Book 5: Blackout

Deadline

Mira Grant

And so continues Mira Grant's zombie epic, following the survivors from Feed as they dig deeper into government conspiracies and the science behind their brand of the living dead. Though the book often suffers from its narrator, who's often just a bit too far off the reservation (though understandably so), a (somewhat) new supporting cast allows Grant to probe more deeply into her meticulously thorough post-zombie world. The narrator's newfound psychosis is understandable from a psychological viewpoint, but the asides can sometimes become a bit tiresome to characters and readers alike, realistic though they may be. But the story must go on, and Grant wastes no time launching directly into a do-or-die plot that reintroduces plenty of characters from the previous installment, though a few notable names are bafflingly missing. Like its predecessor, Deadline is often more compelling for the wholeness of Grant's vision more than its plot per se, though there is plenty of conspiracy-chasing and zombie-battling. Here, too, however, are the lengthy explanatory passages that prove Grant's imaginative genius but occasionally belie her writing or plotting. Though the characters occasionally make an appreciated meta remark about the propensity of antagonists to describe their evil plots, their self-awareness doesn't quite excuse the author's dependence on this kind of expository passage. The novel isn't quite as much of a high-octane adventure as a slightly paranoid scientific exploration, but it is strangely compelling. Though the more active incidents seem to be carefully paced, they enliven what is, at its heart, a more contemplative book. More intriguingly, Grant seems to view zombies as a means to explore larger political and moral themes, and this book treats neither with kid gloves. Despite the cast's wishes, there are no easy answers, and the coda opens the door for even more layers of nuanced complexity. Sure, some plot devices are too convenient and sure, there may be too few or too many zombie battles for readers at the periphery, but Grant's work consistently proves that genre fiction, and even extremely stereotyped tropes like zombies, can be an unparalleled testing ground for new ideas and new ways to explore some of the messier issues inherent in the human condition. Deadline doesn't offer as many pleasant surprises as Feed, but it is a worthy sequel and a good pivot point as the series moves from zombie-poking adventures into deep ethical quandaries.

Grade: A-

Book 4: Deadline

Deadline

Mira Grant

And so continues Mira Grant's zombie epic, following the survivors from Feed as they dig deeper into government conspiracies and the science behind their brand of the living dead. Though the book often suffers from its narrator, who's often just a bit too far off the reservation (though understandably so), a (somewhat) new supporting cast allows Grant to probe more deeply into her meticulously thorough post-zombie world. The narrator's newfound psychosis is understandable from a psychological viewpoint, but the asides can sometimes become a bit tiresome to characters and readers alike, realistic though they may be. But the story must go on, and Grant wastes no time launching directly into a do-or-die plot that reintroduces plenty of characters from the previous installment, though a few notable names are bafflingly missing. Like its predecessor, Deadline is often more compelling for the wholeness of Grant's vision more than its plot per se, though there is plenty of conspiracy-chasing and zombie-battling. Here, too, however, are the lengthy explanatory passages that prove Grant's imaginative genius but occasionally belie her writing or plotting. Though the characters occasionally make an appreciated meta remark about the propensity of antagonists to describe their evil plots, their self-awareness doesn't quite excuse the author's dependence on this kind of expository passage. The novel isn't quite as much of a high-octane adventure as a slightly paranoid scientific exploration, but it is strangely compelling. Though the more active incidents seem to be carefully paced, they enliven what is, at its heart, a more contemplative book. More intriguingly, Grant seems to view zombies as a means to explore larger political and moral themes, and this book treats neither with kid gloves. Despite the cast's wishes, there are no easy answers, and the coda opens the door for even more layers of nuanced complexity. Sure, some plot devices are too convenient and sure, there may be too few or too many zombie battles for readers at the periphery, but Grant's work consistently proves that genre fiction, and even extremely stereotyped tropes like zombies, can be an unparalleled testing ground for new ideas and new ways to explore some of the messier issues inherent in the human condition. Deadline doesn't offer as many pleasant surprises as Feed, but it is a worthy sequel and a good pivot point as the series moves from zombie-poking adventures into deep ethical quandaries.

Grade: A-

Book 3: Feed

Feed

Mira Grant

Zombies, as a storytelling device, are a bit hard to pull off convincingly. Thanks to the likes of George Romero and a recent resurgence in all things walking dead, the shambling monsters are associated with a number of tropes, and readers need to be instantly aware of which rules apply and, to a lesser extent, why in a given work. If there's one thing that Mira Grant absolutely excels at, it is more-realistic-than-reality world-building. Though Feed, the first novel in a trilogy, often resorts to expository asides, the depth of the world they reveal is enviable. The zombie-filled intervening years between our present and the novel's are familiar, with plausible social, political, and technological developments littered throughout the story. Too many of these appear in blatant statements to the reader (and, somewhat bafflingly, in reprinted blog posts by the main characters), but they are extremely deliberate and contribute to an enveloping sense of setting, one that can bleed into readers' perceptions of their own world (or at least mine). Moreover, the characters very clearly descend from our own cultural environment- they are aware of current (and past) zombie films and literature, and refer to cult figures like George Romero as societal heroes, a vanguard linking our present to theirs. From the first high-speed chase to the melancholy epilogue, readers are present in every single moment, even those that seem drawn out or far too convenient. Grant expertly draws us in immediately and there is never a compelling reason to leave the narrative world.

Grant's admirable attention to scene-setting detail covers up many of Feed's narrative flaws and makes for a gripping, addictive novel despite a somewhat plodding, predictable plot. Feed never quite effectively balances its exposition and plot, and never quite effectively becomes the political thriller it seemingly intends to be. Plot twists occur to the reader a few beats before the book gets around to them, and while the key deaths do carry an emotional impact, they are telegraphed just too far ahead of time to retain all of their raw power. The characters themselves are realistic and likable, even if the politicos two too easily to easy, established tropes, and the politics, while exaggerated, are not unreasonably simplified. Yet, somehow, the strength of the world makes the novel nearly impossible to put down, not, perhaps, due to a tension that never reaches its full potential, but instead a result of the painstaking attention to small details. Sure, the supplementary blog posts by main characters are often insultingly thin disguises for extra exposition, but the narrator's sarcasm and skepticism make these necessary asides not only bearable but occasionally enjoyable, a cynic's perspective on a world we are meant to feel cynical about. The book takes the zombie trope and, lovingly, runs with it, plays with it, takes a straightforward look at the world we live in now, and synthesizes it into an engrossing, if not high-octane, almost-thriller. Feed surmounts all of the challenges it faces by being compelling and thorough; in the end, the flaws don't matter, and the book is one of the most memorable and enjoyable reading experiences I've had in a long time.

Grade: A

Book 4: World War Z

World War Z
Max Brooks

Thankfully, I'm picking up the pace quite a bit here, and with mind-blowing entertainment too. World War Z has everything: a clever concept executed with amazing clarity, gripping narration engrossing yet effortless, a compelling human interest story, good writing, a touch of black humor, and a combination of hope and cynicism that would astound Hemingway. I was a bit worried while approaching this book; in fact, I laughed it off. A book about a zombie war, by the son of Mel Brooks? Well, hey, I had to read it for class. Having finished the book, I wish to ban my ignorance forever to the wayside. This book is amazing and strong from start to finish. Brooks is a master of adaptation and movement, tracking a zombie plague throughout the globe and nailing international relations as well as intricate human relationships. Brooks deals with concepts as familiar as love and as unfamiliar as, well, a zombie apocalypse. He may have chosen a niche topic around which to weave his tales of violent upheaval and worldwide panic, but his excellent authorial skills should not be dismissed and instead lend the somewhat marginalized topic of zombies a piece of credible, highly executed art.

From the first page of the book, I knew that Brooks had chosen exactly the right medium in which to tell his story. By compiling a selection of interviews, Brooks is able to present the multiple viewpoints modern readers should expect with an event of this scope. Instead of limiting his story to the United States or even expanding to Europe or Australia, Brooks provides a truly worldwide outlook on a colossal global event, made possible only through the globalization utilized to brilliant ends within the book. By beginning in China, Brooks roots out the very beginning of the problem and sets off the chain reaction he will follow around the globe as the contagion spreads. More importantly, he thinks outside of the realm of the particular interview at hand and includes references to future or past interviews that, taken together, provide a complete view of events. Brooks recognizes both the strengths and weaknesses of oral interviews as a source of information and exploits both brilliantly, adding insightful satire and critiques without becoming too overbearing (usually). A few references to the Iraq War become a bit cumbersome and are too transparently linked to the views of the author (though I happen to agree with them), but authorial presence is usually held to a minimum in the book. That presence that Brooks does show is usually filtered through the lens of the interviewer who has collected the data available here; adding this voice gives the book an extra dimension of realism.

This realistic take on such a cliched and overly fantastic subject as zombies is shockingly effective. Brooks uses the viral strain of zombie history and links it into current fears about potential bird flu or SARS pandemics. The path he traces is realistic and recalls the spread of other diseases. The actions of the different countries most represented (particularly the United States, Russia, and China) seem to be realistic extrapolations based on their current conduct. Is it so unbelievable that China would do all in its power to hide news of the spreading crisis (just think of the more benign toy contaminations) or that Russia would revert to a pseudo-Romanov "Holy Russian Empire"? Brooks presents much of the darker side of human nature but is so compelling and so blatantly honest that readers have no choice but to go along for the ride and accept the story as it unfolds. It is, in fact, shocking to be drawn out of the narrative universe and back into the real, zombie-free world.

Brooks's speakers are likewise incredibly real and broadly representative. There are doctors, statesmen, everyday survivors, soldiers, and even emotionally scarred victims of the war. Some appear more than once and all are somehow sympathetic. By presenting them in their own words, Brooks wisely avoids judgment (except for the sly interruptions of the interviewer) and lets the story tell itself. This is the best way to present a global event, and characters run the gamut in almost every respect. Not all are stereotypical representatives of a typical apocalyptic story; you'll find them here but presented in the flesh and without cliche. Each person has a story to tell and yet each story connects to the others and reveals a small piece of the larger picture. The book is a triumph in integration; each section is necessary yet stands on its own. None seem extraneous and all are equally compelling in their own way.

By the time the reader finishes this book, zombies have gone from a tired horror-movie staple to a compellingly terrifying possibility. We are as intimate with the zombies as those who directly encountered them. We know the timeline of the war and are familiar with the different methods and means by which people escaped. We are not only familiar with the war itself but with the shape the postwar world is taking; the story does not stop with the last great pushes against the zombies but lives on in the remarkably and concisely detailed interview settings (as well as the consideration that the plague may not be entirely over).

This book is a well-written and engaging literary piece masquerading as pulp fiction. Brooks knows what he is doing and has brilliantly executed each facet of his incredibly detailed concept, exploring its ramifications and leaving no part of the history of the zombie war along the wayside (my shattered ego lies alone). Some sections of the book are a bit heavy on the present, making me fear for its potential longevity (it is tied incredibly closely to the early 2000s), but I believe that it can function as a work of alternate history, projecting a path based on our own times. While the gore in the book may turn off some readers, it is not overbearing and certainly not extraneous- the horrific moments are central to the plot and help create the vivid sense of reality that ultimately makes the novel work. I may have been skeptical at the outset, but I will undoubtedly return to this incredible book time and again to explore its insights into human nature, its bizarrely relevant take on the fate of humanity in a world gone mad. With zombies.

Grade: A