In the thirty-first chapter of Blackout, George meets Dr. Abbey. That should be enough of a preview to get you interested. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Blackout.
Chapter Thirty-One
LORD.
- Okay, so, my involvement in various fandoms and my knowledge of fandom trends is limited because I have such a weird experience with each fandom I go through on Mark Reads and Watches. I don’t want to say they’re superficial because feelings aren’t superficial, but I don’t go through what so many of y’all do. I have an entire group of people who go on the journey with me, I get to talk about the thing I am enjoying with another group of people who have spent plenty of time doing what I did, and then, after a few months, I move on. Granted, there are some fandoms I still observe and take part in through Tumblr and Twitter, but because I’m so pressed for time, it’s only cursory. God, if I had all the time in the world, I’d… well, wait, I’d play a lot of video games and just work on my book. And go outside. I like outside.
- What I’m trying to get to is something I am unsure is a thing in fandom or if it has a name. But is there a way to describe when you really enjoy two characters and you just want them to be friends? Like… a friendship ship? Or a friendship party? Because I sincerely and genuinely understand Becks’s mistrust and hesitation around Georgia. I would probably act the same way! Trust is deeply important to me, and I’m at a point in my life where I’ve learned how to respect my own intuition about who I should trust. After all that Becks has seen and gone through, it’s her ultimate choice about how to treat Georgia.
- And then I still want them to be friends again because I sense that they’d be REAL good friends. Wouldn’t they? Part of me is also just exhausted by the relentless terror and stress of this trilogy, and I want more puppies. Puppies of friendship. I’ll probably get none of those things.
- Is there going to come a day when Shaun has to talk to Georgia about their parents? Because that’s going to be a fun experience.
- “I never thought I’d miss having retinal KA, but now it was just one more thing about my life that I was never going to get back.” Can I sue Mira Grant for emotional damage caused by sentences THANKS.
- I’m glad that Georgia doesn’t spend too much time blaming herself for what happened to After the End Times. Grant doesn’t absolve the group of blame, but ultimately, they’re not the ones who murdered millions of people and conducted secret experiments on the world for their own financial gain.
- YES, I AM SO HAPPY THAT THEY’RE GOING BACK TO SHADY COVE. Oh, this is going to be great.
- Seriously, I am totally in agreement with Shaun and Becks. You cannot read about Dr. Abbey. You must experience her. And I really appreciate that Dr. Abbey is the kind of scientist who honestly might destroy the universe one day just because it seemed like a good thing to do with a Thursday?
- I take it back. I ship Georgia and her bike, and I’ll do that until the end of time.
- Related to my first point, I wonder if Becks will have a final “test” that Georgia will have to pass that will be the tipping point for her trust. These things are necessarily quantifiable. Like, I’m sure Becks isn’t thinking, “GEORGIA MUST PASS MY TWENTY TESTS AND THIS PERSONALITY QUIZ!!!11!” I imagine that it’ll just happen someday, and at the very least, Georgia will have to prove that she’s not a mole or a ticking time bomb.
- Bless Shaun’s terrible Rob Zombie joke.
- “You bought me a mouthy clone,” said Dr. Abbey, looking towards Shaun. “And here it’s not even my birthday.” God, I adore you, Dr. Abbey.
- OH GOD, GEORGIA, IT’S NOT UNDERSTAFFED BECAUSE OF THE REASON YOU SAID. OH GOD. I love books where you get to see things from different perspectives, and Georgia’s view of Dr. Abbey’s lab is both remarkably similar to Shaun’s and completely divergent as well.
- OH MY GOD, THE MASONS GOT ALISA REMOVED FROM FERRY PASS AND THEY HAVE HER AND SHE’S ALIVE AND OH MY GOD. They did a thing, and so far, it was a good thing.
- OH MY GOD, IT’S DR. JOSEPH SHOJI IN PERSON. And I’ve met the Dr. Shoji before, and I am just imagining him here, and everything is so fucking wonderful because by dad was Japanese but raised in Hawaii, so I’m just endlessly happy that a character with this specific ethnic identity is in a book because they make up one half of my entire family.
- Oh, Joe, I missed you, too. My goal in life is to become successful enough to be able to have a house or apartment where I can have a giant dog because I miss dogs. 🙁
- Oh my god, Alaric had the BEST reaction to seeing Georgia yet. Like, I’m surprised someone else didn’t do the same thing first.
- “Or maybe we need to stop doing twelve impossible things every day.” RIGHT? RIGHT?
- Georgia, I feel you about kind smiles. When you’ve been hurt and betrayed on a visceral level, either by awful people or abusers, you really do develop this instant mistrust of people, and it hurts sometimes when you want to let people into your life. My god, there are so many sentences in this series that destroy me. LET ME START THAT LAWSUIT SOON. I’ll demand payment in chocolate, French fries, puppies, and a Maine Coon.
- “I looked at Dr. Shoji and said calmly, ‘Rick. He paid to bring me back, didn’t he?'”
- But
- the
- what
- the
- oh
- OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD.
- “Right. Let’s peel Alaric off the floor and get him up to speed, guys. I think we’re heading for Washington D.C.”
- I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN. OH MY GOD, CAN RICK JOIN UP WITH THEM, TOO?
- I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH.
Part 1
Part 2
Mark Links Stuff
– 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!
– I have announced what the next books I am reading on Mark Reads will be, as well as updated y’all on the events, cons, tour dates, GOING TO EUROPE OH MY GOD, and general shenaniganry going on in my life. I have a similar post up on Mark Watches, detailing the next two shows I’m doing as well as the return of Double Features, and I finally explain what happened with my Vimeo account. Check these posts out!
- 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!!!
-Â Video commissions are open, and you can commission a Mark Reads/Watches video for just $25!
