Blackout

Blackout

by Mira Grant

SYNOPSIS:

Book #3 in the Newsflesh series.
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.
Blackout is the conclusion to the epic trilogy that began in the Hugo-nominated Feed and the sequel, Deadline.

Read More
10954
4.5
Book #3 in Series

And so the story ends..

I’ve never missed some characters the way I miss these guys, and yeah – I already miss them like crazy.

You know what?… If you want to know how this all ends you’ll just have to read the story and find on your own. What you’re reading now is my heart bleeding all over my keyboard, because this is how it feels letting this story go.
Damn you Mira Grant, for making me love your world as much as I do, for making me cry for a fictional story and some freaking amazing characters that don’t even exist, for making me read a zombie book when I don’t even like zombies. Damn you for being such an amazing writer!

I wish I’d know how to say goodbye, how to close the book with a smile on my lips and not to feel this ache in my heart, I wish there was more to this story .. I find it so hard to get closer to writing the last line about the Masons, so hard to think that I will never again enjoy new adventures with them, so hard not to wait for another book in the series to come out.. It’s all simply too hard even though I understand that at some point we had to get to an ending.

“Anyone coming within a hundred yards of my happy ending
had better pray that they’re immune to bullets” ~ Shaun Mason

In terms of concept and world building, this story doesn’t add much to the awesomeness of the series. I think that all the mind-blowing details about this world have been squeezed into Deadline and Feed.
This is just how the story ends. This is how all the pieces are put together and the characters get to the point of really knowing the truth and deciding what to do with it. It is not a perfect ending, it is not a happily ever after for everyone, it still holds some questions and uncertainty, but it is as close to perfect as it can get to be.

I don’t know if I am sad that it is really over, or if I am sad because of the way it all ended. I wanted more time with them, one more chapter, one more scene, one more joke, one more zombie to poke with a stick.

I am not sure if you’ve ever been in love with the characters in a story.. Like really loving them all, like never getting enough of them and wanting at least one more scene with them and missing them like crazy after you’ve turned the last page of the book.
I don’t know if you usually cry when a dear character dies, or if you do it on special occasions like I do, but damn, how I hated every time one of my beloved book-character-friends had passed away, how I wanted to turn back the page and rewrite their ending, how they still haunt my memory and I remember them being so awesome and so funny, and brave, and (oh!) how I’ll miss them every time I’ll thing about this story.

My heart aches.. I am sitting here with my iPad on my lap, trying to say all the things that have been left unspoken, but I can’t seem to find the right words.
This review was supposed to be full of spoilers, because I tried so much to hold back so many things about our character in the first 2 books that I deserved to let it all out at the very ending.. But I won’t because there’s nothing I could possibly say that could match the awesomeness of this story, and telling you about how great these characters are won’t ever be enough.

Don’t be fooled by the star (half star) missing from my ratings though.. This story is as amazing as the whole series is; only Blackout is my least favorite of the 3 of them (a bit less funny, with not as much action, but tying nicely all the loose ends and giving these characters what they deserve).
I started reading it late in the evening, I didn’t stop all night and I finished it after only 3 hours of sleep in the morning.. Maybe that’s why my review notes didn’t make much sense when I read them.

So, this is my goodbye for them.. And there’s nothing else I could say, other than the fact that I will really, really.. really miss them all.

I will miss the crazy cute Shaun, who used to think only about another stupid way to poke the dead with a stick for the rating and who could make me laugh like crazy. I will miss his craziness and the way he could love with all his heart.

I will miss Georgia and her devotion for unraveling the truth, I will miss her black-or-white point of view, I will miss the way she was so sure that she will be the one burying her brother.

I will, miss Becks and her sarcasm, the way she enjoyed being an Irwin, the way she wanted a solid proof before believing something. (and I’ll always think of her when I’ll drink a beer with her name on it)

I will miss Mahir, Maggie, and Alaric, how supportive they’ve been, how devoted to the Masons and their mission, how they’ve risked their lives so many times for the truth to come out, for being there for Shaun when he was going crazy, for supporting him even when he did stupid things, for missing Georgia and for being (together) the best bloggers in the zombie world.

And I will miss Buffy and Dave and show

I will miss every single character in the story, even some unrealistic evil characters with their annoying way of telling their ‘master plan’ before dying.

Goodbye, my dears!

One minor thing that bugged me ‘like a gun in my back’: show

Forget about this.. my bad.

CONCLUSION:
I will probably get to read other books by Mira Grant/ Seanan McGuire, but I will always miss this story in a way I’d never missed another one before.

Happy midnight reading!

Visual quote:

Favorite quote:

Because we chose to tell the truth
(The cool of age, the rage of youth)
And stand against the lies of old
(The whispers soft, the tales untold)
We find ourselves the walking dead
(The loves unkept, the words unsaid)
And in the crypt of all we’ve known
(The broken blade, the breaking stone)
We know that we were in the right
(The coming dawn, the ending night).
So here is when we stop the lies.
The time is come. We have to Rise.

~From Dandelion Mine, the blog of Magdalene Grace Garcia, August 7, 2041.

Note: The first two images used are from
orange-zombie and have been edited to fit the
story. (they link back to the original graphics)

« »

LEAVE A COMMENT

14 responses to “Blackout”

  1. Dianna ♥ says:

    This really was one of your best reviews and it just makes me crave to read this book! Thank you! <3

    • Ari says:

      Thanks a lot. This is my favourite series of them all, with the best world-building and a really amazing pack of characters. I hope that you will read it someday and that you’ll get to love it as much as I did. (and when you do that, please stay away from spoilers – I’ve seen too many unmarked on GoodReads)

  2. Shane Morgan says:

    I love this…great review. a very persuasive one i might add.

  3. What a beautiful review! The fact that you had such a strong emotional reaction to this book (and its series) is enough to convince me that I am really missing out here. I know a lot of people have been sad to see this trilogy end, and I hope I can start it soon and experience it all for myself.

    • Ari says:

      The world-building was amazing and the characters.. I can’t find my words to tell you how much I loved them. One needs to have patience to get into this story as the author took her time with it and it is slow at times, but I am sure that you will enjoy it and maybe even love it too.

  4. Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings says:

    I was just thinking about you and this series as I was putting your name onto the Halloween schedule. Between you and Maja I am convinced that I need to pick this series up soon. I know it is
    bittersweet for you to say goodbye to the characters you love and the story but at least it is ending while it is still good. That make it all the more special. I know this series is going to break my heart, too, but I am going to read it!

    • Ari says:

      I usually read a series, get to the ending, feel a bit sad and that’s it. But with this series and these characters it was too sad for words to say goodbye.
      I hope that you will read it as well and enjoy it as much as we did 😀

  5. I always loved this cover but I didn’t have an idea it was about zombies. I must to check out thos series. Thanks for the great review. i LOVE the pictures you used!

    • Ari says:

      Thanks, I am glad that you are interested in this series too – you know how it is, when you love a series you want EVERYONE to read it ;))
      It is a book with zombies but not really about them, it’s more to it than meets the eyes and I really hope that you will enjoy it as well because it is really amazing!

  6. Foxyfaerie says:

    He shot her in the neck, severing the spinal cord. It left the brain mostly intact and active, which is why they could map it.

    • Ari says:

      I am getting old. Forgetting these kind of details is not something a fan should do, LOL :)) Thanks for reminding me, I guess I should’ve checked myself, but I am too lazy. I will re-read this series again though because I loved it!

  7. Foxyfaerie says:

    BTW, I too feel kind of empty inside now that the series is over. Not sure if I’ve ever felt this attached to fictional characters before.

    • Ari says:

      Me too. For some reason I got really, really attached to the characters, the world, their adventures. I’ve never been so sad reading the last page in a book and I’ve never missed a story the way I will miss this one. I am glad to see that other people feel the same 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Discover more from Reading After Midnight

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading