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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Okay, so I love the Newsflesh world. I love it. If Mira Grant writes about it, I will devour it faster than, well, a zombie.
I was super excited to read this book. Like heart about to burst from my chest excited...
And it was just okay. I appreciate the fact that Mira Grant is trying to include more diverse characters in her book. These people exist, and they deserve to be written about, and have the opportunity to read about themselves. However, this felt more like a checklist of having diverse characters, instead of a real life group of characters.
The only parts of this book I really enjoyed were when references were made to other existing Newsflesh characters. I did enjoy seeing a female Irwins' perspective, other than Becks, who had a different Irwin approach.
If Mira Grant writes anything in the Newsflesh universe, I will read it, and I usually enjoy it. This book wasn't my cup of tea, but I am still so glad I got to read it, and I am so glad that it exists.
I was super excited to read this book. Like heart about to burst from my chest excited...
And it was just okay. I appreciate the fact that Mira Grant is trying to include more diverse characters in her book. These people exist, and they deserve to be written about, and have the opportunity to read about themselves. However, this felt more like a checklist of having diverse characters, instead of a real life group of characters.
The only parts of this book I really enjoyed were when references were made to other existing Newsflesh characters. I did enjoy seeing a female Irwins' perspective, other than Becks, who had a different Irwin approach.
If Mira Grant writes anything in the Newsflesh universe, I will read it, and I usually enjoy it. This book wasn't my cup of tea, but I am still so glad I got to read it, and I am so glad that it exists.
I couldn't wait for this book to fall into my grubby little hands but once I actually got it...?
ugh. My hopes and dreams came crashing down.
Newsflesh felt like rereading one of the previous books, and the same plot lines without the attachment of knowing the characters. Oh, and the characters...ayiyi. It's like the author tried to shove as much PC down our throats as possible.
Trrrrrrain. Wreck.
I'm so sad.
ugh. My hopes and dreams came crashing down.
Newsflesh felt like rereading one of the previous books, and the same plot lines without the attachment of knowing the characters. Oh, and the characters...ayiyi. It's like the author tried to shove as much PC down our throats as possible.
Trrrrrrain. Wreck.
I'm so sad.
God I love Mira Grant's fecund imagination, especially when it comes to this post-zombie apocalypse world where political dysfunction is still worse than the super infectious undead. This book parallels the first three in the series, but follows a different set of characters.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A new perspective on a fascinating world, with a diverse cast of characters, a fun and quippy narrator, and sharply made points about fear and the prisons we craft for ourselves.
I’m pretty sure I’ve read everything published in the Newsflesh Universe at least once, most of it more than once, so first things first. DO NOT START WITH FEEDBACK. It is not an alternate place to start; it’s the perfect way to completely wreck the experience of the much better [b:Feed|7094569|Feed (Newsflesh Trilogy, #1)|Mira Grant|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1408500437s/7094569.jpg|7351419].
Second, I mentioned this in my review of [b:Reflections|25547096|Reflections (Indexing, #2)|Seanan McGuire|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436288119s/25547096.jpg|42661824], but here we go again. Slow the hell down, Seanan. I love Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant. I haven’t read everything she’s written, but who can even keep up if they want to read other authors? She’s written, by my count, 7 full-length books in the last year, plus countless short stories and novellas scattered over her various universes—and that’s seven worlds (October Daye, Incrypted, Wayward Children, Velveteen, Indexing, plus Newsflesh and Parasitology as Grant). Here’s the deal. The woman apparently doesn’t get writer’s block; she can sit down and smash out story after story after story, like a gushing story fountain, but the more she spreads herself out, the less time each iteration gets, and the cracks are damn showing.
I’ll give a small example for fans of the original series. Quick, tell me how George, Shaun, and Mahir all get their caffeine. I’m sure you can, because it’s mentioned multiple times, and it’s part of dozens of details that make up the who of those characters. Now do the same for Ash, Ben, and Audrey. Oh, that right, it’s not even really mentioned, and I’m not saying that matters. It’s insignificant, but it points to the amount of layering that went into the characters of the original trilogy. The new team is paper thin, and that’s really unfortunate. You could pack all of Ash into about three words – Irish Irwin Sundress. Also for the love of all that is holy, why doesn’t the woman wear reinforced leggings? I got so tired of hearing about her scraped up knees. That’s ridiculously careless in her line of work.
I did read a lot of reviews complaining about the heavy-handed gender pronoun section in regard to Mat, but I wanted to add that I think it’s deliberate. She’s sort of throwing a tongue-in-cheek nod at the perception of liberal journalists. Besides that, Ben and Audrey are sketched so lightly as to not really even be present, and well, it’s disappointing. Also everyone's blog excerpts are so mediocre, it's not very hard to figure out why their numbers are lagging compared to After the End Times.
After I finished this, I went back to read a couple of the novellas to see if I could catch any sideways nods to Feedback (specifically), and it really doesn’t happen. Then since I already had [b:Rise: A Newsflesh Collection|27161826|Rise A Newsflesh Collection|Mira Grant|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464530218s/27161826.jpg|47201101] out, I went ahead and read “Coming to You Live” again. What really caught me there is that one of the characters says that the revelation of the original trilogy had to take place, but the journalist that broke it didn’t have to be George. If Feedback proves anything, it’s that, yes, it really did have to be George. She was a perfect storm of circumstance and character, which is what makes Feed so marvelous, but that doesn’t make this book any more fun to read sadly. It was fine. There were a few good scenes. It was nice to see Wagman fleshed out a bit, but all that aside….
It’s hard to invest in characters that Grant didn’t bother to invest in. Additionally, some of the occurrences unfortunately muck up bits of the original. I wouldn’t necessarily say to skip this, but then again maybe I would, or perhaps, to hold out for better.
Second, I mentioned this in my review of [b:Reflections|25547096|Reflections (Indexing, #2)|Seanan McGuire|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436288119s/25547096.jpg|42661824], but here we go again. Slow the hell down, Seanan. I love Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant. I haven’t read everything she’s written, but who can even keep up if they want to read other authors? She’s written, by my count, 7 full-length books in the last year, plus countless short stories and novellas scattered over her various universes—and that’s seven worlds (October Daye, Incrypted, Wayward Children, Velveteen, Indexing, plus Newsflesh and Parasitology as Grant). Here’s the deal. The woman apparently doesn’t get writer’s block; she can sit down and smash out story after story after story, like a gushing story fountain, but the more she spreads herself out, the less time each iteration gets, and the cracks are damn showing.
I’ll give a small example for fans of the original series. Quick, tell me how George, Shaun, and Mahir all get their caffeine. I’m sure you can, because it’s mentioned multiple times, and it’s part of dozens of details that make up the who of those characters. Now do the same for Ash, Ben, and Audrey. Oh, that right, it’s not even really mentioned, and I’m not saying that matters. It’s insignificant, but it points to the amount of layering that went into the characters of the original trilogy. The new team is paper thin, and that’s really unfortunate. You could pack all of Ash into about three words – Irish Irwin Sundress. Also for the love of all that is holy, why doesn’t the woman wear reinforced leggings? I got so tired of hearing about her scraped up knees. That’s ridiculously careless in her line of work.
I did read a lot of reviews complaining about the heavy-handed gender pronoun section in regard to Mat, but I wanted to add that I think it’s deliberate. She’s sort of throwing a tongue-in-cheek nod at the perception of liberal journalists. Besides that, Ben and Audrey are sketched so lightly as to not really even be present, and well, it’s disappointing. Also everyone's blog excerpts are so mediocre, it's not very hard to figure out why their numbers are lagging compared to After the End Times.
After I finished this, I went back to read a couple of the novellas to see if I could catch any sideways nods to Feedback (specifically
Spoiler
[b:Please Do Not Taunt the Octopus|25792883|Please Do Not Taunt the Octopus (Newsflesh Trilogy, #3.4)|Mira Grant|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1435220761s/25792883.jpg|45644727]It’s hard to invest in characters that Grant didn’t bother to invest in. Additionally, some of the occurrences unfortunately muck up bits of the original. I wouldn’t necessarily say to skip this, but then again maybe I would, or perhaps, to hold out for better.
“And we’re back” says Mira Grant in her acknowledgments, as the bestselling author returns to her Newsflesh world after a trilogy and collection of novellas. Events essentially reset as we jump back in time to the beginning of Feed with the presidential race beginning in a world where zombies are at the forefront of everyone’s minds. While the main characters from the aforementioned book are joining the campaign of the Republican nominee, our new diverse group of characters find themselves being tapped to join one of the Democratic potential nominees and cover her run for president.
The story is told from the point of view of the Irwin Aislinn “Ash” North, who is Irish but now a recent citizen after having married Benjamin Ross for pure green card purposes and getting herself out of her native country for some very specific reasons. Then there is Audrey, the fictional, who is Ash’s girlfriend. Finally, there’s Mat, the requisite techie, who is gender-fluid.
Readers are no doubt excited to hear about a new Newsflesh novel, but hopes will be somewhat dashed when they learn it is a very similar story to Feed about a news team covering a presidential race with lots of zombie attacks thrown in for action. There are some new details and facts added about the world that open things up a little, but after the astounding ride around the world that was Rise: The Complete Newsflesh Collection, Feedback is pretty much a disappointment in most areas.
Originally written on October 31, 2016 ©Alex C. Telander.
For more reviews, check out the BookBanter site.
The story is told from the point of view of the Irwin Aislinn “Ash” North, who is Irish but now a recent citizen after having married Benjamin Ross for pure green card purposes and getting herself out of her native country for some very specific reasons. Then there is Audrey, the fictional, who is Ash’s girlfriend. Finally, there’s Mat, the requisite techie, who is gender-fluid.
Readers are no doubt excited to hear about a new Newsflesh novel, but hopes will be somewhat dashed when they learn it is a very similar story to Feed about a news team covering a presidential race with lots of zombie attacks thrown in for action. There are some new details and facts added about the world that open things up a little, but after the astounding ride around the world that was Rise: The Complete Newsflesh Collection, Feedback is pretty much a disappointment in most areas.
Originally written on October 31, 2016 ©Alex C. Telander.
For more reviews, check out the BookBanter site.
I was so pleased to stumble upon this in the new book section of my public library! I read the trilogy last summer, and when I finished, I was so sad my time with this wonderfully build world was ending, and I had no idea that I could expect a continuation.
This didn't disappoint. It does rely heavily on the structure of the first book, which I understand to a certain extent because they are parallel stories, but when deaths come predictably at very similar moments (unrelated to the major events of the first book), it becomes clear it is just how Mira Grant structures the plot of these books. But that's also how zombie things work in general--people die.
The worldbuilding and political aspects were just as engaging as they were in the original trilogy. I think I actually enjoyed this more than the last one (maybe even two) of the original trilogy. I loved this team as much as I loved the Masons (I even loved their semi-dislike of and grudging respect for the Masons).
If you read the Newsflesh trilogy, read this. If you haven't read the Newsflesh trilogy, read it!!
This didn't disappoint. It does rely heavily on the structure of the first book, which I understand to a certain extent because they are parallel stories, but when deaths come predictably at very similar moments (unrelated to the major events of the first book), it becomes clear it is just how Mira Grant structures the plot of these books. But that's also how zombie things work in general--people die.
The worldbuilding and political aspects were just as engaging as they were in the original trilogy. I think I actually enjoyed this more than the last one (maybe even two) of the original trilogy. I loved this team as much as I loved the Masons (I even loved their semi-dislike of and grudging respect for the Masons).
If you read the Newsflesh trilogy, read this. If you haven't read the Newsflesh trilogy, read it!!
A good, solid story in an excellent series. This book has been sitting on my shelf unread for years. Thanks to COVID, I lost a few months of library access, and began to search my shelves for books I hadn't read. And, also thanks to COVID, there are parts of this book that read differently in prescient and disturbing ways, beginning with the very first scene. But, for the most part, it's a compelling story with compelling characters doing their best to handle a pretty terrible situation while very much in over their heads. I also appreciate that this book features multiple axes of diversity. There are characters of multiple sexualities and gender identities, including one who is genderfluid. There are characters of multiple ethnicities. And there are characters with disabilities who are still out in the world, doing their thing. All in all, a solid addition to the Newsflesh series.