Book: Deadline

“Shaun Mason is a man without a mission. Not even running the news organization he built with his sister has the same urgency as it used to. Playing with dead things just doesn’t seem as fun when you’ve lost as much as he has.

But when a CDC researcher fakes her own death and appears on his doorstep with a ravenous pack of zombies in tow, Shaun has a newfound interest in life. Because she brings news—he may have put down the monster who attacked them, but the conspiracy is far from dead.

Now, Shaun hits the road to find what truth can be found at the end of a shotgun.“

I was very excited when I found out from Tina (of One More Page) that Deadline was finally out. I loved Feed. It was the zombie novel that changed the way I look at how zombie stories can be told. So, obviously, I was ecstatic to grab my copy of the sequel as soon as it was out—and now I have, on my hands, my very own copy of Deadline.

Okay, I’m not actually holding it. It’s kind of hard to hold a book while typing at the same time. And I’ve already finished reading it. Umm. Yeah, so there’s that. And, uh, I kind of lost my train of thought. Let’s just get on with the book, shall we?

Deadline picks up some years after the events of Feed. After the game-changing end of the first book, the opening of Deadline definitely surprised me. I mean, sure I’ve read the opening months ago, but how it was handled still surprised me. It was a good surprise, as it wasn’t where I was expecting the story to go. And there’s not ‘but’ here.

In Deadline, the Center for Disease Control (or the CDC) is still far from discovering a way to contain the Kellis-Amberlee virus that had turned many of the dead into shambling zombies. And we begin to find out the reason why. It’s a conspiracy!

Sure, we get that from Feed. It wasn’t a secret after the climactic confrontation between Shaun Mason and General Tate in the end of Feed. We knew that someone bigger was pulling the strings—we just don’t know why. What surprised me was the involvement of CDC in the conspiracy. Or rather, the people in the CDC involved in the conspiracy.

In a post-apocalyptic world, there are only a few people you can trust. Shaun, our protagonist, had his team of trusted allies by his side the whole time—most of whom we only meet in this book, so I feared that Mira Grant (the author) would pull another Buffy. Except she can’t. And, thankfully, she didn’t.

What I liked most about Feed was present in Deadline as well—our characters were constantly in motion. Feed had our three main characters (Georgia, Shaun and Buffy) on the political trail of Senator Ryman’s presidential campaign. Deadline has Shaun with a permutation of team members going out on road trips every so often as he searched for the truth. This was good as the second book had more characters than the first, and we are only actually meeting them for the first time here, so the characters each get their own chance to shine. And they do.

The only thing that didn’t live up to my expectations was Shaun’s perspective. Feed was told through Georgia’s eyes, and it had her dry humor. With Shaun taking the helm for Deadline, I was expecting a lighter persona for the readers to latch on to. Except Shaun’s voice wasn’t light. It makes sense, taking into consideration the events that happened to Shaun prior to Deadline, but still—it felt like I was still reading the book through Georgia’s perspective. (And in a way, I was. But I’m not expounding, because that way leads to spoilers.)

Overall though, the book was solid. I’m still not sure if we did get the answers we were supposed to get, as I got lost in the medical jargon that the characters employed, but we do get two crazy developments by the end of the book that made sure that I’m going to be buying the third book, Blackout, as soon as it hits the market. Developments you’ll have to find out for yourself when you read the book, because I’m not going to spoil a perfectly good story for you.

Deadline is available locally through Fully Booked. But I suggest you give them a call first to find out which branch actually has a copy. It took me two trips (and a lot of griping and ranting) before I got my copy.

If you’re still undecided about the book, check out what other people have written about it:
One More Page
The Word Zombie
Pen and Ink, Camera and Keyboard

book: rot & ruin

last august, i posted about THE NEW DEAD, a collection of stories that deal with a world full of zombies. one of the more memorable stories in the collection was jonathan maberry’s FAMILY BUSINESS.

i didn’t mention the story when i posted about THE NEW DEAD, because by then i had already found out that maberry was going to release a whole book based on the short story he had written.

and so i waited for ROT & RUIN to be released.

i got the book around a month ago, but only found the time to read it now. and i wish i hadn’t waited so long, because the book was well-written–and very heartfelt.

when reading zombie fiction, i always look for something that would set what i’m reading apart from the things i’ve already read and seen before. ROT & RUIN reminds me a little of mira grant’s FEED; but instead of setting the story in a political terrain, ROT & RUIN sets the story a little closer to home.

ROT & RUIN tells the story of benjamin imura, a teenager who must look for a part-time job in a post-apocalyptic world. everyone assumes that benjamin, or benny as he is known to everyone, would apprentice with his older brother tom. tom’s a bounty hunter, but he prefers the term “closure specialist.” benny doesn’t think much of his brother–especially since his first memory of tom is of him running away from their infected parents during first night.

but when tom takes benny out into the great rot and ruin, benny’s way of thinking begins to change. and just in time too,  because their life in mountainside is about to get complicated.

ROT & RUIN is a coming-of-age story set in the post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies. benny, our main character, journeys to learn that the world isn’t confined within the fences of their town. and that zombies are not the only things he should be keeping an eye out for.

to be quite honest, i was wary of ROT & RUIN as a full-length novel. i liked FAMILY BUSINESS, and how it was able to convey the emotions connected to closure. so i was afraid that the novel would stretch that a bit too thin. but i shouldn’t have worried. ROT & RUIN is rich in characters and in details, that while the events of FAMILY BUSINESS does still happen in the novel, it’s now just part of a bigger picture–of a bigger world that we’re going to discover in the next book.

here are some thoughts on ROT & RUIN from other people:
Karin’s Book Nook
Elitist Book Reviews
Jenn’s Bookshelves

book: mockingjay

i didn’t want to post about MOCKINGJAY at least until after the weekend; it’s hard to post about a book without at least touching on what happens in the book. and we all know that many people don’t like spoilers, especially on things as much-awaited as this book.

but it’s already monday, so i think it’s safe to write about MOCKINGJAY. but first, a little look back on the first two books from the HUNGER GAMES trilogy.

in THE HUNGER GAMES, a katniss everdeen volunteers herself to the hunger games to protect her younger sister. the hunger games is an annual televised event where twenty-four children are pitted against each other, in an arena where only one child can emerge alive and be declared winner. and so we follow katniss as she navigates the arena to protect herself, and to be able to go back to her family.

and then in CATCHING FIRE, we once again follow katniss after she wins the hunger games against all odds. in the second book, our protagonist finds herself the unwitting symbol of the rebellion against the capitol, the government behind the barbaric hunger games. in this second story, katniss begins to become the mockingjay.

now, with MOCKINGJAY, the story works its way to a conclusion. katniss must decide if she does want to become the rebel’s symbol, if she really does want to go against the capitol, if she will choose the safety of her family or her own happiness. and it’s a very satisfying ending to this amazing series that suzanne collins started in 2008, but which was recommended to me in early 2010.

oh, well. still no spoilers. good on me. now, here’s the tricky part: discussing why i liked the book without giving spoilers.

what i liked most about MOCKINGJAY was that it didn’t service the fans. it serviced the story, and that is always more important. by the time she finished the novel, i’m sure suzanne collins have heard what the fans had to say about the first two books, what they liked, what they didn’t, and instead of giving in, she plowed right through what fans wanted, and gave them what the story needed.

and so we have events in the book that will definitely not sit well with fans of the book, or will challenge their perception of the world of panem, or both — and it’s absolutely brilliant.

my biggest fear for MOCKINGJAY was that how suzanne collins would write the structure of the story without the help of the hunger games. because the first two book was very structured in the way that the first six books of HARRY POTTER was structured. you had one year where your protagonist prepares, learns, and ultimately “wins.” and like in the last book of HARRY POTTER, all sense of familiarity was thrown out the window by the time MOCKINGJAY starts.

you have the same character, and by all intents and purposes, they are the characters left to us by the end of CATCHING FIRE. but at the same time, something has changed within them. a spark was ignited, and we see it flame up and flame out in this last book. we see new characters take up important roles in the story, and former background characters moving up into supporting characters; we see old characters show new facets of their personalities, and we see our main characters grow more.

the katniss everdeen of THE HUNGER GAMES is the same katniss everdeen of MOCKINGJAY, except she’s also not. in the three books, we see her grow into a real person, with a deeper understanding of responsibility, of friendship, and of love. and it is this development that makes me say MOCKINGJAY is an amazing book.

and had i been a literature teacher, i would include this trilogy into my curriculum as must reads.

feed

i love zombie-anything. really. being of the queasy nature, i actually have no idea how i fell in love with the concept of zombies. maybe it’s the fact that you can actually kill zombies. goodness knows i’m useless when it comes to ghosts.

okay, now that we’ve established that, on to FEED:

i found out about this book through another book blog, one that held a competition to give away a copy of FEED, because the blogger enjoyed it so much. this being a book on zombies, and seeing (reading about?) someone else enjoying it so much she’s willing to give a copy away had me intrigued.

having tried the e-mail us option of FULLY BOOKED, i asked if they still have a copy of FEED locally–and where i could find it, if they did. they told me they had one last copy at their rockwell branch, and that they would be willing to transfer it the branch nearest me. so i thanked them and moved on.

i got the book last monday, and i’ve read it every chance i got. it hooked me, definitely.

“the good news: we survived. the bad news: so did they.“

the story is pretty straight forward. we follow three bloggers as they themselves follow the campaign trail fo a senator hoping to become the republican ticket to the presidential elections.

that in itself is interesting topic, seeing as blogging is (right now) a non-traditional media. and you can never really censor what a blogger would say about you or your campaign.

now, set the whole thing in a post-apocalyptic world, where the apocalypse was brought about by the introduction of zombies.

suddenly, the game is different. on top of the probably intrigues that will crop up, there is now also thrills and danger, and the inevitable deaths that will come as soon as the zombies arrive on the scene.

FEED is an adventure set in a political background with tinges of espionage. it’s a page-turner, and it definitely kept me reading way into the night, even when i’m to have an early morning the next day.

so do i recommend this book? hell, yes.