Customer Reviews

Infected: A Novel

5 star:		(248)
4 star:		(64)
3 star:		(35)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

Scott Sigler takes just enough reality and science to make his fiction even scarier. Everyone can relate to feeling sick and horrible. That is what makes the pain that the main character in Infected goes through that much more real to the reader. From start to finish you won't know where this is going. As you connect with the main character you'll go along with him for the ride of his life to an ending you won't see coming. If you enjoy thrillers, horror or science fiction then this is a book for you. Get it now!

Dew Phillips and his partner in the CIA are on a top secret mission, chasing after madmen who are homicidal and suicidal, possibly infected with some new disease. Teamed with them is Margaret Montoya from the CCID, called upon to run autopsies on the victims of the infection. There's just one problem, there's never enough remains to autopsy, the corpses either burnt or liquefied. What they need is a fresh or alive host.

Perry Dawsey has a different life from what he once thought he'd have. Once a star linebacker, a knee injury cut short his dreams of wealth and fame in pro-football, leaving him nothing more than a computer technician living in a tiny apartment on a mediocre salary. The one thing Perry still has from his football days is his explosive temper. One day Perry begins to itch. What starts as what he thinks is a rash soon turns into a grisly discovery. He's infected with something, and being distrustful of doctors decides to take care of the problem himself.

As Dew and Margaret come closer to understanding the infection, Perry's health spirals downward, until strange triangles appear on his body. And the triangles are sentient.

Sigler has written one of the best novels I've ever read. It starts fast and keeps going at breakneck speed. In several chapters he documents the course of the "seedlings" and drops hints at their construct. As the story unfolds, the terror elevates to intense levels, dragging you helplessly towards the climatic conclusion. I read the book in a day, unable to set it down for an instant. Sigler's style is flawless, character switching and timeline expertly executed, and imagination wildly impressive. He's created a truly horrifying monster.

Scott Sigler originally released his first two novels, 'Ancestor' and 'Earthcore' on Podcasts. They're available in paperback now but out of print and often quite expensive from resellers. 'Infected' is Sigler's first print released book, and a showcase for a truly talented writer. Watch for his new book 'Contagious' coming in Dec of 2008. I can't wait. 'Infected' is highly recommended. Enjoy!

What a sick book! Only a demented mind such as Sigler's could come up with something so original, compelling and horrifying. I couldn't put it down. Does that mean I'm sick too?

This one is definitely not for the squeamish. Sigler tells the story so convincingly and with such detail that I could almost feel the pain.

If I had to rank Sigler's books, I'd put this first, then Ancestor and then Earthcore.

Jack Wakes Up (Jack Palms Crime Mysteries)
Officially they might say that Scott Sigler is a horror writer, but in hindsight, when we look back we'll say he's a writer of major order who crosses genres and does whatever he needs to do to get his story told.
In INFECTED, he's woven the threads of a disease, a man who's contracted it, and the man sent to hunt the disease down and find out what the hell it is. So it might make you kill a few folks (your friends and family), what is this thing really? Perry Dawsey's a great character: deep enough and nuanced so we feel for him, even sympathize as he starts to go totally nuts. THAT's what makes this book so unbelievably, insanely scary: you can actually put yourself in this guy's shoes! Got an itch? Oh, man...
In the hands of Scott Sigler, you don't read a book like this, you strap yourself in and come out the other side. INFECTED will tear you through it so fast you'll want to go back and read it again. Not only has Scott revolutionized the way we'll find out about books from now on with his podcasts, he's delivered on the goods 115% to back it up. Whether you've listened to the podcast already or will run out and listen to it now, you got to get your hands on INFECTED and read it as soon as you can. This book stops at nothing to rock you AND your world!

First and foremost, the comparsion between Sigler and King must be clarified. We are talking classic King not the King now a days. The 2 star review made reference to Infected being a "detailed body-gore". Has this person read King's The Cell? I found that more of a "detailed body-gore" than Infected. It's a shame that so many trees had to be cut down to make The Cell.

The most important aspect with this book (and Sigler's others) is that they are FREE in a podiobook/podcast format! I don't see King or Kootnz doing that. Sigler has built up a loyal, dedicated fan base because he did not want his talent for crafting these tales to go unread or unheard.

Infected will creep you out. Infected is a plausible theory. What better way than to bioform a planet. Forget long drawn out conventional wars, the destruction of the planet. Bioforming would be the easiest way to overtake a planet.

Infected is defintiely worth buying. I have listened to Infected many times and will be reading the book as well.

I read this in one day - couldn't put it down. The details of the spores taking over the body and how the guy deals with it are so shocking and gruesome but you can't look away. You have to know what happens next. This is the best horror novel I've read since some of Stephen King's early works. It was original and leaves you wanting more. I hope that Mr. Sigler has more like this in store for us. I highly recommend this book to horror fans.

Scott Sigler is an enormously popular author whose ability to think outside the box is not limited to his literary work. Tired of collecting rejection slips, he began sharing his novels with the masses by podcasting them, a few chapters at a time, and gaining a following that increased exponentially every week. INFECTED is his debut print novel and is perfect in every way --- cutting across thriller, horror and science fiction genres (and one or two others as well) ---- resulting in a tale that will leave your posterior hanging well beyond the edge of your seat.

At its core, INFECTED concerns a mysterious condition that turns individuals into rampaging, homicidal maniacs who murder their families, strangers and ultimately themselves. The government assigns Dew Phillips, a coldly competent CIA operative, to investigate, pairing him with CDC epidemiologist Margaret Montoya. It was Montoya who first noticed certain anomalies, if you will, in the corpses of the first rampaging individuals --- anomalies that lead her to believe that the heart of the deadly condition is a new and frightening type of parasite. Thanks to Sigler, the reader is a step or two ahead of Montoya, but I doubt he's been getting any candy for it.

Sigler is a marvel, describing complex biological concepts in a way that those of us who haven't cracked a textbook in decades can understand, and the manner by which the parasites gain entry to, and sustain themselves from, the human body is ingenious. However, I could have happily lived the rest of my natural years in ignorance of the fact that, at this very moment, there are millions of microscopic spiders crawling all over me, eating and evacuating my dead skin cells in a sort of perpetual motion. Sigler describes this process, and others, in graphic detail while never dropping the narrative ball for even one second. Montoya and Phillips form a prickly team, with Phillips involved in the wet work and Montoya doing the somewhat creepy evaluations, attempting to determine the cause of the contagion and, more importantly, stop it before it spreads any further.

As interesting as Montoya and Phillips are, however, the heart of INFECTED is Perry Dawsey, a former pro football player whose career was shattered along with his knee. Performing far from satisfying work as an IT specialist, Dawsey becomes a host to the parasite, and as Sigler gives us a step-by-step, up-close-and-personal view of how the parasite evolves and manifests itself, we get an intimate view not only of the parasite but also of Dawsey. Ex-football players --- even guys who played for the Michigan Wolverines --- don't roll over for a parasite, even a sentient one. To say that Dawsey isn't going down without a fight is inaccurate; he's not going down period, and as INFECTED ultimately demonstrates, Dawsey will do anything to stop the takeover of his body.

And it's a good thing, too. Invading and usurping bodies is only the first step. In a climax that will have you swallowing your hand, your tongue and anything else that's handy, we learn that invasions can come from both within and without.

INFECTED is unforgettable, a classic right out of the gate, and, I suspect, a metaphor of sorts. And yes, when I reached Sigler's account of Dawsey's ultimate sacrifice, I discovered that one can read with one's hands over both eyes. If this book hasn't been optioned for a movie yet, then those in the film industry have no idea what they're doing.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Sigler develops realistic characters and believable situations in this fast-paced thriller. He tells a story in a way that no one else can.

Reading this book is enough to make you want to scour you skin with a wire brush every time you get an itch.

Go buy the book, now!

I bought this book thinking it was a zombie novel and was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was along the lines of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers.' I thought this book deserved a five because of the excellent character development in Perry and his slow, but unrelenting fall into madness. The slow build-up of suspense kept me intrigued and wanting to read more even as I was falling asleep. This was really an awesome surprise and I can't wait for the sequel to come out. There were only a few things I didn't like and that was Margaret becoming "horny" under stress and Dew's obsession with avenging his dead partner. Seemed a bit...cliche.

Sigler does an amazing job of blending science and horror. From the get-go this novel will sink its teeth into you and not let go until the very end and even then, you'll be screaming for more. Never has a novel so quickly captured the imagination as this one. The mental images that Sigler gives the reader are so damaging that you might just have to see a shrink to clear your head.

INFECTED is definitely one of the best reads you will ever have the pleasure of experiencing.

I DARE you to but it!