All the Pretty Little Horses

Newsflesh #0.75

by Mira Grant

A Newsflesh novella from the New York Times bestselling author that brought you Feed, Mira Grant.
Stacy and Michael Mason are among the most famous heroes of the zombie apocalypse. Stacy, however, has fallen into a deep depression after having to shoot their infected son. In the aftermath of the pandemic, they start publicly documenting the recovery effort, which Michael hopes will take Stacy's mind off of her trauma and help her recover.
As they film the rescue of an enclave of orphans and report on the orphanages that have sprung up to care for traumatized, parent-less children, they begin to consider the last, greatest step of recovery: adoption.
More from Mira Grant
Into the Drowning Deep
Newsflesh Short FictionApocalypse Scenario #683: The BoxCountdownSan Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California BrowncoatsHow Green This Land, How Blue This SeaThe Day the Dead Came to Show and TellPlease Do Not Taunt the Octopus
NewsfleshFeedDeadlineBlackoutFeedbackRise: A Newsflesh Collection
ParasitologyParasiteSymbiontChimera

Genres: Horror, Zombies, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Audiobook, Short Stories

103 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 3, 2017

About the author

Mira also writes as Seanan McGuire.

Born and raised in Northern California, Mira Grant has made a lifelong study of horror movies, horrible viruses, and the inevitable threat of the living dead. In college, she was voted Most Likely to Summon Something Horrible in the Cornfield, and was a founding member of the Horror Movie Sleep-Away Survival Camp, where her record for time survived in the Swamp Cannibals scenario remains unchallenged.

Mira lives in a crumbling farmhouse with an assortment of cats, horror movies, comics, and books about horrible diseases. When not writing, she splits her time between travel, auditing college virology courses, and watching more horror movies than is strictly good for you. Favorite vacation spots include Seattle, London, and a large haunted corn maze just outside of Huntsville, Alabama.

Mira sleeps with a machete under her bed, and highly suggests that you do the same.

Reviews

[Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Read: June 2016 (in 'Rise' short story anthology)
Re-read: December 2017

I love the Newsflesh world so much, and even though I read this story before as part of the anthology Grant released last year, I had to read it again when it was released as a stand alone novella. It gives us much more depth into the characters of Stacy and Michael Mason, and why they act and live in the way that they do by the time we get to the first book, Feed.

5/5 stars

[Sonja Arlow · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you ever wanted to read about what the Mason's before they adopted Georgia and Shawn, then you may enjoy this.

For me it was like a cup of coffee I thought I wanted but ending up with a weak substitute.

I think I have outgrown this series once and for all.

[Lexxi Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series main character's adoptive parents take center stage in this series prequel. The year is 2018, while the main series starts off in the year 2039. The 'uprising' or 'zombification' occurred in 2016, so this is two years after the start of the zombie uprising.

This is an interesting enough story but not as riveting as prior short story additions to the series. Part of my problem is the part wherein the story is from Michael Mason's point of view and his constant thinking to himself about 'my god, my wife is so beautiful' over and over and overfuckingoverandfucking over again was fucking driving me up the fucking blood coated wall. WE FUCKING GET IT!!!!!

The story follows Stacey and Michael Mason weeks after Stacey was cleared for the killing, by Stacey, of Phillip Mason - their child. That, which was seen as murder in Stacey's eyes, event took place right at the start of the zombification, but Stacey held things together with Michael and the two had held a portion of Berkeley together during the uprising, and helped many outside their reach by way of the radio program Michael conducted that included survival snippets from his wife (it was never clear if Michael just faked Stacey's input or actually asked her to add some stuff).

The government has returned, though, and so Stacey is allowed to think about what had happened - no longer has to hold herself together. Naturally she falls to pieces and hardly ever moves from the bed. Michael, meanwhile, alternates thinking thoughts like 'my wife is so beautiful' with thoughts about how he has to, somehow, shake Stacey 'free' of her PTSD.

Somewhere along the way Michael gets Stacey barely moving. Which leads to an encounter with another surviver - who gushes about Stacey's tips. Which leads to Stacey actually perking up a little and acting alive. Which leads to Michael noticing and realizing that there might be some way to jump-start some kind of recovery. So he starts a blog, or joins a blog that part is confusing, and he and Stacey wander around taking pictures and writing stories about various locations, like a zoo, and a nearby city, and two different adoption centers.

Then, while Stacey is still deep deep into PTSD land and barely functioning, the two adopt two children.

The end.

That's the entirety of the story.

Rating: 3.89

December 13 2017

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of Grant's Feed series, featuring bloggers Shaun and Georgia Mason, know they were adopted as orphans of the rising by Stacy and Michael Mason, heroes of the zombie apocalypse. Neither Stacy or Michael are featured positively but the back story remains mostly incomplete. We know they were heroes in some way. Stacy had to kill their son, Phillip, after he "amplified". Later, they adopted Shaun and Georgia who firmly believe it was for their ratings (first of a wave of online journalists after the rising). This is that missing backstory. I don't know that it made me like them any better, but it did help me understand their motivations in a more sympathetic way. Definitely worth reading for Feed fans. Everyone else can skip it.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good character development and world building story. This is also the first story I've read in the series that takes place after the Rising instead of before and during it. The idea that the first book will be take place in this time or afterwards is interesting to me. It's got to be good, right? But also strange that a zombie series doesn't focus on the coming of the zombies but yet the, what? Re-establishment of society? Because this story skips 3 years from the Rising, when the protagonists are touted as some sort of radio heroes. So this is after the fight. It also picks up right after the end of Countdown with the sad little voice of a child trying to say, "doggie?" But we knew what was happening to the dog then, so we know what happened next here. That's another thing! The idea of zombie animals is pretty scary! Zombie seals, zombie whales! Zombie dogs and cats. Honestly, I had a slightly hysterical fit of laughter thinking that we were about to be introduced to a cloud of migrating zombie monarch butterflies. It's a strangely scary thought, isn't it?? I'm really excited to finally read Feed.

[Brian's Book Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed this story to be told

If you ever wanted to read about what the Mason's before they adopted Georgia and Shawn  -- we finally have a novella for that.  All The Pretty Little Horses tells the story of Stacy and Michael Mason.  We know about them from the other books in the Newsflesh series, but this is the first time that they are front and center.  The story picks up right after the trial for the "murder" of the Mason's first and only biological son.  Stacy is in a deep depression. The only thing that seems to pull her out is photography and taking video of the post-Rising world.  Thus the start of the blog begins. 

I always hoped that in the back of my mind that Grant would write a "prequel" type novel or novella that told of the Pre-Rising world.  This isn't it completely, but it's the furthest back that I've read in any of her books.  We get to finally meet Stacy and Michael Mason before they adopted the main characters in all the other Newsflesh books.  

Sometimes novellas can feel rushed or too short, but Grant is able to tell these incredible side stories to the Newsflesh series with her novellas. And honestly, I like them as much if not more than the main stories.  Sure, this series is easily in my top 3 series of all time, but part of that is the way that she was able to continue them with these novellas.  

I'm never sure which novella is going to be the last, but if this is it I think I'd be okay with that.  Of course, I want more.  I'm greedy, but I think that the world that Grant wanted to tell has been mostly told.  I've also wondered why this series never became one of the Kindle Worlds books that I enjoy so much.  (If you don't know what they are - authors allow other authors to build on the world that they already created). I would love to read what some of the other authors I love would do with the Newsflesh world.  A couple angles that I would love to read would be: the start of the plague (either first hand or right as it was happening), a real broadcast journalist or news station dealing with hiding and/or false reporting, other parts of the US/world that have been affected, and more). 

Overall, All The Pretty Little Horses is my second favorite novella in the Newsflesh series behind "How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea".  Newsflesh series readers will love this addition to the series. If you haven't read any of the other books -- this might be one of more approachable novels because I think it could be read as an intro to the series.  Sure, you get none of the zombies (or very little), but it really is pre-Feed. 

[Asheley T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This takes place a couple of years after The Rising but before the events of the first full-length novel in the Newsflesh series. Stacy Mason had been cleared of murder after she had been forced to kill her infected son. She has extreme guilt and probably PTSD too. Eventually she is able to move beyond these feelings a little bit and adopt two children that were orphaned during the outbreak. I believe the children are the subjects of the novel Feed, which I plan to read next.

This novella was okay, although a little bit boring. I'm glad I read it and feel like it gives some background before Feed, but I really doubt reading this is essential to continuing on smoothly with the series.

[Clementine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mira Grant’s Newsflesh trilogy is one of my favourite series ever, so I was excited to find this prequel novella when browsing the Kindle store. It fleshes out the early days of the zombie apocalypse admirably and helps humanize Stacy and Michael Mason (who are not portrayed very sympathetically throughout the series). Ultimately, though, it doesn’t hold a candle to the main Newsflesh trilogy - Shaun and Georgia are way more compelling characters than their parents, and there just isn’t the same level of action and twists. Still worth a read for fans of the series, but not amazing.

[Roz]

No idea what this is, but I want it!

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this one interesting to read, even though we knew it. The more in depth look at Michael and Stacy actually made me feel sorry for them, the first time in the series.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was kinda expecting a story about horses, but instead it's the story of Sarah and Michael Mason before they adopt Shaun and Georgia. Interesting to see earlier time in this world

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost cried

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

being mercifully dead… oh man. This phrase, casually cruel in its deafening silence, hits me hard every time I read it. This was so beautiful!! I love the idea that blogs and the internet survived.

[Ashley Kosik · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only thing that makes me want to put 4.5 stars is that I want more of this story. More of the people that join the main characters - not to spoil but you already know if you read the main novels but this is a great short story to read before or after the main trilogy.

[Arely Ayala · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a novella from one of my favorite series. I loved getting insight of how it really all started. The characters were fantastic and i got a real good understanding of these characters actions that happened in the series

[Charleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This quick read does a good job of explaining, without excusing, Georgia and Shaun Mason's parents. I wonder how much of this was already in the author's mind when she wrote Feed.

[Eric Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good back story to the Mason family. How and why the Masons adopted Georgia and Shaun

[Jenevieve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review first posted on My Blog.

Set in the time before Feed, the zombie outbreak is finally being contained and areas are being reclaimed. Stacy and Michael Mason are known as the heroes who kept on the blogs and the airwaves, giving survival guidance and letting people know they were not alone. Now, however, Stacy is diving deep into depression with the knowledge that she shot her only child during the outbreak and that while the courts have declared her innocent, she has judged herself much more harshly and branded herself a murderer. Michael can only watch in despair as the woman he loves sinks further and further away from him. Then one day he comes up with the idea to start documenting the recovery efforts. He pulls every string he has to get them permission to tagalong with an army group in Santa Cruz and everything changes when Stacy gets a camera in her hand. She comes alive but never more than when they find the group of children who have been hiding out all this time. Maybe Michael has found a way to bring his wife all the way back to him.

I absolutely love this universe and the heartache that went into telling Stacy's story was so real. I cannot imagine having to make the decision she did or how I would climb back out of a very dark place if I did but it feels like a very real situation someone could find themselves in. That realness to her writing is what makes these books so very powerful and this did not disappoint.

[Peter Brichs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dette er (i skrivende stund) den fjerde prequel til Mira Grants Newsflesh trilogi - og den sidste, før vi for alvor går i gang med seriens første roman. Hvor de tre andre prequels har fortalt om optakten til, eller det reelle udbrud af, zombie-apokalypsen (The Rising, som det hedder i serien) foregår All The Pretty Little Horses i tiden efter apokalypsen, hvor menneskene endelig er begyndt at generobre verden fra zombierne.

Vi følger det ene par, vi også fulgte i novellen Countdown. I Countdown hørte vi, hvordan Stacy & Michael Mason kæmpede for at lave et sikkert sted for deres søn og naboer. I All the Pretty Little Horses opdager vi, at deres søn er død, og det er Stacy som måtte slå ham ihjel. All the Pretty Little Horses handler om Stacys kamp for at blive et helt menneske igen, og til en start er det ved at kaste sig ud i reportager om, hvordan verden bliver genopbygget.

Novellen her kommer på sine kun 84 sider forbi nogle ret tunge emner som moralen i at slå en zombie ihjel, depression og PTSD - der bliver ikke gået i dybden på nogle af emnerne, men de bliver stadig behandler sobert og med respekt.

Jeg har en respekt for Mira Grant, og hendes evne til at bygge afrundede karakterer i disse noveller, og jeg glæder mig til at se hvor levende en verden, hun kan lave i en fuldlængde roman.

Denne anmeldelse er skrevet til min Instagram, @bookswithbrichs. Følg med derovre for flere opslag om bøger, anmeldelser og meget andet!

[Ярослава · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the Newsflesh trilogy (or rather Feed and some of the novellas, the series overall is markedly uneven) like zombies love brains, but even Feed - the shining pinnacle of gore and awesomeness that it was – was not known for nuanced characterization. Most of the characters were a very black-and-white, bold brushstrokes, all-or-nothing type of deal: villains or saints, with little in between. Mira Grant has been fleshing some of them out a bit more in later installments (see Senator Wagman, the slut-shaming parody in Feed & the saintly figure in Feedback), and this novella shows the redemptive arc, such as it is, of the older Masons. It is rather insubstantial though: the main thrust (Stacy Mason is clinically depressed after having to shoot her zombified son, and creating a public image of an intrepid adventuring blogger at least helps her stay afloat, to a degree) is nothing that cannot be deduced from earlier volumes, if written from a kinder perspective here; there’s no plot to speak of, and snippets of the society finding its feet immediately post-Rising were somewhat flat, with none of the inventiveness & joy of Feed. I’d really like to learn more about the Masons and their radio broadcast during the Rising, but this novella is not that text.

[Christi M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why are Stacy and Michael Mason Like That? This novella explores a pair of broken and suddenly famous survivors navigating the end of the world immediately after the loss of their toddler (who Stacy had to kill after he became the first known interspecies infection of Kellis-Amberlee).

Michael is terrified he is losing his wife to PTSD and depression and self-loathing even before she starts getting reckless with zombies (becoming the first Irwin blogger) and the two of them discover some rising orphans and decide to try to have a family again. They adopt little George and Shaun and the rest is Newsflesh.

It was interesting seeing more of the Masons before they became the cold and calculated media empire we know them as from Newsflesh. I was worried the novella would be too restorative and redemptive for them, admittedly. I was quite pleased to see while it explained what happened and did cast a more sympathetic light on both of them, it did not erase or shy away from the idea that these two people were absolutely still too deep in their grief and too early in their healing process to be especially healthy parents. It's not a leap to see why they ended up the way we know them two and a half decades or so later.

[Diana B · Rating 5 out of 5]

SPOILER "We were only supposed to be in charge for a little while. There were adults in the beginning. They went to get help. They never came back."
spoken by a character who is a teenaged camp counselor rescued by Coast Guard after keeping 15 children alive in a ranger station for 2 and a half years.

I ran a small camp (and we borrowed some facilities from the Coast Guard for it) so for me this seemed very real. Now, over 20 years later I still keep in touch with some of the teens who worked for me. I can imagine Jenny, Kally, Sarah and Caleb protecting the children like that... incredibly mature and responsible at a young age. Some people get teary eyed when a character dies, but the rescue of the kids and teens almost made me cry on public transportation that I take to work! That section may not hit others as hard as it did me, but I really enjoy the Newsflesh series.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyment Level: 4🌟
Writing Quality: 4🌟
Audiobook Narration: 4🌟

You know how a reading experience with a certain book is so phenomenally incredible you wish, wish, wish you could read it again for the first time?! This is how I feel about the Newsflesh trilogy - which is saying a lot considering I normally cannot enjoy a zombie tale.

While All the Pretty Little Horses doesn't let me read those books anew, it did give me a chance to dive back into this intoxicating world of horror, and I super enjoyed it. It was interesting seeing getting some perspective from Georgia and Shaun's adopted father; it allowed me to understand that character a tiny bit better -and maybe even sympathize (but just a little).

This one you can read before reading the main trilogy - there won't be any spoilers as to what happens.

[I’m a Paula too… Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An origin story for Shaun and Georgia…

I think I read the Newsflesh books close to 20 years ago, and I periodically reread them. They are perhaps the best horror stories I’ve ever read, and this is coming from someone who has read all of the classics and then some.

These zombie apocalypse stories now remind me of the recent pandemic, and how things could have been so much worse. Being adopted myself, at 9 months, I didn’t have any memory of it. This look into orphanages was kind of sad. But this novella created a sort of origin story for the main characters I love so much.

Mira Grant is a pseudonym but I have several of her other books. Her writing is excellent, and I love her books. I highly recommend the Newsflesh series, along with the accompanying shorts and novellas. They are outstanding…

[Peyton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not all that familiar with this universe. I'm reading them in order of occurrence, not publication order. So I don't know much about Georgia or Shaun at all yet, but this book about their parents really got to me. I was so proud of myself for holding it together all through Stacy's journey of healing the death of her son. But then they got to the day camp and, luckily I was in the lavatory at work and not at my desk because I cried for about 5 minutes straight.

Such a touching start to a series I have heard a lot of great things about. I can't wait until I to get to Feed!

I listened to the audiobook version of this story.

[Andy Parkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short novella in the Feed series of which I'm a big fan

This fills a bit of the back story about how the main characters Sean and Georgia Mason were adopted.

The story picks up shortly after Stacy and Michael Mason have lost their son in tragic circumstances and while it's a brief story it covers enough to satisfy that part of the Masons.
Last but one chapter got me a little chocked up so it had a suitable impact!

If you're not a big fan of the Feed series as a whole this won't be worth reading though. You do need a working knowledge of the larger story

[ness · Rating 4 out of 5]

haven't read the newsflesh trilogy in yearsss but diving back into this world felt a little like coming home since i enjoyed the series when i first read it. iirc the impression i got when reading the og books was that the masons had super high expectations from their children which strained their relationship but this novella greatly humanized them and gave us a little bit of their backstory in the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. kind of wish it was a bit longer and we got to see their relationship with the kids grow after their adoption and where it all went wrong

[Kaleigh Langlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really getting into this series! I've loved the prequels! although I kinda think the Mason's suck as parents, this gave me more of an appreciation for them. Do I think they should've become parents? nah, even Mr. Mason had his regerts at the end, but I can see why they did. the trauma and depression they had to work through was tremendous! I really love how the prequels show us the background on the outbreak, how the virus started, and then a big event in the Rising, and then also a few years later how they started getting to the point they are at now! Great reads!

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note well, there is an extract for another of Mira's books at the end of this ebook, so the actual book finishes at about 84%.

That said, for anyone who's a fan of the original newsflesh series, this is a deeper look at the Mason parents and their backstory and is one of the more heartbreaking of the series. It is definitely readable as a standalone, but I enjoyed the new depth it brought to my reading of the original trilogy. If you loved Feed, you'll love this.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read any other book in this universe but reading reviews makes me want to, especially as they and the story hint that the two main characters, Stacy and Michael, are not so good in the end.

Other than that, I liked this take on of an "after the zombie apocalypse" story.
I read a lot of zompocs so reading about how children and surving adults get on afterwards was interesting.
Although not as engaging/adrenaline filled.