Review - Blackout (Newsflesh, Book 3) by Mira Grant (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic/Zombie
Size: 665 pages
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: June 1, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0316081078
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Newsflesh Trilogy
Source: Bought
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This is the third and final book in the Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire). It ties up things well, if a bit too neatly. This has turned into more of a book about government conspiracy and cloning than about zombies.

Georgia has woken up in a medical facility only to learn that she has been cloned back into existence. Shaun and his fellow Bloggers at End of Times are in hiding trying to blow open the story about how the insect vector of the Kellis-Amberlee was created by the government in order to suppress other news. The story alternates between Georgia and Shaun until they both come together at the end.

Let me just say that this really isn’t a book about zombies. There are very few fights with zombies in this novel. Yeah there are a few, even a rather odd and uncalled for encounter with a zombie-bear, but this is not the nail-biting butt-kicking zombie read we started the series with. This is a book about the morality of cloning and about government conspiracy. I still loved it, but let’s not confuse what we are really reading about here.

Georgia’s story is focused on the cloning she went through, the conditioning they did to past clones of her, and how many clones they went through trying to get her right. There is a lot about the morality of cloning and what makes a person a person. Is it murder to kill a clone if you made them to begin with? How many people the government has in place are more cooperative clones of people who weren’t behaving the way the CDC wanted them too? It’s interesting stuff and food for thought but not really about zombies.

Shaun and crew are still bunking with the mad scientist. When she states a need to have a live mosquito in hopes of figuring out how these insects were created, Shaun with his immunity is the natural choice. Add this to the fact that Alric’s baby sister is trapped in FL and the team needs to figure out a way to break into the quarantined FL. So basically Shaun and crew spend most of the book trying to get into FL and trying to find out the truth about where the insect vector generated from.

Most of what Shaun and Georgia go through is in secret, so public opinion isn’t as involved in this book. The chapters do start with excerpts from blog posts; but almost all of them are labeled as unpublished.

------SPOILER START------
There is a supposed huge surprise about the relationship between Shaun and Georgia. All the characters in the book are like OMG we had no idea. I had kind of assumed right from the beginning of the series that these adopted siblings had a thing going on. I have read other reviewers that talk about the incestuous nature of the relationship and it leaves me scratching my head in confusion. I was surprised to find out that their buddies didn’t know Shaun and Georgia were involved; I guess I had already read between the lines that they had that kind of relationship going on. So this didn’t bother me; so uh yeah...I thought that part was not a surprise and pretty obvious from the very beginning of the series...but whatever.
------SPOILER END---------

The book is incredibly well written; it’s easy to read and there is humor thrown in that had me laughing out loud a number of times. The switch of viewpoint between Georgia and Shaun is well done, but does make for a lengthy read. The blog entries at the beginning of chapters give an outside perspective that really adds to the story as well.

So does it all end well? Well you will have to read to find out. Let’s just say all the big issues are addressed. Things come together a little too neatly and felt a little too convenient, but I still enjoyed how everything wrapped up.

Overall an excellent conclusion to this series. If you have read and enjoyed the first two books then you need to read this one as well. Is this a zombie book? Not really it is more about government conspiracy and the morality of cloning. There aren’t a ton of zombie fights. It is still really well written and a really good read. I enjoyed it a lot. The whole series is highly recommended to fans of zombie reads, especially if you like the whole government conspiracy angle.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Zombie Reading Challenge
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review - Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Cyberpunk
Size: 320 pages
Publisher: Grove Press
Release Date: June 19, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0802120205
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC through Amazon Vine
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I got an advanced reading copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program for review. This was a creative and interesting book that combines mythology, cyberpunk, and political activism.

Alif is the name for a young Arab-Indian hacker who generally spends his days protecting his clients from surveillance and censoring. Alif has also fallen in love with young aristocratic woman. Suddenly things fall apart for Alif; his lover spurns him and the State agency known as the Hand infiltrates his system. Alif ends up on the run. He meets with his lover one last time and she gives his a strange book. Who knew that Djinn really existed? Alif is forced to flee through both our world and a magical one as he tries to stop the Hand from destroying both his work and that of his friends.

This book reminds a lot of previous books you might have read; but is a unique combination of all of these books. There is a bit of Gaiman’s Neverwhere in here in how the city of the djinn is hidden within Alif’s city, there are also the quirky characters and flight from unknown evil. There is a bit of Stephenson’s Snow Crash in here as well, which shows in the hacking sequences and in the rebellion towards the government. This story is part mythology, part cyberpunk, and part political statement all set in the Middle East.

That being said it was different than anything I have ever read before. It gave some interesting incite into Middle Eastern politics and culture. At the same time it also references some unique mythology from that region. This is not a book you read quickly, this is a book that you need to think through...at times it gets a bit dense.

This is a creative story, as I said I’ve never read anything like this before. The characters are all pretty good and interesting; although this is more a plot driven story than a character driven one. I don’t know a ton about the Middle East and it was incredibly interesting how the culture was blended in to the rest of the story. Practical issues, like how women eat around their veils, were mentioned in the telling; there are just a lot of interesting cultural things that I never really considered before.

Additionally this story bluntly discusses a lot of other issues in the Middle East region; repression, sexism, censorship, corruption, and separation of social casts. This ended up making the story somewhat educational, despite the fact it is a fantasy.

This is also a wonderful fantasy/urban fantasy. Alif walks in and out of the world of the djinn; it is an interesting concept and an unique world. I love how Alif discovers a new way to program that he believes he has learned from the djinn’s book of stories.

My only complaints would be at times the book is a bit dense and towards the middle-end of the book I thought the pacing was a bit slow. Also, although the characters are fairly well done, they weren’t characters that totally engaged me and pulled me into the story. They were interesting, but I never really cared a lot about them.

Overall an excellent urban fantasy/cyberpunk/political story. This book is unlike anything I have ever read before. I loved how Middle Eastern culture was blended into this fantasy and how we get to see some scenes of every day life. I loved even more that the mythology of this region was highly incorporated into this story. Then of course there were the glorious hacker scenes; where it is code against code to see who saves the world. My only complaints are that the story is dense (which makes it a slow read at times) and the characters were decent, yet not highly compelling. Highly recommended for fans of urban fantasy/cyberpunk or for those who are just interesting in Middle Eastern culture.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review - Feed (Newsflesh Trilogy, Book 1) by Mira Grant (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult
Genre: Horror
Size: 608 pages
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0316081054
Stand Alone or Series: 1st in Newsflesh Trilogy
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars
 
When I first saw Feed I was interested in reading it.  When I found out the Mira Grant is a pen name for Seanan McGuire who writes the October Daye series I love...well then I was dying to read this book.  It is an excellent, excellent book.  It is the first book in the Newsflesh trilogy.  The second book is going to be released in June of 2011 and will be called Deadline and the third book has a 2012 planned release and will be titled Blackout.

George and her brother Shaun are part of the vast community of bloggers who provide news and entertainment to the public.  When the Outbreak first happened the media tried to cover it up, the people who ended up providing the public with life-saving and accurate information were the bloggers.  Now in a society where the Infected and humans live together (if not really in harmony) it is the bloggers who provide a nation contained to their houses in seclusion with information and entertainment.  George (a Newsie), Shaun (an Irwin - thrill-seeker), and Buffy (a Fictional and techno geek) are good bloggers and have a good following.  When they win a job to follow a presedential candidate on his campaign trail they hit big time.  When random outbreaks (or maybe not so random) of infection start happening near the potential president to be George smells trouble.  Little do the trio know how deep the trouble goes and how much it will cost them to reveal.

This was just an absolutely awesome book.  I like the October Daye series by Seanan Mcguire; but I loved this book even more.  This book has a lot more substance and is more of a horror/mystery/political thriller.  You are faced with many social and psychological issues in this book.  The plot is complex, surprising, and non-stop.  This was an extremely hard book to put down.  I read the whole 600 pages in under two days. 

You can tell a lot of research went into this book (this is backed up by the long list of people at the back of the book who helped Grant with info).  Grant presents us with a complex politcal system and society; as well as detailed info on technology, viruses, and weapons.  I was impressed with the detail, accuracy, and complexity of it all.  In addition to this the characters are easy to relate to, likable, admirable, and real.  There is humor woven throughout, mystery, excellent action scenes, and wonderful characterization.  Basically this book has it all.  For those of you who aren't into being scared to death, no worries, this book isn't that scary...but it is graphic and gory during some of the fight scenes.

This is one of those books that is intense.  It will make you laugh and then have you grabbing the edge of your seat in anxiety; it will make you angry and it will make you cry.  It is absolutely engrossing and it takes a good author to make all of these elements come together to evoke that sort of emotion.

I am not usually into political motivated books, but this one was just so well done and combined elements of zombies, action, etc into serious issues so well that I loved it.  The writing is very well done and easy to read.  The plot is presented in such a way that it is complex, but easy enough to keep track of the plot elements.

The ending broke my heart, but everything was tied up nicely and left us at a good point for the next book.  Just a warning; do not read the extras at the end of the book unless you want some major spoilers exposed to you.  Seriously read the extras after the book.

Overall, just an absolutely excellent zombie book with elements of mystery, action, and political thriller.  This book should appeal to a large audience; everyone should give this book a read it is absolutely engaging and you won't be disappointed.  The violence does get extremely graphic so I would recommend for older young adults and adult readers only. 

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Zombies! Reading Challenge

 

Classic Review - Animal Farm by George Orwell (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult/Young Adult
Genre: Satire/Political
Size:  139 pages
Publisher: Signet
Release Date: April 1st, 1996 (Originally in 1945)
ISBN-13: 9780451526342
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Swapped through Paperbackswap.com
Rating: 4/5 stars
 

This book has been on my "to read" list for a while.  A satire of Orwell's opinion on totalitarianism, particularly on Stalin's rule, it was an interesting read.

When the animals at the Manor Farm decide to have a rebellion and overthrow the humans things are good for a while.  But when a stubborn pig named Napoleon takes over, things take a turn for the worse.  The animals are turned into the slaves of the pigs, yet are constantly reminded how things are better for them now then under oppressive human rule.

This was a very quick read and also entertaining.  It was actually very hard to put down, which surprised me.  I was totally concerned about what was going to happen to the animals under Napoleon's rule.  This is a very good read and points out a lot of problems with past and modern political systems.  It details the evil of being politically ignorant in a humorous but very effective way.  I was impressed with how convincing Napoleon's arguments to the animals were, from the outside it looks silly, but from the animals' perspective Napoleon seemed more reasonable than he should have.

This book teaches something that I think a lot of us are aware of from history, but it does it in a wonderfully engaging and humorous way.  I was surprised at how easy to read and well-written this book was; it is a book that has aged well and will apply pretty much forever.

Overall I am glad I read it.  I recommend that everyone pick up this book and give it a read through.  It is a quick read and is something that will stick with you; a great cautionary tale about how government can lull the populace into submission while taking advantage of them.