Waiting on Wednesday (76)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine 

and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 

My pick this week:

Parasite
Mira Grant

Series: Parasitism #1
Genre: Adult Sci-Fi Thriller
Publication date: November 5th 2013
by Orbit 

A decade in the future, humanity thrives in the absence of sickness and disease.

We owe our good health to a humble parasite - a genetically engineered tapeworm developed by the pioneering SymboGen Corporation. When implanted, the tapeworm protects us from illness, boosts our immune system - even secretes designer drugs. It's been successful beyond the scientists' wildest dreams. Now, years on, almost every human being has a SymboGen tapeworm living within them.

But these parasites are getting restless. They want their own lives... and will do anything to get them.

I am a HUGE fan of Mira Grant's Newsflesh series. One of the best and most realistic and well researched zombie series out there hands down. She's a fantastic writer and even if I would be interested by this synopsis alone, seeing her name on it just turned this upcoming release a million times more exciting!

What are you waiting on, this Wednesday?

Link me up! :)

Review: Deadline by Mira Grant

Deadline
Mira Grant
Series: Newsflesh Trilogy, #2
Publication date: June 1st 2011
by Orbit

 

Shaun Mason is a man without a mission. Not even running the news organization he built with his sister has the same urgency as it used to. Playing with dead things just doesn't seem as fun when you've lost as much as he has.

But when a CDC researcher fakes her own death and appears on his doorstep with a ravenous pack of zombies in tow, Shaun has a newfound interest in life. Because she brings news-he may have put down the monster who attacked them, but the conspiracy is far from dead.

Now, Shaun hits the road to find what truth can be found at the end of a shotgun.

This review contains no spoilers of either Deadline or Feed

One fine if not perfect installment in the Newsflesh Trilogy, Mira Grant brings us yet again into the lives of some of the most amazingly compelling character, in a terrifyingly real zombie apocalypse setting, with some dire happenings on the horizon.

This time, it's Shaun that we get the pleasure to know even better, as he is the narrator of this sequel. After the events in Feed, Shaun is undergoing some very severe PTSD and mental instabilities. Let me tell you, this makes for some fascinating character development. I was absolutely taken by his situation. The prison he makes himself in his mind shows us how humans cope with certain traumas and I though it was especially well done and very... sad; however, underneath it all, somehow, it's also beautiful.

The many characters walking alongside Shaun are not thrown under the bus as far as character building. Every single one has a place in my heart. Their personalities are solid, distinct. Their emotional states are palpable. They are not characters anymore, these are people that took me with them and made me a part of their journey.

I was consumed by terror from the many intense events that occur in this novel. But, like the first, don't think this novel is about the zombies. Its setting is decades after the zombies came. Now they live, they survive, and they have been surviving for so long that the zombies are a way of life for them. Thus, the book involves zombies, sure, but don't expect The Walking Dead. The terror is not from zombies, the terror is from a messed up, crooked, twisted government that has it out for this particular team of bloggers. It's from finding out more and more disturbing secrets and manipulations from these "leaders". The zombies, they simply give off a constant worrying tone; you know they're lurking, and could be waiting for you at every turn. Isn't the unknown the biggest fear of all?

From non stop action to immense characterization, Deadline was even better than its predecessor--which very rarely happens in my experience. The details are raw, vivid, inside a world that is extremely well built. Mira obviously has done her research to all the minute details, turning this book into the most realistic zombie fiction I have come across, yet. And yes, there is a cliffhanger, and it will change your life! (Not really, but close!)

5 Smokin' Hot Espressos

Review: Feed by Mira Grant

Feed
Mira Grant
Series: Newsflesh, #1
Publication date: May 1st 2010
by Orbit

 

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beat the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED.  NOW, twenty years after the Rising, Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives-the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will out, even if it kills them.

"The zombies are here, and they’re not going away, but they’re not the story. They were, for one hot, horrible summer at the beginning of the century, but now they’re just another piece of the way things work. They did their part: They changed everything."

-Quoted from finished copy of Feed

If you're looking for a simple zombie book, this ain't it. Filled with political intrigue, conspiracies, and a long, tedious political campaign -- amidst a zombie-filled post apocalypse world, of course -- Feed is intelligent, it's intense, and though some may find the first half a little long winded, it's completely worth it! A few things I learned once I started reading is 1) this is not a young adult novel; and 2) it's not about the zombies.

The very first thing I noticed going into this book was the exquisiteness of the writing. The narration being notably mature and quick-witted makes it an exceptionally smart novel that is just a breath of fresh air. I felt intelligent just by reading Mira's words. This fantastic prose comes together with outstanding world building and amazing characters that become so real you can't help but get emotionally invested. Mira proves, via generous scientific details and infinite facts, that she has done her research through and through, bringing about a world filled with science and technology that turns this zombie apocalypse into a real threat with push beneath it, making it plausible and indefinitely scary. As it's a more technical and political novel especially during the first half, this "info-dumping" -- for lack of a better term -- could be a bit dry for some tastes, however, as someone who loves to absorb all this geeky information that essentially makes it one of the most realistic zombie novel I've ever read, I was kept thoroughly engaged in it from the start. Howbeit, I wasn't disappointed when we hit that half way mark and the shit hit the fan! Because once the ball starts rolling on this one, it rolls non-stop until we arrive at one of the the most shocking endings I've read, making me idolize Mira for this daring conclusion.

Working a political campaign that turns deadly, the team of bloggers (aka news media) selected to travel with a candidate find themselves in the midst of it all. The leader of this group, Georgia, is our resourceful protagonist who can slap someone silly with her indestructible retorts, and shimmy her way into finding out any and all answers. She wants justice, and she's determined to get it! I loved every single thing about this girl. She has such vibrancy no matter if she's dealing with the campaign, her relationship with her adoptive brother, or writing her blog posts. Her voice oozes out this aptitude that makes her a warrior through and through. Her adoptive brother and best friend, Shaun, is also an incredible character who has the more silly, down to earth side of the coin that will make you chuckle, but he also shows his multi-layered personality through his blog postings from his perspective that we get at the end of several chapters. Working with this duo is a whole team of bloggers that -- even those we only glimpse at regularly -- all become strong players in this dangerous game.

In the end, as the quote at the beginning states, it's not really about the zombies, it's a political thriller set in a post apocalyptic future where zombies run rampant. Still, the zombies do heighten the intensity of the plot, making is constantly exhilarating as you never ever feel safe. There are a million ways to die in a zombie novel, and this one is no exception.

It's all just sort of unbelievably amazing.

5 Hot Espressos