Review: Deadline by Mira Grant

Deadline by Mira Grant
Orbit, May 2011
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

Official Description:


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.

My Thoughts:

Spoiler Warning! Contains Major Spoiler for Feed!

I enjoyed Deadline a lot.  It wasn't quite the page turner that the first book, Feed, was but it was still a book that I put down as little as possible.  I found the plot of Deadline to be less focused and not as consistent pacing wise.  I think part of that results from the change in leadership and narrator from Georgia to Shaun.  Shaun isn't quite as focused and decisive as Georgia and the movement of the plot suffers a bit.  It does however allow for the interesting character twist in which Shaun presents as Schizophrenic with the voice of his dead sister in his head and during a few scenes as a full audio-visual hallucination.

I liked the introduction of a few more characters to the spotlight to give Deadline more of an ensemble cast feel than Feed.  I liked seeing more development of characters that had been previously introduced.

I loved the slow revelation of the larger picture of the Zombie epidemic.  I thought that the introduction of the CDC mystery was a clever touch.  The adventure of following the threads of the CDC mystery and the mystery of Georgia murder is fun and well executed and leads to the conclusion of the story with the biggest twist of all.

For me, Deadline wasn't quite as good as Feed but it has definitely set the stage for a dynamic and thrilling conclusion to the trilogy.  I definitely recommend reading Deadline and am super excited for the next book!

Written as Part of the Speculative Fiction Challenge

Other July Reviews from the Speculative Fiction Challenge

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Feed by Mira Grant

Review: Feed by Mira Grant

Feed by Mira Grant

Orbit, May 2010

Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

Official Description:

"Alive or dead, the truth won't rest. My name is Georgia Mason, and I am begging you. Rise up while you can."

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we had created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over buddies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED.

Now, twenty years after the Rising, Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives—the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will out, even if it kills them.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. In a world where capturing the news has been outsourced to the blogosphere, the brother and sister partnership of Georgia and Shaun is both fun and sympathetic and the journey they invite the reader into is thrilling and engaging.

Each chapter is punctuated by a blog post, poem or quotation that both sets the stage for the coming chapter and gives further insight into the mindset of the character. I really enjoyed this set up and at times it was extremely moving- even to tears at one point.

I thought that the zombies were well utilized. They weren't the focus of the novel but they provided the framework for the society; the technology, social cues, cultural norms, political positions and catalysis for movement. I appreciated the scientific approach to the zombies and especially how that was revealed to the reader in a very gradual and natural manner. It was also neat to see how Grant had thought through how the political machines would be affected by the introduction of the zombie threat.

I really enjoyed Mira Grant's writing style and was really impressed by how the shift in perspective character before the final action sequence was handled. It was carried out very smoothly and didn't interrupt the flow of the narrative.

I highly recommend reading Feed and I definitely look forward to reading the sequel, Deadline.

Written as Part of the Speculative Fiction Challenge

Other June Reviews from the Speculative Fiction Challenge