Blackout (Newsflesh Trilogy) [Mass Market Paperback]

Please note Blackout is the final book of the Newflesh trilogy and there is good chance that there will be potential spoilers in this review if you haven't read books one and two, don't say I didn't warn you. With that said lets unleash the undead one more time...

The standout character in Blackout, and probably the series as a whole if I think about it, is Shaun Mason. By book three, he has reached the stage where his grasp of sanity is teetering on the brink. The events recounted in Feed and Deadline have just about managed to push him over the edge. I do like when an author is willing to put a character through the emotional wringer. Each time you think Shaun is going to get some small respite, something else terrible happens and he has to deal with the consequences. His instability makes him a particularly interesting read as you have no idea what he is going to do next. He is truly capable of anything, rational argument one moment and then threatening to shot someone in the face the next.

I've heard the criticism from others that the politics and blogging references in this series are a trifle unrealistic. Now I'll admit that my knowledge of the American political system is limited to watching The West Wing, but the entire trilogy certainly seemed to be pitched at about the right level for me, so any inaccuracies are unimportant. I enjoy nothing better than a shadowy government conspiracy, and Grant keeps things ticking over nicely in that regard. The intrigue that runs through the entire series, and the political elements mixed together lifted the plot above the norm.

One thing I would have liked a bit more of is the zombies themselves. When I reviewed the second novel, Deadline, I did mention that the undead were a bit thin on the ground. In fairness, I should point out that the direction of the story made that a sensible decision at the time. For the final book, I think I expected the focus to move back towards the zombies. Don't get me wrong, overall I think that Blackout succeeds in bringing the story of Georgia and Shaun Mason to suitably satisfying conclusion. There just weren't enough zombies to warrant the `horror' label. I'm pretty bloodthirsty when it comes to horror, and I like my zombie novels to have as grim an outlook as possible. I've watched these characters develop over the course of the three books and I've grown to like some of them, and hope for a nasty death for others. I think I just wanted a bit more peril, perhaps a few more character deaths? I don't know, I guess I'm just evil.

This is the 3rd and final installment of Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy. After the cliffhanger from the last book Deadline: The Newsflesh Trilogy: Book 2 we're back with the Mason's and their team of reporters from After The End Times. Shaun Mason is still hearing the voice of his dead sister in his head and trying to keep control of the rest of his team; Becks, Alaric, Maggie and Mahir, whilst staying with a self professed mad scientist. Meanwhile Georgia has woken up and is being detained in a CDC laboratory. We hear the story for the first time through both siblings point of view as they come to the end of their journey. Expect the usual amount of shady business involving various government officials and organizations. But unfortunately not too much zombie action.

If you've been following the series i'd recommend this one as it does tie it all up nicely. If you haven't been following the series though, I doubt you'd find much fun here. I'll give this one 3 stars as it's sadly just not as enjoyable as its predecessors, unfortunately all of the characters have become; at worst unlike-able and at best just plain boring. Mira, It's been good fun while it lasted, but 3 is most certainly enough for this series.

After her last book I had to wait a full year for the conclusion to the best trilogy I have ever read. All I can say is TOTALLY WORTH IT. All the loose ends are tied up nicely and a couple of threads that I was worried would go wrong were explained in a believable and plausible way.
The story picks up with GEORGE waking up as a clone and it rattles along nicely from there. This is a book were you have to have read the series in order, or you will not get the full benefit of this trilogy .
I am not going to give away any of the story in my review, its too good for that, suffice to say my daughter and I were fighting over this to get first read, and currently she has not came out of her room for two days now, she is that engrossed.
HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.