Parasite - Mira Grant

This book definitely grabbed my attention…then it took a turn for the whacky…and now I don’t know how I feel…

 

“A decade in the future, humanity thrives in the absence of sickness and disease.
We owe our good health to a humble parasite - a genetically engineered tapeworm developed by the pioneering SymboGen Corporation. When implanted, the tapeworm protects us from illness, boosts our immune system - even secretes designer drugs. It's been successful beyond the scientists' wildest dreams. Now, years on, almost every human being has a SymboGen tapeworm living within them.
But these parasites are getting restless. They want their own lives...and will do anything to get them.”

I’m going to be honest, I did not read the synopsis of this book prior to requesting it and then getting this book delivered to my Kindle. All I cared about was that it was Mira Grant and I loved her Newsflesh series. LOVED.  But when I did read the summary of the book, I have to admit that I was fascinated. There is no mention of our hero, Sal, a girl who experienced a seizure and was in a coma for months before walking up with all her memories gone and having to re-learn how to live like a civilized human being. Mira Grant, I have found, has the ability to write about the not too distant future that is believable. The medical industry genetically mutates a tapeworm to work with our immune system? Sure. Why the hell not?

What I didn’t expect…was the slight ick factor.

But, the ickiness of this book did not present itself until the last 20% of the book. And only a little bit of it has anything to do with Sal Mitchell. She’s a good character. Solid. Dependable. Not too many surprises. She feels confined with her medical anomaly celebrity status, but she knows that SymboGen pretty much pays the bills. Her family smoothers her due to her lack of memory and treat her like a child. When Sally Mitchell has a seizure at twenty,  and blows through a light and crashes her car which causes her to go into a coma, her memories are lost and now, years later, she is Sal. Someone new. She is technically a child in that she still has much to learn about the world, but Sal is instinctive and smart.

You asking though, where does it get icky? Well, it’s the last line of the book summary…” But these parasites are getting restless. They want their own lives...and will do anything to get them.” I don’t want to get all spoilery on you guys, but this does give a hint about what is revealed in the last portion of the book. And then you think back on certain parts of the book...and you just feel a little icky. Just think about it…

But overall, this was a fun book, even the end of the book which left me feeling a little off. It is full of suspense and mystery and “what the hell just happened?!” moments. That last one is always my favorite. Though different from her Newsflesh series, I can still tell that this is a Mira Grant book, a lovely gem of scifi/horror that is well written with the perfect balance of suspense and gross out factor. I loved it.

And awesome news from Orbit: Mira Grant is going to write another book for the Newsflesh series and there should be a couple more books to follow Parasite. Woot woot!

Until next time my darlings.
Remember to always be yourself, unless you can be a pirate. Then always be the pirate.