Blackout (Newsflesh)

This serious is original, captivating, enthralling, and a great read. It gives great insight into the possibilities of what can happen when people start being so scared, that they forgo their rights, and live in fear. Rise up while you can. Thanks Masons.

This review contains spoilers for Feed (Newsflesh, Book 1) and Deadline (Newsflesh, Book 2).

There's something so visceral about these books. It's been a while since I've had a set of characters I care about so much. I cried my face off at the end of Feed, and I didn't have issues with Shaun in Deadline because I was grieving too, so much so that I had to put the book down for a while after a certain five-word revelation because it was too much. There was a scene in this one that was so freaky that I went a tad lightheaded, and I found my hands fisted in tension more than once. Those moments are still the best. There was certainly less world-building, which was one of my favorite parts of Feed, but there are still some new areas explored, such as what it's like to live off the grid in a post-zombie world. I do want to know more about the character Indy, and I hope that she's the subject of one of the future novellas. I love the biting humor, harrowing action, the twists and turns, and the red herrings just as much as before.

Was it all good? No, I have to admit there were some things that bothered me. One, there were a number of small editing mistakes, i.e. a character mentions something about the Portland CDC when the events happened in Seattle. I also have to admit in spite of the chapter labels in Book IV, I would sometimes forget whose POV I was reading and get momentarily confused. It turns out that George and a no-longer-dumbed-down Shaun do have a similar way of describing things, which is hard to follow when they're alternating on the same events. Lastly, I'm still on the fence about whether or not the science was stretched too far. To quote Becks, "Maybe we need to stop doing twelve impossible things every day." Although commonly cited, I really don't have any complaints about the pacing or the length. I love these books too much to wish they were more spare.

I do feel I have to address the whole Georgia/Shaun relationship. I admit that the initial reveal in Deadline squicked me hard. I loved Feed well enough that I decided to dig into that reaction. Why was I so worked up about non-biological siblings? What I discovered is that I felt betrayed. Georgia Mason promised me the truth and then lied by omission about the biggest truth in her life. I was still feeling that way when I read Feed for the second time, and then I felt like an idiot. George hadn't lied; I'd just been reading the book with preconceived notions. Their relationship is there the whole time. Don't believe me? Go back and read when they go home after Santa Cruz (Chapters 3 and 4).

Final thoughts. I love this series, rabidly. I will continue to recommend it to anyone that will listen to me. There is so much to love here, and I'm so glad to have read this. Much like Feed, I suspect that I'll still be thinking about the book months after I finished it.

I love this entire series! I started reading this book and I didn't get much sleep until after I had finished all three. It is a great read and an interesting story. It keeps you wanting to read and really keeps you wondering what's going to happen.

Nice to finally find out the ending for the characters, even if not for the entire population. I loved the premise of these books and how they were based on blogging and internet news reporting, as well as the pseudo-science behind the Zombie outbreak - and hey, Zombies!

I really like Mira Grant and her whole newsflesh series. This book wraps up alot of the previous dangling plot threads in a good manner and doesn't mess any of the previous ones up. I regularly recommend this book to people.

Great series revolving around journalist in a post Zombie world.
The science in great, scarily believable.

The characters are well 'fleshed' out so you care what happens to them throughout the story line.

I haven't been this impressed with plot development and writing technique since J.K. Rowling. The story is so engaging I couldn't put it down. I look forward to further works by Mira Grant and plan to recommend her to everyone I know.

After the incredible first and second books in this three-part zombie epic were so amazing, I was worried that book three was going to have an impossible task ahead of it in order to equal (let alone top) "Feed" and "Deadline"... But once again, we were brought back into the crazy, post-Rising world that Mira Grant had created for us and she delivered a masterpiece in her final act.

Books 1 and 2 have places of honor in my favorite books (and, coincidentally, on my book shelf) and I simply could not wait to get to the store in order to get my hands on a copy - so I preordered "Blackout" on my kindle app and, without a single issue at exactly midnight, my copy was waiting for me to start reading. As the first time I had preordered a book this way, I was extremely pleased with how well it went.

The story itself wraps up everything very nicely but, like everything dealing with zombies, not without chaos, carnage and collateral damage. Do yourself a favor and read the series in order if you are even halfway interested. You will not be disappointed.

I devoured all three books in the Newsflesh trilogy. They are a fabulous romp! And the characters have stayed with me, becoming part of my mental landscape, long after finishing the last page. I hadn't understood the appeal of zombie stories until I read these books -- though in a certain way, the books aren't about zombies so much as they're about modern life, storytelling, news and blogging, politics, and the climate of fear. And they're told against a detailed backdrop of a well-fleshed-out world in which zombies are part of reality. Anyway: fabulous books, worth reading for sure!

Mira Grant has delivered a satisfying, tumultuous ride that answers our questions, yet leaves us craving more.

I've love the Newsflesh series from the beginning. All three books have lived up to their promise and more. Grant created characters that were believable and sustainable. Blackout is a fitting end to this well-executed trilogy.

I'm not ready to say goodbye, but the story is told.

Rise up and read!

This is Book 3 of the Newsflesh trilogy, a brilliant zombie trilogy. Tight, intelligent plotting, brilliant characterizations, a plot throughline that is excellent. Plus it is a political thriller as well, since the zombie apocalypse was not an accident. I feeds right into present day paranoia. Very well written, kudos Mira Grant!

The book was in excellent condition and made a perfect addition to my already extensive collection of books. I would recommend this book and the rest of the trilogy to everyone. I had a hard time putting it down!

I adored the first two books. Smart, fast-paced, conceivable. Book 3, not so much. The witty dialouge is there. Somewhat. As much as Shaun annoyed me with his constant 'let's poke-something' repartoire in the first books, his never-ending teetering on the edge of depressed insanity wore thin rather quickly. As gruesome as the circumstances of her death, one would think after a year, he could have one. single. conversation. without the whole 'This would be awesome if my sister wasn't dead.' As I said, his dialouge was always limited, but the others? Did everyone jump on the crazy-train after George's death? Hundreds of thousands of deaths and atrocities and one girl dies and ends life as we know it. Little of the spunk and quirkiness is left in any of the characters from the earlier books.

Then the 'action'. Another reviewer praised the page-turning tempo of the action. It certainly became page-turning rather quickly ... in that I just wanted to get past all the running and arguing and get on to the double- or triple-cross and ensuing explosion.

**SPOILER ALERT FROM HERE FORWARD**

Sadly, the author had to rip to shreds the beauty of Shaun and George's relationship. Skeevy. Enough said.

Lastly, the grand finale. Really? All this and THAT'S the reason? Shaun is the last man on earth trust-worthy enough to distribute information that, 20 years after the Rising, shouldn't be that shocking to the public? As in, this the status/information we have UP TO THIS POINT. Was there a deadline the CDC had in which to disseminate this information to the world? Was the untold sacrifice of life and property across the globe and millions of dollars in non-virus research all for a status report? Not a super secret virus-free utopia for only the wealthy and well-connected? Not a nefarious plot to rid the world of the general population, replacing it with controllable clones?

Meh. I give it 3 stars out of respect to the author's past work and the time I've invested in reaching the conclusion. As disappointing as that may be.

After the death of George, The End Times has been in hiding for the last two years. They have told their readers that they are camping. For two years, they have not done the blogging. Big sigh. So of course, the CDC still considers them to be super heroes who must be destroyed or made to work for the CDC.

So the CDC creates a clone of George to infiltrate or control the group. How will this work?
Spoiler***
Don't worry about it, the clone most like George escapes. Thank goodness the author never has to explain this. This is the good clone.
Spoiler Over***

We have an entire government department, which is now a large government department with a lot of control, performing a wide variety of heinous acts against America and the world.

Spoiler***
The CDC are cloning, kidnapping, destroying people who could be a source of a cure, hiding the fact that they can't make a real cure, controlling the government at the highest level and we don't know why. It doesn't even make sense. We also can't see why an entire government department would be so intent to do things that are destroying the world. Are they power hungry or is it money?

And of course the government can't go after the CDC unless the Masons agree to report the truth. Ugh!

And wrap your mind around this final spoiler, the CDC felt the cure was to design mosquitos big enough to infect everyone with the same strain, but once Florida was infected...why didn't they give them the cure? Also, it was explained that they are giving everyone the same strain because the current strain has caused reservoir conditions in the population. The cure will kill everyone because it will compromise the immune system. Infecting everyone with a new strain DOES NOT remove the old strains. They will still die.

One last thing in the ucky category, Shaun knew this was really Georgia because she really kissed him. It seems a somewhat incestuous secret relationship has been going on, but don't worry, they aren't blood relatives. They were just raised as brother and sister. Big yucky. This was so not needed in the story.

Spoiler Over***

This book is great as long as you don't think about it too hard.

I've enjoyed Mira Grant's bloggers-fighting-zombies trilogy far more than I ever expected to, but the plot in this final volume is pretty slow and coincidence-heavy compared to what's come before. One character spends the entire first half of the book quarantined in a CDC hospital, only to reconnect with the rest of the team when they happen to break into the same facility. That quarantine story actually turns out to be the highlight, offering real stakes and rising dramatic tension; there's no overall goal or plotline driving everyone's else's actions, just a steady series of redirections from one location to another.

When this novel works, it's thanks to the great characters that Grant has created, not the zombie action, meandering plot, or inevitable government conspiracies. The news crew feels real, their anguish is heartbreaking, and their coping mechanisms are given the ample space in the narrative that they deserve. But that's all been true in the previous books as well, and generally in service of a better story than we're given here.

Blackout is the third and final book in the Newsflesh trilogy and boy was it a stunning read! I knew I just had to read this book ASAP as soon as I finished Deadline and was left with that awful – but amazing – cliffhanger. Just when I think Grant can’t get any better, she delivers more danger, more suspense, and shocking conspiracy. FYI, it’s really difficult to review a book that is chalk-full of plot spoilers for the previous books in the series, so I am going to do my best to not spoil anything.

The year is 2041. Shaun and the remaining team of After the End Times are in hiding from the CDC after their part in uncovering the truth. The Kellis-Amberly strain is mutating and spreading in ways that the Post-Rising world has never seen before. The US is losing territory to the infected and have declared Florida a lost cause. Alric’s little sister is stuck in Florida with no way out and it’s up to Shaun and the rest of the crew to get her out before the government abandons the state completely.

Whew! I thought Deadline was packed full of heart-pounding action but Grant kicked the intensity way up in Blackout. I devoured this 17 hour audiobook in ONE day! It was that hard to put down. The world building was as phenomenal as always and nothing was getting in my way of discovering the truth. Grant never fails to shock and awe and boy was I blown away by what I discovered.

I’ve been head-over-heels for the characters since Feed, but every book has me falling more in love. The best thing about these characters is they are always growing into something more. More flawed, more complexity, more awesomeness. The plot isn’t the only thing that manages to surprise me in every book I read from this author.

Its clear Grant knows what she wants from her books and she excels at executing it! Her books are heart-pounding, heartbreaking, and so addictive. If you are looking for characters that dig in deep, kick-ass zombie fiction, a conspiracy theory to last a lifetime, you need the Newsflesh Trilogy in your life! I am Grant’s newest fan and won’t be hesitating to pick up the Parasitology series!
The Narration

As always for Grant’s audiobooks, the narration for Blackout was superb. I was glad to see Paula Christenson was back, but I wish they had kept Chris Patton from Deadline for Shaun’s narration instead of changing it Goldstrom. Not that I didn’t enjoy his performance – he was excellent – but I was really attached to Patton and definitely missed him in Blackout. All-in-all, the narration was just as awesome as the book itself, so I can’t complain too much!

****Spoilers****

I like her when she's writing as Seanan McGuire, as Mira Grant, not so much

The plot just got too stupid for me, some of the highlights are: First, after losing his original running mate because....evil, Presidential hopeful Ryman picks Rick, a journalist blogger who just happens to be there, that he only recently met, & who has never been a politician, as his running mate. Second, the CDC kidnaps the First Lady (& replaces her with a bad clone) & their children & forces the President to do their bidding. This works because the President has apparently forgotten that he is the Commander in Chief of all the armed forces in the US, & has the entire secret service is at his command. He does what he's told causing the deaths of untold Americans, instead of doing something like....telling the secret service to go rescue his wife & kids, something the EIS later does with ease because scientists are always better at rescue operations than trained secret service agents. Third, since the Masons seem to be the only news bloggers that anyone believes (why?), the CDC decides to clone Georgia's dead body in order to keep her brother in line & get him to lie for them. The reason they need him to lie to everyone (besides the fact that no other journalist will be believed. I guess) is because if the truth gets out about the virus, (stupid reason number four) people will lose hope & maybe not shoot their loved ones when they amplify. I'm not going to go on, it's just too aggravating. Needless to say, I will be avoiding other Mira Grant books.

As zombie books go Mira Grant's Trilogy, Feed, Deadline and Blackout are amazing! I loved the first two! These are not your normal zombie books, Mira Grant is a Virologist and has explained exactly why the zombies are here and in the conclusion to the trilogy, Blackout, what, if anything we can do about them. The scariest thing about this trilogy, it's plausible! Not only plausible, completely and utterly believable.The plot is so riveting multiple times I had to remind myself that it's just a story, relax, drink some Pepsi, and move on... But I feel so invested in these characters. I want them to succeed and to live happy, LONG lives!

This one is even more interesting than the first two, IF that can even be possible. It continues the story straight away and I needed little reminders to remember what happened in books one and two.

Shaun and Georgia are both facing some major decisions. Shaun has decided that revenge is the greatest pleasure, although he doesn't get any kind of satisfaction in being an Irwin, he looks forward to the day when he can just sit down and all the conspiracy theories are over, if he's dead at that point, oh well. He's gone full fledged over the edge but his team will still completely back him, at least until he gets them all killed. Just when you think everyone is getting comfortable, all hell breaks loose, there is no time for sitting still. Dr. Abbey wants to put Shaun into more danger which you think would not even be possible. So, off the team goes, yet again to discover more conspiracy theories, run for their lives and try to save the world.

Blackout again is in first person and Mira Grant does an amazing job of switching between Georgia and Shawn so we can see through their eyes.This never got confusing, was masterfully done.

The audio was so easy to stick with having two very different voices doing the narrations helped with this. Paula Christensen comes back from her previous narration which made me so happy. I enjoyed listening to her because she seems to have a special finger on the pulse of Georgia. Michael Goldstrom also did a great job although it was interesting getting used to a new voice since I listened to parts two and three back to back. The audio was fantastic and I am tempted to listen to this entire series again!

The plot was fast and sadly I think the only downside to it all is that the trilogy is over. The plot never slowed down but it definitely picked up about halfway and I suggest you get ready for a roller coaster ride! We already know that Mira Grant will pull out all the stops. Getting to the end of Blackout though, is just half of the fun. Getting to be with all of the characters again was amazing and definitely worth the time it takes to read this.

Received by audiobookreviewer for an honest review.

(Caution: spoilers ahead!)

Halfway through DEADLINE, when reluctant hero Shaun addressed his lover by his dead sister’s name (post-coitus!), I groaned. Audibly. “Please dear zombie Jesus,” I thought, “don’t go all DEXTER on me now. That would just be stupid.” Well, prepare to get stupid.

The final book in Mira Grant’s Newsflesh trilogy, BLACKOUT picks up shortly after the events of DEADLINE: with Shaun and the remaining members of the After the End Times team camping out at mad scientist Dr. Shannon Abbey’s illicit lab in Shady Cove, Oregon (population: the walking dead), while sister Georgia inexplicably awakes from death inside a CDC lab in nearby Seattle. Also known as “Subject 139b,” Shaun’s just discovered that he’s immune to the Kellis-Amberlee virus, quite possibly from nearly two and a half decades of constant exposure to the virus via Georgia’s retinal KA reservoir condition. The newest subject of Dr. Abbey’s scientific curiosity (read: poking and prodding), the invasions visited upon Shaun are nothing compared to the atrocities the CDC has inflicted upon his sister. Or, perhaps more accurately, George’s genetic line.

One of many Georgia Mason clones (some of them failed and destroyed, with the few successes waiting in the wings like so many benched players), *this* Georgia Mason – Subject 7c – is a 97% cognitive match to the original Georgia. She’s the “showroom model”: a pony to parade in front of the investors who financed her resurrection. “Street model” Georgia 8b is just 44% authentic. Unlike the “real” Georgia Mason, she’s pliable, obedient, and easy to control; she’s the Georgia the CDC means to deliver to Shaun. Only not if 7C – and her allies within the Epidemic Intelligence Service – can help it.

While Georgia Mason II attempts to escape from her petri dish, Shaun and the team continue to chase the conspiracy introduced in DEADLINE. The whole thing feels rather convoluted at times, but basically boils down to this: the Kellis-Amberlee virus is evolving, adapting itself to its human hosts. But he who controls the virus, controls society. For twenty plus years, this has been the CDC. Threatened by the loss of its new-found power, the CDC is systematically murdering people with reservoir conditions – people like Georgia Mason – people whose immune response to the virus suggests one possible means of coexisting with it. Some scientists believe that reservoir conditions may even hold the key to a cure – or, more dangerously, a hope of one. If there’s a chance that your newly zombified loved one might recover, what then? Who would be willing to pull the trigger?

Shaun and Georgia’s paths inexorably converge, until they literally run smack dab into one another in the halls of the Seattle CDC – right before it explodes. This is where things get stupid. In order to prove to Shaun that she’s “real,” Georgia unveils their secret, for all the team to see: she and Shaun are lovers, and have been for years.

Okay, so. While it’s true that Shaun and Georgia are not biological siblings – both were adopted by the Masons at a young age – they were raised as such. Almost from birth. Worse, they’re very nearly the same age; their birthdays are just weeks apart. They may not be fraternal twins, but they’re pretty damn close. Seriously, this about as close to twincest as two non-biologically-related people can come.

Plus, Shaun and George seem to *think* of each other as siblings before lovers. This might be a strategic decision on the author’s part – anything other than platonic language would have given Grant’s ruse away books ago – but the two constantly refer to one another as “brother” and “sister,” including in their own internal monologues. If your line of reasoning is that they aren’t “really” siblings, so their romantic relationship is okay – well, you can’t have it both ways.

It feels like Grant is being deliberately provocative and scandalous with this twincest plotline (I could almost picture her, sitting at her keyboard, cracking her knuckles and laughing maniacally); given the human cloning/multiple dopplegangers aspect of the story, BLACKOUT’s already got enough GENERAL HOSPITAL-style drama to last another three books. Incest is just over the top, don’t you think?

Doubly so since it doesn’t really go anywhere; the story would be essentially the same without it. Georgia and Shaun’s relationship sets up several romantic triangles (Shaun-Georgia-Becks; Shaun-Georgia-Mahir; Shaun-Georgia-Mahir-Nandini) which (thankfully!) never go anywhere. Aside from grossing us out, the twincest doesn’t serve much of a purpose. Like I said. Stupid.
As I write this, the brouhaha over JK Rowling’s revelation that Hermione should have ended up with Harry instead of Ron is just beginning to die down. Personally, I don’t see why Hermione had to end up with *either* of them. What’s wrong with guys and girls who are “just” friends? Why do writers and directors feel the need to constantly shove these romantic attachments down our throats? It’s like they think that the only way men and women can relate to one another is through their sexy bits. And now? Apparently men and women can’t even “just” be siblings. It’s insulting.

On another note, the ending is rather anti-climactic, especially considering the sheer number of pages it took us to get here. Grant’s readers deserve a larger payoff than she gives us. The series starts with a bang, but ends with a fizzle.

That said, Grant’s still an adept writer; overall, BLACKOUT is fast-paced and filled with suspense. The first half of the book – before Georgia and Shaun reunite – is a real page-turner (after which point you may or may not want to throw the book across the room. I mostly laughed in disbelief and went with it.) There aren’t as many zombies as a second Rising might suggest, but a lack of zombies has never been an issue with me.

I kind of wish I’d stopped with the first book – DEADLINE and BLACKOUT just aren’t the sequels FEED deserves – but I can think of worse ways to spend my time. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 on the store. (Maybe it’s time for me to develop a more stringent rating system? Ugh.)

For what it’s worth, I’ve since found – and promptly downloaded! – three Newsflesh novellas on the store. I think the shorter format might be a better fit for Grant’s Zombocalypse stories.

‘Blackout’ by Mira Grant is the final book in the ‘Newsflesh’ trilogy, and what a ride it’s been! A fast-paced, surprising series that remains decent and just as good as the other the entire way through, these books demand to be read in as few sitting as possible.

Unless, of course, you’re the exact opposite as I am with the last, and fumble over the last few hundred pages because the thought of it all being over is something you want to avoid, and you can’t stand to think a favourite series is about to be over forever.

I apologise in advance for what will be a difficult review – I always struggle to review my very favourite books, as attempting to do them justice seems to leave me a gibbering wreck.

You can find my review of the first book, ‘Feed’ and so, I can jump directly into my thoughts on ‘Blackout’, which leads straight on from the second book, ‘Deadline’. The first book was told mostly from George’s POV, and the second mostly from Shaun’s. In the last, it is an even mix of the two which accurately show all aspects of the plot until they are brought together in such a way that you’re reading as fast as you can, needing to get there as soon as possible.

The book continues to be difficult to contain in one genre – when people ask if it’s science fiction or mystery, I honestly can’t reply. It’s more action and drama in addition, with a little medical-political thriller. Possibly a little romance, also – just a hint.

These books also defy what we generally expect from books. Main characters hardly ever die, or if they do there’s some possible way to bring them back, surely. Or there’ll be a plot that seems like all hope is lost for a while… but then they manage to succeed, through their own brilliance and class! They’ll have a happy ending, won’t they? And we’ll get to see it, right?

After the ending of Feed, readers of this series were put on alert. We kept reading to find our happy ending, to be left a little startled at what Mira Grant gives us in return. In the end, we receive something devastatingly realistic and yet utterly satisfying. Read on, brave reader, this series is worth it.

Grant’s use of medical, technical and political jargon only strengthens the feel of the plot. While it’s still easy to understand for those who know little of what’s involved, it certainly makes it feel plausible. The team behind Mira Grant’s research and betaing are to be thanked as much as she is.

Trying not to reveal any spoilers, the characters continue to grow as they deal with whatever is thrown their way, and their reactions aren’t the same as those in other novels out there – not everyone survives until the end, and not everyone can be involved as the stakes rise ever higher.

And the ending… well, I honestly can’t say anything about it, though this is a review. All I can say is that I’m so pleased. I’m so satisfied.

This is the third and final book in the Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire). It ties up things well, if a bit too neatly. This has turned into more of a book about government conspiracy and cloning than about zombies.

Georgia has woken up in a medical facility only to learn that she has been cloned back into existence. Shaun and his fellow Bloggers at End of Times are in hiding trying to blow open the story about how the insect vector of the Kellis-Amberlee was created by the government in order to suppress other news. The story alternates between Georgia and Shaun until they both come together at the end.

Let me just say that this really isn't a book about zombies. There are very few fights with zombies in this novel. Yeah there are a few, even a rather odd and uncalled for encounter with a zombie-bear, but this is not the nail-biting butt-kicking zombie read we started the series with. This is a book about the morality of cloning and about government conspiracy. I still loved it, but let's not confuse what we are really reading about here.

Georgia's story is focused on the cloning she went through, the conditioning they did to past clones of her, and how many clones they went through trying to get her right. There is a lot about the morality of cloning and what makes a person a person. Is it murder to kill a clone if you made them to begin with? How many people the government has in place are more cooperative clones of people who weren't behaving the way the CDC wanted them too? It's interesting stuff and food for thought but not really about zombies.

Shaun and crew are still bunking with the mad scientist. When she states a need to have a live mosquito in hopes of figuring out how these insects were created, Shaun with his immunity is the natural choice. Add this to the fact that Alric's baby sister is trapped in FL and the team needs to figure out a way to break into the quarantined FL. So basically Shaun and crew spend most of the book trying to get into FL and trying to find out the truth about where the insect vector generated from.

Most of what Shaun and Georgia go through is in secret, so public opinion isn't as involved in this book. The chapters do start with excerpts from blog posts; but almost all of them are labeled as unpublished.

------SPOILER START------
There is a supposed huge surprise about the relationship between Shaun and Georgia. All the characters in the book are like OMG we had no idea. I had kind of assumed right from the beginning of the series that these adopted siblings had a thing going on. I have read other reviewers that talk about the incestuous nature of the relationship and it leaves me scratching my head in confusion. I was surprised to find out that their buddies didn't know Shaun and Georgia were involved; I guess I had already read between the lines that they had that kind of relationship going on. So this didn't bother me; so uh yeah...I thought that part was not a surprise and pretty obvious from the very beginning of the series...but whatever.
------SPOILER END---------

The book is incredibly well written; it's easy to read and there is humor thrown in that had me laughing out loud a number of times. The switch of viewpoint between Georgia and Shaun is well done, but does make for a lengthy read. The blog entries at the beginning of chapters give an outside perspective that really adds to the story as well.

So does it all end well? Well you will have to read to find out. Let's just say all the big issues are addressed. Things come together a little too neatly and felt a little too convenient, but I still enjoyed how everything wrapped up.

Overall an excellent conclusion to this series. If you have read and enjoyed the first two books then you need to read this one as well. Is this a zombie book? Not really it is more about government conspiracy and the morality of cloning. There aren't a ton of zombie fights. It is still really well written and a really good read. I enjoyed it a lot. The whole series is highly recommended to fans of zombie reads, especially if you like the whole government conspiracy angle.

This is the third crappy review for the third book in this series. You are probably asking, "if you didn't like the first two books-why did you read the last one?"

Well, after over 1500 pages, I was interested to see how Ms. Grant tied up the ending. I did like the main characters. It was a case of liking the characters, but the actions in the book were so repetitive it was ridiculous . The story could have been told in a much shorter length and would have been a better read.

Do not believe for a second that this series is about zombies. There might be 100 actual pages that have zombies in the whole series. They are simply a side dish occasionally thrown in to remind you of the result of stupidity. This series is ninety-nine percent political corruption and the savage lengths that the government will go to to keep their dirty little secrets.

If you understand what this series is really about, then you will enjoy it if you are into the politics of the government gone so wrong. I however like to have many zombies, lots of action, some gore, and did I mention....lots of zombies! These books are already in my trade-in pile. No regrets at all.

After reading this trilogy in less than two weeks, I feel as if Feed started us out going towards one place while Blackout finished in a completely different one. They were very different from each other. The ending was a bit too convenient and a tad rushed, but not completely unsatisfying. By the end I had figured most of it out and was not surprised by any of the final events. I think my biggest issues with this book were:

- Things being repeated over and over again (though thankfully no where near as much as the first two books)
- That Georgia II - while supposedly a 97% match to the first one - did not in my mind seem to act very much like the original at all
- Being in such a different place than it felt like the first book was taking us

After reading a review right before I downloaded Blackout, I was worried it would be a disaster like Mockingjay was in The Hunger Games. However, I was much more satisfied with this ending. Not a train wreck at all like the review said.

The Newsflesh trilogy come to it's conclusion as the After the End Times news crew being to unravel a dark conspiracy that started with their coverage of Ryman's presidential campaign. The Irwins (Shaun and Becks) pursue a mission to capture the new insect vector for the Kellis-Ambrelee virus while the other team members attempt to locate The Monkey, who can supply them all with new identification and get the team further off the grid. Meanwhile, in a CDC facility, we learn just how deep the conspiracy goes, and meet a former After the End Times team member. In the end, the team will face a government agency who's mission is to control the population through fear, blow up yet another CDC facility, confront the Mason family and fight off one zombie hoard after another. And, oh yeah, Zombie Bear.

Rise up while you can.

Blackout wraps up the impressive Newsflesh trilogy in a satisfying manner, although in some sections, it felt to me as if author Mira Grant had written herself into a corner and was having trouble pulling a piece of the book back into the overall plot. However, even sections that seemed to drift a bit we well written, and the stories and action good enough that it did little to distract from the rest of the book. Blackout took a little more time to pick up a head of steam than the two earlier books in the trilogy, but as things come to a head, it's impossible to put down.

Outside the scope of this book (and review) I hope Mira Grant will revisit the world of the Newsflesh trilogy at some point. She's done an outstanding job of creating a realistic post-zombie apocalypse world and it would be a shame if this is the last we see of it.

My Thoughts:

Blackout is the third and final book in the Newsflesh trilogy. This review WILL contain spoilers from Feed and Deadline.

Blackout starts off with the knowledge that Georgia is somehow alive. The knowledge of how this is possible is given to the reader within the first 30 or so pages. And that how is completely baffling. The whole subject it presents is incredibly mind-boggling. Shaun and Georgia are reunited and this in itself presents something to the reader that there has been hints about in the past. Something that I, to be honest, could not completely wrap my head around.

Blackout was my least favorite of the three. This is not the kind of book you can read with any kind of distractions because you will get lost and you will be confused. I still found myself constantly questioning what the heck is going on here. It kind of made my brain hurt trying to keep everything straight.

That being said, I was so glad to have Georgia's "voice" back as a narrator, and not just the one in Shaun's head. The blog entries the author gave continued to be an excellent source of information that not only helped expand the characters further, but also the story itself. President Ryman finally makes an appearance and I'd been wondering what the heck happened to him. His election and connection with Georgia and Shaun in book 1 made me question where he had been all this time. It's about time the reader find out what he's been up to.

I did not like how this book ended. It didn't feel complete to me. Georgia and Shaun are such a large part of this trilogy and I felt the way the author went with the conclusion was a bit of a cop-out. I don't appreciate vague endings or ones where a side character makes the closing statement.

There was a lot more zombie action in this book. More scientific facts. More death and betrayal. More corruption and lies. It also makes you think about our own government system and how much of the things that happen in this trilogy could happen in real life. Let's face it; the government has a lot of power. And there will always be people to corrupt that power and use it for their own gain. It's important that to counterbalance that we always have people to constantly question the way things are and not be afraid to rise up.

Favorite Quotes:

"I spent too much time living in the past, and I didn't need to encourage the part of me that would be happy to stay there forever."

"I was tired of being a haunted house," he said. "Thank you for coming home."

Bottom Line: Blackout was my least favorite, a bit confusing and I didn't like how it ended. 3.5/5

As a trilogy I give this one a 4/5. It's a very different take on the zombie apocalypse that overall, I think is definitely worth reading.

I fell in love with "Feed", remained extremely happy with "Deadline" and the culmination with "Blackout" doesn't disappoint either. I loved every second of it.

The series is set in a world following the rise of the dead/infected people that have learned to live with them. They are a part of life and no amount of sulking and missing how things were is going to change that. I love how the author has really thought about how it would be like to live in a world where the zombies want to infect you. As there is a 2% chance of spontanous amplicifation plus death and re-animation, every single daily task involves multiple blood tests. Going to the supermarket is an arduous task that involves blood tests for getting in, entering and leaving each aisle, a limited number of people in each aisle etc, your house insurance depends not only on your location but what security system you can afford. Even the aspect of animal infection has been included with a conversion limit before amplification is possible. People don't travel much, many don't like to go out at all anymore. News has moved in large parts to bloggers which are divided into news, action and fantasy.

I don't think anyone would get much out of reading this (or the previous one) as a stand alone book. Whilst it covers the background, there would be so much missed.

Will contain ***spoilers*** for the previous books!

My jaw was left hanging open in surprise at the ending of "Deadline" Georgia was alive! Well she couldn't be alive right? She was shot by Shaun...yet there she was. I immediately started to read "Blackout" as I just couldn't wait to find out what had happend. As expected the only logical conclusion was as expected, she was a clone with the memory of Georgia. But why? As the chapters unfold, with the second rising spreading across the Southern states, the team continues to hunt for the truth whilst Shaun is spiralling further into madness.

The conclusion to the action-packed and riveting Newflesh trilogy, Blackout, does what Feed did in exploding out of the gate with great writing, strong characters, and a story you couldn't stop reading; as well as what Deadline continued with in ratcheting up the tension and delving out shocking plot twists to keep readers demanding more. The most important thing about this book is that it remains true to its characters in every way so that if the reader has been paying attention from the first line of the first book, they shouldn't be too surprised, and yet it's still satisfying and rewarding to see the events you hoped might happen on the page before you, as well as some great shockers you might not have seen coming.

Spoiler warning: if you haven't read Feed or Deadline and you don't want to get spoiled, you should stop reading now.

We last left George apparently somehow alive and well, living the life of a clone in a CDC lab. She slowly puts things together as time passes, but for every answer there are fifty more questions. Also is she really Georgia Mason? She doesn't have the reservoir condition anymore; she's a lot thinner that George ever was; and her hair is annoyingly long and bleaching with every shower. Then she finds out she might have an ally or two on the inside, but she isn't sure if she can trust them.

Meanwhile, as Shaun continues to talk to Georgia in his head and act all kinds of crazy, he keeps the gang of After the End Times on the move. After spending some time with Dr. Abbey in her secret lab, as she takes copious daily amounts of his virus-immune blood, he thinks about where the trail is leading next, where he can get more answers, and find out just what this whole conspiracy is all about. It will involve possibly going on a rescue mission to Florida, which has been designated a zombie-ridden loss for the country; meeting with his parents who he hates, to ask for help; and tracking down the best I.D. counterfeiter in the business to start their new lives.

Mira Grant skillfully switches between the George and Shaun storylines with each chapter, making the characters appear as distinct and complex as they were in the first two books, as she slowly but seamlessly brings them together, building the tension and thrill. The reader knows the step-siblings are going to meet up again at some point, but will Shaun be able keep his sanity or will he just be pushed over the edge? Then there's the question of which clone of Georgia Mason will be there to greet him?

Blackout is the perfect, satiating finish to the trilogy, making the three-book series feel like one long, epic story. No reader will be disappointed, with a worthwhile ending that will leave him or her sad that the wonderful journey is now over . . . but just like when the end of Harry Potter was reached, or the final page of Stephen King's Dark Tower series, how many of us turned back to the first book and started reading that first page once again. Having reread the first two books, this trilogy will be one I will continue to reread constantly throughout my lifetime.

Originally written on May 22, 2012 ©Alex C. Telander.

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Months. I wanted for this book for months. I couldn't breathe when the last book ended. Seanan McGuire aka Mira Grant has a way of stealing your heart along with your breath with her stories. When I picked up Blackout, I didn't expect for it to live up to my expectations. I heard good things about it, but I didn't know how the author would top off the series.

SHE WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND MY EXPECTATIONS. SHE IS A GODDESS, A WINNER, A WOMAN WHO I LOVE MORE THAN LIFE. Sorry for the caps, but you just have to understand that this series WILL change your life. It didn't make me go out and fight zombies (because they don't exist. YET), but it changed my taste in writing styles and made me think about the important things.

The writing, dear lord, the writing was phenomenal. Mira puts the "pro" in prose. I not only learned during her novels, but I loved learning. It didn't feel like learning because the storyline was so thick and the characters were learning just as you were. It was a complete addiction and I couldn't put the pretty words down. Each book in this trilogy was read in one sitting. I read Blackout in five hours. I literally could not put it down. I had to keep reading. There was no other option.

So much happens in this series. It tore my heart to shreds, but who can expect only happily-ever-afters in a world where most of the population would sooner eat your heart than fall in love with it.

I'm a huge zombie fan. HUGE. All of my friends know that the three things that I love most in this world are cats, books and zombies. So The Newflesh Trilogy is like a dream come true. The zombies in it are terrifying, but real. Mira gives them a reason for existing and one that remains part of the plot. Many times, zombies in books just seem to appear out of nowhere and then you are left to question why. There is a backstory to this series that makes it all the more addictive because the entire time you wonder, "Could this really be happening beneath our noses?"

Blackout is the most scientific of the three novels. It adds elements to the story that no one ever expected. It made it all the more difficult to know how it would end. I don't even know what to say because everything, especially the science of this story were perfection. PERFECTION, I TELL YOU.

And then... there is my issue. The end. It's what the author wanted, I know, but it left much to be desired for me. I needed more Shaun and George. I needed to see some things resolved, because there were a couple of things that I feel needed extra explanation. That is literally the only problem I had with this book - no, with this series. So I can't find the will to give it less than five stars.

I know that the author has more coming for us, but I can't wait very long because I need more. As soon as possible (aka NOW). So thank you, Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire) for giving me this amazing series, where I could fall in love with the characters, and the plot, and cry when it all ended.

I'm going to sign off from this review now because I'm crying and sad and need chocolate.

And so to everyone else, RISE UP WHILE YOU CAN.

SPOILER WARNING: this review contains spoilers for the first two books in the NEWSFLESH trilogy, Feed and Deadline.

Mira Grant's Blackout ends almost exactly where Deadline ended. Georgia -- George -- Mason has awakened to find that she has made a miraculous recovery from being shot in the brainstem, and without retinal Kellis-Amberlee (the virus that causes people to become zombies, named for the discoverer of a cure for the common cold and the discoverer of a cure for cancer, which combined with obviously horrible results; and a reservoir condition like retinal Kellis-Amberlee is one in which the virus is resident in a single organ, but the individual never amplifies to the full-blown disease). Despite the fact that she can remember everything, up to and including the moment she was shot by her brother, just before she became a zombie herself, she has concluded that there is only one possible explanation for her current condition: she is a clone. And it becomes obvious in the minutes immediately following this realization that she is a clone in the very close custody of the Centers for Disease Control. We know something George doesn't -- that the CDC is very much the bad guy, something Shaun and the rest of their internet news site learned in Deadline -- and so are more nervous for George's continued good health and eventual freedom than she is. But George is no dummy, and it doesn't take her long to figure out that she has been grown for the purpose of controlling her brother, a powerful journalist who must have information the CDC doesn't want made public.

In the meantime, Shaun, George's adoptive brother and the love of his life (as he is of hers), has proven to be immune to the virus that causes one to become a zombie. He is not the only example of such immunity, which apparently results from sexual contact with someone with a reservoir condition -- like George. The key members of Shaun's media group have gone silent, taking refuge with a rogue lab run by Dr. Abbey when the CDC attempted to kill them. They've discovered that Kellis-Amberlee is not always fatal, and the CDC doesn't want that information to get out. The CDC reasons that if the public knows being bitten by a zombie does not always result in the bitten individual becoming a zombie himself, people will be unable to take the necessary next step (which is to kill the bitten person with a shot to the head, immediately, so that the bitten person cannot go on to bite others). More than that, though, the CDC has discovered the real power that comes from keeping a populace constantly terrified -- and it likes it. It has essentially become the government, the primary mission of which has become protecting what remains of the American population from zombies.

Dr. Abbey is a bit of a mad scientist, though, taking insane risks (or asking Shaun's group to take them) for her experiments in finding a cure for Kellis-Amberlee. She asks Shaun to choose a companion and go to Florida to collect mosquitos, because this is the most frightening thing about Kellis-Amberlee yet: it can now be transmitted by a mosquito bite. This is almost certainly due to human agency. The mosquitos were blown onto the Gulf Coast by a tropical storm, causing the United States government to virtually write off Florida as territory lost to the zombies.

Unfortunately, Shaun is rapidly going insane. He hears George in his head, and his hallucinations are progressing to the visual and tactile. He doesn't much mind this, as he'd rather be with George in his head if he can't be with her in the flesh. A sane person wouldn't want to go to Florida, not when traveling means either being constantly monitored by the government on major highways (which would endanger his chances of surviving the CDC) or traveling zombie-infested back roads (which would endanger his chances of surviving zombies, even with his immunity). But the idea rather appeals to Shaun.

And so we have two narratives, told in the first person in alternating chapters: George and her treatment as a human guinea pig by the CDC, and her attempts to escape; and Shaun's attempt to get to Florida to help Dr. Abbey cure the plague. The adventure ramps up from there, with the tension constantly increasing, the narrative so compelling that the reader becomes unaware of how rapidly she's turning the pages or even that she's holding a book. It's as if this book is being beamed straight into one's brain, and one is right there alongside George and Shaun. The narrative is crisp and personal, so well-written that it's almost impossible to stop reading. The climax is powerful, compelling and utterly satisfying. And, for the second time in the course of this trilogy, Mira Grant once again made me cry for a fictional character -- so much so that my husband came running into the room to find out what was wrong. I read a lot, and it's the rare book that will make me cry; I sure never thought a zombie novel would accomplish it. But Grant's characters are so fully realized that I simply couldn't help it.

My only complaint is that Grant never properly explains how the clone of George came to have all of George's memories, right up to the moment of her death. There is an extent to which this makes sense to the structure of the novel, because neither George nor Shaun has this information, and therefore cannot relay it. It seems that one of the scientists with whom they interact might have that information, though, and it would be absolutely in George's character to pester the scientists who are experimenting on her until they give her the information, or to otherwise get hold of it. Grant makes some effort at an explanation, but it is incomplete and doesn't ring true.

Blackout is not a stand-alone novel; you need to read Feed and Deadline first. But that's okay; you won't want to miss those two wonderful novels in any event. If you think you're fed up with zombies, well, I'm right there with you, but you need to make an exception for the NEWSFLESH trilogy. This is adventure science fiction at its very best.