I have been waffling on reviewing FEED. This mostly has to do with the fact that, within the Fantasy-Faction Forum, I have been very vocal about my love of this book. I literally cannot say enough good things about this novel, or its author. I should let the track record speak for itself: In the year (yes, one year) since I found this book, randomly, on a shelf in Borders, I have read it approximately five times.

To be blunt, I find FEED to be one of the best novels about zombies that I have ever read. I think, for me, it mostly has to do with the fact that the characters I’m reading about seem real. I relate to Georgia, Shaun, and Buffy. I understand the concepts of blogging, about their family dynamics, about how things have changed since the Rising. This is one of the books that has become one of the ones that I read when I feel like I need to visit some old friends. When I reread FEED, that’s exactly what it feels like; visiting with friends I haven’t seen in a while. I always learn something new, or pick up on something that I didn’t the last time I read it.

To start, Grant jumps right into the action. She doesn’t mess around. If I’m not mistaken (and I might be; I don’t have the book with me as I write this review), the book starts with Shaun poking a zombie while Georgia watches from their motorcycle. From there, the opening chapter devolves into a high-speed chase involving said zombie, a couple of his friends, a fence used as a ramp, and some airtime. We get a close look at what it’s like to live in the Post-Rising world; multiple blood tests are necessary every day to be sure that you haven’t gone into amplification, especially if you’ve been out in the field. Even if you haven’t seen a zombie; if you’ve brushed up against an animal that weighs over 40 pounds, there’s a chance that your personal infection will kick off. There are areas that you have to have about fifteen different clearances to enter and then, even if you have those clearances, the military still has a right to shoot you if you come out. Some places, like the state of Alaska, have been ceded to the zombies because it’s too difficult to root them all out.

In addition to all the zombies, George, Shaun and Buffy are the personal blogging team of Senator Ryman, who is running for president. They get the feeling, pretty early on, that someone is out to sabotage the race. Whoever is doing it is using zombies to get the job done. Suddenly, our happy team of bloggers is right in the middle of a journalists dream: bio-terrorism, murders, espionage…What more could they ask for?

The basics of the story: zombies. Lots of zombies. There’s also a lot of talk about the blogging the team does, the website they run, and the politics they’re involved in. Personally, I don’t know a whole lot about politics, but I found this book entertaining despite all the political mumbo-jumbo. I loved most of the Ryman team and the ones I didn’t care for didn’t stick around for long, anyway.

Overall, I loved this book. Number two in the series, Deadline, releases on May 31, 2011. While I probably won’t be going to any midnight release for it, I imagine I’ll be out on June 1st to grab it. Grant hit the nail on the head with this series, and I am looking forward to seeing how the whole story pans out.

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By Kit

When Kit was younger, she wanted nothing more than to be a princess. Instead, she was a plain girl with an evil older brother who liked to push her out of tree houses. After coming to terms with the fact that she would probably never be whisked away by a queen who was, in fact, her mother, Kit began to delve into the realms of fantasy as a means of escape. Now, Kit still enjoys reading fantasy novels, but has also occasionally enjoyed some historical fiction, horror, and sci-fi. Her favorite authors include Terry Goodkind, Anne Bishop, and Peter V. Brett. When she’s not reading, Kit is a paralegal at a small law firm, and an aspiring photographer. She holds an AS in Paralegal Studies from Husson University in Bangor, Maine. Kit currently lives in the Pacific Northwest, where it isn’t quite as rainy as people think it is. She enjoys tea more than she probably ought to, and desires a cat more than anything else. Her favorite pastime is curling up with a book on a rainy day, with a hot cup of tea and a homemade cookie.

3 thoughts on “FEED by Mira Grant”
  1. I also RAVE about this book to anyone who will listen – I dont particularly care about the whole zombie thing, to me its just part of the story. This is the most gritty and brutal and fascinating SF book I have read in a long time, and the first in a long long time where I have cared about the characters, because they are so damn well written.

    Its an amazing book, I didnt want to like it, but the more I read, the more vested I got, and the ending is astonishing.

    READ THIS BOOK NOW!

  2. Thank you for putting up these reviews! I’m going to go and read the DEADLINE review right now! I too pontificate this book to all my friends who would listen, and even a few who wouldn’t.

    I support this book, its perfect score, and I cannot wait for the next one to come out!

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