San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats (Newsflesh Trilogy, #0.6)

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San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats (Newsflesh Trilogy 0.6)

4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 · rating details · 611 ratings · 103 reviews

It was the summer of 2014, and the true horrors of the Rising were only just beginning to reveal themselves. Fans from all over the world gathered in San Diego, California for the annual comic book and media convention, planning to forget about the troubling rumors of new diseases and walking dead by immersing themselves in a familiar environment. Over the course of five g...more

ebook, 125 pages

Published July 11th 2012 by Orbit (first published July 1st 2012)

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Apr 29, 2013 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hey-shorty

how do there keep being more of these?? and they aren't even new, i am just only now discovering them, and it is like when you take your winter coat out of storage (or in my case "flung behind the door that is really just for show because of all the stacks of books preventing it from opening) and finding twenty dollars in the pocket. IT WAS THERE ALL ALOOOONG!

there is, indeed, a door behind there.

and although this one was in no way as satisfying as countdown, which actually contributed somethi...more
how do there keep being more of these?? and they aren't even new, i am just only now discovering them, and it is like when you take your winter coat out of storage (or in my case "flung behind the door that is really just for show because of all the stacks of books preventing it from opening) and finding twenty dollars in the pocket. IT WAS THERE ALL ALOOOONG!

there is, indeed, a door behind there.

and although this one was in no way as satisfying as countdown, which actually contributed something vital to the newsflesh series, while this one is more of a "what-if" writing exercise seemingly created just as a fan-gift by someone who knows her demographic, it is completely worth reading, because i cannot return to this world frequently enough. i am always ready for more zombiestories from ms grant. always.

so this one is about "what if zombies were locked into comic-con and did the things that zombies do??" and while i have never personally been to comic-con (MOCCA is about as much as i can handle), it sounds like she knows what she is talking about, and i definitely appreciated the little bits of detail that i understood, while acknowledging that i probably missed a lot of the references.

the problematic thing about this one is all to do with the structure. it takes place at a remove, as many years later mahir gowda, our beloved reporter, interviews lorelei tutt, the only survivor of the attack, who had been at the time a teenager sulking off to the hotel for a nap while her parents set up their booth with their friends, all of whom would become victims of the event in one way or another.

so, with no survivors, all the "flashback" sequences are necessarily extrapolated from security camera footage and cell phone conversations and the like, and many of the scenes could not have been observed or reported by any of the available means, which is a little strange for a writer who usually goes to such great lengths with her details and her research, but if you are seriously going to bitch about verité in a zombie-attack novella that takes place at comic-con, you are totally missing the spirit of the exercise.

because some of the best-written scenes are these ones that could not have been recorded, only imagined. the legally-blind woman in the engineering room with her helper dog, the television star/geek-icon rising to the challenge, the various small heroisms and unfortunate mistakes... it's all great material.and the fact that she seems to be able to churn this stuff out and revisit the same basic situation while always keeping it fresh rather than just rehashing old scenes excites me. so even though it is not my favorite extra-newsflesh thingie she has written, it is well worth the reading, and i am incredibly excited to know that there are (still, somehow) more of these out there for me to read.

thank you, mira grant...(less)

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Jul 28, 2012 Indigo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombies, science-fiction, nookbook, horror, blogging

The book is written with a nod to its brethren in the Newsflesh series: Mahir Gowda, head Newsie of After the End Times has managed to get an exclusive interview with a survivor of the Kellis-Amberlee outbreak that happened on Preview Night of the San Diego Comic Con 2014. While this book is set in the same 'verse as Feed, Deadline, and Blackout, one does not necessarily have to be familiar with the main three books in this series to enjoy this one.

That I read the novel right after San Diego mak...more

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Aug 29, 2012 James rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, newsflesh, short-story, ya, i-own-a-copy, 2-stars, read-in-2012, read-in-teenties, ebook, science-fiction, reviewed, hugo-nominees-2013

Another short story from the Mira Grant Newsflesh series. This one, also set during the year of the Rising: 2014. Instead of concerning itself with the virus or any of the larger story of the Masons, this one tells the story of one of the early outbreaks - The San Diego Comic Con of 2014, the last ever Comic Con.

You would think this would be a perfect story for a series that has, so far, been far more about bloggers and nerds than zombies. Unfortunately, what starts out as an absolutely brillian...more

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Indigo James wrote: "Maybe I'm confusing my narrators because they seem kinda nested. But, surely the stuff in the 'present' (2044) is narrated by Mahir? He...more
Oct 14, 2012 02:18pm

James Indigo wrote: "The omniscient narration is not what Mahir is written, but the events themselves. You know how a movie or a TV show can go into "this i...more
updated Oct 16, 2012 09:47am

Jul 26, 2012 Anthony rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: sf-fantasy

Even though I knew what this story was going to be about and how it was likely to end (given that I've read all three books in the NEWSFLESH series and the previous novella that described the events of The Rising on a larger scale), it still surprised me in places and several times had me thinking "no, come on, let things work out..."

If you're familiar with the NEWSFLESH world built by Mira Grant in her books, you know that the events of the summer of 2014 don't end well for a large part of the...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Crystal Carroll rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. On one hand, reading a story where the death toll is kind of baked right into the title made me not want to read this one, but having consumed in short order the rest of the series, I could not resist.

This story was especially interesting to me because I've been going to SD Comic-Con for twenty years (not I might add twenty times). I've seen the convention grow from a large convention to a humongous convention.

Now I was hoping the outbreak would happen during say the annual zombie lurch through...more On one hand, reading a story where the death toll is kind of baked right into the title made me not want to read this one, but having consumed in short order the rest of the series, I could not resist.

This story was especially interesting to me because I've been going to SD Comic-Con for twenty years (not I might add twenty times). I've seen the convention grow from a large convention to a humongous convention.

Now I was hoping the outbreak would happen during say the annual zombie lurch through the Gaslamp, but the author perhaps wisely decided to stage the meltdown during Preview night.

For those not familiar with this convention, there are about 130k attendees with another 40k or so artists/vendors/panelists etc. who attend this annual geekapolooza. And if I knew it was the last one, provided I didn't think I was going to die, I might try to cram one more SDCC in.

Preview night by comparison has a "limited" number of attendees. There are about 4500 or so attendees watching "previews" in Ballroom 20, which provided I was sitting near the doors in the back has pretty good access to the Marina area behind the convention center. The massive Dealer's room is also open, which absorbs the rest of the early attendees and the several thousand people doing setup. However, the non-stop programming hasn't really gotten underway.

This allowed the story to focus on events in the Dealer's Room without people like myself wondering what happened in the dozens of consecutive panels, or the people lucky enough to be in the 10k person line that stretches out into that Marina I mentioned. On one hand, higher death toll. On the other, more survivors just based on people jumping in boats. But I digress.

Actually, one more digression, if there is a zombie uprising in 2014, remember that when the Klingons/Jedi/Chibi-something are dying by the front doors that face out onto the crowded Gaslamp/Downtown SD, the entire back wall is filled with doors facing the Marina. Which given the crush during the event, is the best way to get around. Which if it sounds like a digression, well, that was my experience reading the story. I kept thinking, why don't they just do x. I mean, they'd still probably die, but there you go.

In any case, a very poignant story in the way of a lost way of life. Where people gather together in large groups and celebrate something they love.

The requisite number of people are introduced the better that we might have people to feel bad about as one by one the zombies rise. Hmm... somehow that puts a different spin on the Nolan:Batman quote, "Why do we fall. So we can get up again," as the undead.

Good story, but save something fluffy for immediately after for a pick you up. And maybe hum the theme song from Firefly.(less)

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Jul 27, 2012 Melinda Schmidbauer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Why did it take me TEN DAYS to read this short story/novella? Lots of reasons, and all having to do with how well Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire) writes. I think just the title of the book gives some spoilers, and as the story is taking place as part of the zombie uprising that is so well documented in Grant's other books (Feed, Deadline and Blackout), you know someone (and probably more than one someone) is going to die. Grant uses a character we know from the novels, Mahir, to tell the story of th...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Ярослава rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This prequel to the Newsflesh trilogy is the ultimate celebration of fannish culture, a tale about geeks stranded in a zombie outbreak in the middle of the San Diego ComicCon. Unlike the earlier novella Countdown, this one has a self-contained plot that does not require any knowledge about the trilogy to be enjoyed, and, therefore, could probably serve as a good gateway to it, the means to gauge if you like Grant's style enough to commit to reading the whole trilogy.

It must be hard to elicit sym...more

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Sep 09, 2012 Kriss Morton rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: friends-suggested, zombie

Short Stories are an under-appreciated genre but with the advent of ebooks it is allowing for authors to share single stories instead of being dependent on acceptance to anthologies. It is also a great way to get a taste of the flavor of an author. Thisdefinitelyhappened to me today and boy was I in for a surprise!

The only difference between a Comic-Con and a siege is whether or not they're actually trying to kill you. And sometimes these ones try to kill you anyway, just to keep thingsinteresti

...more

Short Stories are an under-appreciated genre but with the advent of ebooks it is allowing for authors to share single stories instead of being dependent on acceptance to anthologies. It is also a great way to get a taste of the flavor of an author. This definitely happened to me today and boy was I in for a surprise!

The only difference between a Comic-Con and a siege is whether or not they're actually trying to kill you. And sometimes these ones try to kill you anyway, just to keep things interesting."

The author, Mira Grant had me first at Comic-Con and second at Browncoats**. The fact it as a zombie story had me clicking buy before you could moan "braaaaaaaaainnnnsss". I cannot think of a more perfect setting for the zombie outbreak. Just who are the real risen and who are in makeup? I giggled purely with the thought of how I would deal with that "little" problem. It is one of those book discoveries you end up doing "facepalm" after recovering from your "OMG" face and then asking yourself how in the world you missed it! The perfect Weekly Shorts entry at $2.99, sitting at 120 pages an, what I believe to be the perfect length for a novella (approx 30K).

A viral-based zombie story (Kellis-Amberlee), is told in the form of flash-backs and memories being compiled by Journalist Mahir Gowda 30 years after the "Rising". She has the task of obtaining an interview with a the only known survivor of the 2014 Comic-Con "event", from a very reluctant CPT Lorelei Tutt USCG. Due to the wi-fi being turned back on the people who ended up trapped inside the San Diego Convention Center, the stories of the hero's, the fallen and the general chaos were uploaded and preserved in digital format. This novella reads as a window to the past, or at least the column of blood and hunger.. despair and sacrifice making up this tale. It tells the stories of the first hero's of the zombie apocalypse.

Ms. Grant introduced and developed definitive characters we immediately fall in love with. The challenge with the novella is to do this in a very focused presentation. It is a challenge that many film writers have when trying to take a novel and make it into a 2 hour film. What will need to be cut, or at least in this instance, what details can be left out or glossed over but still have a new reader to the series, like me, "get" the story and be sucked in. There were references and "whispers" to the news that was all over the wire and blogosphere about a zombie outbreak, and that was all I needed to know this was part of a bigger plot.

Referencing so many sci-fi pop-culture tales, as well as one made up one (which honestly I wish would be made into a real TV Show) it made the fan-girl in me giggle and smile, even though I knew having Browncoats in the title, it was bound to be tragic in the end, especially when we know that Lorelei was the only known survivor. I cannot shout loud enough about this novella. It was out of this world fantastic, festive and phenomenally fun!

I would recommend this for not only those fans of zombie reads, but of anyone who likes a tragic adventure to boot! Grab a hold of a cricket bat, 2x4 or weapon of choice and dive in! I am giving this a bio-hazard rating of ☣ ☣ ☣ ☣ ☣ - FULL CONTAINMENT of excitement needed!

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Feb 18, 2013 Liz rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bonus-content, ebooks, own, spine-tingling, zombie-noms

This is only my second foray into the Newsflesh world, but if this is any indication of how it's going to go, I better prepare myself for nightmares.

This novella is particularly interesting, since it takes place during the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con, the veritable mecca of of geekdom. I couldn't have picked a better location, as this whole series really has a focus on online media, blogging, etc. It just fits.

Right away, I was swept up with all the mentions of Firefly, Dr. Who, comic books, glorio...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Shara (Calico Reaction) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So I've been on a mission to clear out the short fiction from my queue, as well as to not let any new short fiction become forgotten on my Kindle as I have in the past. So when Mira Grant's new Newsflesh novella arrived on my Kindle, I read it as soon as I finished reading Leviathan Wakes. It seemed appropriate, given that I've been on a Grant binge lately. This should be it for a while, so if you're tired of seeing Mira Grant reviews, this is the last. :)

And I have to say: I got a perverse bit...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Paul Bonamy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So, for persons familiar with the Newsflesh trilogy, this is another of those 'stories from the Rising' sort of deals, not unlike Countdown. The main trilogy mentions in passing that something went down at SDCC '14, but never really goes into it. This is that story.

On the whole, it's a good story. Of course, we already know how it ends, but it's the details that make the heroes of the Rising, not the fact that they fell. One thing I noticed, and appreciated, was that while the cast of characters...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Bea rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-gr-reading-challenge, ebook, my-kindle-books, read-in-2012, sci-fi

Why I Read It: Hey, it’s Mira Grant! I had to read it. Plus someday I’d like to go to Comic Con and the story is set there.

This is the most recent novella and like “Countdown” is a prequel. The virus outbreak at Comic Con was the first major public outbreak and the end of large public gatherings. Mahir, one of the characters from the series, interviews the sole survivor from the outbreak. That interview, plus surviving camera footage, allows him to piece together a story that is not only factual...more Why I Read It: Hey, it’s Mira Grant! I had to read it. Plus someday I’d like to go to Comic Con and the story is set there.

This is the most recent novella and like “Countdown” is a prequel. The virus outbreak at Comic Con was the first major public outbreak and the end of large public gatherings. Mahir, one of the characters from the series, interviews the sole survivor from the outbreak. That interview, plus surviving camera footage, allows him to piece together a story that is not only factually true but but provides understanding about what happened. Told partly in flashback and partly as it’s happening, we get both the immediate perspective and the deeper, historical perspective. I cared about the characters, and even knowing generally what the outcome was, I held out hope for more survivors. 4 stars

Quotes: By day three, the floor would be so jammed with bodies that getting lost wouldn’t be nearly as much of a concern as getting crushed, or being swept three rows past your destination by people who were packed together too tightly for you to fight your way free. It hadn’t always been that way, but since Hollywood had discovered Comic-Con, the people had come in increasing numbers every year. Tickets had been sold out for months. Only the lucky would be getting through those doors, and the lucky would number in the thousands. “Another day, another battle for survival,” Marty muttered.

“It’s that zombie virus thing that was on the news!” shouted a man in a Starfleet uniform. It was Next Generation command red, but he was running away from the danger, not toward it. Maybe that was how the command crew stayed alive. “They’ll eat you if you stay here!”

MAHIR: The people inside? What about the Klingons?

LORELEI: They stayed in the lobby. It was the only way they could get the doors to close. They even barricaded them, to keep the other infected from breaking through. They must have held out for a while. They managed to lock almost all the doors between the convention center and the street before hey weren’t in a position to keep fighting. There’s this thing they used to say, about good days to die. I guess that was a good one to die. Because they all died, every last one of them. The worst part is, they thought they were doing the right thing.

This review was first posted at BookTrib: http://beaconnors.booktrib.com/review...

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Sep 27, 2012 Alice rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, dystopian, science-fiction, thriller, urban-fantasy

This was far too heartbreaking to be a horror story.

In the Newsflesh universe, 2014 is the year the dead came back to life, and infected humans lost everything but a need to eat and to infect more people. This novella is set during the 2014 Comic-Con in San Diego, before the outbreak is common knowledge. The infected get onto the vendor floor on preview night, and are locked in with the uninfected. The living have an advantage, in that they're apt to believe it's a zombie outbreak, and to have s...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Samantha Boyette rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

What a crazy good book! I guess it's probably a novella more accurately, but it's decently long and you more than get your money's worth! It ties into the Feed series, but you would't have to read any of that to enjoy this.

This is the story of a small group of people at the last Comic Con before the Rising takes place. Unfortunately for them, the Rising has come to Comic Con.

Any fan of awesome things (FIREFLY! Dr. Who, Buffy, My Little Pony, etc.) and zombies will get a kick out of this book....more

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Jul 17, 2012 Andre rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This novella is probably not the best thing Mira Grant has written—Feed was just that good—but it is my favorite of her works. Unlike the Newsflesh trilogy, in which the characters had lived nearly their entire lives in a world with zombies, and Countdown, which chronicled the origin of the Kellis-Amberlee zombie virus, San Diego 2014 puts the reader in the middle of a zombie outbreak among people who were unprepared. In this manner, San Diego 2014 is like the typical zombie story. The similarit...more This novella is probably not the best thing Mira Grant has written—Feed was just that good—but it is my favorite of her works. Unlike the Newsflesh trilogy, in which the characters had lived nearly their entire lives in a world with zombies, and Countdown, which chronicled the origin of the Kellis-Amberlee zombie virus, San Diego 2014 puts the reader in the middle of a zombie outbreak among people who were unprepared. In this manner, San Diego 2014 is like the typical zombie story. The similarities end there.

For the first time in the Newsflesh series—and something that’s fairly new to me as a reader—we get ample opportunity to study zombie behavior. In the small, closed environment, where no one knew how to deal with them, the zombies went, for the most part, unchallenged. Their undisturbed behavior was fascinating. It wasn’t what I expected, but it makes a lot of sense. It was very well thought out by the author. More importantly, it was conveyed very well.

The story takes place inside a San Diego convention center during Preview Night of Comic-Con; thus, the characters are people who are familiar with the concept and mythology of zombies. They don’t all run and panic. Instead, many take up arms and fight. How these people fight is what makes the story so great. The heroism of some of the characters, especially those who make conscious efforts to not put others at risk, is written in a very real manner. None of the plot comes across as unrealistic (relatively speaking…it is a zombie story, after all) or pasted on. The bonds formed and chance meetings come about organically.

In the beginning, the style of the story put me off a bit. The further I read, the more I changed my opinion. The back and forth nature of the telling (bouncing between Mahir interviewing a survivor and an actual omniscient third-person narrative) works. It helps the pacing of the story while also building the tension and emotion.

There is no suspense here; we know from the very beginning how things turn out. That knowing makes all the action, all the heroic decisions, even more tragic. Wonderful, wonderful piece.(less)

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Jul 13, 2012 Kerry rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, 7, ebooks, short-story, sf

I thought this was a good solid story. It doesn't really add anything new to the world as we've already been told what the Rising was like, but it was nice to see it all the same. It was also a nice touch to have Mahir interviewing Lorelei after the events of Blackout.

The way Lorelei's parents made their final decision with her on their minds - and the fact that everyone else complied - was very nicely done. And I found the end of events at Comic-Con itself to be surprisingly shocking, given I k...more

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Oct 11, 2012 Tria rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-ebook, genre-science-fiction

I just finished reading this. There are tears running down my face. I don't do tears. I'm a Browncoat, and anyone else who is should definitely read this. Whether you like zombie fiction or not; if you do and you aren't a Browncoat, this is also a good story for you to pick up. It's not very long, but it is very powerful. Oh, and only available in ebook form so far.

Had trouble deciding whether to rate it 4 or 5, as while the scenes and characters combine to make an amazing piece I'm not absolute...more

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Feb 15, 2013 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, science, sff, short-fiction, horror

Wow, was this good. It's not spoiling anything to tell you that this ends badly. Anyone who has read Feed knows that the 2014 San Diego ComicCon was an epic zombie-filled disaster. And then there's the title. And then there's the opening pages where we are introduced to the only known survivor, being interviewed decades later by Mahir who is trying to write a history of that last ComicCon, trying to understand the golden age of fandom that ended when the Rising began. But even though I went into...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Ruby Tombstone rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bloody-shamblers-of-course, apocalypse-please, biologys-a-bitch-baby, short-stories, smart-people-read-trashy-novels-too, wheres-my-effing-jetpack

Meh. More of the same from the Newsflesh universe. Much as I love the novels, there was nothing new in this. All the faults of the longer stories - the overblown rhetoric and formulaic approach in particular - are emphasised in this short story format. Countdown has the advantage of a fascinating origin story for the virus itself, whereas this novella really isn't adding anything to the mythos. It was entertaining enough, and it's always nice to sink back into a familiar fictional universe, but...more

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Aug 11, 2012 Helen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sure page count on this is wrong, think it's about 170.

Excellent tale. Here we have an account of one of the first incidents of the Rising. Also like how Mira Grant uses the same names (Shaun, Rebecca), always think it seems more realistic. Nice nod to bow ties being cool too, Sweetie.

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Aug 29, 2012 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a really, really great little Novella. As you can see from any of my previous reviews of Novellas I have a love/hate relationship with most of them. Sometimes I love them and sometimes I see them as nothing but a waste of space and good reading time. Also, authors should not be allowed to charge their trusting fans money for a book that is under a hundred pages long. Surely thats a law just waiting to be written.

However this particular Novella gets the thumbs up from me. The Last Stand...more This is a really, really great little Novella. As you can see from any of my previous reviews of Novellas I have a love/hate relationship with most of them. Sometimes I love them and sometimes I see them as nothing but a waste of space and good reading time. Also, authors should not be allowed to charge their trusting fans money for a book that is under a hundred pages long. Surely thats a law just waiting to be written.

However this particular Novella gets the thumbs up from me. The Last Stand of the Californian Browncoats is long enough that I didn't mind paying for it and good enough that I didn't mind reading it. As anyone who's read any of Grant's Newsflesh series will know, she has set her post-apocalyptic world in 2044, thirty years after the Zombie Rising. This novella, however, is set right smack in the middle of the Rising in 2014.

It was great to read a story from Grant that dealt with the immediate effects of a zombie apocalypse in the making. I knew she wouldn't let us down in the excitement stakes and boy was I right. The story is told by Mahir who is the only character we meet in this book that we know from the Newsflesh Series. He is basically writing an article on the Rising and the immediate effects on people who lived at that time. He has pieced together an account of the events within the San Diego Comic Convention center during the Rising from various sources.

It was really great to see how people reacted to the initial zombie attacks and the chaos and fear that spread throughout the the center. Basically hundreds, if not thousands, of people died within the convention center as the US Government, not knowing what they were dealing with decided the best route was to seal everyone inside and leave them to their fate.

This is where we meet the Californian Browncoats, amongst others, who are part of the surviving, uninfected people trapped within the center. As they slowly begin to realise what is happening and come to the realisation that they are probably never getting out we see who becomes heroes and who crumbles under the extreme circumstances.

The only flaw within this story, in my opinion, was how quickly everyone seemed to accept that what they were witnessing was truely happening. I mean I do realise that Comic Con is probably one of the few places on earth that most people there would be at least slightly excited if not overjoyed at the prospect of a zombie apocalypse but still... Although I suppose some crazy, wild-eyed man chewing on your friends arm would be enough to convince almost anyone.(less)

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Nov 18, 2012 Sineala rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books, horror, fiction, dystopia, science-fiction

This is, as described, a story about SDCC at the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. Weirdly, I think this is my least favorite of all of the Newsflesh series so far. I don't think the flashback structure works well, and I don't think the characters are developed enough for their deaths to elicit all the emotion Grant clearly wants me to feel. (The trilogy worked for me because there was some nice crunchy hard SF, plus more time to get to know the characters.)

Also apparently reading fiction abou...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Becca Rahey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I can't even begin to describe my love of everything Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire) writes but this one really is on par with the rest of the newsflesh series. In a sadistic move this novella released on the eve of Comic Con 2012 tells the story of the day the rising came to San Diego on preview night of Comic Con 2014. As you read it you can just tell that this is something Seanan's spent a long time thinking about and it is a celebration of both fandom and the pitfalls of crowded spaces during th...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Jill Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sciencefiction, sff

Do not read this before going to a large convention. It's worth reading, but why not avoid the nightmares?

For a bunch of doomed characters, you get attached to (some of) them quickly. Especially including, of course, the dog. This is both nice and not nice.

The story uses the somewhat overused "We meant well! We tried hard! And yet it all ended in disaster! Here's how!" format, but makes up for it by, when discussing what their mistakes are and how they could have avoided the disaster, (view spoi ...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Samantha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sept-to-sept-200-bks

Heartbreaking horror. I have read Feed by Mira Grant and decided to look into the other two books in the trilogy. I stumbled across this novella written as a prequel and set at comic con. I figured it was perfect. I'm a serious fan of the zombie craze, a brown coat, and someone with a serious need to visit comic con. Like, a life goal. Number one on my bucket list and all that. So... I hit buy with one click and sat down and read it in one sitting. It's actually heart breaking in a sense that yo...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Jenevieve rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-books

A prequel to the Newsflesh trilogy. The rumors of a zombie outbreak are just starting to circulate through the country and people are still considering it a hoax more than anything and packing up to go to Comicon as usual. It will be the last big gathering of people like this to ever take place.

The preview night is underway, the dealers are almost done setting up their booths, and the crowds are growing. All it takes is just one person not feeling well deciding to attend one of the largest gathe...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Gwen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-owned-and-read, 4-and-5-stars

I cried.

And I've decided that I'm never going to a convention again. Ever. Sorry GenCon!

1 like · like · see review

Aug 13, 2012 Lianne Burwell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: short-stories, zombies, horror, ebooks

There isn't really much you can say about this novella. Zombie apocalypse at San Diego Comic Con, and the title gives you a good idea of how it will end.

And I cried like a baby when the end did come. Heck, I'm tearing up right now.

If you like the Feed trilogy, you'll like this one. If you're a comicon attendee who likes zombie stories, you'll like this one. You don't even have to have read the trilogy to enjoy this one.

Anyway, it has brave con-goers, a television actress there to promote her sho...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Amber rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, owned, read-in-2012

This novella was heartbreaking and terrifying. Heartbreaking, because she has the ability to make all her characters, even ones you only meet for a few minutes or a few pages, feel real and fully fleshed out, and to make you care about them. And it breaks your heart to see them go.

I go to the con every year, and I was able to mentally picture her descriptions with a frightening amount of clarity. But even someone who's never been to the San Diego convention center, or even to a con for that matt...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Nojh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, horror, post-apocolypse, science-fiction, zombies, modern, speculative-fiction, urban-fantasy, tragedy

Another Newsflesh novella set during the time of the Rising (See Countdown: A Newsflesh Novella), this one focuses on a very specific event that happened at the same time as the Rising, Comic Con 2014. Fans of comics, science fiction, fantasy and more will be all too familiar with famous convention, known for drawing thousands to San Diego for a weekend of fandom and fun.

Then add zombies.

The novella follows a reporter as he interviews and pieces together the the events of the Rising inside Comic...more

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Short Stories

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Science Fiction

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Horror

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Horror > Zombies

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Science Fiction > Dystopia

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Thriller

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Fantasy

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Science Fiction Fantasy

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Young Adult

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Apocalyptic > Post Apocalyptic

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About Mira Grant

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 unchallen...more

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“Indy Rivers got things done. Maybe she was a fictional character, but they were in a fictional place, in a fictional situation. There were worse things to be than fictional.” — 2 people liked it

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San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats (Newsflesh Trilogy 0.6)

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