Feed, by Mira Grant

Format: Mass Market Paperback, 571 pages

Published: May 1, 2010

Publisher: Orbit

Back cover blurb:

In 2014, two experimental viruses—a genetically engineered flu strain designed by Dr. Alexander Kellis, intended to act as a cure for the common cold, and a cancer-killing strain of Marburg, known as “Marburg Amberlee”—escaped the lab and combined to form a single airborne pathogen that swept around the world in a matter of days. It cured cancer. It stopped a thousand cold and flu viruses in their tracks.

It raised the dead.

Millions died in the chaos that followed. The summer of 2014 was dubbed “The Rising,” and only the lessons learned from a thousand zombie movies allowed mankind to survive. Even then, the world was changed forever. The mainstream media fell, Internet news acquired an undeniable new legitimacy, and the CDC rose to a new level of power.

Set twenty years after the Rising, the Newsflesh trilogy follows a team of bloggers, led by Georgia and Shaun Mason, as they search for the brutal truths behind the infection. Danger, deceit, and betrayal lurk around every corner, as does the hardest question of them all:

When will you rise?

My review:

Journalism, politics and zombies – what more could I ask for? This was my first zombie book, and I have to say the undead were only minor inconveniences when stacked up against the political plot at the centre of this unique and amusing story.

Georgia (named, as all girls of her era, after George Romero) and Shaun (no explanation needed for his name, LOL) are adopted siblings who are invited to blog on the 2040 campaign trail with a senator running for president. Since the zombie apocalypse in 2014, bloggers have become the mainstream media, primarily because the old news media didn’t believe the zombies were taking over, and either were discredited or got eaten. Georgia is a Newsie – just the facts, ma’am – while Shaun is an Irwin (I LOVED this!), a blogger who takes unnecessary risks to get a story, i.e. he likes poking zombies with a stick and recording what happens. Needless to say, his computer password is “crikey”. Just brilliant.

They team up with Buffy, a Fictional (she writes poetry and zombie fiction), and together get embroiled in the dirty politics on the campaign, leading to grisly deaths and a truly heartbreaking ending.

The concept was brilliant, and obviously a lot of research went into creating this dystopia where everyone must constantly test their blood and a journalism qualification comes with a gun licence. There was a slow patch in the middle, but once the plot became apparent – and to me it was rather obvious who was behind it – the pace picked up and I was gripped until the end. I’ll definitely be reading the sequel when it comes out later this year.

My rating: 4/5