )