awakeThe third and final book in the "Newsflesh" trilogy, wherein George is a clone, Shaun is insane, and government conspiracies are blown wide open.
This book was decent. I'm a fan of pulpy fiction, and have not yet become irritated with the plethora of zombie-related fiction and assorted materials as have many others, due mostly to little exposure to it because of school and other commitments that have generally eaten my leisure time. Therefore, the idea of a post-apocalyptic, zombified world in which intrepid reporters blog their adventures amuses rather than annoys. These books are immensely enjoyable while reading, easily forgotten when finished. The one real problem that I had was that the resolution was almost too easy. Mass conspiracy about a zombie virus? Get intrepid reporters George and Shaun Mason on the case. One of those reporters ends up a little dead? Make a couple of clones and sneak out the one most like its original. I guess I just felt that in the end, there were no real stakes, no ambiguity despite the fact that these books pretended to be all about the shades of grey. Good guys were always good in the end, the bad guys all card-carrying - and monologuing - villains. Despite the fact that we were told that the great CDC conspiracy began with good intentions (as are all proverbial roads to hell), we were never shown so. Perhaps that is because by the time the "Newsflesh" trilogy began, both zombies and conspiracies were well under way, but I still find myself wishing that we'd been given one or two CDCers who morally conflicted about what they were doing aside from one Dr. Connelly, who in the end was merely a plot device. However, despite that quibble, I found the books to be fun reads, fast-paced with good world building.
Rating
★★★☆☆
