Alien: Echo - Review

Title:  Alien: Echo

Author: Mira Grant

Series: “An original young adult novel of the Alien universe”

Synopsis:  “Olivia and her twin sister Viola have been dragged around the universe for as long as they can remember.  Their parents, both xenobiologists, are always in high demand for their research into obscure alien biology.

     “Just settled on a new colony world, they discover an alien threat unlike anything they’ve ever seen.  And suddenly the sisters’ world is ripped apart.

     “On the run from terrifying aliens, Olivia’s knowledge of xenobiology and determination to protect her sister are her only weapons as the colony collapses into chaos.  But then a shocking family secret bursts open – one that’s as horrifying to Olivia as the aliens surrounding them.

     “The creatures infiltrate the rich wildlife on this virgin colony world – and quickly start adapting.  Olivia’s going to have to adapt, too, if she’s going to survive.”

Coming from Titan books 10/29/19

Coming from Titan books 7/30/19.

Review:  I’ve spoken before about how much I love the Alien franchise.  I was very excited to find out that there are several new Alien books being released this year.  Alien: Echo by Mira Grant is the first this year, Alien: Isolation by Keith DeCandido releases on July 30 and Alien: Prototype by Tim Waggoner releases on October 29. 

     I accidentally bought both a digital copy (Kindle) and a hardcover copy of Alien: Echo because I got so excited when I saw it at Barnes & Noble I forgot I had preordered it for my Kindle.  (This actually happens to me a lot.  Don’t judge.  I like books more than I like people.)  I read it in 3 hours when I got home from the bookstore.  I just plopped down on the couch, started reading, and didn’t move until I finished.  I mean it.  I didn’t get a drink.  I didn’t have any reading snacks.  I didn’t even go to the bathroom.  I’m pretty sure my husband tried to talk to me and I didn’t even pause to give him the death glare. That’s how good it is.

     Mira Grant is one of my favorite authors, and Alien is one of my favorite series.  (I’ll read anything written by Mira Grant, no questions asked.)  Put the two of these together and it’s a match made in heaven.  The world building and character development that went into this novel is amazing.  Olivia is an awesome character.  Even without the chest bursting aliens, they don’t show up until about halfway through the book, I would have loved a book about her.  She’s the new girl, and her parents are weird.  She has a mysterious twin sister that nobody has ever met; and a crush on one of the popular girls at school.  She even breaks the rules to impress the girl she has a crush on.  She is definitely a well written teenager!  The world is awesome.  It’s Mira Grant, so of course the xenobiology is well thought out and well written.  Also, there are chest bursting aliens.  You don’t want to miss this one!  If you’re like me you may even get so excited you accidentally buy two copies!

Publisher:  Imprint

If you like this book you may want to read:

Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant

Harmony by Lilith Saintcrow

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (read BookGirlR’s review here)

Deadline - Review

Title: Deadline
Author: Mira Grant
Series: The Newsflesh Trilogy #2

Synopsis: “Shaun Mason is a man without a mission. Not even running the news organization he built with his sister has the same urgency as it used to. Playing with dead things just doesn’t seem as fun when you’ve lost as much as he has.
“But when a CDC researcher fakes her own death and appears on his doorstep with a ravenous pack of zombies in tow, Shaun has a newfound interest in life. Because she brings news – he may have put down the monster who attacked them, but the conspiracy is far from dead.
“Now, Shaun hits the road to find what truth can be found at the end of a shotgun”


Review: I know that after reading Feed I said I wasn’t sure I wanted to read the rest of the series. Grant’s writing is so vivid and so intense that for weeks I was sure zombies were going to jump out of every shadow. After awhile the aftereffects of reading Feed passed and I was no longer scared. I preordered Deadline, sure that there was no way it could be as great as Feed but willing to try it nonetheless.
So here it is. I love this book. I love this series. I love Mira Grant (who is actually a pseudonym for Seanan McGuire, so I therefore love Seanan McGuire). I read Deadline in about three hours. I couldn’t put it down and carried it around with me. I read while making coffee. I read while brushing my teeth. I read while feeding the cat.
Deadline is told from Shaun’s point of view. Poor Shaun no longer delights in the simple pleasures like poking dead things with sticks or getting almost killed by flesh eating zombies. We quickly discover that George isn’t entirely gone, a part of her lingers. Shaun searches for the reasons behind why she was killed and discovers a conspiracy deeper than he had imagined (there are several revelations that blew my mind) which leads to a surprising ending.
I can’t wait for the third book in this series. I want it ASAP. Writing like this deserves an audience. Go get Deadline and read it now!


Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 978-0316081061

Before you read this book you should really check out:



Feed by Mira Grant (The Newsflesh Trilogy #1)See my review here.

If you like this book you may want to read:



The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (ISBN: 978-0385736824)



Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire (ISBN: 978-0756405717)

Feed - Review

Title: Feed

Author: Mira Grant (also writes as Seanan McGuire)

Series: The Newsflesh Trilogy #1

Synopsis: “The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we had created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED.
“Now, twenty years after the Rising, Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives --- the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will out, even if it kills them.”

Review: I loved this book, even if it did scare the shit out of me. The idea of people having to live in constant readiness for a zombie invasion freaked me out. I realized that I would be more than likely to die within the first day of a zombie uprising, due to my amazing ability to ignore bad and scary things until it’s too late to do anything about them.
I absolutely loved the opening line of Feed: “Our story opens where countless stories have ended in the last twenty-six years: with an idiot – in this case, my brother Shaun – deciding it would be a good idea to go out and poke a zombie with a stick to see what happens.” A normal zombie story (is there such a thing?) would have ended with Shaun poking the zombie with a stick. This zombie story starts with that. After that first line I knew that this was going to be a thrill ride of a novel.

Even though I loved this story I did see Georgia’s frequent reflections about the Rising and how the zombies came to be slightly disruptive to the flow of the first person narrative. It was information that we, as readers need but is extremely difficult for the author to work in seamlessly.
I loved Georgia and Shaun and I saw a lot of myself in Buffy, the techno genius/fiction writer. The zombies terrified me. Many of you who know me know that, as a rule, I stay away from horror. I feel that I’ve had enough horror in my life. I don’t need to add more fuel for the nightmares. Every once in awhile there is a story good enough to make me bend this rule. Although I’m not sure that I’ll be buying the sequel when it comes out, I’ve had enough trouble sleeping the last few nights, terrified that zombies are going to break through my windows and feast on my flesh while I sleep.

Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 978-0316081054

If you like this book you may want to read:


Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire (ISBN: 978-0756405717)

Monster Island

by David Wellington (ISBN: 978-1560258506)
See my review of Monster Island here.