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Feed Newsflesh Book 1 Mira Grant 9780316081054 Books

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Feed Newsflesh Book 1 Mira Grant 9780316081054 Books

“The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we had 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.”

Two-thirds of the news team which will eventually come to be known as “After the End Times,” adopted siblings Georgia and Shaun Mason are used to chasing danger. (Although, as an Irwin, Shaun is much more accustomed to poking dangerous things with sticks than his Newsie sister.) Together with Fictional-slash-tech whiz Georgette “Buffy” Meissonier, as well as a supporting cast of countless beta bloggers, the After the End Times crew is devoted to pursuing the truth at any and all costs. When their team is selected out of hundreds (thousands?) of other bloggers to accompany moderate Republican Senator Peter Ryman as he embarks on his presidential campaign, some of them will be asked to pay the ultimate price, as the friends are unwittingly thrust into a shadowy conspiracy to steal the presidency, terrorize the populace, and engender fear to facilitate the hijacking of the Constitution.

FEED is unlike many zombie stories I’ve read of late – most notably because the zombie menace seemingly takes a backseat to political intrigue, assassination attempts, and other human-created threats. And yet I don’t quite agree with other reviewers who claim that this isn’t a zombie story.

Kellis-Amberlee – so named for Dr. Alexander Kellis, the scientist whose cure for the common cold was prematurely unleashed on the world by well-meaning “ecoterrorists,” and Amanda Amberlee, the first child to see her cancer cured via infection with the Marburg EX19 virus (when combined, the viruses unexpectedly caused the dead to rise) – colors every aspect of this world. While the survivors are mostly able to insulate themselves from the zombie threat, it comes at a great price: large public gatherings are a thing of the past; dating mostly happens online (and it’s a wonder that reproduction happens at all); privacy is sacrificed for safety at almost every turn; and people no longer have the ability to move about freely. Huge swaths of the United State are restricted, open only to those with a certain level of safety training. Kellis-Amberlee primarily causes conversion in the dead – but everyone is infected with varying levels of the virus, and spontaneous reamplification among the living and otherwise healthy is rare, but possible. The virus has effectively isolated humanity from itself. Everyone is suspect; no one can be trusted.

Likewise, the KA virus infects mammals of all species, and it can make zombies out of anyone forty pounds or larger. As a result, animal agriculture is dangerous and has mostly been abandoned. (As soon as you slaughter a cow, for example, she reanimates into a 1200 pound zombie!) While this might seem like a victory for the vegans in the house, don’t pop the Barnivore-approved champagne quite yet: while de facto vegetarianism is the norm, especially brave souls can dine on smaller animals like fishes and chickens if they so desire. Pet ownership, even of cats and smaller dogs, is restricted. Mason’s Law – introduced by Georgia and Shaun’s adoptive parents in honor of their deceased biological son, Philip – seeks to eradicate the recreational ownership of all nonhumans over 40 pounds altogether, while some especially radical fringe elements would wipe out all large mammals if given the opportunity, in what amounts to intentional mass extinction.

The concept of “animal rights” is discussed on multiple occasions, though it (like many other things) gets twisted in this post-apocalyptic world. Here, it is animal rights advocates who side with horse breeder Emily Ryman in her right to buy, sell, show, and otherwise exploit hoses – living, breathing, sentient creatures – over those who would rather they join the ranks of dodo birds and thylacines. In reality, the animal rights position would oppose the mass slaughter of these animals – as well Ryman’s “right” to create more of them.

I appreciate Grant’s exploration of animals ethics; more often than not, animals are almost completely ignored in zombie tales, except inasmuch as how their presence (i.e., as a food source) affects humans.

It seems as though there are few aspects of this scary new world that Grant hasn’t imagined in excruciating detail. Take, for example, the difficulties posed by zombies in crime scene investigation: a rather obvious problem, once you think about it – but then, so few people have thought about it! (At least, I know I didn’t. Cue that aha! moment.) Reanimation can obscure murders, as damage inflicted pre- and postmortem can be impossible to parse out – especially when the primary goal is a quick and complete sterilization of the scene. Bodies and other evidence are routinely torched. Further, even the suspicion that someone might be infected is grounds enough to gun them down in cold blood, no questions asked. A call to the CDC to report a suspicious individual is a frighteningly easy way to intimidate an enemy, or even phone in their death sentence. Shoot first, ask question later. Freedom at gunpoint.

FEED also functions as a searing indictment of the mainstream media (which, in a completely believable lapse, fails to sound the zombie alarm soon enough) and provides an interesting look at how blogging might change the landscape of news media. The book’s title references not just the zombie credo, but that of the blogging world as well: keep the feed alive.

Grant has built a world that’s as rich and detailed as it is unsettling. While zombie attacks happen only rarely in FEED, they’ve transformed the landscape in countless ways. This new America is both recognizable – and vastly different. If the dead were to rise in 2014, this could very well be what the world looks like twenty-six years down the road.


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Feed Newsflesh Book 1 Mira Grant 9780316081054 Books Reviews

Zombies. From about the turn of the century, zombies have been everywhere, in books, television shows, movies, and video games.

Feed features zombies, too. But it takes a fresh approach. Instead of being focused on the initial outbreak of zombie-ism or its immediate aftermath, the story is set about 15 years later. This allows the author to imagine the changes to American society due to the threat of zombies. As demonstrated in her other works (like Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day and Every Heart a Doorway), the author is very good at worldbuilding. Her “post-zombie” America is an interesting environment that was fun to explore for a while.

The book is not, however, an exercise in pure speculative worldbuilding. The plot follows a team of bloggers embedded with a presidential campaign. There’s drama and action. It’s all very tense and emotional, featuring a smart, strong female lead, her more extroverted and action-oriented brother, and a pretty, religious, hippy techie female sidekick. I got some dust in my eyes while I read it. There was some talk that it should have won some major awards the year it came out, and I can kinda see why.

I had a few problems with the book that prevented me from giving it a 5-star review. There’s a mystery in the book that ain’t all that mysterious. An average Scooby-Doo episode is less obvious than this book as to the identity of the Bad Guy. He/She might as well be twirling a mustache. And for a book about following around a presidential candidate, the political analyses, viewpoints, and world building is really simplistic and not realistic. I know it’s weird to critique a book with zombies for a lack of realism, but whatever, the book appears to aim high to have something “meaningful to say about the now.” I think it’s only fair to say that ambition wasn’t quite achieved to its fullest potential. The book is also a little heavy-handed and on-the-nose. It’s not SO much a zombie action/adventure novel as a kind of All the President’s Men that champions the pluck of New Media Blogging as a method of uncovering the conspiracies against Americans. The zombie stuff is pretty much a metaphor for the fears of the people – of disease, of terrorism, of the Other – that have always frightened Americans. It’s a cool idea, but instead of the clean, clever zombie-as-consumer of Romero, it comes off sort of clumsily.

But all of that is criticism from my brain juices. My heart fell hard for the main character and her brother. I liked reading about their adventures. The book made me laugh. It made me sad. It made me think. It made me squirm (so many blood tests!). I don’t know that I’ll continue the series, but I am glad that I visited that world for a little while. If you like zombie stuff, you should consider a visit, too.
“The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we had 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.”

Two-thirds of the news team which will eventually come to be known as “After the End Times,” adopted siblings Georgia and Shaun Mason are used to chasing danger. (Although, as an Irwin, Shaun is much more accustomed to poking dangerous things with sticks than his Newsie sister.) Together with Fictional-slash-tech whiz Georgette “Buffy” Meissonier, as well as a supporting cast of countless beta bloggers, the After the End Times crew is devoted to pursuing the truth at any and all costs. When their team is selected out of hundreds (thousands?) of other bloggers to accompany moderate Republican Senator Peter Ryman as he embarks on his presidential campaign, some of them will be asked to pay the ultimate price, as the friends are unwittingly thrust into a shadowy conspiracy to steal the presidency, terrorize the populace, and engender fear to facilitate the hijacking of the Constitution.

FEED is unlike many zombie stories I’ve read of late – most notably because the zombie menace seemingly takes a backseat to political intrigue, assassination attempts, and other human-created threats. And yet I don’t quite agree with other reviewers who claim that this isn’t a zombie story.

Kellis-Amberlee – so named for Dr. Alexander Kellis, the scientist whose cure for the common cold was prematurely unleashed on the world by well-meaning “ecoterrorists,” and Amanda Amberlee, the first child to see her cancer cured via infection with the Marburg EX19 virus (when combined, the viruses unexpectedly caused the dead to rise) – colors every aspect of this world. While the survivors are mostly able to insulate themselves from the zombie threat, it comes at a great price large public gatherings are a thing of the past; dating mostly happens online (and it’s a wonder that reproduction happens at all); privacy is sacrificed for safety at almost every turn; and people no longer have the ability to move about freely. Huge swaths of the United State are restricted, open only to those with a certain level of safety training. Kellis-Amberlee primarily causes conversion in the dead – but everyone is infected with varying levels of the virus, and spontaneous reamplification among the living and otherwise healthy is rare, but possible. The virus has effectively isolated humanity from itself. Everyone is suspect; no one can be trusted.

Likewise, the KA virus infects mammals of all species, and it can make zombies out of anyone forty pounds or larger. As a result, animal agriculture is dangerous and has mostly been abandoned. (As soon as you slaughter a cow, for example, she reanimates into a 1200 pound zombie!) While this might seem like a victory for the vegans in the house, don’t pop the Barnivore-approved champagne quite yet while de facto vegetarianism is the norm, especially brave souls can dine on smaller animals like fishes and chickens if they so desire. Pet ownership, even of cats and smaller dogs, is restricted. Mason’s Law – introduced by Georgia and Shaun’s adoptive parents in honor of their deceased biological son, Philip – seeks to eradicate the recreational ownership of all nonhumans over 40 pounds altogether, while some especially radical fringe elements would wipe out all large mammals if given the opportunity, in what amounts to intentional mass extinction.

The concept of “animal rights” is discussed on multiple occasions, though it (like many other things) gets twisted in this post-apocalyptic world. Here, it is animal rights advocates who side with horse breeder Emily Ryman in her right to buy, sell, show, and otherwise exploit hoses – living, breathing, sentient creatures – over those who would rather they join the ranks of dodo birds and thylacines. In reality, the animal rights position would oppose the mass slaughter of these animals – as well Ryman’s “right” to create more of them.

I appreciate Grant’s exploration of animals ethics; more often than not, animals are almost completely ignored in zombie tales, except inasmuch as how their presence (i.e., as a food source) affects humans.

It seems as though there are few aspects of this scary new world that Grant hasn’t imagined in excruciating detail. Take, for example, the difficulties posed by zombies in crime scene investigation a rather obvious problem, once you think about it – but then, so few people have thought about it! (At least, I know I didn’t. Cue that aha! moment.) Reanimation can obscure murders, as damage inflicted pre- and postmortem can be impossible to parse out – especially when the primary goal is a quick and complete sterilization of the scene. Bodies and other evidence are routinely torched. Further, even the suspicion that someone might be infected is grounds enough to gun them down in cold blood, no questions asked. A call to the CDC to report a suspicious individual is a frighteningly easy way to intimidate an enemy, or even phone in their death sentence. Shoot first, ask question later. Freedom at gunpoint.

FEED also functions as a searing indictment of the mainstream media (which, in a completely believable lapse, fails to sound the zombie alarm soon enough) and provides an interesting look at how blogging might change the landscape of news media. The book’s title references not just the zombie credo, but that of the blogging world as well keep the feed alive.

Grant has built a world that’s as rich and detailed as it is unsettling. While zombie attacks happen only rarely in FEED, they’ve transformed the landscape in countless ways. This new America is both recognizable – and vastly different. If the dead were to rise in 2014, this could very well be what the world looks like twenty-six years down the road.