In this post-apocalyptic world, Shaun Mason lost his sister and his best friend - not to the zombies that control so much of the world, but to a political conspiracy by some unknown powers. George Mason was shot with a dart filled with the live Kellis-Amberlee virus, which caused her to "amplify," as any exposure to the live virus will. In this case, however, the exposure was meant to kill and, as such, was so large that there was no possible way she could have survived, at least not that anyone knows about. Earlier on the campaign trail, their other member, Buffy Meissonier, was also killed in an "accident" that was pretty obviously staged. But with the death of the supposed culprit, Governor David Tate, at the end of Feed, Shaun Mason knows that it isn't over permanently and he's determined to find out who was, ultimately, behind the conspiracy that killed his sister.
George isn't really gone, though. Yes, we all know she is dead, but she still talks to Shaun inside his head... so much so, in fact, that I tend to forget she's dead when reading. His new staff is so used to Shaun talking out loud to his dead sister that, for the most part, they ignored it. Shaun has promoted people to replace George and Buffy and himself, even. He has no desire to be an Irwin anymore. Poking sticks at dead things just isn't as much fun as it used to be, so he tries to step away from it. Rebecca Atherton (Becks) has taken over as head of the Irwins. She used to be a Newsie under George, but much prefers the dangerous life of an Irwin. Mahir Gowda has taken over the Newsie division for George. He was her second-in-command when she was alive, so he's the perfect person to take over for her. Mahir lives in London, but when you're a Newsie, you can report the truth from anywhere. Magdalene Grace Garcia (Maggie) takes over the Fictionals for Buffy. Maggie is ultra-rich and doesn't need to work, but she enjoys it. She is one of the few people that Shaun knows who tries to live her life "pre-Rising" and invites people over all the time. Of course, when you've got the security systems that she does, you can be a bit less careful. Granted, no one can take over Buffy's technical skills, but between Alaric and Dave and Becks, they do at least enough to keep the systems running and secure. It's a good thing Buffy left so much of her homemade tech, though, because the new crew is going to need all the help they can get!
Then a CDC doctor, Kelly, who they had met previously on the campaign trail, shows up at the After the End Times HQ and tells Shaun and his new crew that, technically, she is now dead. She faked her own death to get research out of the CDC with the help of her boss, Dr. Wynne. Given the extent to which they went to get this data out, Shaun and crew figure that they need to hear her story and see if they can get the truth out. Unfortunately, before they can even settle things down, there is a zombie outbreak and their HQ is at the center of it. When they find the other residents of their complex zombified on the roof, they realize that this was not a random outbreak. Someone was out to kill Kelly and, possibly, the whole news crew as well. Unfortunately, one of them did not survive and the rest know that they are now on the run for their lives. The conspiracy that killed Buffy and then George is still alive and well. This group is going to have to go to the most dangerous places and do the most dangerous things just to try and uncover the truth. Once they start to get there, the world changes once again and it's possible no one is going to survive this time.
As I said about Feed, it is probably one of the best novels that I have read in years. Deadline picks up right there and continues the amazing story. When I got to the end of Deadline, I really did not want to believe that it was over. Now, I cannot wait for the next novel, Blackout. Luckily there is a nice little preview for it at the end of Deadline, so you can get just a taste for the next story. These books are the best that I have read in years; Once you pick them up, you don't want to put it down, no matter how late it gets. The overall feeling of Deadline is different from Feed, but it is the perfect progression. You need to go get these books and read them right now!
