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lisawreading's review
4.0
Okay, first things first: DO NOT pick up Feedback thinking that you can start the Newsflesh books at this point. I would absolutely not consider Feedback "a new entry point", as the blurb says. Instead, it's a story set within the world of Newsflesh, telling a story that parallels the story of Feed (book #1 in the series). A knowledge of the world of Newsflesh is required in order to enjoy Feedback... and Feedback will absolutely spoil the original trilogy for you. So there -- we've gotten the warnings and disclaimers taken care of right from the start!
I was a little nervous about starting Feedback after reading some fairly negative reviews... but you know what? I liked it! While Feedback includes enough context to explain the origins of the zombie Rising and what's happened since, it doesn't feel like a repeat. It's pretty cool getting another take on the events of the presidential campaign, as seen from the more limited viewpoint of new characters Ash, Ben, and Audrey.
The plot moves along quickly, and it was interesting to note the parallel events here, and to line those up with the events we know about from Feed and the later books. I liked Ash well enough to enjoy her company, and thought her relationships with Ben and Audrey were unusual enough to keep things fresh and different.
As always, Mira Grant's writing is terrific, alternating between describing scenes of incredibly disturbing zombie attacks (and yes, there are a few truly gruesome, terrible attacks in this book) and applying humor even to tense situations, so I never had to go too long without a laugh (or a snort or a chuckle)... in between wincing in horror, cringing at the gore, and being struck by the devastation to the characters' souls.
I'm really glad that I read Feedback, and recommend it -- but only if you've already read the other Newsflesh books. I love the world that Mira Grant has created, and reading Feedback allowed me to stay in it just a little bit longer.
Full review at Bookshelf Fantasies.
I was a little nervous about starting Feedback after reading some fairly negative reviews... but you know what? I liked it! While Feedback includes enough context to explain the origins of the zombie Rising and what's happened since, it doesn't feel like a repeat. It's pretty cool getting another take on the events of the presidential campaign, as seen from the more limited viewpoint of new characters Ash, Ben, and Audrey.
The plot moves along quickly, and it was interesting to note the parallel events here, and to line those up with the events we know about from Feed and the later books. I liked Ash well enough to enjoy her company, and thought her relationships with Ben and Audrey were unusual enough to keep things fresh and different.
As always, Mira Grant's writing is terrific, alternating between describing scenes of incredibly disturbing zombie attacks (and yes, there are a few truly gruesome, terrible attacks in this book) and applying humor even to tense situations, so I never had to go too long without a laugh (or a snort or a chuckle)... in between wincing in horror, cringing at the gore, and being struck by the devastation to the characters' souls.
I'm really glad that I read Feedback, and recommend it -- but only if you've already read the other Newsflesh books. I love the world that Mira Grant has created, and reading Feedback allowed me to stay in it just a little bit longer.
Full review at Bookshelf Fantasies.
bmg20's review against another edition
DNF @ 59%
For the record, I’m a massive Mira Grant fan and most importantly a HUGE Newsflesh fan. When I heard that there would be a fourth book coming, there was fully body tingling going on… I was that excited. So in a nutshell, having to dnf this makes me want to cry a fucking river.
Right off the bat, my first issue that had me cocking my head in confusion was the seemingly apparent duplication of the Feed storyline. Sure there were differences but it was the same story for the most part. Politics and conspiracies and of course zombies. There was a brand new set of characters that was meant to spice things up but it was the same sort of crew that consisted of a Newsie, Irwin, and Fictional. And yes, this was quite the diverse group but I even had issues with that. I want to read stories with diversity where it’s treated as a non-issue. Making Mat, a genderfluid character, a makeup/fashion blogger that also likes electronics didn’t do much for modernizing tyepcasts either. The various forms of diversity are not only not treated as a non-issue but are so incredibly contrived. It all felt like some ginormous lecture and while it may have been intended to be didactic, it was more preachy than anything. Too much focus was placed on characterization and I feel like that was intended to distract from the story itself and the fact that it’s a near replica of the Feed storyline just with different characters.
There were other random issues that only added to the domino effect that led to me quitting. A comment about Governor Kilburn being a secret Sailor Moon fan and that this could be a “girl-power campaign of celestial proportions.” When they visited Congresswoman Kirsten Wagman (an ex-stripper) at a strip club. She called everyone sugar and there was a joke about Ash proposing to her because of her “sexy” security measures. It was an eye-rolling good time. There were also the standard Mira Grant mid-chapter breaks where a quote or blog post is inserted, which those were included, but there were also sections from Audrey’s fictional stories that just didn’t add that much to the story. Even more so were the pages of makeup tutorials from Mat’s blog that really didn’t add anything. Sadly, this was just a massive disappointment and I’m sad it had to be that way.
I'm no longer dancing.
For the record, I’m a massive Mira Grant fan and most importantly a HUGE Newsflesh fan. When I heard that there would be a fourth book coming, there was fully body tingling going on… I was that excited. So in a nutshell, having to dnf this makes me want to cry a fucking river.
Right off the bat, my first issue that had me cocking my head in confusion was the seemingly apparent duplication of the Feed storyline. Sure there were differences but it was the same story for the most part. Politics and conspiracies and of course zombies. There was a brand new set of characters that was meant to spice things up but it was the same sort of crew that consisted of a Newsie, Irwin, and Fictional. And yes, this was quite the diverse group but I even had issues with that. I want to read stories with diversity where it’s treated as a non-issue. Making Mat, a genderfluid character, a makeup/fashion blogger that also likes electronics didn’t do much for modernizing tyepcasts either. The various forms of diversity are not only not treated as a non-issue but are so incredibly contrived. It all felt like some ginormous lecture and while it may have been intended to be didactic, it was more preachy than anything. Too much focus was placed on characterization and I feel like that was intended to distract from the story itself and the fact that it’s a near replica of the Feed storyline just with different characters.
There were other random issues that only added to the domino effect that led to me quitting. A comment about Governor Kilburn being a secret Sailor Moon fan and that this could be a “girl-power campaign of celestial proportions.” When they visited Congresswoman Kirsten Wagman (an ex-stripper) at a strip club. She called everyone sugar and there was a joke about Ash proposing to her because of her “sexy” security measures. It was an eye-rolling good time. There were also the standard Mira Grant mid-chapter breaks where a quote or blog post is inserted, which those were included, but there were also sections from Audrey’s fictional stories that just didn’t add that much to the story. Even more so were the pages of makeup tutorials from Mat’s blog that really didn’t add anything. Sadly, this was just a massive disappointment and I’m sad it had to be that way.
I'm no longer dancing.
kitty_whimsical's review
5.0
Why You Should Read Mira Grant’s Feedback, if you haven’t already.
The first reason: simply put, this is an excellent novel. I missed that during my first read-through. I read it smack in the middle of re-reading the original Newsflesh novels. This was a mistake. I was too close to the original novels at the time, and I wasn’t able to distance myself enough from that work to fully appreciate Feedback on its own merits. I was wrong, and for this I apologize. At the time of my original reading, I don’t think that I was mature enough or educated enough to appreciate what this novel attempted to do. Again, I apologize. The plot moves lightning-quick; the characters grab you and refuse to let go; the ending is the kind of bittersweet-leaning-towards-hopeful that I appreciate in fiction. All in all this is a skillfully written story that sinks its hooks into you and refuses to let you go. I’m so glad that I read it a second time; as with any re-read, I picked up on details that I was oblivious to during my first go-round. I even picked up on some possible foreshadowing involving a zombie raccoon. Neat, right?
Anyway! Another thing that I noticed during my this read-through was how furious this novel is. I missed it during my first read. It’s subtle, this anger, but when you realize that it’s there, you wonder how you ever missed it in the first place. It howls its rage against the unfair world that it is exposing the readers to. If Feed gave us a look at the way that people continued to live normally, Feedback shines a light on just how so-called normal life was able to continue: privilege. Shaun and Georgia Mason, and their colleague, Buffy, come from a place of extreme privilege. I didn’t fully appreciate that until very recently, when I tried to re-read Feed in March of 2020 (bad plan, Casey; very bad plan). You don’t need me to tell you that the world has changed a great deal since 2016. I have changed a great deal since then. I fancied myself cynical five years ago; I had no idea how innocent and hopeful that I still was. You never know until it’s gone. I thought that I understood the darkness and inequality in the world, at least a little. I was wrong. I am not sure that i have ever been so wrong about anything in my life. The world events of the last five years have proven to me that I knew nothing. Maybe I still know nothing, but I am trying to do better.
So there’s your second reason: read this book because it is angry. It shouts about inequalities that plague the future, and it will make you angry, too. You will wonder, how are these kinds of problems still around in a future where there are actual, hungry zombies that want to eat your face wandering around? You will run the gamut from mildly annoyed to blindingly furious before you have finished the last page. That is a good thing. Staying angry means that you care enough about the serious social issues that the book shines a harsh light on. Somehow, in 2040, when there are actual zombies, who again, want to eat your face, class inequality, gender issues, body autonomy, and rampant poverty are still huge problems. How has the government not decided, hey, maybe we should try to make sure that people are equally safe and taken care of, no matter what tax bracket that they happen to fall within?
Silly, optimistic me.
There are so many quotes that I could pull from the book to highlight my point. I’m going to choose two that I feel highlight the disappointing way in which the future society of Feedback fails (among the obvious).
If there’s not room for lesbians, there’s sure not room for people who refuse to settle down and be good little members of whatever sex the doctor called out when they were born.
page 58
We say we want to be the land of the free, yet we quail at the idea of extending that freedom to the poor, who are expected to spend proportionately more of their budget every year on safety accommodations that have not been proven to increase personal or public safety. We say we want to be the land of equality and opportunity, yet we do not tax the rich to make up for those citizens who cannot pay to improve roads, schools, the infrastructure on which we operate.
page 173
I want to re-emphasize that this book was published in 2016. People who aren’t experiencing poverty and oppression like to either ignore it, or congratulate each other on how much progress has been made! Look, they say. Look at how open-minded we are! Look at how woke our culture has become!
You don’t need me to tell you that this is bullshit. There is too much that’s completely wrong for me to lay it all out for you. Take body autonomy. The government is still doing its damnedest to legislate what we can and cannot do with our own bodies. It’s causing immeasurable damage You can look up the statistics for yourself. I’ll leave you with a place to start:
More than half of transgender male teens who participated in the survey reported attempting suicide in their lifetime, while 29.9 percent of transgender female teens said they attempted suicide. Among non-binary youth, 41.8 percent of respondents stated that they had attempted suicide at some point in their lives.
“New Study Reveals Shocking Rates of Attempted Suicide Among Trans Adolescents”
Human Rights Campaign
So, absolute fury. Read it because if you’re not already angry, but you want to understand why so many people are, this might give you a place to start.
Reasons the third and fourth:
These characters are just as excellent, lovable, and fully-realized as the stars of the original trilogy. Let’s talk about Ash, who is an utterly delightful narrator. She’s cheerful, witty, and quick to act. Unfortunately she’s also been through some shit prior to the beginning of the book. That goes into spoilers, and while they’re spoilers that you learn in the first fifty or so pages of the novel, I’m going to avoid them. Ben, who is Ash’s green card husband, is a genuinely kind, hard-working man who starts this story as a someone who’s grieving for his recently deceased mother. Mat is a creative soul, who has seamlessly blended the news with makeup tutorials, perhaps predicting the “get ready with me” trend. Ash’s girlfriend, Audrey, writes pre-Rising era detective fiction that we learn has a greater purpose than simple entertainment. This found family of four sticks together, takes care of each other, and truly loves each other so deeply that I am a little envious. It’s an excellent example of one of my favorite tropes.
If you are familiar with Grant/McGuire’s other work at all, then you absolutely do not need me to tell you that this book is wonderfully diverse. It’s something that the author actively strives for in her work. She goes out of her way to make sure that the entire world can find a place in one of her stories. Most notably we have a non-binary character in Mat. Their presence is a blessing. I only wish that we got more of them, as Mat is very much a second-tier character.
Reason the final:
Do you read Into the Drowning Deep and want more killer mermaids? Because helping this little book grow is how we get more killer mermaids. As you saw from the tweet at the top of this review, Feedback and Into the Drowning Deep are joined at the hip in a single, multi-book contract. Kristin Nelson, of the Nelson Literary Agency, wrote the following about this back in 2010:
First off, what is it? Basically, it means that the multiple titles sold are linked in the accounting. Let’s say an author does a 2-book deal. It’s not a series so each title stands on its own. Let’s say the advance was $30,000 (15k per title). In joint accounting, the author would not see any monies beyond the advance until both titles earned out the 15k because of the linked accounting (even if book one has already earned out).
One Possible Peril Of A Multi-book Deal
So there you have it. Don’t get me wrong, I have criticism. But that’s not what this post is for. It’s to try to get your attention and get you to pick up a copy of Feedback. Tell your friends. Tell your families. Spread the good word of this book far and wide, so that one day we can all indulge in more of Mira Grant’s delicious fiction.
The first reason: simply put, this is an excellent novel. I missed that during my first read-through. I read it smack in the middle of re-reading the original Newsflesh novels. This was a mistake. I was too close to the original novels at the time, and I wasn’t able to distance myself enough from that work to fully appreciate Feedback on its own merits. I was wrong, and for this I apologize. At the time of my original reading, I don’t think that I was mature enough or educated enough to appreciate what this novel attempted to do. Again, I apologize. The plot moves lightning-quick; the characters grab you and refuse to let go; the ending is the kind of bittersweet-leaning-towards-hopeful that I appreciate in fiction. All in all this is a skillfully written story that sinks its hooks into you and refuses to let you go. I’m so glad that I read it a second time; as with any re-read, I picked up on details that I was oblivious to during my first go-round. I even picked up on some possible foreshadowing involving a zombie raccoon. Neat, right?
Anyway! Another thing that I noticed during my this read-through was how furious this novel is. I missed it during my first read. It’s subtle, this anger, but when you realize that it’s there, you wonder how you ever missed it in the first place. It howls its rage against the unfair world that it is exposing the readers to. If Feed gave us a look at the way that people continued to live normally, Feedback shines a light on just how so-called normal life was able to continue: privilege. Shaun and Georgia Mason, and their colleague, Buffy, come from a place of extreme privilege. I didn’t fully appreciate that until very recently, when I tried to re-read Feed in March of 2020 (bad plan, Casey; very bad plan). You don’t need me to tell you that the world has changed a great deal since 2016. I have changed a great deal since then. I fancied myself cynical five years ago; I had no idea how innocent and hopeful that I still was. You never know until it’s gone. I thought that I understood the darkness and inequality in the world, at least a little. I was wrong. I am not sure that i have ever been so wrong about anything in my life. The world events of the last five years have proven to me that I knew nothing. Maybe I still know nothing, but I am trying to do better.
So there’s your second reason: read this book because it is angry. It shouts about inequalities that plague the future, and it will make you angry, too. You will wonder, how are these kinds of problems still around in a future where there are actual, hungry zombies that want to eat your face wandering around? You will run the gamut from mildly annoyed to blindingly furious before you have finished the last page. That is a good thing. Staying angry means that you care enough about the serious social issues that the book shines a harsh light on. Somehow, in 2040, when there are actual zombies, who again, want to eat your face, class inequality, gender issues, body autonomy, and rampant poverty are still huge problems. How has the government not decided, hey, maybe we should try to make sure that people are equally safe and taken care of, no matter what tax bracket that they happen to fall within?
Silly, optimistic me.
There are so many quotes that I could pull from the book to highlight my point. I’m going to choose two that I feel highlight the disappointing way in which the future society of Feedback fails (among the obvious).
If there’s not room for lesbians, there’s sure not room for people who refuse to settle down and be good little members of whatever sex the doctor called out when they were born.
page 58
We say we want to be the land of the free, yet we quail at the idea of extending that freedom to the poor, who are expected to spend proportionately more of their budget every year on safety accommodations that have not been proven to increase personal or public safety. We say we want to be the land of equality and opportunity, yet we do not tax the rich to make up for those citizens who cannot pay to improve roads, schools, the infrastructure on which we operate.
page 173
I want to re-emphasize that this book was published in 2016. People who aren’t experiencing poverty and oppression like to either ignore it, or congratulate each other on how much progress has been made! Look, they say. Look at how open-minded we are! Look at how woke our culture has become!
You don’t need me to tell you that this is bullshit. There is too much that’s completely wrong for me to lay it all out for you. Take body autonomy. The government is still doing its damnedest to legislate what we can and cannot do with our own bodies. It’s causing immeasurable damage You can look up the statistics for yourself. I’ll leave you with a place to start:
More than half of transgender male teens who participated in the survey reported attempting suicide in their lifetime, while 29.9 percent of transgender female teens said they attempted suicide. Among non-binary youth, 41.8 percent of respondents stated that they had attempted suicide at some point in their lives.
“New Study Reveals Shocking Rates of Attempted Suicide Among Trans Adolescents”
Human Rights Campaign
So, absolute fury. Read it because if you’re not already angry, but you want to understand why so many people are, this might give you a place to start.
Reasons the third and fourth:
These characters are just as excellent, lovable, and fully-realized as the stars of the original trilogy. Let’s talk about Ash, who is an utterly delightful narrator. She’s cheerful, witty, and quick to act. Unfortunately she’s also been through some shit prior to the beginning of the book. That goes into spoilers, and while they’re spoilers that you learn in the first fifty or so pages of the novel, I’m going to avoid them. Ben, who is Ash’s green card husband, is a genuinely kind, hard-working man who starts this story as a someone who’s grieving for his recently deceased mother. Mat is a creative soul, who has seamlessly blended the news with makeup tutorials, perhaps predicting the “get ready with me” trend. Ash’s girlfriend, Audrey, writes pre-Rising era detective fiction that we learn has a greater purpose than simple entertainment. This found family of four sticks together, takes care of each other, and truly loves each other so deeply that I am a little envious. It’s an excellent example of one of my favorite tropes.
If you are familiar with Grant/McGuire’s other work at all, then you absolutely do not need me to tell you that this book is wonderfully diverse. It’s something that the author actively strives for in her work. She goes out of her way to make sure that the entire world can find a place in one of her stories. Most notably we have a non-binary character in Mat. Their presence is a blessing. I only wish that we got more of them, as Mat is very much a second-tier character.
Reason the final:
Do you read Into the Drowning Deep and want more killer mermaids? Because helping this little book grow is how we get more killer mermaids. As you saw from the tweet at the top of this review, Feedback and Into the Drowning Deep are joined at the hip in a single, multi-book contract. Kristin Nelson, of the Nelson Literary Agency, wrote the following about this back in 2010:
First off, what is it? Basically, it means that the multiple titles sold are linked in the accounting. Let’s say an author does a 2-book deal. It’s not a series so each title stands on its own. Let’s say the advance was $30,000 (15k per title). In joint accounting, the author would not see any monies beyond the advance until both titles earned out the 15k because of the linked accounting (even if book one has already earned out).
One Possible Peril Of A Multi-book Deal
So there you have it. Don’t get me wrong, I have criticism. But that’s not what this post is for. It’s to try to get your attention and get you to pick up a copy of Feedback. Tell your friends. Tell your families. Spread the good word of this book far and wide, so that one day we can all indulge in more of Mira Grant’s delicious fiction.
ryanpfw's review against another edition
4.0
Spoilers for Feedback!
I love the concept of the entire series, a credible (if there is such a thing) zombie apocalypse where society hangs on, adapts, and we the reader experience layered world-building from the socio-economic impact of blood testing to how much politics doesn’t really seem to change.
I’m going to freely admit that I read the trilogy years ago, as well as the shorter vignettes. I didn’t remember the character of Clive by name until I looked him up. I recalled the overall plot from Feed but genuinely don’t recall where the CDC storyline ends up by the end, although I certainly remember the conclusion of Sean and George’s plot.
I give high marks for diversity, to the point where it almost seemed to be a checklist of groups to represent. Mat certainly didn’t get the chance to come into his own. Moreover, as I tend to say during reviews, “Why are you telling this story?” Real life is about monotonous experiences that coalesce into a real life experience. I wouldn’t read my life story. I’m not a zombie hunter. I want escapism from monotony and ironically, plagues.
This was the story of bloggers who got caught up in something beyond their control. Admittedly, when John kicked the plot into gear, I was as surprised as the bloggers. I didn’t think anything they said warranted it and I never looked back to see what it was they said that triggered him. They lose lives, go on the run, end up under Clive’s control, escape to Abby, and eventually fled to Ireland, never to be heard from again.
Umm...why? I once commented in a review about a character unworthy to be the co-lead in a narrative, I wouldn’t read a book about someone who trained for the Olympics and decided it was hard and gave up. Not everything needs to a book. Mad props here for world building and potential characters. The plot was messy, and that’s a good thing. Just where it went? I’m not quite sure it justified the journey, as it couldn’t be too loud and interfere with the original trilogy.
4 stars for effort.
I love the concept of the entire series, a credible (if there is such a thing) zombie apocalypse where society hangs on, adapts, and we the reader experience layered world-building from the socio-economic impact of blood testing to how much politics doesn’t really seem to change.
I’m going to freely admit that I read the trilogy years ago, as well as the shorter vignettes. I didn’t remember the character of Clive by name until I looked him up. I recalled the overall plot from Feed but genuinely don’t recall where the CDC storyline ends up by the end, although I certainly remember the conclusion of Sean and George’s plot.
I give high marks for diversity, to the point where it almost seemed to be a checklist of groups to represent. Mat certainly didn’t get the chance to come into his own. Moreover, as I tend to say during reviews, “Why are you telling this story?” Real life is about monotonous experiences that coalesce into a real life experience. I wouldn’t read my life story. I’m not a zombie hunter. I want escapism from monotony and ironically, plagues.
This was the story of bloggers who got caught up in something beyond their control. Admittedly, when John kicked the plot into gear, I was as surprised as the bloggers. I didn’t think anything they said warranted it and I never looked back to see what it was they said that triggered him. They lose lives, go on the run, end up under Clive’s control, escape to Abby, and eventually fled to Ireland, never to be heard from again.
Umm...why? I once commented in a review about a character unworthy to be the co-lead in a narrative, I wouldn’t read a book about someone who trained for the Olympics and decided it was hard and gave up. Not everything needs to a book. Mad props here for world building and potential characters. The plot was messy, and that’s a good thing. Just where it went? I’m not quite sure it justified the journey, as it couldn’t be too loud and interfere with the original trilogy.
4 stars for effort.
carmiendo's review against another edition
4.0
feed is still one of my favorite books of all time. this one is super fun but doesn't live up.
this might be the first book i've read with a contemporary genderfluid character in it which was pretty rad.
this might be the first book i've read with a contemporary genderfluid character in it which was pretty rad.
cranea653's review against another edition
4.0
Good book. The inside flap suggests you can read it without having read the rest of the series. Don't, there are major spoilers for the first book.
_b_a_l_'s review against another edition
2.0
Good bits:
* The main character Ash is cute and quirky and fun to hunt zombies with.
* It ties in very well with a couple of narrative tracks from the rest of the series.
Bad bits:
* None of the other characters are interesting. When classic zombie narrative device in the first book I cried. When classic zombie narrative device in this book I really didn't care. And I found it hard to believe that Ash cared either.
* Mat is a particularly 2 dimensional character. In the entire book all that we learn about them is that they are trans, don't like being misgendered (how insightful) and like *gasp* both makeup and mechanics (way to revolutionize gender stereotypes). They don't even make sense in terms of the mythos of the world. News teams need a newsie, an irwin and a fictional. Oh yeah and Mat, who isn't just a token character at all guys.
* Really all the alt-lifestyle elements in this one feel forced. When we discover that its really just a narrative about love and where people find it. And . In this book there's even a scene where one character lecturers another about how we can't have different standards for different genders - it all feels somewhere between preachy and exploitative.
* The main character Ash is cute and quirky and fun to hunt zombies with.
* It ties in very well with a couple of narrative tracks from the rest of the series.
Bad bits:
* None of the other characters are interesting. When classic zombie narrative device in the first book
Spoiler
Shaun kills GeorgiaSpoiler
Ash kills Mat* Mat is a particularly 2 dimensional character. In the entire book all that we learn about them is that they are trans, don't like being misgendered (how insightful) and like *gasp* both makeup and mechanics (way to revolutionize gender stereotypes). They don't even make sense in terms of the mythos of the world. News teams need a newsie, an irwin and a fictional. Oh yeah and Mat, who isn't just a token character at all guys.
* Really all the alt-lifestyle elements in this one feel forced. When we discover that
Spoiler
Shaun and Georgia are loversSpoiler
incest is an order of magnitude further away from the norm than being gay or transseeinghowitgoes's review against another edition
4.0
There's always more than one side to every story and here we're exploring the other side of the political campaign with Governor Susan Kilburn and her team of bloggers. Perhaps it's because I've read the series a few times now, but I wasn't really clamouring for this side of the story, the team as enchanting as they are, Aislinn (Irwin), her girlfriend Audrey (Fictional), her husband (Newsie) and Mat (Beauty Blogger/Techie) feel a bit contrived with a poly/lesbian trio, black, asian, white/irish and non-binary characters all thrown in the mix.
The truth is, it's a bit of a slow burn that really feels like it kicks in just after the halfway mark of the story and we're kicked out of the political sphere of things. Not to add any spoilers but anyone looking for the Masons will be sorely disappointed, though there are a few of the usual suspects floating around.
I love this series and all of it's characters, but right now I feel as though I could have stopped after Rise and been happy. I enjoyed the book but not sure what it added to the universe for me.
The truth is, it's a bit of a slow burn that really feels like it kicks in just after the halfway mark of the story and we're kicked out of the political sphere of things. Not to add any spoilers but anyone looking for the Masons will be sorely disappointed, though there are a few of the usual suspects floating around.
I love this series and all of it's characters, but right now I feel as though I could have stopped after Rise and been happy. I enjoyed the book but not sure what it added to the universe for me.
the_peg's review against another edition
3.0
It's been awhile since I read Feed and I had forgotten that Feedback was being told from the opposite side of the political aisle. I really liked this group of journalists, probably more so than Shaun & Georgia Mason, and being able to track the story alongside the milestones from Feed. It was interesting to be able to see the contrast and "outside-in" view of the Mason's story.
But it really did feel like a real-telling and didn't get a ton of new excitement. The main plotline was the same. They uncovered the same clues the Mason's did in the original story about the same time the Mason's did. But the writing was the same, the attention to detail was there, it was like coming back to a good friend in Newsflesh universe.
But it really did feel like a real-telling and didn't get a ton of new excitement. The main plotline was the same. They uncovered the same clues the Mason's did in the original story about the same time the Mason's did. But the writing was the same, the attention to detail was there, it was like coming back to a good friend in Newsflesh universe.