Oh, my. I expected something a lot better. I think the Infected series by Scott Sigler has spoiled me. I wanted pandemic, disease spread, panic, science and a deep-dive into human nature when things go wrong. Instead, I got pandemic, disease spread, panic, and an amnesiac’s guide to life after receiving a life saving operation in form of an intestinal worm. And therapy sessions. And chats with the boyfriend. And people sleepwalking into this new disease and more people interviewing our amnesiac, and parents who won’t let her go out at night to meet her boyfriend.

God, this book was a bore.

“Come and have a look at this.”
I didn’t want to have a look at anything. I went anyway. It’s always better to understand than it is to be left sitting in the dark; it’s always better to have answers, even when those answers lead to fresh questions.

I am not even sure I want to read (or have read to me) the second and third book in this trilogy.

The premise is simple. SymboGen create a medical helper in form of a tapeworm who eats any allergens or terrible things that the host ingests and keeps the host safe. This symbiont was implanted into this woman who was a victim of a horrible car crash (without her say so) and the big corporation paid for her medical bills in exchange for keeping tabs on her for the rest of her life. 6 years after the slow recovery process – and her having to re-learn language, words, slang and other things, a strange disease is starting to affect people.

Sally Mitchell is now in the midst of a mystery where everyone could be someone else. Even her boyfriend, the ever loving Nick, might be working for SymboGen. Maybe even her parents?

“I’m not insane, I’m neurologically variant,” she snapped back. “Sticks and stones, asshole.”

The genetic manipulation of the gut parasite has devastating effects when released on the population as a panacea for illness just by popping a pill. This is basically what happens when you buy into a big corporation’s marketing scheme and buy their miracle pill without researching the downsides. I think it’s a very similar premise to The trouble with Lichen. People would do anything just to live longer – so why not infect themselves knowingly with a mutated parasite?

Sally is an often confused heroine that more muddles the water or acts as a dumb-down person you explain the plot to. I didn’t like her or her cohort of people. The book is less about the infestation than it is about her daily life, her struggles with Amnesia, her issues with dyslexia, her love of a new dog, her troubles with parents, etc. This is going to the donation bin I think.

This wasn’t something I could do with Parasite. Admittedly, I may have been a little over-critical of its premise because of my background in biology, but I think most readers with a basic knowledge of microbiology or genetics will also find some issues with this book. There are not a lot of explanations when it comes to the tapeworm, you just have to accept that things are the way they are.

“Nature doesn’t have to make sense. Nature just does.”

It’s definitely not a deal-breaker, but not being able to picture this story as a realistic situation does lessen the suspense somewhat. But not unlike those crazy made-for-TV disaster movies you see on SyFy, Parasite is still a lot of fun.

I suppose in addition to the whole “what happens when we start mucking with our immune systems” cautionary tale, Parasite is also about the power of corporations. According to my hours spent researching you humans online, this has been a big theme in the past couple of years. You seem to think that corporations could be a threat to your individual liberties, because they wield a lot of power and influence through their money and resources. You don’t even suspect that the real threat to your individuality happens to be brain-chewing intestinal parasites.

“Money talks, and people like science that seems just a little bit insane. It reminds them that the future is tomorrow, and that we have a chance to shape it.”