Zombies. Blogging. Politics.

The first time I heard about Feed was on Jennifer’s blog Book Den. Because I had already read her review, I knew what to expect. I was a little shocked that she didn’t like the book, but she encouraged others to check out other reviews and experience the book for themselves. And I did just that.

Before I get into my opinion, check out the summary from Goodreads:

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?

This book is the first in the Newsflesh Trilogy.

When you think zombies, you automatically think action – or at least that is what I think. Action is what you get right off the bat. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

The fact that Georgia and Shaun are bloggers makes the book even more interesting. They are following Senator Ryman on his campaign trail to the presidency. A few of the chapters are set up as blog posts that are written by Georgia, Shaun, and other characters in the book. Like I said before – if you were expecting George Romero in novel form I suggest you look elsewhere. There is a lot of political and technical talk in this book.

There were two narrators in this novel. They both kept me engaged. Paula Christensen narrated the majority of the story and voiced Georgia Mason’s character. Jesse Bernstein was the voice of Shaun Mason. I preferred Ms. Christensen voice over Mr. Bernstein’s simply because Ms. Christensen had a more dynamic range in her speaking. Her character voices were much more different that her narrator voice. She was clear and read at a pace that was slow enough for me to understand what she was saying.

My only downfall with this novel is the writing. It’s nothing special and kind of really repetitive. If Ms. Grant has cut out half of the things she kept telling us over and over again I am pretty sure the book would have been 50 pages shorter. No lie. I will give the author her credit though. She did do her homework when it came to the all the technical stuff.

I love a good ending and the ending to Feed was shocking. While I didn’t particularly care for the authors writing, the ending to Feed makes me want to pick up Deadline, the second book in the series.

So what is my rating?

Three J’s

Feed is a good read for those of you who like dystopian novels. There is a lot of talk of politics and such, but I promise it makes the novel more interesting. Like everything, this book has its flaws, but that shouldn’t stop your from picking up this audiobook.The final book in the Newsflesh trilogy, Blackout, is due out this May. You can view all information about the Newsfeed trilogy and the author here.

I would love to hear what you thought about this novel – if you have read it. If not, tell me what you thought of my review in the comments below!

Happy reading,

Jayla