Some of you may remember the novel Infected from my Science Fiction Favorites post. It was ranked as my third favorite science fiction book of all time. The problem is, I haven’t read that book since I was in high school. This week I gave it a reread and have some mixed feelings.
The story is just as disturbing as I remember. The book follows three main characters: Perry, Dew, and Margaret. Perry is the main protagonist and has been infected by an alien parasite. Dew is a CIA agent who is hunting down infected citizens for Margaret, a CDC pathologist, to study and hopefully cure.
Perry was a linebacker when he was in college before an injury ruined his chances for going pro. Couple this with an abusive childhood and we have a character who is essentially driven by rage. Throughout the course of the book Perry discovers that he is infected by an alien parasite that is slowly driving him insane. He then decides to cut them out of his body with varying degrees of success. However, he ‘plays through the pain’ until he eventually rids himself of the parasites.
The parasites are kind of freaky.
All in all I still enjoy the book. It’s pretty gruesome, but it’s a fun book that accomplishes what it set out to do. However, I don’t think it’ll make the cut when I revise the list later this year. The writing is a lot weaker than I remember. The pacing is also off, due in part to the fact this was originally published in podcast form.
Other than Infected, I haven’t made much of a dent in my science fiction backlog. I’ve started season six of Doctor Who, and while I am really starting to love Matt Smith, I’m really confused as to why the decided that six seasons in to the new series they decided to add an introduction. Amy Pond introduces The Doctor as her imaginary friend that takes her on adventures. I’d prefer, if they had to do an explanatory intro sequence at all, if they would tell us he is a Time Lord.
I’m also currently reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. This book is one of the most superbly crafted books I’ve had the pleasure of reading. I’m only half way through and I’ve already had several intensely emotional moments. If you haven’t read The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns, definitely give them a look. They’re well worth it.
Anyway, if you love Scott Sigler or want to share some of your most emotional books, feel free to message me or tweet me @left4turtle.
Agustin Guerrero 