Okay, folks, I've been asked for it, and here it is: the spoiler party for Feed. Anything goes in the comments on this post only. If you haven't read the book, I ask that you not click. If you have, feel free to jump in, ask questions, discuss, or just yell at me. I'm cool either way.
Sobbed when Buffy died. Bawled like an inconsolable wretch when George died. For that to happen, for Shaun to have to be the one to end her life... heartbreaking.
I didn't expect to like George, but she grew on me throughout the book to the point where I have a tough time imagining the rest of the series without her. The last time I can remember crying this hard over the death of a character in a book was when I was a young girl and read Little Women for the first time and Beth died. It was my first moment when I realized that main characters could die, people you loved, who had done nothing wrong. Losing George was a Tara killing moment. A Wash killing moment. It's something Joss would do. It made me want a disclaimer sticker on the cover that says "Do not love the people in this book. It is a killing book."
This, although what really got me, stupidly, was when Lois got it. I am fortunate that one of my cats will actually tolerate being held onto very tightly for long periods of time.
That entire section with Shaun and George in the van from when she's been pricked through the end of her last blog entry was my favorite part in the whole book. I loved their relationship and that whole scene was heartbreakingly perfect. I'm actually really looking forward to how Shaun does "without" George in the next book. (Of course, she's still part of his headspace, which I also love. It was never supposed to be him left behind, and I really like that his brain's reaction is to hold on to a piece of her personality.)
I could speculate that after having your running-mate commit suicide via KA virus after he revealed he was part of a conspiracy to use KA as an instrument of terror, your credibility goes in the crapper even if you had no fricken idea (and he did try to kill you when you were opponents in the primary). Taking one of the three journalists who broke the story (the only one who was old enough to actually be President) as your running-mate, may be a desperate move to have him convince people that he really thought you weren't involved.
And, well, there's no rule that says you have to have any experience -- 35 or above, born in the US, chosen by the electoral college (usually based on popular votes).
I was sort of confused by the six week jump in the last section. Like, they were just pulling themselves together from the car crashes, right? And they listened to one of Buffy's bugs, and they discovered that Tate was behind it all -- in fact they heard him issuing orders to "deal with them" immediately. (Am I misremembering?)
I was expecting a very fast resolution -- the group races to get to safety and get the news out, Tate's assassins breaking into their rented hotel room. Maybe the assassins do the zombie-conversion thing around the group's hotel, so that the group has to withstand an actual zombie attack?
But instead I turned the page and it was "okay now it's six weeks later and nothing happened except now Ryman is mad at us". So I guess the audio recording of Tate admitting he did it wasn't actually considered conclusive proof.
I did enjoy the book, it just seemed a little strange at the time. ^_^;
Lois, was actually not unexpected for me, kind of like a "see what a big bad bully I am" I was more mad than shocked. George? I actually get why George, doesn't mean I like it, I sobbed, like a baby, I had to go back and reread it, TWICE. I told Wayne he should have warned me, but really how could he, that would have ruined it, totally. Even with Buffy dying, I didn't see it. Even with the bug bite, I didn't really see it. It was there but I ignored it, because I didn't want it to be real. It's been a long time, a very long time since I've liked some one in a book that much. I didn't want it to be real, but it was. Stupid Zombie Book TM*
*when my kids were younger a movie that made me cry was stupid. There are lots of movies that make me cry, and TV shows even TV ads. Books? Not so much. Curse of Chalion made me cry, Lost Boys (Orson Scott Card) did, Books donts makes me cry. You are on a short list here.
Marburg in conjunction with a modified rhino-virus mutated into zombie-causing. Marbug/rhino-virus mutated into curing cancer into zombie-causing Marburg/rhino-virus.
Best virus combination since the Miranda Virus. (Tate in my head kept looking like Riddlemeyer. It was weird.)
And of course Apple makes the top of the line tests.
One thing I've been wondering about -- why the Ryman ranch? Easly made sense -- either to kill Tate's major primary opponent or to discredit him as being 'soft on defense'. Trying to kill the journalists also, so that no one found out about Buffy, since she was obviously getting cold feet. (And because the others were poking around where they shouldn't, instead of being nice lapdogs for the campaign.)
But at the ranch, it was right before the RNC. It could get Ryman to bow out, but wasn't going to affect delegate votes, unlike if it had happened a week or two before. I'd bet all the pollsters would at least have an inkling which way things would fall, even if politics was more of a surprise in the post-Rising world. Furthermore, Tate mentioned he was in favor of loosening Mason's Law, so having a high profile animal conversion case would hurt this item of his agenda.
I literally went through from Buffy dying on going "I hate you... I love you... I HATE YOU" because of everything. George dying? I may never forgive you for. Well, yes, I will. But now I have to wait for the next book and... grar. *shakes fist* Damn you.
This will become my new favorite zombie book to read and re-read, I can already tell. (The last one was "Breathers" which I've now read about 20 times in the last few months) I need to write a review of FEED now, but I'm still too shell-shocked.
Well, hell. Since this is a closed-end series of books - at least, I'm assuming that much - will we see a resolution to KA? I'm holding out for the bacteriophage route. Is the retinal KA a clue?
Will raptors eat zombies? I kept thinking San Diego would be a perfect place for such an experiment - sure, outbreak city. But it's not called Buzzard Bay for the fun of it. Both really big and really small raptors are endemic to that part of the country, and they'll eat anything. If it stops moving long enough, so much the better. Yeah, I'm interesting in seeing what could actually put a dent in this on its own. Not that the infection rate would overtake anything at this point, but that last act of defiance intrigues me. What else would do well besides the zombies? Come to think of it, we cleared the birds. How about the reptiles? Some of those snakes have hemotoxins for venom - kind of turning anything they bite into slush, you do it enough. Neurotoxins, eh. I'm still trying to figure out what's still working if you have something able to metabolize protein, remain ambulatory but is too brain-damaged to resuscitate after the virus is removed. I still don't understand what keeps some diabetics on their feet in an insulin crisis when their sugars dip below 20. I've seen it. That's not supposed to be compatible with life - but hell, there it was. Holding legitimate conversations, the works.
Shaun's narrative voice is going to be the primary reason I miss George. The irony of his survival over the other two members of his party who legitimately should have been Just Fine is so neat and tidy and perfect, I could bronze it. Assume nothing. Excellent. I will miss George's clean, clear, unaffected narrative - another testament to her dedication to being a Newsie - Shaun's voice is angry, wounded and profane. I'd like a better place for him at the end, I am asking too much?
Is there any concern with the number of blood tests causing infection opportunities? I mean, some of those things get to be an issue - particularly when you mention they are designed to be painful. I would think there would be a market for soft, flexible, non-permeable gloves with some wicking ability as a response to this. Particularly if you plan to shake hands a lot. (I also didn't see a lot of references to other infectious agents like bacteria or fungal issues. Good reason?)
I saw the pictures of those cupcakes and died laughing. They are SO good at what they do!
I also am curious about large bird farming, although it's my understanding that at least ostriches are unintelligent enough to require a lot of care, and if most people are scared to eat something as safe as chicken, it might not be an economic industry.
It also occurs that irradiated food should be safe, since irradiation kills pretty much everything, unless the proteins from live virus 'activate' non-live KA. In that case, it would be as hard to disinfect for KA as it is for prions.
Is the body weight limit the body mass needed for viral animation, or is it a threshold size for conversion to the 'live' virus? In the former case, dead mammals would be dangerous whatever the size, just not getting up and coming after you.
I'm assuming you haven't shown us the extent of the real conspiracy yet. I don't think Tate was anywhere near the head of the conspiracy. A cabal that would be able to manage that kind of thing would not be putting one of their own into a presidential race, the office of the president is far too visible a position for that. I think that the religious movement that was running this plot was being supported with money and live virus by the real plotters, not because the real plotters want them in charge, but because the real plotters think they can predict and control them. Anyway, that's what I think...
Also, I prefer you to Whedon. Not least because I don't expect you to kill a character sheerly to screw with my head. His lil trick demon pony has gotten predictable and cheap. I expect to see it performing lap dances any day now.
Just one minor, tiny little thing: I loved the teeny reference to the legalization of gay marriage. George mentions "the Congresswoman and her wife" without even blinking.
I could see how a world in crisis might learn to prioritize its politics, and I loved how it wasn't a big, long explanation, like so many of the other changes. It was just . . . there.
Feed made me think a lot about my expectations in books vs movies, because if this had been a zombie movie, none of the deaths would have made me blink. (I mean, I might have winced and flailed a bit, but I wouldn't have been surprised. Because I know, with that type of movie, that there don't necessarily have to be any survivors, and no one is completely safe.
Whereas I had to read the relevant parts of Feed three times before I could believe George was actually dead. I think it's at least partly because it's a lot harder to keep emotional distance - for me, at least - in a book with a first person narrator, and so I can't pick apart the story as I go because I'm too busy worrying about everyone.
It's like the issue with Little Shop of Horrors as a musical and as a movie. The things that people loved in a musical made them depressed and angry in a movie, because of the change of medium.
I am not a person that writes book reviews, I don't consider myself a writer and just don't think I could do it justice. That being said... I WILL write a review for this book. I don't like politics, don't care about the news and don't like the horror genre and I loved this book. Thats not what this post is about though. George I saw coming cuz Mira is sneaky sneaky and one of the quotes was from the wall so I was prepared for George and only cried a little cuz I liked her so much. Buffy however, was a character I didn't care for and cried over her death because it made so much sense and was such a system shock at the same time. Grr she is a traitor oh what? She is dead? And she has proof of the conspiracy? It was like emotional whiplash and sooooo goood!!!
Random thought on the way to the bus this morning: a lot of large, charismatic megafauna is doomed. Think about it: humans can't eat pork and red meat now, thanks to any mammalian meat from a large animal being contaminated by active KA. (Most) humans are smart enough to avoid eating zombie cows -- wolves aren't. There's suddenly going to be a large selection pressure to prefer rabbits, and some carnivores (lions? polar bears?) might not make it outside of captivity.
It might be that zombies take the place of 'natural' predators in most ecosystems.
Tossing this here, just in case you didn't see it on twitter. Review here. I love you. I hate you. you kind of rule my friggin world after this book. Be my queen? ;)
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May 11 2010, 18:00:58 UTC 7 years ago
Damn you.
May 11 2010, 18:03:45 UTC 7 years ago
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May 11 2010, 18:03:04 UTC 7 years ago
I didn't expect to like George, but she grew on me throughout the book to the point where I have a tough time imagining the rest of the series without her. The last time I can remember crying this hard over the death of a character in a book was when I was a young girl and read Little Women for the first time and Beth died. It was my first moment when I realized that main characters could die, people you loved, who had done nothing wrong. Losing George was a Tara killing moment. A Wash killing moment. It's something Joss would do. It made me want a disclaimer sticker on the cover that says "Do not love the people in this book. It is a killing book."
And I still can't wait for the next one.
May 11 2010, 18:04:13 UTC 7 years ago
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*This*
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May 11 2010, 18:13:12 UTC 7 years ago
Who were the spooks belonging to Tate who hypoed Dayna, Goldie, and poor, poor, George *sniffle*
May 11 2010, 18:26:00 UTC 7 years ago
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May 11 2010, 18:33:57 UTC 7 years ago
And yes, I love that poor Shaun's mind can't cope without Georgia, so it supplies her for him.
I'm a little sad that Tate did not get to SUFFER LIKE A WORM for what he did to the Rymans and to Georgia and Shaun.
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May 11 2010, 18:29:35 UTC 7 years ago
And, well, there's no rule that says you have to have any experience -- 35 or above, born in the US, chosen by the electoral college (usually based on popular votes).
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May 11 2010, 18:24:15 UTC 7 years ago
I was expecting a very fast resolution -- the group races to get to safety and get the news out, Tate's assassins breaking into their rented hotel room. Maybe the assassins do the zombie-conversion thing around the group's hotel, so that the group has to withstand an actual zombie attack?
But instead I turned the page and it was "okay now it's six weeks later and nothing happened except now Ryman is mad at us". So I guess the audio recording of Tate admitting he did it wasn't actually considered conclusive proof.
I did enjoy the book, it just seemed a little strange at the time. ^_^;
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May 11 2010, 18:25:59 UTC 7 years ago
*when my kids were younger a movie that made me cry was stupid. There are lots of movies that make me cry, and TV shows even TV ads. Books? Not so much. Curse of Chalion made me cry, Lost Boys (Orson Scott Card) did, Books donts makes me cry. You are on a short list here.
Lois
May 11 2010, 19:23:27 UTC 7 years ago
Actually Lois was the hard part for me. People? No big deal. Kill as many as you like.
Pets? A pet dying bothers me. A lot.
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May 11 2010, 18:37:02 UTC 7 years ago
Best virus combination since the Miranda Virus. (Tate in my head kept looking like Riddlemeyer. It was weird.)
And of course Apple makes the top of the line tests.
May 11 2010, 18:41:59 UTC 7 years ago
Cold: most contagious thing in the world.
Cancer: immortal cellular growth.
And let me tell you, the blood tests. All the damn blood tests were the most suspenseful part of the book for me.
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May 11 2010, 18:37:07 UTC 7 years ago
But at the ranch, it was right before the RNC. It could get Ryman to bow out, but wasn't going to affect delegate votes, unlike if it had happened a week or two before. I'd bet all the pollsters would at least have an inkling which way things would fall, even if politics was more of a surprise in the post-Rising world. Furthermore, Tate mentioned he was in favor of loosening Mason's Law, so having a high profile animal conversion case would hurt this item of his agenda.
May 11 2010, 18:42:56 UTC 7 years ago
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May 11 2010, 19:03:08 UTC 7 years ago
This will become my new favorite zombie book to read and re-read, I can already tell. (The last one was "Breathers" which I've now read about 20 times in the last few months) I need to write a review of FEED now, but I'm still too shell-shocked.
May 11 2010, 19:57:46 UTC 7 years ago
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Good work!
May 11 2010, 19:19:27 UTC 7 years ago
Really enjoyed it. Can't wait to read the next one.
Re: Good work!
May 18 2010, 15:08:36 UTC 7 years ago
May 11 2010, 19:27:45 UTC 7 years ago
By the way, if it's of any use to you, I'm driving to Marcon, and have an excellent source of cupcakes. :)
May 13 2010, 07:19:41 UTC 7 years ago
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May 11 2010, 20:19:01 UTC 7 years ago
Will raptors eat zombies? I kept thinking San Diego would be a perfect place for such an experiment - sure, outbreak city. But it's not called Buzzard Bay for the fun of it. Both really big and really small raptors are endemic to that part of the country, and they'll eat anything. If it stops moving long enough, so much the better. Yeah, I'm interesting in seeing what could actually put a dent in this on its own. Not that the infection rate would overtake anything at this point, but that last act of defiance intrigues me. What else would do well besides the zombies? Come to think of it, we cleared the birds. How about the reptiles? Some of those snakes have hemotoxins for venom - kind of turning anything they bite into slush, you do it enough. Neurotoxins, eh. I'm still trying to figure out what's still working if you have something able to metabolize protein, remain ambulatory but is too brain-damaged to resuscitate after the virus is removed. I still don't understand what keeps some diabetics on their feet in an insulin crisis when their sugars dip below 20. I've seen it. That's not supposed to be compatible with life - but hell, there it was. Holding legitimate conversations, the works.
Shaun's narrative voice is going to be the primary reason I miss George. The irony of his survival over the other two members of his party who legitimately should have been Just Fine is so neat and tidy and perfect, I could bronze it. Assume nothing. Excellent. I will miss George's clean, clear, unaffected narrative - another testament to her dedication to being a Newsie - Shaun's voice is angry, wounded and profane. I'd like a better place for him at the end, I am asking too much?
Is there any concern with the number of blood tests causing infection opportunities? I mean, some of those things get to be an issue - particularly when you mention they are designed to be painful. I would think there would be a market for soft, flexible, non-permeable gloves with some wicking ability as a response to this. Particularly if you plan to shake hands a lot. (I also didn't see a lot of references to other infectious agents like bacteria or fungal issues. Good reason?)
I saw the pictures of those cupcakes and died laughing. They are SO good at what they do!
May 13 2010, 02:46:03 UTC 7 years ago
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May 11 2010, 21:54:12 UTC 7 years ago
It also occurs that irradiated food should be safe, since irradiation kills pretty much everything, unless the proteins from live virus 'activate' non-live KA. In that case, it would be as hard to disinfect for KA as it is for prions.
Is the body weight limit the body mass needed for viral animation, or is it a threshold size for conversion to the 'live' virus? In the former case, dead mammals would be dangerous whatever the size, just not getting up and coming after you.
I'm assuming you haven't shown us the extent of the real conspiracy yet.
I don't think Tate was anywhere near the head of the conspiracy. A cabal that would be able to manage that kind of thing would not be putting one of their own into a presidential race, the office of the president is far too visible a position for that. I think that the religious movement that was running this plot was being supported with money and live virus by the real plotters, not because the real plotters want them in charge, but because the real plotters think they can predict and control them. Anyway, that's what I think...
May 12 2010, 03:09:04 UTC 7 years ago
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May 11 2010, 22:18:09 UTC 7 years ago
This is why I can't buy nice books. ;)
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May 12 2010, 01:06:57 UTC 7 years ago
I could see how a world in crisis might learn to prioritize its politics, and I loved how it wasn't a big, long explanation, like so many of the other changes. It was just . . . there.
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May 12 2010, 01:59:03 UTC 7 years ago
Whereas I had to read the relevant parts of Feed three times before I could believe George was actually dead. I think it's at least partly because it's a lot harder to keep emotional distance - for me, at least - in a book with a first person narrator, and so I can't pick apart the story as I go because I'm too busy worrying about everyone.
May 14 2010, 14:56:30 UTC 7 years ago
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May 21 2010, 17:08:10 UTC 7 years ago
Writing the main character's death in first person was very stressful and damn hard for me to sit through. So we're even.
And I'm glad you enjoyed the book.
I'm surprised no one has started this thread yet!
May 12 2010, 03:01:44 UTC 7 years ago
If I even survived the Rising (and I might not because I'm middle aged, overweight, and do a desk job):
I'd be a Stewart, and believe you me, I'd have been commenting left and right about everything that came out of After The End Times.
What kind of blogger would you be?
Re: I'm surprised no one has started this thread yet!
May 12 2010, 15:56:26 UTC 7 years ago
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May 12 2010, 03:47:14 UTC 7 years ago
I loved George. It broke my heart when Shaun had to put her down. I can't imagine how the next two books can even possibly move on.
That being said, I can't WAIT to get my hands on the next two books!
May 18 2010, 15:41:36 UTC 7 years ago
I'm so glad you liked Feed. :)
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May 12 2010, 17:59:28 UTC 7 years ago
It might be that zombies take the place of 'natural' predators in most ecosystems.
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