Blackout (Newsflesh, #3)

by Mira Grant

The year is 2041, and Shaun Mason is having a bad day. Everyone he knows is dead or in hiding. The world is doing its best to end itself for the second time. The Centre for Disease Control is out to get him. With too much left to do and not much time left to do it in, he must face mad scientists, zombie bears and rogue government agencies before the conspiracy that killed Georgia manages to kill the only thing he has left of her - the truth.

And if there's one thing he knows is true in this post-zombie, post-resurrection America, it's this: Things can always get worse.

• ISBN10: 1306764785
• ISBN13: 9781306764780
• Publish Date: 1 January 2012
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 19 May 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Orbit
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 329
• Language: English

Reviews

[Melanie]

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

Wow! That is the biggest thing that comes to mind when I read this story. It is the final part of the Newsflesh Trilogy. (Yes, there is another book coming out this year, but this is the end of the line for the crew for After the End Times. The new book starts at the beginning from a different POV). This trilogy has been a wild ride. This is a hard review to write. One, I just want to say “OMG, It’s so good. Go read it now!!” Two, anything I say is pretty much a spoiler for the previous two books in the series.

This series we’ve been following the group of bloggers as they uncover a government conspiracy and corruption at the CDC, which has become an all powerful organization since the Rising. This series takes place 20 years after the Rising. People have learned to live and survive with zombies. We’ve seen bloggers come and go as some have died and others moved on to new things. New ones have joined to keep After the End Times up and running and doing the thing that they feel is the most important thing of, to tell the truth.

In this book, we see everything comes to a head. The conspiracies are larger than we could ever imagine. We have no idea who we can trust and who is evil. And let me tell you, there are some truly evil people in this book. I’m not talking Hannibal Lecter evil, but more Frank Underwood evil. The team, who are loyal to each other first and foremost, have to figure out who to trust to help them as the uncover this conspiracy and find a way to tell the truth to the American people. That is their job after all.

I will say that I’ve come to love all the characters of this series. They are all such well written characters. The world that Mira Grant has built in this futuristic world is quite astonishing. There is a ton of action and suspense between zombie bear and virus carrying mosquitoes, to CDC trying to kill them. Oh, I would also be remised if I didn’t mention patient B7 who plays a pretty large part in this story. This series is way more than a horror story. I think it was more of a political thriller. I think it was One Curvy Blogger who mentioned that to me and she’s right. This is a political thriller with zombies. I highly recommend this book to you if you like thrillers, zombies, or political conspiracies.
Favorite quote from the entire series:

The problem with people who have power is that they start thinking more about what it takes to keep that power than they do about what’s right or wrong or just plain a bad idea. Here’s a tip for you: If you’re ever in a position to be making calls on right and wrong that can impact an entire nation, run your decisions past a six-year-old. If they look at you in horror and tell you you’re getting coal in your stocking for the rest of your life, you should probably reconsider your course of action. Unless you want to be remembered as a monster, in which case, knock yourself out. —From Charming Not Sincere, the blog of Rebecca Atherton, August 7, 2041.

Narration
In this book, we have Paula Christensen back. She voiced the female POVs from the first book. I think she did a great job on this book as well. She does really well with both male and female voices. I really enjoyed her narration. Michael Goldstrom does the narration of the male POVs. I think he did a great job. Once again, he did a great job with male and female voices. I really got immersed in their narration. I do wish they had stuck with the same pairing for the entire trilogy, but hey, each pairing that they got, did a great job. I completely loved this series on audio. I look forward to the new book that comes out later this year, whoever narrates.

[clementine]

Due to the plot of these books, there's no way for me to really talk about Blackout without spoiling both Deadline and Blackout. If you have any interest in reading these books, or if you are reading them but haven't made it to Deadline, you should probably skip this review. I'm using spoiler tags for super spoil-y things, but it's unavoidable that you WILL get spoiled if you read this review, even WITH the spoiler tags.

I read this ~600-page book in one day, because that's just what you do when the ~600-page book is gripping the whole way through.

Blackout was an almost seamless continuation of Deadline, this time alternating narration between Shaun and Georgia. Or, well, clone Georgia. Every time I finished one of their chapters, I was like, "NOOO, GIVE ME MORE SHAUN/GEORGIA," but then I started reading the next section and I'd forget all about the cliffhanger from the last one and be mad about the cliffhanger in the current one. It was definitely very, very exciting, and the storylines collided at the perfect point.

I was especially impressed by how well Grant brought everything together, tying up the loose ends from Feed. Ryman and Rick weren't present in Deadline, which I personally didn't mind, but having them back and explaining their absence - and what they'd be up to in that time - was certainly welcome. The entire CDC conspiracy was explained really well, and this time I didn't feel like there was a tonne of expository text just dumped all over the place, which was really my main issue with Feed.

Once again, Blackout grappled with some seriously tough issues. Medical ethics, are, of course, at the heart of this series, this time with a focus on cloning, which was really interesting. Seeing the different characters' reactions to Subject 7b was awesome, and every reaction seemed realistic. From Shaun's elation at having his sister back to Becks's anger and mistrust of Georgia, it all made sense. And, of course, there were some truly touching, sad scenes. Becks was an awesome character whose death was certainly very emotional.

I would say that Deadline is my favourite book in the series, but Blackout was, like the other two, intelligent, amazingly plotted, and generally pretty damn awesome.

[ibeforem]

If you haven’t read this series and plan to, you might want to skip this review. It’s impossible to talk about this third book without spoiling a major plot point.

With that said …

I did enjoy having Georgia back, even if was only 97% her. I didn’t buy the science behind her cloning one bit. I also found the way she and Shaun meet again to be more than a little coincidental. And don’t get me started on the EIS’s “plan”.

The problem with conspiracies is that they rarely make sense, and this one was no exception. I think it got a little too big and convoluted for the author to handle correctly.

BUT… What I’ve always liked about this series is the characters and the way they respond to adversity, and that still holds true in this book. I think it could have been a better story if the author had dropped the CDC conspiracy she created and instead made it a story where the world is confronted with the clone they’ve created. At least then, George’s return would have been necessary.

However this book turned out, whatever Mira Grant comes up with next will certainly be on my to-read list.

[celinenyx]

Okay, I know it for sure now. This book is one of my all time favourites.

This book. This whole series. It's so, so, so GOOD.

In this third and last part in the Newsflesh Trilogy, the After The End Times bloggers play the endgame. It's now or never, all or nothing. All the bodies they left in their wake are a dark presence they have to live with. Will they uncover the conspiracy before the government finds them and shut them up once and for all?

To be honest, I wouldn't recommend Blackout, or any of the books in this series if you are looking for a gruesome zombie book. Because to be honest, the amount of zombie encounters in this book is minimal. It's not about the shambling dead. It's about how fear can be used to control countries. It's about how easily people are persuaded when they are afraid, and how easy it is to scare them. These books are so much more than just zombie reads.

And it has intricate story lines! Hurray! I loved how all the threads came together in this one, and the fact that no questions were left unanswered. Blackout had some massive plot twists that literally made me go "oh my god oh my god what's happening". It's that good.

The only fault is something I don't mind personally, but I get why other people might get annoyed by it. There is some repetition in sentences and scenes. For example, the main characters are subjected to blood tests at every single building. But the thing is, repeating the fact that there are blood tests over and over again actually has a purpose in the story. It shows how paranoid everyone has become. It shows how repressed and twisted their society actually is. There was no unnecessary repetition in the story in my opinion.

If I was rich, I would gift these books to every person I know. Since I can't even afford buying myself new books, I will have to settle for recommending it to everyone I know. Seriously guys. These are keepers.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Blackout the final novel in the Newflesh trilogy was one of my most anticipated books of the year. I preordered my copy shortly after finishing Deadline with its mind-blowing ending. I literally consumed this novel. Grant delivered everything I hoped for and more. Fans will be captivated by this brilliant action packed novel.

It’s the year 2041, the remaining “After the End of Times” team is in hiding. They are wanted by the CDC and US government for their part in exposing the truth in the previous novel. Despite this, they are still working to uncover more. The Kellis-Amberlee virus is mutating and spreading at a rapid pace. Florida is considered a lost cause and there are talks of shutting the boarder. Mahir’s sister is alive at a camp in Florida and will be abandoned. A rescue mission is formulated and a plan is established for getting them new identities. The tale that unfolds was pure perfection! It had narrow escapes, zombie bears, startling revelations and a mysterious patient known as 7B. My emotions were all over the place, as I shared this experience with characters I have come to love.

The characters in Grant’s novels are flawed, unique and so well fleshed-out that I feel as if I know them. I shared their pain, their joy and their fear. Shawn is still conversing with his dead sister Georgia, and now he is seeing her. I have really become attached to Shawn and I feel like I understand him so completely. He is getting ready to end this. He is prepared to expose the truth for Georgia and doesn’t think he will live beyond that. He is fearless, reckless, and loyal. Despite his fractured mind he is brilliant. Grant surrounds the Masons with the most loyal team. I loved each and every one of them. These characters were so real to me, I will miss them all. Typically I am a book gypsy, and never revisit the same tale twice. I can tell you without a doubt, that I will re-read the News Flash Trilogy again and again.

The world-building from the first page of the first novel to the last page of this trilogy was superb. Grant created a story-line that is out of this world crazy and made me believe it. I became wrapped up in the virus, the conspiracies, the technology and most of all the characters. I honestly feel like I personally know each and every member of the team. They are my friends and I feel such a loyalty to them. The tale that flowed from Grant’s pen took me on a ride I will never forget. I loved the way she broke from the story, giving us blog posts from the characters. They gave us incredible insight and made the characters up close and personal. She created ebbs and flows that sent my heart racing and then gave me time to absorb the enormity of what had occurred. Her writing style can be described as both frank and beautiful. I believed this story, I lived this story and I never wanted it to end.