Blackout by Mira Grant

Blackout
by Mira Grant
Series: Newsflesh Trilogy #3
Publisher: Orbit
Publication date: May 22, 2012
Genre: Adult Post-Apocalyptic /Zombie
Purchase: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository

Rise up while you can. -Georgia Mason

The year was 2014. The year we cured cancer. The year we cured the common cold. And the year the dead started to walk. The year of the Rising.

The year was 2039. The world didn't end when the zombies came, it just got worse. Georgia and Shaun Mason set out on the biggest story of their generation. The uncovered the biggest conspiracy since the Rising and realized that to tell the truth, sacrifices have to be made.

Now, the year is 2041, and the investigation that began with the election of President Ryman is much bigger than anyone had assumed. With too much left to do and not much time left to do it in, the surviving staff of After the End Times must face mad scientists, zombie bears, rogue government agencies-and if there's one thing they know is true in post-zombie America, it's this:

Things can always get worse.(synopsis from Goodreads)

Stop -if you have not read Feed or Deadline I recommend you proceed to the nearest bookstore and obtain your copies NOW. Love zombies, awesome characters, non-stop action and conspiracies that reach biblical proportion..You will love this trilogy! Mira Grant, aka Sean McGuire is a brilliant and talented author who creates tales that leave you breathless and craving more. *The following review contains No Spoilers *

Blackout the final novel in the Newflesh trilogy was one of my most anticipated books of the year. I preordered my copy shortly after finishing Deadline with its mind-blowing ending. I literally consumed this novel. Grant delivered everything I hoped for and more. Fans will be captivated by this brilliant action packed novel.

It’s the year 2041, the remaining “After the End of Times” team is in hiding. They are wanted by the CDC and US government for their part in exposing the truth in the previous novel. Despite this, they are still working to uncover more. The Kellis-Amberlee virus is mutating and spreading at a rapid pace. Florida is considered a lost cause and there are talks of shutting the boarder. Mahir’s sister is alive at a camp in Florida and will be abandoned. A rescue mission is formulated and a plan is established for getting them new identities. The tale that unfolds was pure perfection! It had narrow escapes, zombie bears, startling revelations and a mysterious patient known as 7B. My emotions were all over the place, as I shared this experience with characters I have come to love.

The characters in Grant’s novels are flawed, unique and so well fleshed-out that I feel as if I know them. I shared their pain, their joy and their fear. Shawn is still conversing with his dead sister Georgia, and now he is seeing her. I have really become attached to Shawn and I feel like I understand him so completely. He is getting ready to end this. He is prepared to expose the truth for Georgia and doesn’t think he will live beyond that. He is fearless, reckless, and loyal. Despite his fractured mind he is brilliant. Grant surrounds the Masons with the most loyal team. I loved each and every one of them.  These characters were so real to me, I will miss them all. Typically I am a book gypsy, and never revisit the same tale twice. I can tell you without a doubt, that I will re-read the News Flash Trilogy again and again.

The world-building from the first page of the first novel to the last page of this trilogy was superb. Grant created a story-line that is out of this world crazy and made me believe it. I became wrapped up in the virus, the conspiracies, the technology and most of all the characters. I honestly feel like I personally know each and every member of the team. They are my friends and I feel such a loyalty to them. The tale that flowed from Grant’s pen took me on a ride I will never forget. I loved the way she broke from the story, giving us blog posts from the characters. They gave us incredible insight and made the characters up close and personal. She created ebbs and flows that sent my heart racing and then gave me time to absorb the enormity of what had occurred. Her writing style can be described as both frank and beautiful. I believed this story, I lived this story and I never wanted it to end.

In case you haven’t guessed, I highly recommend The News Flesh Trilogy to everyone! If I could I would buy everyone a copy. To me this is one of the best post-apocalyptic zombie tales ever written. I am eagerly awaiting Grant’s next novels which are titled; Symbiogenesis and Parasitology. Sean McGuire is the author of the wildly popular fantasy series October Daye. Her ability to write successfully in two separate and distinct genres speaks to her amazing talent. Sean McGuire/Mira Grant is on my auto-buy list.

I gave this novel 5 coffee cups out of 5.