Feed

In 2014, the cure for cancer and the cure for the common cold were developed separately. Well meaning protesters stole the cure for cancer and used a crop duster to release it to the general public before it was fully finished. Unfortunately, when the two cures mingled and mutated, the devastating Kellis-Amberlee virus was born. When infected with it, the virus kills its host and reanimates it as a zombie that is only concerned with spreading the infection as far as possible. It has spread so far and wide that every person born after the outbreak is born with a dormant version inside them that will awaken when introduced with the live virus. This is the world that bloggers Georgia and Shaun live in. Blogging has elevated in the world because of the nonchalant way the “serious” news treated the zombie outbreak. Bloggers posted the truth and ways that people could survive while the media was still in denial and dismissing it as a prank. They (along with their tech genius Buffy) have been chosen to follow Senator Ryman on his road to becoming the Republican presidential candidate of 2040. As he gains momentum and followers, mishaps follow the group everywhere and it is discovered that they aren’t accidents, but acts of terrorism using the virus as a weapon. Why are they being targeted and can they (and the senator) stay alive long enough to finish the campaign?

I absolutely love Feed. The back cover description is pretty misleading because, as you can see, the book is complex and kind of hard to explain in such a small amount of space. When I started the book, I didn’t really know what to expect, except for some form of zombie being in it. This book is more about the new formation of society afflicted with zombies and the politics of the time. Some people may be annoyed that the universe is so well established and may complain that there is too much detail, but I didn’t consider it a problem at all. I was completely fascinated by the world and I couldn’t wait to delve deeper into the story. There is still zombie action, but it’s not the main focus of the novel. Although it’s over 500 pages, none of it dragged at all. The pacing at the beginning was a bit slow, but necessary to fully show the reader the type of world that Georgia and her brother live in. After they follow the campaign trail, the pacing is relentless, forcing me give up sleep because I needed to finish the book.

Georgia is a wonderful strong woman and my favorite character. She is one of the most capable people in the novel, knowing when to make hard decisions like destroying an infected friend. Even while people are trying to kill her, she stays calm, cool, and collected, the opposite of the stereotypical horror film heroine who runs around in hysterics. Georgia is also afflicted with retinal KA, which makes her functionally blind in any sort of light and makes her unable to produce tears. Although she seems hard and unfeeling, she has a close relationship with her brother. They trust each other with their lives and depend on each other unconditionally. Their parents adopted them pretty much just for ratings and publicity after their biological son was killed. Georgia and Shaun’s only real connection that they’ve had is with each other. All of the characters are incredibly detailed, complete with their own sets of beliefs and viewpoints.

Feed is an amazing zombie novel that a diverse group of people would love. If you like political intrigue, zombies, dangerous viruses, or blogging, this is the book for you. I would recommend it to just about everyone I know.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins

You can enter to win this book in my Zombie Brain Noming Giveaway!

**This post is for Velvet's September Zombies.**