Book Review - Blackout

Blackout by Mira Grant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was so sad to reach the last page of this book. I'm so sad that the trilogy is over and I'm closing the door on some amazing characters and a fascinating world that I absolutely loved visiting. Oh! But wait! I just discovered there are some prequel type books available in ebook format for this series. Yay! Okay, now back to reviewing, where I can be in a happier place than I would be if it really was OVER over, yanno? Yeah.

Okay, so, if you've read the previous two books in this series, you're aware that there's been a pretty scary zombie war, but that the government has sort of recovered, the populace has been locked down in a society where we enter rooms one at a time through blood test activated doors that are prepared to smother us in decontaminant foam if we show the slightest indication of "amplification" or, to be precise, zombification.

This novel picks up not long after the end of the last. The blogger news crew, or the remains of it after the ravages they faced in the previous two books, are still holed up with their favourite mad scientist up in the woods of the northwest. As usual, there are zombies, and conspiracies, and mad chases and explosions.

When I say as usual, don't take that to mean the book is repetitive or boring. It's not. I love Mira Grant's writing style, and I positively adore these characters. The book is fast, action-oriented, and written in an accessible but intelligent way. It is a lot of fun, and like the others in the series, is kind of like being on a constant thrill ride.

There was a point, on page 389 to be precise, where I got all mad at the author, yelled, "What the fuckity-fuck-fuck-fuck!??!!" and scared all the animals and particularly my husband, who knows that while I rarely curse, it usually indicates a severe bodily injury when it occurs. Naturally, he thought I was dying. No, I was just having a seriously skin-crawly minute. I had to put down the book (for the record, I did not throw it. I wasn't mad, just shocked) and walk away for a while.

After an hour I was back. I couldn't leave my favourite characters' fates in the balance any longer, and I'd gotten over my shock and dismay, and realized that really? That was probably going to happen all along and I had to get over it. Yes, I was skeeved out. But it was inevitable and I had to deal. It changed my opinion on the book, the series in general, the author a little bit, and the characters in a big, big way.

I'm not telling you what happened. It's just too big of a spoiler, and if someone had spoiled me on this, I really don't know if I'd have read the book.

You're going to have to say goodbye to a character you like in this book (nothing new in this series) as they make a big damn hero of themselves. And you're going to feel good about the ending, I think. I did, anyway.

There's some more anger at the Mason's adoptive parents, and that part always hits a little close to home to me. I accept the fact that some adoptive parents suck, just like some birth parents suck, but theirs in particular tick me off. I don't know if I'm mad at the characters, or at the author for creating them, but it does still bug me. There's a clear indication, as there was in previous books, that these adoptive parents don't love their adopted children the way they loved their birth child. And, you know, the author isn't saying all adoptive parents are like that, but some people like to paint everyone with such a broad brush. I just wish there was some balance in the portrayal.

But you can't always get *everything* you want out of one book series, and this book clearly delivers on every other front. I loved it. It closed the story arc that has built through the previous two books, tied up some loose ends, and gave, while not a happily-ever-after ending, an ending that I thought fit the book and the characters very, very well.

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