Deadline

Mira Grant

Jun 2011 · Sold by Orbit

About this ebook

This electrifying sequel from the New York Times bestselling author of Feed reenters a world of zombies, geeks, politics, social media, and the virus that runs through them all. 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.
 
More from Mira Grant:
 
Newsflesh
Feed
Deadline
Blackout
Feedback
 
Rise
 
 
Praise for Feed:
"I can't wait for the next book."―N.K. Jemisin
 
"It's a novel with as much brains as heart, and both are filling and delicious."―The A. V. Club
 
"Gripping, thrilling, and brutal... McGuire has crafted a masterpiece of suspense with engaging, appealing characters who conduct a soul-shredding examination of what's true and what's reported."―Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
 
“Feed is a proper thriller with zombies.” —SFX

"Deft cultural touches, intriguing science, and amped-up action will delight Grant's numerous fans." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Ratings and reviews

I felt invested in the overall predicament of the characters carrying from "Feed" to this second book but i grew tired of the constant "sanity" question in Shaun's character and the time between action was filled with much review of the happenings of the first book. When the action and pace picks up, it's almost impossible to put down and the ending definitely leaves you wanting to get to the next book asap.

But the beauty of world-building in Feed is naturally lessened in the sequel. A relatively rushed piece with some plot points which don't tie up that well in the third book plus a doozy of a plot twist at the end which I don't wholly love. But if you want to explore implications of biology and tampering-with-that-which-god-wrought which is central to the sci-fi genre, then this is still a good read. Also has the best action scenes in the newsflesh trilogy; as befitting something from and Irwin's POV.

The book does its best to make its predecessor, Feed, not required reading, but it helps a whole lot. While Feed was excellent at setting up the premise of the world of future, where everyone has the potential to 'amplify' into a zombie and journalists require annual marksmanship tests to head out into the field (and make ratings), it only gave a hint at the real plot lurking below the surface. It gave an excellent introduction to our main characters and really emphasizes their relationships, the experiences that make them tick the way they do, and how they react when they start realizing that their story is just a cover to the extended story. Deadline takes those characters and airdrops them into the middle of nowhere while unknown powers-that-be click the safeties off their guns and say, "You have one minute. Start running." Grant's excellent at not just describing the world, but explaining it with a mix of medical and technological jargon that really gives it weight and depth - that this world has existed long enough to develop the rules, the laissez-faire-ness of things we consider bizarre - and starts to chip at the ideas of privacy (or lack thereof), the culture of fear, and private agendas in global powers. (Especially the culture of fear. Just meeting one scientist to bring them up to speed forced her to burn down her entire lab while she slipped the data to a hidden location. Which is proven to be quite reasonable, given that every other scientist ends up missing or dead.) Things that disappointed me: the lack of Peter Ryman and Rick, which is handwaved away as 'busy with other things'. I'm hoping their lack of connection is explained in the next book, because they're pretty likeable characters. The plot is exciting enough to keep you from questioning just why characters take stupid risks or don't pick an alternative, also handwaved by the fact that this story is told by Shaun, who isn't entirely logical (or sane). I also still carry a heavy sense of disbelief whenever I read about the characters being particularly well-connected, wealthy or technologically savvy: the business of constantly monitoring everyone's blood, keeping them alive and healthy, destroying the infected (oh, sorry, "amplified"), and sanitizing the entire zone is expensive. On top of that, everyone is either a technological whiz or NRA member, and it feels like the world economy relies on journalists who poke zombies for a living. The idea that there's a place where these are normal sometimes kicks me out of the world Grant has spun up. My favourite scene was when we see a zombie encounter, and how things can go horrifically wrong. It blindsided me and had me hanging on to the very end about how the book would continue. If there's something Feed didn't do quite right, it was making a zombie encounter really make you sweat and worry if someone was going to come out on top and able to pass a blood test. This isn't a zombie that staggers around, moans, and shuffles after you - mobs are proven to be able to plan, ambush, and, if they're fresh enough, RUN. (Hi there, 28 Days Later!) Try not to read this book in front of a group of strangers. I started crying uncontrollably at least twice, which made my paperback a little more difficult to read. The final nail in the coffin is the tantalizing preview of the final book in the trilogy, Blackout, which isn't due until June 2012. I just have to keep the windows shut and guns loaded until then.

About the author

Mira Grant lives in California, sleeps with a machete under her bed, and highly suggests you do the same. Mira Grant is the pseudonym of Seanan McGuire -- winner of the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for best new writer. Find out more about the author at www.miragrant.com or follow her on twitter @seananmcguire.