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bmg20's review
5.0
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’There is nothing so patient, in this world or any other, as a virus searching for a host.’
Countdown is a must-read for fans of the Newsflesh novels. Countdown takes you back before the virus was spread, before the zombies came alive, when the world was still as vivid and vibrant as it is today. This is a super short story and left me wanting much much more, but it was still an extremely informative piece of writing that I felt was essential to truly understanding the Newsflesh world. You don't get to read anything about Shaun or George or even Buffy, but you do get a glimpse into the life of Amanda Amberlee, the creator of the cure Dr. Alexander Kellis, and of the group responsible for unleashing it onto the world, ‘The Mayday Army’.
Once again I’m astonished at the ability that Mira Grant has in world building. Even with a short story, she does a phenomenal job at pulling you right in. She makes you feel as if her world truly does exist and that you need to remember to grab your shotgun before leaving the house to protect yourself from the zombies waiting outside. This short story made me love the first two Newsflesh books even more and also made me just a tad bit crazier over my desire to read Blackout. (As if that was possible).
Mira Grant? You're amazing.
’When will you Rise?
And the world gave itself an answer:
Now.
Welcome to the aftermath.’
’There is nothing so patient, in this world or any other, as a virus searching for a host.’
Countdown is a must-read for fans of the Newsflesh novels. Countdown takes you back before the virus was spread, before the zombies came alive, when the world was still as vivid and vibrant as it is today. This is a super short story and left me wanting much much more, but it was still an extremely informative piece of writing that I felt was essential to truly understanding the Newsflesh world. You don't get to read anything about Shaun or George or even Buffy, but you do get a glimpse into the life of Amanda Amberlee, the creator of the cure Dr. Alexander Kellis, and of the group responsible for unleashing it onto the world, ‘The Mayday Army’.
Once again I’m astonished at the ability that Mira Grant has in world building. Even with a short story, she does a phenomenal job at pulling you right in. She makes you feel as if her world truly does exist and that you need to remember to grab your shotgun before leaving the house to protect yourself from the zombies waiting outside. This short story made me love the first two Newsflesh books even more and also made me just a tad bit crazier over my desire to read Blackout. (As if that was possible).
Mira Grant? You're amazing.
’When will you Rise?
And the world gave itself an answer:
Now.
Welcome to the aftermath.’
tinyashtravels's review
3.0
This is how the world we know ended and the world of newsflesh began. I read the novels last year and was interested in reading the short stories before rereading the novels but this one could have been the first 20 pages of the first novel. It isn’t as well written as the novels. We need more about the Masons (but maybe that’s coming?) All other storylines seemed very flushed out though.
qalminator's review
4.0
Not as lyrically written as the others in the series I've gotten to, but relentlessly fascinating, in an inevitable train wreck that you know is coming sort of way. I don't think it would have the same effect on someone who has not read the primary books of the series, but otherwise, recommended.
adamrbrooks's review
2.0
This feels just like a dump of the background information Grant conceived as she was writing the trilogy. Not much arc, and the writing feels forced and dull.
justiceofkalr's review
3.0
Interesting short story in the Newsflesh trilogy. It feels very much like a rejected prologue to the first book. That's not to say it's bad, just that it would have been a terrible prologue. Lots of stories have lost me with prologues like this, taking too much time setting up the situation and getting too technical. I love that Feed just threw you into the post-Rising world with minimal background and left the less attention grabbing spread of the virus for this short story. It serves well for those who already enjoy the series and are curious about the spread of the original virus, but would probably not grab the attention of new readers. I love that the author did take the time to think out the spread of the virus and how it came to be. Too many times the zombie plague just comes from nowhere and I get left with the feeling that the author couldn't be bothered to think of anything complex like that and skipped straight to the brains and mayhem. Which is fun on occasion, but definitely dull after a while.
chirson's review
3.0
Well that was certainly depressing, even compared to the novel itself. But I actually enjoy this take on the zombie genre, and the attention to worldbuilding.
theatomicpirategirl's review
3.0
Where the end of the world began. Total bummer.
While reading this novella, I developed a love/hate relationship with this story. I loved the introduction of how zombies came into being. The development of the cure for the common cold and the cure for cancer was interesting and helped explained the back story from the Newsflesh series. I loved how Mira Grant gave a personality to the virus, how it patiently waited for the right time to infect and spread. My favorite party of the story was near the end when describing how the mom went into sudden “amplification” and her body turned and she became a zombie, so to speak.
Now, the hate part. Though Mira Grant is a great writer, I felt that parts of the story dragged. I had to force myself not skip through paragraphs so I wouldn’t miss anything that was going to be important that would give me a better insight into the world of Newflesh. Or, at least that’s what it felt like. Mira Grant managed to pull me into the story where I was afraid to pull my eyes away in fear that I will miss something, but able to kinda bore me at the same time.
Don’t get me wrong: I love Mira Grant. I love her detail and her characters. But for me, this novella was a little difficult to get through. I still loved it though. It helped satisfy my need for a zombie story that was different and though provoking; because let’s face it, maybe the cure for the common cold and cancer are right around the corner…and it’s just waiting to meet up and cause the end of the world.
While reading this novella, I developed a love/hate relationship with this story. I loved the introduction of how zombies came into being. The development of the cure for the common cold and the cure for cancer was interesting and helped explained the back story from the Newsflesh series. I loved how Mira Grant gave a personality to the virus, how it patiently waited for the right time to infect and spread. My favorite party of the story was near the end when describing how the mom went into sudden “amplification” and her body turned and she became a zombie, so to speak.
Now, the hate part. Though Mira Grant is a great writer, I felt that parts of the story dragged. I had to force myself not skip through paragraphs so I wouldn’t miss anything that was going to be important that would give me a better insight into the world of Newflesh. Or, at least that’s what it felt like. Mira Grant managed to pull me into the story where I was afraid to pull my eyes away in fear that I will miss something, but able to kinda bore me at the same time.
Don’t get me wrong: I love Mira Grant. I love her detail and her characters. But for me, this novella was a little difficult to get through. I still loved it though. It helped satisfy my need for a zombie story that was different and though provoking; because let’s face it, maybe the cure for the common cold and cancer are right around the corner…and it’s just waiting to meet up and cause the end of the world.