#pyroshadow96

I bought FEED originally because my girlfriend recommended it. I think she'd met Seanan at a book signing or event, it's pretty hazy. Anyway I had the title in my head at our local scifi/fantasy bookstore and grabbed myself a copy. My mom got to it first, and then insisted that I read it right now so that she would have someone to talk with about it.

I think when the plot was described to me I'd expected something detached and slow (Zombie political blogging? I love Rachel Maddow and zombies but I'm not sure I want to read about someone updating their wordpress...) Shaun and George changed all that within the first chapter. I don't think I've had characters whose dynamic I've loved so much since I fell out of the Doctor Who fandom. 

Of course it didn't hurt that they proceeded to go home to my home town. There's something kinda awesome about finding out that your city fought back against the undead and kicked their flesh eating asses.

I really liked the medical development of Kellis-Amberlee, especially the ways in which KA infected zombies fit into the trope, and explained some of its mechanisms (pack hunting omg, that is actually horrifying.) I loved the depth of the world, and the way the rising was slowly laid out before us without clumsy infodumps. World building is the key to my heart.

FEED really got its claws into me when we met Buffy and ohgodBuffy. She's the character I am still not over. I read FEED in the summer, and I'd spent the past few days watching my mother become totally absorbed and emotionally compromised by the book, so I was expecting at least a few tears. I wasn't expecting Buffy.

But surely, I thought, Surely that is the big, game changing character death. I mean they've killed one of our main three, surely we'll lose Ryman at worst and that will be that. No one spoiled me for anything but I got a lot of cryptic "You ain't seen nothing yet" comments from those in the know. 

After Eakly I shifted from picking up the book on my commute or in between classes to having it glued to my hand 24/7. I read it before bed yeah don't  and in the end I pulled an all nighter curled up on the couch where I could easily see all the exits trying not to sob. 

My favorite character was definitely George, followed in a close second by Buffy. Aside from the obvious, the death that hit me the hardest was Rebecca Ryman's. It felt like such a realistic portrayal of loss and was so expertly handled that it still gives me chills on reread. We never even met her but I felt like someone kicked me in the heart.

Hmm, what else is there to say? Things that I thought would happen but didn't:

I was very worried something would happen to Emily Ryman. As far as secondary characters go she's my favorite. 

I don't think I was alone in assuming that Shaun would bite it. I mean come on! I'm very glad he didn't, obviously. 

My otp was George/Mahir.

I kept hoping that a plot divice, however ridiculous, would get Shaun and George safely out of the van. Ha. Haha. Ha :(

That's about it, probably. FEED is still my favorite of the series, and I infect anyone who gets near enough with a copy.