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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Started promising, but I quit 75% of the way through because of the toxic masculinity, misogyny, and just overall nasty tone this book has.
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Self harm
Extremely, extremely gory. I had a really hard time listening to some parts of this book and even had to skip through one entire scene. But I still enjoyed this book. Although Scott Sigler is not a professional voice actor he did do a very good job. Each character retained their unique voices (which is one thing that even the pros slip up on at times) and it was entertaining.
I am going to give myself a break before starting the next book though. I am a big fan of Sigler’s work but this was the goriest thing I have ever read (and I’m also a fan of Stephen King and Chris Carter’s Robert Hunter series).
EDIT: I said I wasn’t going to read the next book but here I am, a mere 2 hours later, about to start the next book. I must be a sucker for punishment.
I am going to give myself a break before starting the next book though. I am a big fan of Sigler’s work but this was the goriest thing I have ever read (and I’m also a fan of Stephen King and Chris Carter’s Robert Hunter series).
EDIT: I said I wasn’t going to read the next book but here I am, a mere 2 hours later, about to start the next book. I must be a sucker for punishment.
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I was intrigued by the concept of this book, as discussed by the author in a Big Idea post on John Scalzi's blog, and I picked it up and read it in just a few days. This book is intense, gripping, and very visceral in quite a few ways, and it's not for the squeamish at all. It's a very scary look at a very different type of alien invasion, one that is simple and disturbingly ingenious and perhaps even possible.
I'm leaving out major spoilers, but to discuss the book there are minor spoilers from here on.
The story is told from two points of view - one is that of Margaret, a CDC doctor working to figure out what's going on with this mysterious illness, and the other is Perry, an ex-college football player who is one of the Infected. This dual storyline worked really well, as it essentially ends up showing the end of the infection along with the beginning, and as the story progresses both Margaret and Perry work their way back to a meeting point in mid-infection. The twist was seriously disturbing and very creepy, and showed a lot of thought put into what was going on and why it might be happening. The descriptions of what happens to the illness' victims, both those studied by Margaret as well as the experiences that Perry suffers firsthand, are gruesome and graphic to the point that this story is borderline horror genre in my opinion.
Overall, this was an excellent book. The story is original, the writing is fantastic, and the scenario includes elements of science fiction as well as horror. It's a very intense read, one that I could not put down, and the bravery shown by several characters was the counterpoint to the gruesome ravages of the illness. I may or may not pick up the second book, as while this was a great story and I'm intrigued to learn more, I'm also wary of reading through anything that's even closer to the horror genre than this one was. If the concept sounds interesting and you're not averse to a little gore in your science fiction, you should find this an excellent read.
I'm leaving out major spoilers, but to discuss the book there are minor spoilers from here on.
The story is told from two points of view - one is that of Margaret, a CDC doctor working to figure out what's going on with this mysterious illness, and the other is Perry, an ex-college football player who is one of the Infected. This dual storyline worked really well, as it essentially ends up showing the end of the infection along with the beginning, and as the story progresses both Margaret and Perry work their way back to a meeting point in mid-infection. The twist was seriously disturbing and very creepy, and showed a lot of thought put into what was going on and why it might be happening. The descriptions of what happens to the illness' victims, both those studied by Margaret as well as the experiences that Perry suffers firsthand, are gruesome and graphic to the point that this story is borderline horror genre in my opinion.
Overall, this was an excellent book. The story is original, the writing is fantastic, and the scenario includes elements of science fiction as well as horror. It's a very intense read, one that I could not put down, and the bravery shown by several characters was the counterpoint to the gruesome ravages of the illness. I may or may not pick up the second book, as while this was a great story and I'm intrigued to learn more, I'm also wary of reading through anything that's even closer to the horror genre than this one was. If the concept sounds interesting and you're not averse to a little gore in your science fiction, you should find this an excellent read.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is ugghhh as in gross. I put it down a while ago thinking that I could convince myself to come back and finish it later. But every time I think about picking it up again, I roll my eyes at the thought of reading about a guy scratching so hard that he wakes up covered in blood and how much more gross it's going to get from there. Just not in the mood for it right now.
Maybe I'll finish it one day. One Halloween when I'm in the mood for a good gross out.
Maybe I'll finish it one day. One Halloween when I'm in the mood for a good gross out.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No