The World Didn’t End When The Zombies Came.

We Just Wished It Had.

Blackout is the third and final book in Mira Grant’s Newsflesh trilogy. And if you haven’t read book one or two – Feed and Deadline – you need to stop reading right here, right now. Because there will be spoilers. I promise. If you’d like to read more about Feed and Deadline, why don’t you head on over and check out my reviews[intlink id=”8508″ type=”post”] here[/intlink] on Burn Bright of those little (or rather large) gems.

Now, if you’re ready to read on and hear about Blackout, one more thing: this is one of those books that kinda crosses over between Young Adult and Adult reading. It’s in a tricky space. Bottom line is, if you’re not so good with the occasional swear, a little sex, blood, brain matter, moaning zombies, mad scientists or – and this could be scariest of all – political conspiracy – then Blackout isn’t for you.

I haven’t scared you off yet? Excellent. Because Blackout is one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time, and a most fitting end to the Newsflesh trilogy. In Feed and Deadline, Georgia and Shaun Mason tell us their stories. Set in the early 2040’s, and around thirty years since ‘The Rising’, when man cured cancer and the common cold and the dead stopped staying dead, bloggers like Georgia and Shaun are how we get our news. Their news site, ‘After the End Times’ is one of the highest rating in the country. By the time we get to Blackout, the world has gone mad. Well, madder than it already was.

If you’ve read Feed, you’ll know that something big and bad happened to George in the final chapters, and if you’ve read Deadline, you’ll know that Mira Grant did some serious messing with the reader’s mind in the last chapter of that one too, again to do with George. The whole ‘is she dead, alive, a clone or just some new breed of sentient zombie?’ makes the reader sit up and take notice. In Blackout, that head-messing continues, so this isn’t really a book you’re going to only pay half your attention to, or hope it sends you to sleep at night. Grant will pull you through her world at break-neck speed, she demands you stay on the ball, use that grey matter (sorry, couldn’t resist) and keep up with both the characters and the science. All our favourite characters are back in their best form (well, the living ones anyway. Actually, that’s debateable…) Angry, sceptical, brave and more than a little bit mad, Shaun and Georgia’s quest for truth again puts their lives on the line, along with their loyal staff. The science of Newsflesh is nicely played out and explained to the reader, though I wouldn’t try multi-tasking while you’re reading. It might prove hard to get your head around.

What makes Blackout and its predecessors stand out from other zombie novels isn’t just the science. Sure, the back-story and the corruption are important, real and plausible; the bones to the story, but it’s not what makes the novels so un-put-downable. It’s the flesh (ahem) that makes these books amazing – the characters and how we care about them. In a world overtaken by the undead, it’s how the living manage to go on doing just that – living – that makes the story so real. Shaun and Georgia share an impeccable sense of humour, although their ‘voices’ are so different to one another. Shaun in particular is more than a little twisted, but his loyalty to George and their band bloggers is without fault. You’ll laugh out loud through this story, be horrified and disturbed and if you don’t shed a tear (or at least be tempted to) then you better check to make sure you’re not entering the amplification stage of Kellis-Amblerlee yourself.

If Feed, Deadline and Blackout aren’t enough Newsflesh for you – don’t despair. Available as e-books are the novellas Countdown and The Last Stand of the California Browncoats. I can highly recommend them both. Whedon fans will love the Browncoat reference – and seriously, a zombie apocalypse set at Comic-Con? Omg.

*Mira Grant is also known as Campbell Award winning author Seanan McGuire.

Blackout by Mira Grant

Published by Orbit

Paperback, 574 pages.

ISBN – 978-1-84149-900-0

‘I have done bad things. I can’t take them back, and they are part of who I am.’

Insurgent is the follow-up to one of last year’s biggest debut novels in YA dystopian fiction: Divergent. I loved Divergent. (You can read my Burn Bright review here) In fact, I loved it so much I listed it as one of my top 5 reads for 2011. It came from nowhere and blew me away. A gutsy female lead, a subtle romance with no gross-out factor and world that was built with clear lines and rules – so easy to get lost in. But Insurgent? Well, it left me kinda bewildered, confused to how I felt.

Insurgent picks up right where Divergent left off. For this reason, please don’t start with book two. Roth’s world is complex, built around five factions, or groups within society. There’s the Dauntless – the brave (and often reckless) who provide safety, Amity – who are peaceful at all costs. They provide society with counsellors, they are the caretakers of society. Then there’s Abnegation who are completely selfless. They fulfil the need for selfless leaders. Candor value truth above all else, providing trustworthy leaders. Finally, there’s Erudite, who are dedicated to intelligence and learning. Sounds pretty organised, huh? Well, it is. Until the goings-on of Divergent (which I’m not going to spoil here – because you need to read it!)

What I will say is that Divergent ended in a pretty dramatic way. Society, so organised and practical on one level collapsed into chaos. Lead character, Tris (also known as Beatrice) found herself in a situation where she had to make split-second choices to save her own life. In Insurgent, she’s paying the price for those choices. She’s being swallowed by guilt and grief, which has a huge impact on the way she responds to people and situations. Tris is an awesome, multi-faceted character but here she kind of loses some of the ‘oomph’ that made her so strong in the last book. She’s done some things she regrets, and while we don’t expect her to just ‘get over it’, she’s become weak and self-loathing. Veronica Roth has made this transition in Tris’s nature believable and heartfelt, but to be honest, it just got a little tired after a while. I wanted to slap her, tell her to “get the hell on with it, stop trying to redeem yourself through stupid, desperate actions.”

But see, here’s the thing. I think Veronica Roth wanted us, the reader, to feel like this – and why I think I finished the story confused as to how I felt. Both Tris and Four (her waaay too hot love interest from Divergent) have been living a war. There’s loads of death and destruction in both books. No character is safe. They’ve been lied to, betrayed – oh, the betrayal! – injured and been the ones to injure, betray and kill others. They haven’t always done it for the right reasons, either. In the real world, both of them would be diagnosed as having some kind of post traumatic stress disorder. And that’s where Insurgent comes into its own. It doesn’t gloss over the terrible, nasty things that would happen in a world where control of others is the ultimate goal. It doesn’t pretend that lives and personalities aren’t changed forever. That’s how we grow as people. We’re the product of our experiences. Insurgent doesn’t dismiss the bad, it’s blunt and to the point. And, if you can forgive Tris and Four a little time to feel sorry for themselves – then Insurgent works.

Don’t get me wrong, Insurgent isn’t just about teenagers moping around. This book is full-on action, that Does. Not. Stop. once it gets going. Just like its predecessor, it’s fast, furious, more dirty than gritty and there’s some torture scenes that will make you squirm. The ‘love’ thing is still without eew factor; it’s believable and true. There are so many amazing twists in this story, you’ll be left trying to figure out which way is up. And then, there’s the cliff-hanger ending. The big reveal. Oh, my…

Book Three in the Divergent Trilogy is due for release in late 2013. And the movie? It’s currently in pre-production with Summit Entertainment.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth. Book #2 in the Divergent Trilogy.

Published by Harper Collins.

Paperback, 525 pages.

ISBN – 978-0-00-744292-8

Black Heart is the third book in Holly Black’s Curse Worker series, following up from White Cat and Red Glove. You can read my and Kylie Fox’s reviews of them [intlink id=”8055″ type=”post”]HERE[/intlink] and [intlink id=”8029″ type=”post”]HERE[/intlink] at Burn Bright.

Black Heart picks up almost immediately from where Red Glove finished up. Cassel Sharpe is in deep trouble. After finding out his not-so-charming brothers have been using him for years as an assassin and then wiping and replacing his memories, he’s trying to get on with life. He’s trying to be good. He’s trying to win back the girl he’s loved for longer than he can remember (which, considering he’s a bit hazy on the memory-front, is a tricky situation) and he’s trying to stay alive. And that’s where things get complicated. The Feds want him to do their dirty work, and so does the Mob. But who’s telling the truth? You’d think that growing up in a family of con artists would make Cassel an expert on picking fact from fiction, but it’s not always that easy when you’ve been raised to believe the government is the enemy and the love of your life is the daughter of the Mob boss.

In a world where an ungloved, naked hand is classed as a deadly weapon and Curse Workers like Cassel and his family are both feared and sought after, nothing is as it seems.

The Curse Worker’s series took a little while to hit its stride. Red Glove was a much stronger book than White Cat, and the same applies again for Black Heart. Cassel is finally a character that the reader can relate to and like, flaws and all. Deep down, he’s a good guy. It just depends on which side of the fence your alliances sit. Told in first person, we get a great insight into the way Cassel works through things in his mind; how he steps through each con, how he figures out how to con the con artist. Black Heart is clever in its set-up and delivery of the not-so-unexpected twist – it’s just that the twist isn’t so easy to spot until you’re deep within it.

While Cassel might be a more likeable character, I did miss some of the others. Cassel’s grandfather, a retired Death Worker, only makes a small appearance, which is a shame. The rest of Cassel’s family are here – his mother as despicable as ever (seriously, it’s about time you divorced yourself from her, Cassel) and while it’s easy to hate older brother Barron, even he has a moment where it’s impossible not to feel sad for him. A small subplot, while making things more complicated for Cassel at school, does nothing much except give Sam a little air time – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

If you enjoyed White Cat and Red Glove, you’ll *love* Black Heart. It’s more complex than the first two, but worth it. As with the others, I enjoyed the explanation of the way con artists work, how they pick their mark, carry out the crime and sometimes… they even score.

Black Heart by Holly Black.

Published by Gollancz / Orion.

Paperback – 296 pages.

ISBN – 978-0-575-09680-6

Feed and Deadline are the first two books in Mira Grant’s Newsflesh trilogy. Before I go any further, it has to be said they’re at the pointy end of Young Adult reading – why? There’s the very occasional swear word, possibly a not-very-explicit (at all) sex scene and some pretty complex science talk that you’ll have to suspend belief for. If you’re okay with all of that, go for it. Now. Because there’s zombies. And government conspiracies. And twists and turns that will knock your socks off.

The first book, Feed, is told from the point of view of Georgia Mason. She runs a news blogging site ‘After the End Times’, which is the way folks in the near future get their info. Bloggers come in three types: The Newsies, who report the news, the truth, and nothing but the truth. Then there’s the Fictionals, who write poetry, fiction (duh) and are basically pretty placid kind of folk in the scheme of this world. The most interesting of all bloggers though, are The Irwins. Named for a certain deceased Australian adventurer, Irwins will do anything for a rush, higher ratings and to stir the pot. This includes putting themselves in calculated danger time after time, wearing concealed cameras to record every moment while they go about the business of poking zombies with sticks.

The first part of Feed deals with the explanation of how the zombie crisis began. Way back in 2014, (these books are set in the 2030’s) two man-made viruses were set upon humanity. One was to cure the common cold, the other successfully cured cancer. All good until these viruses mutated and joined, creating Kellis-Amberlee – the zombie virus. Everyone carries it in their system somehow, but it’s not that much of a problem until you die. And then don’t. Grant’s zombies are fairly traditional un-dead types. They moan, they need to feed, they bite and spread infection. Government policy is to shoot (and permanently kill) anyone who has gone into ‘amplification’ immediately. This means big changes in how society works, including dozens of mandatory blood-tests every day.

But it’s not so much the actual zomification these books deal with. Along with her adopted brother Shaun (chief Irwin on After The End Times) and loyal team, George gets a life-changing gig reporting with on the campaign of a senator with aspirations to become the next president of the United States. This, of course is where the conspiracies come in – and a hell of a lot of action, laughs, tears (yes, tears!), gory stuff and evil dudes. My only negative with this book was that there’s a bit of repetition and the big bad was easy to spot. Not so much the ending. I seriously didn’t see that coming.

Deadline differs from Feed in that it’s told from Shaun’s point of view rather than George’s, but his voice is just as witty, sharp and damaged as hers. Grant has created two extremely likeable, funny and sarcastic narrators, breaking up what could otherwise be a tale of misery. It’s the characters, and what goes on inside their heads, that really push these books through.

In Deadline, the presidential campaign is far behind them, but not so the ramifications of the team’s need to find and report the truth. Secret laboratories, shocking twists and turns and a massive revelation early on made this book extremely hard to put down. Oh, that and the fact that even though physical descriptions of each character aren’t really dwelled on – I think I have a crush on Shaun. Bad attitude combined with a sense of righteousness, fear and recklessness and more than a touch of insanity make this character and his story one that I’m looking forward to continuing. Mira Grant has a sadistic way with cliff-hanger endings, and Deadline was no exception. Book three – Blackout – is due for release in June this year, which is way too long to wait.

Feed by Mira Grant

Published by Orbit Books

IBSN – 978-0-356-50056-0

Paperback 574 pages

Deadline by Mira Grant

Published by Orbit Books

IBSN – 978-1-84149-899-7

Paperback 524 pages

Mira Grant is a pseudonym for author Seanan McGuire. You can check out her other novels at: www.seananmcguire.com

Kylie:

Red Glove, the second book in the Curse Workers series, picks up where White Cat leaves off, with curses and cons, magic and the mob, unreliable memories, betrayal and manipulation – and it beats its predecessor hands down!

Cassel Sharpe has grown up in a family of “workers”, Black’s term for those with the ability to work curses, but had always believed that the abilities his family possessed had somehow skipped him. Now he finds that he is in fact, one of the rarest and most powerful workers of all – a transformation worker – one who has the ability to turn anything, or anyone, into something else.

A power that could be most desirable to those wanting to commit the perfect murder.

Cassel is thrown into a world where the ones he loves and trust most have deceived him and where he is a wanted man – both by the mob who would use his powers for their own devious ends, and by the police who need his help to find a killer. In fact, the murderer of his own brother.

Things are further complicated by Cassel’s relationship with Lila (who spent much of book one as a cat). Cassel’s morality is bought into question on more than one occasion with the object of his love and desire willing to do anything for him. But are any of her feelings real or are they all the result of a curse by Cassel’s mother; an emotions worker?

I found this a more gripping read than the first – the characters were more developed, particularly Cassel’s friends who take on a more pivotal role in this book. Cassel himself is far more interesting as his belief systems are put to the test and the moral compass that was almost irritating in the first book, waivers. Cassel became more human with weaknesses and flaws that made him far more likable.

The ease with which I slipped back into this alternate world is a credit to Black’s world building – after the first page, the cons, the magic and a reality where nobody can be trusted were beyond question.

Some of the themes surrounding workers and non-workers – the segregation, the marches, the activist movements and the zealots on both sides, were echoes of our own world, both past and present, and were all the more poignant because of that. It was easy to become embroiled in the debate as a reader.

Some of the plot, which is essentially a murder mystery with a supernatural twist, was predictable but this did nothing to detract from my reading experience.

Hopefully this series continues to develop as it has from the first to the second book. I’m certainly looking forward to reading the third book, Black Heart.

Mandy:

I have to say I agree wholeheartedly with Kylie on Red Glove. Where White Cat could be confusing due to the ‘rules’ of the world, along with Cassel’s unreliable memories – Red Glove is fast, exciting and with higher stakes for each character. The revelation of Cassel being a transformation worker, while not surprising, definitely amps this story up. Cassel’s mother also plays a bigger role in Red Glove, now out of jail and continuing her addiction to the con. She’s about as unlikeable as a fictional mother can get, which makes Cassel’s own morals all the more interesting.

The Curse Workers series is, so far, unlike anything else out there in Young Adult Fiction. A successful mash-up of magic, the Mafia, murder and segregation whisks the reader along at a diabolical pace. Unlike Kylie, I didn’t see all the twists and turns before they I was deep within them – making Red Glove a much more successful story than its predecessor.

I’m also looking forward to getting my (un-gloved) hands on Black Heart when it’s released in early April this year.