Title: Parasite (Parasitology #1)Author: Mira Grant (website and here)(Twitter)Publisher: Orbit (website)(Twitter)Source: library loanRating: 4 out of 5
Goodreads summary:
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 Grant's, having read the Newsflesh trilogy and loving it. I came thisclose to buying a copy of Parasite when it first came out but waited because I was a bit scared of all the science. I shouldn't have been. It *is* technical in some aspects but the story line still carries very well for me. It is creepy and scary in all the right ways.
I love books set in the near future and this one is a dozen or so years out. The world no longer has disease thanks to SymbGen Corp which has engineered a special tapeworm. It is implanted into humans and then does all kinds of good things...until it doesn't. I'm surprised that I enjoyed the more scientific parts of the book. Book goddess Christina really helped my love for this book because she brought my expectations down a little lower. She enjoyed it but not as much as the Newsflesh trilogy. I usually agree with her how she feels about books so I went into this one with the right mindset, I think.
Sally Mitchell is the main character. She wakes from a coma and doesn't remember a thing. She wants to be called "Sal" because she doesn't remember Sally. When she goes searching for answers for some well placed questions, she finds things are not as they seem. Dun dun dun.
My favorite character was Tansy who was crazy. She really was nuts but she had the most personality of anyone in the whole book. I loved how matter of fact she was about killing you.
It is a chunkster at 500 pages and there were a couple of times when I wanted it to speed up but it held my attention for the most part. Although I wasn't in love with Sally or her boyfriend Nathan, big enough secrets are revealed that I look forward to seeing where Grant takes it in the next book.
Title: Parasite (Parasitology #1)
Author: Mira Grant (website and here)(Twitter)
Publisher: Orbit (website)(Twitter)
Source: library loan
Rating: 4 out of 5
Goodreads summary:
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 Grant's, having read the Newsflesh trilogy and loving it. I came thisclose to buying a copy of Parasite when it first came out but waited because I was a bit scared of all the science. I shouldn't have been. It *is* technical in some aspects but the story line still carries very well for me. It is creepy and scary in all the right ways.
I love books set in the near future and this one is a dozen or so years out. The world no longer has disease thanks to SymbGen Corp which has engineered a special tapeworm. It is implanted into humans and then does all kinds of good things...until it doesn't. I'm surprised that I enjoyed the more scientific parts of the book. Book goddess Christina really helped my love for this book because she brought my expectations down a little lower. She enjoyed it but not as much as the Newsflesh trilogy. I usually agree with her how she feels about books so I went into this one with the right mindset, I think.
Sally Mitchell is the main character. She wakes from a coma and doesn't remember a thing. She wants to be called "Sal" because she doesn't remember Sally. When she goes searching for answers for some well placed questions, she finds things are not as they seem. Dun dun dun.
My favorite character was Tansy who was crazy. She really was nuts but she had the most personality of anyone in the whole book. I loved how matter of fact she was about killing you.
It is a chunkster at 500 pages and there were a couple of times when I wanted it to speed up but it held my attention for the most part. Although I wasn't in love with Sally or her boyfriend Nathan, big enough secrets are revealed that I look forward to seeing where Grant takes it in the next book.
Title: Deadline (Newsflesh Trilogy #2) Author: Mira Grant (website and here)(Twitter)Publication Date: June 2, 2011Publisher: Orbit (website)(Twitter)Source: library loanRating: 5 out of 5
WARNING: if you have haven't read the first in the series, be aware that there are spoilers. Read my review of Feed here instead.
Summary from Goodreads: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.
Oh wow. I wanted to start this one as soon as I finished the first one and that's saying a heck of a lot. I rarely want to read the second book in a trilogy without a bit of break in between. Although I was a afraid that I would like this one a little bit less what with George gone, I was delighted with how she....wasn't. It was a great way of getting a great character present.
Since Shaun was the narrator of Deadline, I enjoyed his character more than I did before. He has a way of speaking that is jerkish but still on target and usually quite funny. His progress from beginning of book to end of book was well done and highly believable.
Becks is a character that I didn't really enjoy in the Feed but feel like I got a better grasp on in this one. There was more to her than met the eye at first glance and her storyline was interesting. She was badass.
Although Feed was highly political, Deadline focused way more on the scientific aspects of the Rising. I'm not the best in science and math so some of it went right on over my head but it was still enjoyable. Grant's world building is stellar. The details in these almost 600 page books are amazing. And even though they are almost 600 pages, they don't feel like they are. The stories move at such a fast pace with such a sense of foreboding that the pages fly right by.
I was afraid that Deadline could't possibly be as good as Feed by oh my word, it was. Another 5 of 5 for me. I'm not sure how Grant manages to keep up the pace over that many pages but the twists and turns are outstanding. And that ending was even more GAH! than the first one. I have Blackout waiting on my pile but as much as I want to see how it ends, I also don't. I want to drag it out a bit more so I'm putting off reading it right away just so I don't have to leave that world and those characters. That is the highest praise I can heap on the series.
Title: Deadline (Newsflesh Trilogy #2)
Author: Mira Grant (website and here)(Twitter)
Publication Date: June 2, 2011
Publisher: Orbit (website)(Twitter)
Source: library loan
Rating: 5 out of 5
WARNING: if you have haven't read the first in the series, be aware that there are spoilers. Read my review of Feed here instead.
Summary from Goodreads:
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.
Oh wow. I wanted to start this one as soon as I finished the first one and that's saying a heck of a lot. I rarely want to read the second book in a trilogy without a bit of break in between. Although I was a afraid that I would like this one a little bit less what with George gone, I was delighted with how she....wasn't. It was a great way of getting a great character present.
Since Shaun was the narrator of Deadline, I enjoyed his character more than I did before. He has a way of speaking that is jerkish but still on target and usually quite funny. His progress from beginning of book to end of book was well done and highly believable.
Becks is a character that I didn't really enjoy in the Feed but feel like I got a better grasp on in this one. There was more to her than met the eye at first glance and her storyline was interesting. She was badass.
Although Feed was highly political, Deadline focused way more on the scientific aspects of the Rising. I'm not the best in science and math so some of it went right on over my head but it was still enjoyable. Grant's world building is stellar. The details in these almost 600 page books are amazing. And even though they are almost 600 pages, they don't feel like they are. The stories move at such a fast pace with such a sense of foreboding that the pages fly right by.
I was afraid that Deadline could't possibly be as good as Feed by oh my word, it was. Another 5 of 5 for me. I'm not sure how Grant manages to keep up the pace over that many pages but the twists and turns are outstanding. And that ending was even more GAH! than the first one. I have Blackout waiting on my pile but as much as I want to see how it ends, I also don't. I want to drag it out a bit more so I'm putting off reading it right away just so I don't have to leave that world and those characters. That is the highest praise I can heap on the series.
Title: Feed (Newsflesh Trilogy #1) Author: Mira Grant (website and here)(Twitter)Publication Date: May 1, 2010Publisher: Orbit (website)(Twitter)Source: library loanRating: 5 out of 5
Summary from Goodreads:
The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten 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, bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives - the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will get out, even if it kills them.
EDITED: If you think you've read this review earlier in the week, you did...sort of. After Christina commented but didn't say anything about her own blog, I realized that the wrong draft went live. Ooopies.
Ever since my friend Mandy got me watching The Walking Dead, I've become a bit obsessed with zombies. I was never really "into" them before that but now, oh yeah. Then while reading Christina's back reviews, I found one for Feed and was immediately intrigued. I looked on my library's website and apparently don't know how to spell f-e-e-d because it didn't show up. Fast forward several months and I am passing through the adult section and happen to glance up to see this trilogy sitting on the shelf. I may or may not have gasped loud enough to make the little old lady down the way glare at me. Just sayin'. Christian's blog is one of 5 that I read every single day so when she rated it so high, I knew that I'd enjoy it too. I loved this book. One of my first 5 of 5's in many a moon.
Feed is an interesting take on the usual zombie tale. Heavily political, it imagines what would happen after an outbreak. The changes that would need to occur and the ways that people would react were portrayed in a very interesting way.
George (Georgia), the main character, is spunky and has a dry wit. Everyone that has read this blog for long knows that I have a Master's Degree in sarcasm so her character was my favorite. George's brother, Shaun, was one of the most fun characters I've read in a long time. He liked to poke zombies and stir up trouble.
In their world, bloggers are the main news sources and there are a ton of regulations and rules to follow. The use of blogging was highly entertaining and I loved this uniqueness in the story. As a blogger I know the time and stress that goes with having a blog and can't even image how hard it would be to tell the news in a straightforward and unbiased way.
I wish I had read this one on my Kindle because I would have marked quite a few quotes. My favorite is from George:
The different between the truth and a lie is that both of them can hurt, but only one will take the time to heal you afterward.
The characters were wonderfully written. A couple of times I was misty eyed over a character. Such a tough living situation and yet they wanted so much to just be ok.
This one is almost 600 pages but didn't seem that long at all. The pacing was excellent. The action was constant and fast. I enjoyed the political aspect of it but can see where some readers might be thrown off.
And oh the ending...gah.
The biggest praise I can heap on this one is that as I closed the book after reading the last page, I wished I had the next one to start right then. That's huge. I rarely want to read the next in a series so quickly.
I loved this one and can't wait to see what happens.
Title: Feed (Newsflesh Trilogy #1)
Author: Mira Grant (website and here)(Twitter)
Publication Date: May 1, 2010
Publisher: Orbit (website)(Twitter)
Source: library loan
Rating: 5 out of 5
Summary from Goodreads:
The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten 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, bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives - the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will get out, even if it kills them.
EDITED: If you think you've read this review earlier in the week, you did...sort of. After Christina commented but didn't say anything about her own blog, I realized that the wrong draft went live. Ooopies.
Ever since my friend Mandy got me watching The Walking Dead, I've become a bit obsessed with zombies. I was never really "into" them before that but now, oh yeah. Then while reading Christina's back reviews, I found one for Feed and was immediately intrigued. I looked on my library's website and apparently don't know how to spell f-e-e-d because it didn't show up. Fast forward several months and I am passing through the adult section and happen to glance up to see this trilogy sitting on the shelf. I may or may not have gasped loud enough to make the little old lady down the way glare at me. Just sayin'. Christian's blog is one of 5 that I read every single day so when she rated it so high, I knew that I'd enjoy it too. I loved this book. One of my first 5 of 5's in many a moon.
Feed is an interesting take on the usual zombie tale. Heavily political, it imagines what would happen after an outbreak. The changes that would need to occur and the ways that people would react were portrayed in a very interesting way.
George (Georgia), the main character, is spunky and has a dry wit. Everyone that has read this blog for long knows that I have a Master's Degree in sarcasm so her character was my favorite. George's brother, Shaun, was one of the most fun characters I've read in a long time. He liked to poke zombies and stir up trouble.
In their world, bloggers are the main news sources and there are a ton of regulations and rules to follow. The use of blogging was highly entertaining and I loved this uniqueness in the story. As a blogger I know the time and stress that goes with having a blog and can't even image how hard it would be to tell the news in a straightforward and unbiased way.
I wish I had read this one on my Kindle because I would have marked quite a few quotes. My favorite is from George:
The different between the truth and a lie is that both of them can hurt, but only one will take the time to heal you afterward.
The characters were wonderfully written. A couple of times I was misty eyed over a character. Such a tough living situation and yet they wanted so much to just be ok.
This one is almost 600 pages but didn't seem that long at all. The pacing was excellent. The action was constant and fast. I enjoyed the political aspect of it but can see where some readers might be thrown off.
And oh the ending...gah.
The biggest praise I can heap on this one is that as I closed the book after reading the last page, I wished I had the next one to start right then. That's huge. I rarely want to read the next in a series so quickly.
I loved this one and can't wait to see what happens.
