In the final chapter of Blackout, there is no happily ever after. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to finish Blackout.
Chapter Forty-Two
Oh my god, it’s over. 🙁
I could see someone disliking the end of this trilogy, but I find that the way in which this story sort of fizzles away is a far more realistic end to a story that always told us that this was how life goes. I didn’t come into this chapter expecting any huge, series-changing revelations. I wanted to know where these people were, or what they did with their lives, or if the future they’d created by telling the truth was one worth saving. Mira Grant leaves a great deal to the reader’s imagination, but that’s by design. And it’s that sort of respect for the story crafted in this trilogy – one that never had a neatly wrapped present handed to us – that makes me appreciate how Newsflesh comes to an end.
WITH MAHIR GOING TO SLEEP.
To say that this has been an exhausting experience for the characters is the understatement of the year. So all I can ask for is the assurance that they all got to stop. And in some way, even those who remained at After the End Times got to slow down for the first time in two years. Granted, Mahir gets a lot of attention from prying journalists who want to know where the Masons are. But he’s back home! He’s with his wife! THEY HAVE A CHILD TOGETHER. It’s an attempt at some sort of normalcy. And yes, their lives will never be normal, but that’s never been the point of this series. You can’t be “normal” in this fictional world, you know? Not with the state of things. Still, these characters try to find happiness amidst the chaos. Alaric is marrying Maggie and is in charge of the Newsies. President Ryman is back with his wife, and he wasn’t charged with treason. Dr. Gregory Lake is in charge of the CDC, which is now under the control of the EIS. The truth was revealed to the world. Well, part of it was. Dr. Lake is still assuring that they reveal the truth about Kellis-Amberlee when it is safe to do so, but at least the research at the CDC is finally heading in a direction that will actually prove worthy to the rest of the world, instead of actively trying to undermine half the world’s population.
And the Masons are gone. Even Mahir has no idea where they are, but that’s how it should be. I love the way that Grant describes this:
The Masons had lived and died in the public eye. Now, finally, they were free of it, and they were living for themselves, rather than living for anyone else.
It’s a purposeful callback to events in Feed and Deadline, a reminder of the parents that Georgia and Shaun were raised by, an acknowledgment of what Shaun lost at the end of Feed, and a reference to Shaun’s very public year of grieving throughout Deadline. This is what I wanted from these characters. I wanted them to rest. As Mahir puts it:
“They may not have lived happily ever after. But they lived happily long enough.”
That is far more satisfying to me than anything else I could come up with.
I start San Diego 2014 next week, and then Mark Reads John Dies At The End starts the following week! There will be a giant Newsflesh Q&A session so we can openly talk about our feels on June 21st, too!
Mark Links Stuff
-Â The Mark Does Stuff Summer Tour is happening soon! Check out the posted dates, suggest new ones, help bring me to YOUR TOWN.
– I have been nominated for a Hugo in the Fan Writer category! If you’d like more information or to direct friends/family to vote for me, I have a very informational post about what I do that you can pass along and link folks to!
- Mark Reads Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is now published and available for purchase! It’s available in ebook AND physical book format, and you can also get a discount for buying the ENTIRE SET of digital books: $25 for 7 BOOKS!!!
- Video commissions are open, and you can commission a Mark Reads/Watches video for just $25!
