Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire

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Reviews are for every day, not just for Hogswatchnight.

It's time a "please help me, I can no longer find anything in my rolling note file" review roundup. Always fun!

As an aside, before I get to the notes, I have learned something about myself with Blackout. Normally, negative reviews are interesting and even a little educational for me. They help me learn what I can still improve in a series, even though I cringe a little whenever says something in Book #2 is an "obvious reaction" to criticism about Book #1. (By the time I see reviews of Book #1, I'm working on Book #3, if not Book #4.) But with Blackout, my experience has been very different, because the series is over. I already know what I need to work on as a matter of improving as an author, and I don't want to hear people criticize this story. It's done; my imaginary friends are gone; they're not coming back. It's made collecting reviews a much more careful process this time, as I get way more upset about even mild negativity.

(Please note that I am not saying "No one gets to negatively review the final book in a series/trilogy." I'm saying "I do not benefit from reading these reviews, and they make me sad, so I'm trying not to do it." Honestly, you can, and should, review anything you want, any way you want.)

And now...reviews:

Bea's Book Nook has posted a review of Blackout, and says, "Blackout is a roller coaster ride, with emotion, action, character growth, more action, quirky characters, and not a lot of zombies. I actually would have liked more of them (and I'm not a zombie fan), but when they do appear, watch out!" Hee. She also says that I "take chances," and that makes me happy.

A Reader of Fictions has posted a review of Blackout, and says, "Blackout has the humor and intelligence of the prior books (plus a ZOMBIE GRIZZLY), making a pretty satisfying conclusion to the series. I say 'pretty' satisfying because I really want more. Like right now BUT IT'S OVER. Well, except for some novellas." Any review that gives a shout-out to the zombie bear is awesome by me.

Oh, yay! The Guilded Earlobe has reviewed the audiobook edition of Blackout, and says, "Blackout is full of adventure, betrayal, true love, sacrifice, conspiracies revealed, surprise enemies and allies, fascinating science and of course, zombies. It has everything you want in a series finale, leaving you both utterly fulfilled, and desperately wanting more. Blackout is hands down my favorite Audiobook of 2012, and if it doesn’t top my list at year end, then some miracle of audiobook greatness must have taken place to knock it off its perch." Yeah...that works for me.

Gina Rinelli has posted a review of Blackout, and says, "Do yourself a favor and read these books. I can't say that enough. A couple times during Blackout I stopped and thought I can't believe a person wrote this. It's a level of storytelling that hasn't been matched for me since J. K. Rowling, the way everything fits together to just blow your mind. I may be fangirling at this point. I don't care. You need to read these books." I'm blushing.

Rob Bedford has posted a review of Blackout, and says, "Blackout is both fine novel and a fine conclusion to the Newflesh Trilogy. I enjoyed the random zombie novel here and there, but when I read Feed I was totally blown away, which set the bar high for Deadline. That bar was met and with Blackout and the whole Newsflesh Trilogy, Mira Grant has completed what should be considered the quintessential zombie narrative for the early 21st Century."

On that note, have a great day, and don't get eaten by dead things.
Tags: blackout, mira grant, reviews, zombies
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  • 34 comments
Didn't post review on Amazon (there were so many, I knew I'd just be repeating), but since I'm here, lemme just take a moment to wax rhapsodic, but I was tempted after reading your extremely-dark-but-hard-to-put-down Grants Pass short story to try another of yours. From the first paragraph in Feed I was roped in. Found myself reading just a paragraph here or there at stoplights, barricading self from kids, dogs, husband in bathroom to read just a chapter here or there after work, and read entire series in about three weeks ... Awesome imagery - I could see your scenes happening in my head. Zombie bear = nice gift to your characters and readers alike! Loved the mini bulldogs, the hotel, the gas station! Esp loved the ending of the series. Except that it ended. Moan ... Didn't Jack Chalker (or someone like him) write that a trilogy really consists of four books?
"Barricading self from kids, dogs, husband in bathroom" seems like a perfectly reasonable reaction to these books.
Or are other people not finding themselves analyzing the survival possibilities of home and office spaces?
I am, to rather depressing effect. There's only so much damage I can do to zombies with a whole basketfull of books and a pile of mixed safety and hair pins ... Purchase of a machete would likely result in finding our 11 year old playing with it on the front lawn ("Watch this, Mom!"). That said, a sternly delivered "That's enough, now settle down" might work on rampaging zombie hordes ... right? Right?? Hello ... ?!?
Aw.

Thank you. <3