Book Club: Feed (Spoilers Within!)

[Pedersen]

Time to open up the discussion.

I'm going to ask that one of our readers start things up. It's late, and I'm really tired. I'd like to actually post a useful comment about the book, so will do so tomorrow. However, I still wanted to let this get opened for real.

So, what did everybody think? Too gruesome? Meet (or beat) expectations? What expectations did you have?

Now, I've got some other bookkeeping to do, so I'm going to leave this here. Tell us what you thought!

[TheSHAD0W]

It was an interesting read, and I went on to read Mira Grant's other books. Another juvenile oriented series, had a good premise. The cliffhanger at the end of the last book is maddening, though. I'll be waiting impatiently for Blackout.

[ArcticChicken]

If you haven't finished beware ***MASSIVE SPOILERS*** ahead.






I thought it was very good. I really like her writing style, it drew me in right away and made me want to keep reading. I was pretty impressed that she was willing to kill off the main character.

TheSHADOW - Blackout is out, I just finished it yesterday.

[auntiem]

I went online to see if this book discussion was started and found this story:
http://www.adn.com/2012/06/03/248993...ne-zombie.html
It is about how some recent canabalistic events have made people online start to wonder if there is a zombie apocolypse coming. The CDC has even weighed in - stating there is no such known disease that would cause "zombie like" symptoms.
Talk about life imitating art! This is practically straight out of the book.

I did like the book. I enjoyed her writting style and I think she worked really hard on creating a realistic post - Rising world by including some great details. For example, naming the writer's styles - Irwins, Aunties etc. I think she also created a good senario for how the disease was created.

I have to confess to a total crush on Dr. Wynne despite the fact that I don't think she even discribes what he looks like in the book.

[Pedersen]

I am sorry for the delay in getting my own perspective on this book out there. I wanted to open up the thread so that I could at least keep pretty close to the schedule, even if I was too tired to say much of anything.

I was extremely impressed by this book. The zombies were important, and they decidedly changed the world, but they were not the main focus of the book. Rather, the focus was on people learning how to survive in a world that has zombies.

I was impressed by the thoughtfulness that went into it. Grading the zones that people live in, dealing with outbreaks anywhere in or near those zones, dealing with the realities of life and death. The author did a great job of making me feel like this world could actually exist, and of showing me what it would look like if such a set of conditions came to pass.

I liked the way the laws changed: Murder is, effectively, legal. If someone has been bitten, and is turning, but not turned yet, killing them is legal. Make no mistake, I understand the necessity of it. It's just another small detail in showing the way the world works.

One part that very much disturbed me, though, was when the convoy got attacked. The way the subsequent conversations played out, I understood things to mean that somebody called in to the CDC and reported them all as dead. With that single phone call, the CDC was now fully empowered to come in and ensure that they were actually dead. To me, that seems like a dangerous path to tread: What's to stop people from pranking these calls, and using the government to kill people who actually aren't dead yet?

And then, to kill the main character by getting her injected with KA? That was a powerful powerful chapter. This is definitely one of the better written zombie novels I've ever seen. I'm planning on adding the rest of the series to my queue now.

Thanks!

[DaDairyDruid]

OK.

I first saw this book a while back, and thought it perfect for the wife, but for one reason or another we never got it. Then about a year ago a mutual friend told us how awesome it was and we definitely should read it.

As I told Khelderson, It is a Political Thriller disguised as a Zombie novel. The characters are all compelling. The way the world changed after the rising is profound.

The world is now run by those who exploit FEAR and the only people standing in their way are the bloggers who are not afraid to tell the facts. I was just waiting for someone to say "They can't stop the signal, Mal"

The Sequel "Deadline" is a Medical Thriller disguised as a Zombie novel. We are waiting for a copy of Blackout from the Library, even though we will buy a copy sooner or later.

[BlaqueKatt]

and if you want the story of exactly how the bug rose, countdown: a newsflesh novella is available on kindle at least.

I read all four this week.

I really love zombie books that don't follow the traditional path of, "humanity is all but destroyed, except for small groups, and they will inevitably be attacked by biker gangs of raiders, or will fall to the zombies" Another series(one of my all time faves, it has actually made me cry real tears) that takes place with a similar "zombies as backdrop" is the Benny Imura series, Rot and Ruin, Dust and Decay, and(release date of sept 11) Flesh and Bone.

Back to Feed/newsflesh: I thoroughly enjoyed the series, and how far they took the conspiracy/how far the bloggers were willing to go for the truth. Also having the best "Irwin" being Becks, former debutante that walked away from her family to pursue her own dreams, yet still retains her kindness. I hate when the female characters(or any characters, for that matter) are either simpering cowards, or over the top heartless badasses, there seems to be difficulty for authors to find a middle ground.

I liked the way the laws changed: Murder is, effectively, legal. If someone has been bitten, and is turning, but not turned yet, killing them is legal. Make no mistake, I understand the necessity of it. It's just another small detail in showing the way the world works.

If you remember they don't even have to be bitten, just in a hazzard zone after nightfall is legal reason to kill, without having to bother determining infection status.

One part that very much disturbed me, though, was when the convoy got attacked. The way the subsequent conversations played out, I understood things to mean that somebody called in to the CDC and reported them all as dead. With that single phone call, the CDC was now fully empowered to come in and ensure that they were actually dead. To me, that seems like a dangerous path to tread: What's to stop people from pranking these calls, and using the government to kill people who actually aren't dead yet?

Means most people would be utterly terrified to cross the CDC, or anyone else-fear is a powerful tool.

and mini spoiler to get peds to the last book:

they reference Zork, I had a nerdgasm.

Highlight above, more of an easter egg, and not a major plot point....