Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Orbit (2011), Kindle Edition, 75 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Horror. Science Fiction. HTML:From New York Times bestseller Mira Grant comes Countdown, a novella prequel set in the thrilling and treacherous world of Feed. The year is 2014, the year everything changed. We cured cancer. We cured the common cold. We died. This is the story of how we rose. When will you rise? More from Mira Grant: Newsflesh Feed Deadline Blackout Feedback Rise Newsflesh Short Fiction Countdown Everglades Sand Diego 2014 How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea The Day the Dead Came to Show and Tell Please Do Not Taunt the Octopus All the Pretty Little Horses Coming to You Live.
User reviews
LibraryThing member tapestry100
I've had the ebook version of Feed for a while now but haven't gotten around to reading it, so when Countdown was released, I thought I'd but that to get a feel for the series. I've got to admit, Countdown creeped me out a little, only because it was written in such a way to make it feel like the
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virus outbreak is something that could completely happen. Mira Grant has a knack for getting at the heart of the germ paranoia. I'm looking forward to reading Feed now. Show Less
LibraryThing member jbrubacher
This novella tells the story of how the Kellis-Amberlee virus was created, spread, and nearly destroyed us. It's not long but a great length for giving us just enough of the people involved in the disaster, with a little extra for those of us who have read 'Feed' and know what happens next. Very
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compelling stuff with enough science to be fascinating and not enough to bog it down. Show Less
LibraryThing member mcelhra
Countdown is a short prequel to the Newsflesh series. I have previously reviewed the first two books in the series: Feed and Deadline. I read the Kindle version of Countdown so it didn't have page numbers but I think it probably has only about 65 pages. It's a detailed account of the days in 2014
Mira Grant is an excellent world builder. Adding more details to the story of how the Kellis-Amberlee virus was created and spread only made the possibility that something like that could really happen seem even more believable to me. There wasn't any brand new information in this book but it was a nice dose of the Newsflesh world to help tide me over until the final book, Blackout, is released this summer. I highly recommend Countdown for fans of the Newsflesh series.
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leading up to The Rising.Mira Grant is an excellent world builder. Adding more details to the story of how the Kellis-Amberlee virus was created and spread only made the possibility that something like that could really happen seem even more believable to me. There wasn't any brand new information in this book but it was a nice dose of the Newsflesh world to help tide me over until the final book, Blackout, is released this summer. I highly recommend Countdown for fans of the Newsflesh series.
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LibraryThing member rivkat
Nothing we didn’t really know from the trilogy, with bonus “people concerned with health care for all are idiot terrorists,” even though it’s not clear whether their acts just sped up the inevitable. Hardcore fans of the trilogy may enjoy, as witness its Hugo nomination.
LibraryThing member nnschiller
Good return to the world of feed with an origins story.
LibraryThing member jjaylynny
Quick, searing origin story for the Newsflesh series, which I'm loving. Kinda broke my heart there a couple of time.
LibraryThing member StarKnits
I loved getting the story before the series!
LibraryThing member devilwrites
My Rating: Worth Reading, with Reservations
I've finally gotten around to the Hugo-nominated novellas! I've actually had Mira Grant's Countdown on my Kindle since its release date, but I just kept forgetting about it. That happens a lot with my Kindle downloads, actually. I forget to record them in
There's one thing I want to get out of the way. Originally, I figured this novella might be a good place for readers to start if they hadn't yet read Feed but were wanting to sample Grant's world and writing. Now that I've read it, I want to say I'm quite wrong about this. There's several reasons why: for starters, there are some scenes a reader really won't give a crap about without the background provided in the Newsflesh novels. Characters, like the Masons, will appear, and a uninitiated reader might wonder what's the big deal with the kid and the dog, and despite the resolution of that being something of the climax, there's still a sense of, "That's it?" and I've read the whole trilogy. I can't imagine an uninitiated reader will really care or feel the emotional impact of that, but as I'm not an uninitiated reader, I could be wrong.
The full review may be found in my blog, which is linked below. The full review really isn't spoiler unless you haven't read Feed, and even then, unless you're just completely unaware of the whole point of the Newsflesh trilogy, you won't be spoiled. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.
REVIEW: Mira Grant's COUNTDOWN
Happy Reading!
I've finally gotten around to the Hugo-nominated novellas! I've actually had Mira Grant's Countdown on my Kindle since its release date, but I just kept forgetting about it. That happens a lot with my Kindle downloads, actually. I forget to record them in
Show More
my spreadsheet (I know, I'm a nerd) or LibraryThing, and those are the primary two ways I track my purchases, so when I forget to record a Kindle download, it's as if the book doesn't exist. I certainly don't see it in the TBR! Thankfully, the Hugos have pushed this novella to the forefront, and since I finished reading Blackout earlier this month, I was glad to revisit Grant's Newsflesh world.There's one thing I want to get out of the way. Originally, I figured this novella might be a good place for readers to start if they hadn't yet read Feed but were wanting to sample Grant's world and writing. Now that I've read it, I want to say I'm quite wrong about this. There's several reasons why: for starters, there are some scenes a reader really won't give a crap about without the background provided in the Newsflesh novels. Characters, like the Masons, will appear, and a uninitiated reader might wonder what's the big deal with the kid and the dog, and despite the resolution of that being something of the climax, there's still a sense of, "That's it?" and I've read the whole trilogy. I can't imagine an uninitiated reader will really care or feel the emotional impact of that, but as I'm not an uninitiated reader, I could be wrong.
The full review may be found in my blog, which is linked below. The full review really isn't spoiler unless you haven't read Feed, and even then, unless you're just completely unaware of the whole point of the Newsflesh trilogy, you won't be spoiled. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.
REVIEW: Mira Grant's COUNTDOWN
Happy Reading!
Show Less
LibraryThing member sdramsey
A bit of a prequel to the first book in the Newsflesh series, Feed. Probably best read after you're into the series to provide a bit of backstory--for that, it's really interesting. Not sure it would function as well as an introduction to the books. I enjoyed it, though. Once you're immersed in
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this world it is hard to stop thinking about it. Show Less
LibraryThing member lexilewords
I read this on the author's blog as a serial in the lead up to the release of book 2, DEADLINE. I wasn't entirely certain what to expect at first, since I've read similar set ups for other authors. I kind of expected something superficial I think, a couple pages long one-off that didn't really
This was so much more.
Each piece is only a few pages long and follow the events leading up to the first outbreak and then the second outbreak. Some characters are familiar (Stacey and Michael Mason, George and Shaun's adoptive parents in the series) and some were only mentioned in passing (the original creators of the Amberlee-Kellis cures/viruses).
We got the 'prequel' story from many different angles and perspectives. From Suzanne Amberlee, who's daughter Amanda had cancer and was one of the first test subjects. From Alexander Kellis the original researcher into the 'Kellis Common Cold Cure' and his husband John Kellis. Stacey and Michael before and after the first outbreak. Some of the first victims of Amberlee-Kellis, as well as the initial reaction.
For fans of the series this is a goldmine. Grant doesn't stint just because its not an actual novel.
Full review to be posted at Poisoned Rationality
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expand on the universe so much as the characters.This was so much more.
Each piece is only a few pages long and follow the events leading up to the first outbreak and then the second outbreak. Some characters are familiar (Stacey and Michael Mason, George and Shaun's adoptive parents in the series) and some were only mentioned in passing (the original creators of the Amberlee-Kellis cures/viruses).
We got the 'prequel' story from many different angles and perspectives. From Suzanne Amberlee, who's daughter Amanda had cancer and was one of the first test subjects. From Alexander Kellis the original researcher into the 'Kellis Common Cold Cure' and his husband John Kellis. Stacey and Michael before and after the first outbreak. Some of the first victims of Amberlee-Kellis, as well as the initial reaction.
For fans of the series this is a goldmine. Grant doesn't stint just because its not an actual novel.
Full review to be posted at Poisoned Rationality
Show Less
Awards
Hugo Award (Nominee — Novella — 2012)
Language
Original publication date
2011-08
Local notes
Tracks the early days of the Rising, from well-meaning medical research to the dead beginning to walk.
Contained in "When Will You Rise".
Contained in "When Will You Rise".
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Feed by Mira Grant