Feed (Newsflesh, #1) in Beyond Reality

May 30, 2011 carol. rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, fast-and-fun, end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it, zombies

A perfect summer read.

It starts out with our heroes poking sharp sticks at zombies and a narrow escape. It's a good way to develop interest, but the plot actually focuses on an adopted brother-sister news team, Georgia and Shaun Mason. Their careers take off when they win the chance to follow and blog about a presidential candidate as he campaigns for his party's nomination. I thought Grant did a great job of projecting technology into the future without becoming particularly silly about it (no A perfect summer read.

It starts out with our heroes poking sharp sticks at zombies and a narrow escape. It's a good way to develop interest, but the plot actually focuses on an adopted brother-sister news team, Georgia and Shaun Mason. Their careers take off when they win the chance to follow and blog about a presidential candidate as he campaigns for his party's nomination. I thought Grant did a great job of projecting technology into the future without becoming particularly silly about it (no flying cars here); instead, we have micro-dot cameras, ear-cuff phones and instant video feeds. It's a projection that feels mostly possible--is an ear cuff that different from an ear-clip phone? In fact, that might be my only complaint of future technology: with so much of the country devastated and compressed into tight communities, would there really be instant internet access everywhere? And I do mean everywhere, as the kits that test for zombie virus are immediately uploaded to the CDC, even outside a zombie zone, or on highways in the middle of nowhere.

I thought the main characters, Georgia and Shaun Mason were developed well (quibble--I found his name quite distracting: 'Shaun?' Really? "Shaun of the Dead"?? but maybe "Buffy" was as well for those raised on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer.") I loved Georgia, her tone, her "don't-touch-me" interactions, her smart strategy in growing their news-site, her willingness to have ethical code govern her practices. The political people were cardboard cutouts, but thankfully we don't spend overmuch time with them. The parents were actually quite interesting in their weirdly dysfunctional relationship with their adoptive children and their survival mentality. The tech was largely well thought out, with zombie kits that report to the government, even if the seal is broken and not used, and virus testers built into "safe" vehicles. I imagine that Grant hit possible response to a worldwide disaster spot on--the attempt to cure, the consolidation of resources, the short term strategies. She even thought of the impact zombification would have on autopsies and forensics--now that's a well thought-out system.

There's a potential TRIGGER WARNING in an extremely close relationship between the brother and sister. After finishing, my sense was of an unusually close relationship developed by adversity and coping strategies, but not an inappropriate one. Quick flashbacks and side remarks give us a picture of emotionally distanced parents, so the children connected to the only people they could connect with in a relatively isolated situation (they grow up outside the safest zoned areas). It's apparent that emotional distancing is how Georgia has coped with her upbringing and is how she interfaces with the world. Some people might object to the rather "emotionless" tones of the narration, but I feel Grant did well, with a tone that is quite true to Georgia's character.

I enjoyed the pace, and the building of suspense as zombie attacks become more and more directed. The villain is a little stereotypical, coming down clearly on the side of people that kick dogs and make small babies cry, but give Grant a break--she added zombies to her political conspiracy. I'm looking forward to the next book. Three stars for keeping me up at night until bleary-eyed. ...more

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Aug 15, 2011 Ric rated it liked it

Let me begin by saying, this book had a lot of negatives going against it even before I started. I am not a fan of Walking Dead, Harry Potter or Peter Straub, not because these are bad TV shows, books or authors, but because they focus on themes that don't quite appeal to me, namely: zombies, young adults and horror. And Feed has all these in spades. But I wanted a change of fare and saw how well reviewed and rated this book was here on Goodreads, so ...

... Ok, it's not so bad. After the first f

Let me begin by saying, this book had a lot of negatives going against it even before I started. I am not a fan of Walking Dead, Harry Potter or Peter Straub, not because these are bad TV shows, books or authors, but because they focus on themes that don't quite appeal to me, namely: zombies, young adults and horror. And Feed has all these in spades. But I wanted a change of fare and saw how well reviewed and rated this book was here on Goodreads, so ...

... Ok, it's not so bad. After the first few chapters, I am past my initial aversion and am settling down to enjoying the tale-telling. Mira Grant has done a good job of getting me to suspend my disbelief and pay attention to what she has to say next. Not bad, not bad at all. Will update once I get farther along.

Part 3 ... The story moves along at a good pace. I'm distracted by several stereotyped characters. There is the selfless presidential candidate, stoic in the face of loss, and showing no indications of the raw ambition and self promotion that would be the prime motivators for someone gunning for the highest office. The rival candidate with the one-sided viewpoint which would not gotten him far in a real political career. Most disturbing was the dumb and single-minded army captain, and his cowed commander, who are both depicted as unreasonable automatons. But I think I can ignore these as much as I can set aside the zombie science. The main characters at least ring true and are engaging. So, sally on.

Part 4 ... Finally, I've found the happy balance to keep reading this book, hopefully to the end. This is an important step - to manage expectations. How else can one enjoy such escapes as summer blockbuster movies? So have decided that this is a fun book, not hard SF, or A Tale of Two Cities, necessarily, but perhaps Ghostbusters? The lead characters' moxie and nose-thumbing attitude are just endearing.

Coasting to the end. One final thought: I guess its inevitable in a story built on dead people coming back as monsters that some of the characters would die. But whenever this happens, the whole texture of the story changes, sometimes for the better, but also for the worse. Needless to say, one of these two eventualities took place which, being one of the last thoughts in my mind about this book, becomes the basis for my rating. I think if you read this novel as a mystery thriller in a George Romero movie set, you can enjoy it.

...more

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Apr 25, 2011 Tad rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, thriller, ebook

I always think I’m going to like Zombie novels and they always seem to let me down. Until Feed. This isn’t just a great Zombie book, it’s a great book period. Maybe because while zombies are crucial to the story here, they aren’t the whole story.

Feed takes place about 25 years after the zombie “uprising”, and the zombies aren’t gone, they are now part of the landscape. It is told from the point of view of a brother and sister news/blogging team that gets picked to follow a presidential campaign. ...more

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