Book number 534 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project
I wondered where this series would head with the loss of Georgia Mason in the first volume. Can the media company she and her brother Shaun founded survive her loss? Part of the appeal of these novels is the clever vision of the role of bloggers and video to attract eyeballs to their product. The reporters who gather facts are the Newsies, but the best job title belongs to the Irwins, christened to reference Steve Irwin, he who grabbed snakes and jumped on crocodiles. The Irwins leave safe bases to go poke zombies with sticks for your viewing pleasure. The Fictionals provide poetry and stories appropriate to life in a zombie-infested world.
Shaun Mason has been driven to the edge of sanity by the loss of his sister. She was the brains of the operation; he was the reckless Irwin. When a CDC employee fakes her own death and ends up on their doorstep, Shaun must assess what is going on and figure out what to do about it. Strategy and analysis are not his strong suits and his emotional intelligence is low. Will he estrange his team, the folks who are better at these skills?
The scientific details of the virus which cause zombification are well thought out. The constant decontamination procedures and blood tests to detect infection made me think of all our early efforts to deal with Covid 19 in 2020, how our routines changed to include infection precautions. Since this novel was published almost 10 years before Covid 19, Grant scored points with me for her research and insight.
This is a very fast paced, tense novel. If you're into first-person shooter games, the constant presence of guns will make you happy. Maybe conspiracy theories are your jam? Welcome, you will love this book. It's more apocalyptic than post apocalyptic, as the zombie rising just continues on and on. Although I am not a big fan of the zombie genre, I found this novel engrossing. But I need a rest to get my nervous system under control before tackling the third volume.
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