The Bush League Critic

Bloggers and Zombies. Like I wasn't going to read this book!

Author Seanan McGuire steps away from Urban Fantasy to write this new series under the psuedonym of Mira Grant. Part Horror, part Mystery, part Political Thriller, and part "holy shit how are we going to categorize it?!" -- Feed has a little bit of everything for everybody.

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 come out, even if it kills them.

First a warning: if you are an old-fashioned zombie aficionado looking for a heavy dose of shambling, moaning, brain-noshing action... this book may not be for you. An outbreak of the "infected" may still be only a traffic accident away, but the zombie-apocalypse has already happened. The world changed because of it and this novel deals with these changes. Sorry if that puts you off the book, but I thought I'd be up front about it. I urge you to give it a shot anyway.

The cure for the common cold (and a separate cure for cancer) infects the human race (and any animal with a body-mass greater than forty pounds) with a virus that will reanimate their bodies when they die. They will chew on a friend or loved one -- awakening their dormant virus -- and so on, and so on. That's the reality that Georgia (George) and Shaun Mason live with every day.

Twenty years earlier, the main-stream media turned a blind eye to the fact that the dead were rising. They scoffed at the bloggers who were reporting "zombie attacks" all over the world. After the dust settled, traditional media outlets took a huge hit in credibility for ignoring the facts. Bloggers took on a more important, credible role in disseminating "news" and information.

Because of this, a young presidential candidate makes a bold move and invites a team of bloggers (led by George and Shaun) to join him on the campaign trail as part of his personal entourage of journalists. Along the way, they uncover a conspiracy that could very well kill them should they choose to pursue the story.

Disappointed as I was at the lack of much actual zombie action (there's some, don't worry!), I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Grant creates a chilling future dominated by security checkpoints and blood tests -- where animal rights, death and even the size of windows take on a whole new meaning -- and populates it with real characters... characters who are for the most part, fun and light-hearted. The author cleverly pays homage to the genre in the form of character names and other inside jokes that I found quite endearing. You may or may not be amused.

While part of a series (The Newsflesh Trilogy), this novel stands on its own two feet. You don't have to worry about being left in the lurch until the new book comes out next year. But even though I give Feed two thumbs up, I worry that there's enough gas left in this particular tank for two more books. Time will tell, I guess.