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vikingwolf's review against another edition
Brian is infected with a parasite that causes him to try and murder his mother, resulting in his neighbour killing him. After getting too close to Brian at the funeral, his teacher Benjamin becomes infected. He develops an uncontrollable urge to eat candy, and develops the sex drive and attitude of a teenage boy. When the doctors see the parasite inside him during an X-Ray it is decided to do immediate surgery but two groups of people want to get their hands on Benjamin's Parasite and that could be bad news for him as to these people it is more important than his own life.
This book started nicely with Brian's rampage and Benjamin's infection. It was amusing to see the change in his behaviour and some of the dumb and inappropriate comments and thoughts that were coming to him. The first seventy pages or so were entertaining. For me, the book changed as soon as Julie came into the story and it became all about the people fighting to get hold of the parasite and less about Benjamin's old life. I had liked the interaction Benjamin had with his family as he changed so I was disappointed that the book then took a different path that I didn't greatly like. The writing itself was fine and the initial plot was interesting but the later changes just didn't appeal to me personally.
This book started nicely with Brian's rampage and Benjamin's infection. It was amusing to see the change in his behaviour and some of the dumb and inappropriate comments and thoughts that were coming to him. The first seventy pages or so were entertaining. For me, the book changed as soon as Julie came into the story and it became all about the people fighting to get hold of the parasite and less about Benjamin's old life. I had liked the interaction Benjamin had with his family as he changed so I was disappointed that the book then took a different path that I didn't greatly like. The writing itself was fine and the initial plot was interesting but the later changes just didn't appeal to me personally.
lucasm12333's review against another edition
4.0
Entertaining
This my second Strand novel and was pretty good. There was lots of action and plenty of goofy characters. I took off a star because of the ending, which was a bit too neat and tidy. Recommended.
This my second Strand novel and was pretty good. There was lots of action and plenty of goofy characters. I took off a star because of the ending, which was a bit too neat and tidy. Recommended.
acknud's review
5.0
If you like slapstick style comedy coupled with gore and a horror attitude then strand is the man for you. This tale of a vicious little intestinal parasite fulfills all those criteria and keeps you turning the page for more. If you nit-pick anything an author puts on paper then forget this story. There is plenty to criticize in the realm of believability but I read books to escape reality so I really don't care about all that. Read this and lose yourself for a while. It is worth it.
mikekaz's review
4.0
Strand is great at mixing humor and horror and making both stand out. Just as you start laughing, you realize that you should be cringing instead. And boy did I cringe during some scenes here! The bathroom scene a bit more than halfway through? Ouch!! That had me biting my lip and cringing big time.
Reading the cover copy will give you a good idea about what happens. After attending the funeral for one of his students, high school teacher Benjamin Wilson starts getting extreme cravings. At first he writes it off, after all what could be wrong about more candy and more sex. But then when he collapses and ends up in a hospital, he finds out that he has a parasite that looks like a squid monster. Before the surgery that could remove it, a bounty hunter comes in and kidnaps Benjamin away. Yes, a bounty hunter. The rest of the story follows the same pattern of one crazy thing happening after another, much like Strand's Andrew Mayhem books. There are hit-men, government involvement, exploding cows.
Suffice to say the story is not predictable but it is a ton of fun. If you haven't tried Strand before, this actually makes a great book to start with. It has all the elements of which Strand is great. And if you have read him before, then why are you reading this? You know what to expect. Buy it and start reading.
Reading the cover copy will give you a good idea about what happens. After attending the funeral for one of his students, high school teacher Benjamin Wilson starts getting extreme cravings. At first he writes it off, after all what could be wrong about more candy and more sex. But then when he collapses and ends up in a hospital, he finds out that he has a parasite that looks like a squid monster. Before the surgery that could remove it, a bounty hunter comes in and kidnaps Benjamin away. Yes, a bounty hunter. The rest of the story follows the same pattern of one crazy thing happening after another, much like Strand's Andrew Mayhem books. There are hit-men, government involvement, exploding cows.
Suffice to say the story is not predictable but it is a ton of fun. If you haven't tried Strand before, this actually makes a great book to start with. It has all the elements of which Strand is great. And if you have read him before, then why are you reading this? You know what to expect. Buy it and start reading.
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