Book Review: "Blackout" by Mira Grant

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 final book in the Newsflesh trilogy and because of that I started reading it while I was filled with both anticipation for what was coming next and a bit of sadness that I only had this one book left to read in such an amazing series. Mira Grant over the course of three books has built a world that is both terrifying and hopeful at the same time. She has brought to life characters that I will be thinking about fondly for a long time to come and she has done something I never though possible: made me like a zombie tale. That in itself is an incredible feat.

Being the final book in the trilogy, Blackout is of course packed with action. Shaun Mason is once again the main protagonist but he has his trusty crew along with him every step of the way. As a matter of fact, the reader learns something very interesting about Shaun at the very beginning of Blackout and it opens up a lot of doors in regards to where the plot has the opportunity to go. Thankfully Mira Grant made sure to pick what I consider to be the right direction.

Not every question left open from the first two books gets answered in Blackout, but all of the really important ones do. The true nature of the fight against the Kellis-Amberlee virus is revealed, Rick makes a very interesting return (which isn’t a spoiler, I promise), and the relationship between Shaun and Georgia takes a twist that I totally saw coming a mile away, but is still awesome nonetheless.

This trilogy is packed with quality characters, excellent writing, and magnificent plot twists from the very first page to the very last. The twists come at you hard and fast in Blackout as Grant works to paint the picture of how the world really is that these characters are living in, and at times they start to seem like she might be adding twists just for the sake of adding another plot twist, but trust me, they all make sense and fit really well together when you get to the end.

Speaking of the end, I’m so very glad that Grant ended things the way she did with these books. She didn’t allow herself to be drawn in by typical feel-good clichés that are common nowadays and she stayed true to her characters which thrilled me beyond explanation. The end is tightly woven to fit her characters in all the right places, but she leaves the door ever-so-slightly cracked open for a follow-up in the future if she chose. I wouldn’t mind another book in this world Mira Grant has drawn up, but if I’m honest I hope she leaves the story as it is and lets it stand as a truly great work.

For those interested, tomorrow I will be posting an article full to the brim with spoilers about these books as I discuss some of the details that had me so excited while I was reading.

Grade: A
Length: 621 pages

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