Infected: A Novel
by Scott Sigler
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Book Summary Information
Author: Scott SiglerEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-04-01
ISBN: 0307406105
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Crown
Book Reviews of Infected: A Novel
Book Review: Chilling, terrifying, and impossible to put down
Summary: 5 Stars
Scott Sigler is an enormously popular author whose ability to think outside the box is not limited to his literary work. Tired of collecting rejection slips, he began sharing his novels with the masses by podcasting them, a few chapters at a time, and gaining a following that increased exponentially every week. INFECTED is his debut print novel and is perfect in every way --- cutting across thriller, horror and science fiction genres (and one or two others as well) ---- resulting in a tale that will leave your posterior hanging well beyond the edge of your seat.
At its core, INFECTED concerns a mysterious condition that turns individuals into rampaging, homicidal maniacs who murder their families, strangers and ultimately themselves. The government assigns Dew Phillips, a coldly competent CIA operative, to investigate, pairing him with CDC epidemiologist Margaret Montoya. It was Montoya who first noticed certain anomalies, if you will, in the corpses of the first rampaging individuals --- anomalies that lead her to believe that the heart of the deadly condition is a new and frightening type of parasite. Thanks to Sigler, the reader is a step or two ahead of Montoya, but I doubt he's been getting any candy for it.
Sigler is a marvel, describing complex biological concepts in a way that those of us who haven't cracked a textbook in decades can understand, and the manner by which the parasites gain entry to, and sustain themselves from, the human body is ingenious. However, I could have happily lived the rest of my natural years in ignorance of the fact that, at this very moment, there are millions of microscopic spiders crawling all over me, eating and evacuating my dead skin cells in a sort of perpetual motion. Sigler describes this process, and others, in graphic detail while never dropping the narrative ball for even one second. Montoya and Phillips form a prickly team, with Phillips involved in the wet work and Montoya doing the somewhat creepy evaluations, attempting to determine the cause of the contagion and, more importantly, stop it before it spreads any further.
As interesting as Montoya and Phillips are, however, the heart of INFECTED is Perry Dawsey, a former pro football player whose career was shattered along with his knee. Performing far from satisfying work as an IT specialist, Dawsey becomes a host to the parasite, and as Sigler gives us a step-by-step, up-close-and-personal view of how the parasite evolves and manifests itself, we get an intimate view not only of the parasite but also of Dawsey. Ex-football players --- even guys who played for the Michigan Wolverines --- don't roll over for a parasite, even a sentient one. To say that Dawsey isn't going down without a fight is inaccurate; he's not going down period, and as INFECTED ultimately demonstrates, Dawsey will do anything to stop the takeover of his body.
And it's a good thing, too. Invading and usurping bodies is only the first step. In a climax that will have you swallowing your hand, your tongue and anything else that's handy, we learn that invasions can come from both within and without.
INFECTED is unforgettable, a classic right out of the gate, and, I suspect, a metaphor of sorts. And yes, when I reached Sigler's account of Dawsey's ultimate sacrifice, I discovered that one can read with one's hands over both eyes. If this book hasn't been optioned for a movie yet, then those in the film industry have no idea what they're doing.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Summary of Infected: A Novel
Across America a mysterious disease is turning ordinary people into raving, paranoid murderers who inflict brutal horrors on strangers, themselves, and even their own families.Working under the government?s shroud of secrecy, CIA operative Dew Phillips crisscrosses the country trying in vain to capture a live victim. With only decomposing corpses for clues, CDC epidemiologist Margaret Montoya races to analyze the science behind this deadly contagion. She discovers that these killers all have one thing in common ? they?ve been contaminated by a bioengineered parasite, shaped by a complexity far beyond the limits of known science.
Meanwhile Perry Dawsey ? a hulking former football star now resigned to life as a cubicle-bound desk jockey ? awakens one morning to find several mysterious welts growing on his body. Soon Perry finds himself acting and thinking strangely, hearing voices . . . he is infected.
The fate of the human race may well depend on the bloody war Perry must wage with his own body, because the parasites want something from him, something that goes beyond mere murder.
Infected is the first major print release from Internet phenom Scott Sigler, whose podcast-only audiobooks have drawn an immense cult following, with more than three million individual episodes downloaded. Now Sigler storms the bookstore shelves with this cinematic, relentlessly paced novel that mixes and matches genres, combining horror, technothriller, and suspense in a heady mix that is equal parts Chuck Palahniuk, Michael Crichton, and Stephen King.
Infected will crawl beneath your skin and leave fresh blood on every page.
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