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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Like a B-movie in book form, which isn't necessarily a criticism. It's bloody, paranoid, and over-the-top – and pretty fun if you’re in the right headspace. Goes all-in on body horror and government conspiracy, spinning a fast-paced, twitchy thriller about a mysterious infection that turns regular folks into violent killers. The infected don’t just go mad, they grow things. Sharp, squirming, sentient things. It’s pretty gross.
The story splits its time between the CDC’s hunt for the outbreak and one infected man’s spiraling descent into madness. The book knows exactly what it is: pulpy, sci-fi horror with a healthy dose of gore and paranoia. It’s not subtle, but it is effective.
Apparently there's a sequel that I personally don't feel the need to read, but if you want something tense, creepy, and fast then Infected delivers.
It was so hard to get through. Baby, I didn’t give a damn if the triangles killed them all.
I wanted a cheap thrill Sci Fi book and this book delivered. The characters are pretty one dimensional, the plot is relatively straight forward and it's an easy listen. It's a mix of a contagious disease and alien invasion book.
Perry's entire plot line is him going crazy in his own room and self mutilating himself to get rid of the triangles. It's oddly entertaining at parts but also bordering on silly at times. I laughed out loud in the scenes where he's screaming about "his fucking balls" even though I believe the scenes were intended to be serious.
I'll likely read the second book here. It's an easy listen for times when you don't need to fully pay attention and the characters are growing on me.
Perry's entire plot line is him going crazy in his own room and self mutilating himself to get rid of the triangles. It's oddly entertaining at parts but also bordering on silly at times. I laughed out loud in the scenes where he's screaming about "his fucking balls" even though I believe the scenes were intended to be serious.
I'll likely read the second book here. It's an easy listen for times when you don't need to fully pay attention and the characters are growing on me.
Should one ever give up on a book? I asked myself that question repeatedly through my struggle to finish this. Weak characters barely realized and disappearing for gaping stretches only to return with a "thats it?" remembrance. No sense of connectivity. A wealth of clichés and a certain level of predictability. And yet...and yet I couldn't stop reading because the base idea of the whole affair is pretty cool and occasionally fun. The last 40 pages are exciting if not very familiar feeling. And the final 5 pages punched me in the gut with a ferocity that I fear will force me to read the follow-up novel. Crap.
This is one intense book! Microscopic spores fall from above, attaching themselves to humans. They embed themselves in the skin and begin to feed off their host bodies. Eventually, they exert some control over the host's mind causing them to do horrible things to themselves and others.
I liked the idea of this one, and the first third or so was pretty good. Then we're introduced to some of the worst characters with the worst characterization that I've ever read.
Really poor development, loads of bigoted language, and a plot that became increasingly more like a bad action movie than decent sci-fi. A lot of the homophobic and racist nonsense didn't serve the plot at all and was just really jarring.
Really poor development, loads of bigoted language, and a plot that became increasingly more like a bad action movie than decent sci-fi. A lot of the homophobic and racist nonsense didn't serve the plot at all and was just really jarring.
I really enjoyed this book. I should note, I listened to the audio book, rather than reading the text. However, I don't feel this is of significance in my wider interpretation of the book.
The gore and bloodshed added to the intensity of the plot. I might add, authors like Stephen King (Gerald's Game anyone?) and Mary Kubica also employ the same technique to engage the audience, so I'm not quite sure why people are up in arms. It stands as a focus to capture the attention of the reader and constantly submerse the characters further into the plot.
The overlapping narratives were amazing. At times I felt the plot was caught up in too much detail, but I reconsidered this after acknowledging the book covers a span of days rather than the typical months or years. Each narrative covered different perspectives and added to the overall tension of the plot.
The characters had individual voices, and this is probably one of the only texts that highlights natural speech rather than robotic, automatic responses.
The only gripe I have with the text as a whole is its portrayal of women. I do note that I tend to view literature with a feminist framework, and these issues are not solely prominent in Infected. The two females that had any agency, Margaret and 'Fatty' Patty were dismal. Margaret was overtly sexualised, almost to the point her relationship with Otto was more significant than her part in the research team. "Fatty" Patty seems to speak for herself. Another character stripped down, and made to parade for men, also characterised by her image through the eyes of a man. At no point does she consider herself overweight, but this image is a product of the view of Perry.
Worth a read.
The gore and bloodshed added to the intensity of the plot. I might add, authors like Stephen King (Gerald's Game anyone?) and Mary Kubica also employ the same technique to engage the audience, so I'm not quite sure why people are up in arms. It stands as a focus to capture the attention of the reader and constantly submerse the characters further into the plot.
The overlapping narratives were amazing. At times I felt the plot was caught up in too much detail, but I reconsidered this after acknowledging the book covers a span of days rather than the typical months or years. Each narrative covered different perspectives and added to the overall tension of the plot.
The characters had individual voices, and this is probably one of the only texts that highlights natural speech rather than robotic, automatic responses.
The only gripe I have with the text as a whole is its portrayal of women. I do note that I tend to view literature with a feminist framework, and these issues are not solely prominent in Infected. The two females that had any agency, Margaret and 'Fatty' Patty were dismal. Margaret was overtly sexualised, almost to the point her relationship with Otto was more significant than her part in the research team. "Fatty" Patty seems to speak for herself. Another character stripped down, and made to parade for men, also characterised by her image through the eyes of a man. At no point does she consider herself overweight, but this image is a product of the view of Perry.
Worth a read.
dark
fast-paced