Infected is a science fictionbiopunkthriller novel by author Scott Sigler. The novel was initially released in 2006 in podcast format with a print release in 2008 by Crown Publishing, with Sigler continuing to offer the podcast version online.[1] The book was initially titled Infested,[2] with the name changing in order to distance itself from a movie releasing with a similar title.[3]
Plot
The novel follows several characters as they deal with an alien invasion on the microscopic level. The narration is primarily through the perspectives of Perry Dawsey, an ex-football player with an anger problem, and Margaret Montoya, an epidemiologist with the CDC who is investigating a strange disease that turns seemingly normal people into murderers.
Reception
Critical reception for Infected has been mixed, with Monsters and Critics praising the book's action and pacing.[4]The San Francisco Chronicle panned the book, stating that the book's intensity "might work in a series of cliff-hanging audio episodes, but as a novel to be read in a few sittings, Infected can't rise above its overheated prose and rote characterizations."[5]The Guardian also reviewed Infected, criticizing the book's "portentous cliff-hangers and one-dimensional characters".[6]
The Sacramento News's "Bibliolatry" praised Infected, calling it "imaginative, gross, frightening, suspenseful, funny, thought-provoking and sick in the "omigawd-I-wanna-barf" way".[7]BookReporter and Publishers Weekly also positively reviewed the book,[8] with BookReporter citing the character of Perry Dawsey as the "heart" of the book.[9]
In 2010, work began on a graphic novel adaptation of Sigler's Infected, with the series to be published by IDW in the summer of 2012.[12] The first issue was released August 1, 2012,[13] but the series was put on hold indefinitely due to delays with subsequent issues.[14]
