Feed (Newsflesh, #1)

by Mira Grant

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.

• ISBN10: 0316081051
• ISBN13: 9780316081054
• Publish Date: 1 May 2010 (first published 1 January 2010)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Little, Brown & Company
• Format: Paperback (US Tall Rack)
• Pages: 608
• Language: English

Reviews

[celinenyx]

Not one for zombie books usually, I picked this one up because it came so highly recommended. The plot sounded like it had more to it than some shambling corpses moaning "braaaaiiins" while doing the zombie shuffle. I was expecting interesting zombie novel. I got blood-racing mystery, action and heart-wrenching drama.

Imagine a world where every single person is infected with a virus. This virus will turn you into a zombie when you die. Imagine more than seventy-five percent of the world population killed by the virus. This is the world Georgia and Shaun are born in. Adopted brother and sister form with their best friend Buffy the team of After the End Times, a blog dedicated to news. But blogging is a dangerous business in 2040...

Feed is a good book. It has a rock-steady foundation and lovable characters that inhabit its world. Even if you don't like the actual content, I don't think anyone can say this book was not thought through. Usually I find little plot holes in a book. They don't bother me much, but they're there. I couldn't find any in Feed. The characters stayed within their personality. If there was a computer in scene one, it's still there in scene two. I admire this extend of editing that goes into this book.

I loved that there was a good reason for the zombies to turn, you know.. into zombies. I hate lame excuses like, they just turned up this way! There was an extensive background that made it a whole lot more believable for me.

The extend of the details will put some people off. There is a lot of in-depth philosophy, info on the way viruses behave, and the inner workings in the blogging world. This book is VERY heavy on the blog mechanics. Because people don't leave their houses any more, except if they must, blogs are the new form of entertainment. They will be the first to tell you where a new outbreak is. There are a lot of different styles of blogging, and there is a lot of emphasis on the characteristics of each. As a blogger myself, I found this quite interesting, but I can totally understand why some people won't.

If you decide to give Feed a try, be prepared to invest a bit in the story. The plot doesn't always move along all that fast, but it will get there. And if it does, you will be amazed.

[ibeforem]

I listened to this way back around Halloween. Between the zombies and the presidential campaign, it was timely in more ways than one. There was a lot of talk about this book when it was released, and my expectations were met and then some. As far as zombie stories go, it’s not particularly scary, but there are definitely a lot of tense moments. Georgia and Shaun are very likeable main characters, even if they are headstrong at times. You grow to respect them, not only as people, but as businesspeople. And she manages to surround them with characters that are interesting and colorful without being stereotypical (with the exception of some of the politicians).

What really grabbed me about this novel was the detailed world Grant has created. I found everything, from the way the outbreak began to the way it spread to the deterioration of journalism and rise of blogging, to be believable, if not plausible. The only thing I never really grasped was why Georgia and Shaun’s parents were famous, but it’s very possible I just wasn’t paying close enough attention to the audio book when that was explained. I raked a lot of leaves during this book.

Plot wise, there was a lot to keep your attention. Besides the presidential campaign and the conspiracy/sabotage, there is the constant concern about the virus and infection. There also are a number of plot-twists that I found rather unexpected. I have to respect an author who isn’t afraid to "kill her darlings", quite literally. I was really surprised at the biggest twist, because it was a huge risk, as far as story construction goes.

That’s not to say the story was perfect. The repetitious descriptions of the various testing techniques and scenarios grew quite tiresome, and were something that only needed explaining/describing once, unless it was necessary to move the story forward in some way.

I thought this was a nice change of pace in the zombie oeuvre, because it focuses more on the living than on the gore of the dead. I’ll definitely be continuing the series, because I have no idea what could be coming next.

[kimbacaffeinate]

This book was fantastic. There were so many twists and turns and trying to figure out who was good and who was bad. There wasn't blood and gore or sex..but you became emotional invested in the main characters. I will be reading book 2.