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 … 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.
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Wow, this was not what was expecting!! Came into this thinking I was getting a run of the mill zombie survival book. Instead I was treated to a political thriller set against the backdrop of a presidential campaign in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse.
Will definitely be reading the rest of this series!
FEED follows the story of Georgia and Shaun Mason, two bloggers living in the age of zombies. Years before we meet our protagonists, humans cured cancer and the common cold only to unleash zombie-ism upon the world. Yet, this story is a far cry from your typical zombie dystopian. The world hasn’t collapsed in the face of zombie-ism, only changed. While some cities have fallen to the undead, many are still trundling along as people live with serious safeguards (constant blood testing, special virus killing showers) and avoid crowds for the dangers they pose. It’s Presidential election season in FEED and the Masons are journalists on the campaign trail searching for their next story. FEED has your typical zombie gore but also loads of political maneuvering, a bevy of secrets that will keep the pages turning, and a surprisingly detailed (for a zombie novel) behind the scenes look at the life of journalists. Mira Grant creates an intriguing zombie world in FEED and the book will appeal to zombie fans as well as straight up thriller fans.
Verdict: A fun novel but not your typical zombie-fare.
Great read, although a little longer than I expected and there is some repetition. But then there are passages like this: “My father has always had just one piece of advice about zombies and ammunition, one he’s drilled into my head enough times that it’s managed to stick: when you have one bullet left and there’s no visible way out of the shit you’re standing in, save it for yourself.”
I love the way Mira Grant has created the Newsflesh universe. The Zombie Apocalypse has happened. And now the world is rebuilding. It is an interesting take on zombies and how they’ve come to be.
I loved this book. A very different and original take on the zombie apocalypse!
Another Great read heading into Halloween. Mira Grant takes the zombie genre and turns it on its head with its amazing world-building and story that takes tons of fantastic left turns.
I’m usually not a zombie fan but this book grabbed me and I gulped down the whole trilogy. Mira is the alter-ego of Seanan McGuire, so trust me, it’s good. Though, she leans more horror in her SF than Seanan does in her UF, so be warned if you’re not good with that.
This series really takes the zombie genre in another direction and turns a lot of your standard zombie tropes on their ear. It’s a fascinating take on how the civilized world functions and goes on after the ‘zombie apocalypse’. The entire series is fantastic honestly, but FEED will always be my favorite. Even if only because when I picked it up, I did not expect what I got. It surprised me and that rarely happens these days. The world is complex and complete and immersive. The characters are relatable and multi-faceted. The dialogue and plot progression is well paced and witty and the overall story is amazingly fresh for a genre that can sometimes feel a little stale. I’ve re-read the series a few times now and I find something new each time. Some nuance that I missed that last time thru. It is overall just extraordinarily well done.
Probably the most unique take on zombies that I’ve ever read–in fact, I wouldn’t call it it a zombie novel so much as a political thriller that happens to be set in a zombie world. Tons of action and fun–but watch out, things escalate pretty quickly in the last half!
Love it
Imagine trying to cover a presidential campaign in a pandemic. This is the first book in the Newsflesh series and a gripping read.
Interesting mystery series – with zombies. Tremendous world-building, lots of action, will keep you on the edge of your seat. Finish this and immediately begin the next one, you won’t be disappointed.
For something that is overdone as Zombies, this book (and the rest of the series) has a fresh enough slant to make it a great read. Functional Zombie Apocalypse.
Fan-freaken-tastic doesn’t even cover what type of book Feed is. Feed is not just a take on the zombie apocalypse myth, but a political thriller. Feed is a hybrid of the movies, 12 Monkeys, 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead. This is also Mira’s ode to bloggers and the freedom of the press. Set during the American presidential primaries in the distant future, this is a political narrative on society and humanity, where the landscape isn’t as bleak as it sees.
Feed takes place in 2039, 25 years after the events where cancer and the flu have been eradicated. (For some reason there isn’t a mention of HIV or AIDS being cured, which I assume has been as well). Because scientists were able to create a vaccine against the common cold, they foresee that mixing the two viral strains together would cause an infection of mass destruction. This virus called Kellis-Amberlee (which is explained in great detail throughout the novel), turn humans and large mammals into mindless, flesh eating zombies we have come to recognize in books and movies. Humanity has found a way to survive, and through science and technology, the citizens of the Unites States, including other countries live safely most of the time, but must always be aware of the dangers surrounding them.
Georgia Mason, along with her brother Shaun, are bloggers who are in all ways news reporters.
Mainstream media is no long trustworthy, based on their coverage of the initial zombie attack, and because of that, bloggers have risen up and taken over. Along with Buffy, their lead camera and video tech, they do their best to report the world around them. And all their hard work has paid off because the Mason siblings have been invited to be the exclusive bloggers and cover Senator Ryman’s road to the White House during the primaries. They go on the campaign trail with him and try to uncover if the man in the public eye with all his promises of hope, is the same man in private.
Georgia thinks this will be pretty easy going, that is until an enemy of Ryman’s attacks him where it hurts. Not only does this shadowy villain use the killer zombies as weapons, but there also maybe something more unsettling going on that could unleash another apocalypse and ruin mankind forever. It’s up to Georgia, Shaun and Buffy to find the truth knowing they could become collateral damage themselves.
Mira’s world building in Feed is bar none, one of the best I’ve ever read. Every detail mentioned is very intricate, as if you were reading a very researched newspaper article. Many would say this is just another zombie horror novel. How very mistaken they are. The zombies are used as a catalyst to propel this story in ways you would never expect. The zombies are more background noise if anything, and when all is said and done, not an integral part of the story. What is very important is the character of Georgia and her view of things. She is the heart and soul of Feed, but yet, as a reader, you aren’t allowed to really connect with her on a personal level. This may irk some readers, but it makes sense since Georgia is more of an observer, a reporter who jots down everything she sees and leaves it up to the audience to decide what’s right and wrong. Only when she interacts with her brother Shaun, and in some ways with Ryman, does she step outside that impersonal box she has built around herself. And I can’t help but see Georgia as an asexual character. Her sole purpose is to report the news where she has no other desires. Food, sleep and sexual urges are non-existent when it comes to Georgia.
There are some sly moments of humor as well. A perfect example of this is the names of our main characters. There’s also great commentary on pop culture in general, as well as current events ranging from politics and most importantly terrorism. Because Georgia and Shaun are so involved in their work, their relationships with their parents and others are very strained. At one point, these two almost end up dying, and yet there is no mention of their parents rushing to their side or even contacting them.
There came a point where the tension and drama was so thick and intense. Mira ups it up a notch and does something so unbelievable shocking. It’s her way of grabbing the reader by the throat and shaking them. When I read this, I had to put down Feed and take a few breaths and mourn over the loss I just read. This was the punch to the gut Mira needed to do in order to make Feed shine. The outcome of this event will leave you speechless.
The best possible compliment I can give this book and the writing talents of Mira Grant, is that if Edward R, Murrow, one of the greatest American broadcast journalists was still alive, he would embrace Feed for its message. George Romero, the godfather of the zombie apocalypse, would stand up and cheer. Feed is, hands down, one of the best zombie stories I’ve ever read, behind George Matheson’s, I am Legend.
I was sitting there and as I read the final words of chapter ten, I had this epiphany. I’m reading a political novel, following a Senator on his campaign trail… And enjoying it. This is a grand accomplishment and great props to Mira Grant for this feat!
I don’t usually go for zombie stories, but this was a political thriller and character-driven adventure that just happens to exist in a world where the zombie apocalypse happened decades before and everybody just lives with that public health issue now. I love the entire series; Shaun and Georgia are excellent main characters, and the secondary characters were just as compelling.
Great book, I read the whole trilogy. I love the characters and the action. I think what makes this a great zombie book is also that it shows that no matter what it is sometimes the humans that are worse than the zombies.