Book Review: Infected
Book Review: Infected (2008)
Release Date: April 1, 2008
Publisher: Crown
Written By: Scott Sigler
Review By: Kayley Viteo
If there’s any genre of books that has absolutely exploded in recent years, it’s that of the zombie/infected/undead. The sheer volume of these types of books out there makes it increasingly difficult to differentiate yourself from the pack, but Scott Sigler can rest easy – he’s certainly got an original, thrilling, and addictive take on the infected.
Infected is a rather complicated, three-pronged story following ex-football star Perry Dawsey, CDC epidemiologist Margaret Montoya, and CIA agent Dew Phillips. A disease is infecting Americans, inciting paranoia, and causing them to torture and murder everyone around them. What’s worse is no one knows what is causing it or where it originates – which is where the CDC and CIA come in. However, Dawsey finds himself infected with what is presumed to be some form of bio-terrorism, and much of the book is devoted to his struggle with the “triangles” (the visible part of infection), with the rest of the pages equally handed out to Montoya and Phillips, who struggle to investigate the source and find its victims respectively.
Best described as an intelligent blend of sci-fi and horror, Infected is a non-stop thrill ride that is richly detailed and developed. The characters are, for the most part, strongly developed – the exception being Agent Phillips, who I never quite connected with. His story feels heavy-handed, like he’s purely there to make me feel for him, even if he is a “hardened CIA veteran.” And if you love gore, there’s enough here to make a gorehound salivate, with some truly awesomely gross self-mutilation chapters, as well as some grim and disgusting descriptions of the infection’s evolution.
What is perhaps my favorite aspect of the novel was the development and originality of the infection being a character, some sort of living organism. The book ends rather abruptly (an annoyance) so we never know the true details, but it is scary to think of the awareness in the rational being when the irrational infection begins to take over. There are some rather brilliant moments in the novel that deal with Perry’s response to the infection speaking. At first, I can’t say I was a fan of the infection’s dialogue, but as the pages turn – it begins to make sense and it’s rather disturbing.
There’s something here for everyone. Whether you like action, suspense, sheer chaos or gore in your books, it’s in Infected. A novel that grabs you by the throat and demands you pay attention, it keeps your focus for all 380 pages and at the end, you find yourself hungry for the sequel (Contagious). Any genre fan looking for a fun and engrossing read will greatly enjoy Infected.
