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organchordsandlightning's review against another edition
4.0
What I liked about the first book was majorly present in the second. Sal is still such a good character and I still love Nathan to bits and pieces. I think the entire concept of a zombie infection via parasites is interesting, particularly with the world that Mira Grant's built with SymboGen. I like that it very quickly devolved into three factions: SymboGen vs Nathan's Mom and Co vs Parasites, and I like that they are approached from a relatively multi-faceted manner.
However, when I finished the end of the book, I had still felt like not much had happened (particularly as compared to the first?). It felt like the plotline fell into a circle of someone kidnapping Sal/Sal being manipulated to go somewhere, Sal being kept there, Sal escaping, and then the cycle went over again. It still motivated me to finish the series, but I still felt like more could have happened to bring the overarching plot forward in this novel.
However, when I finished the end of the book, I had still felt like not much had happened (particularly as compared to the first?). It felt like the plotline fell into a circle of someone kidnapping Sal/Sal being manipulated to go somewhere, Sal being kept there, Sal escaping, and then the cycle went over again. It still motivated me to finish the series, but I still felt like more could have happened to bring the overarching plot forward in this novel.
andimontgomery's review against another edition
3.0
This was ok, but not nearly as engrossing as Parasite. The first half was a bit slow, and Sal annoyed me far too much with her constant questioning of herself. Here's hoping the finale is stronger!
alybark's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
jessica_mcdermitt's review against another edition
3.0
After one book, the constant scientific inaccuracies start to jangle. I’m not a biologist but I have an idea of how DNA works and it ain’t that. I also felt like I was constantly on the receiving end of near-infodump exposition, even 3/4 through the book. Including exposition that I’d already heard at the beginning of this book. I appreciate the attempt to play with the dividing lines among human/animal/person, but the constant repetition of the same (inaccurate) conclusions is a disappointing treatment of a topic with so much potential. Not sure if I can get back into the third book in this series.
btemplet's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jordynbbarnes's review against another edition
3.0
Trilogies are difficult to write... the hardest part being book 2. You're in the middle, in no man's land... you need to keep people you hooked in book one interested enough for book three. Luckily for me and this trilogy I managed to get very hooked in book one, because book 2, Symbiont, was more or less just 500 pages of filler. Reinforcement that the world had gone to shit, that sleepwalkers were dangerous, and that Sal was a tapeworm all along. All things that could have been handled in a few pages that turned into 500 pages worth of repeated information. It makes sense that this happened, it was only supposed to be two books but got stretched onto three. Oh well, still looking forward to book 3.
saursi's review against another edition
2.0
This is a plodding and repetitive repeat of the previous book. There comes a point where repeating the same inner monologue 10 times in the same book does less to drive home that it is an intense debate and more seems like trying to artificially increase the page count. A good editor eliminating roughly a third of the book would significantly increase the quality of the remaining material.
darkstar69's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
espressoreader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic