Parasite

By: Mira Grant

Narrated by: Christine Lakin

Length: 16 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

John W. Campbell Award winner, 2010

Short-listed, The Hugo Best Novel, 2012

NPR's Top 100 Killer Thrillers, 2010

Nominated, Romantic Times' Best SF Novel of the Year, 2010

From New York Times best-selling author Mira Grant comes a vision of a decade in the future, where 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 Intestinal Bodyguard worm 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.

More from Mira Grant:

Parasitology

• Parasite
• Symbiont
• Chimera

Newsflesh

• Feed
• Deadline
• Blackout
• Feedback
• Rise

©2013 Mira Grant (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"A riveting near-future medical thriller that reads like the genetically-engineered love child of Robin Cook and Michael Crichton."—John Joseph Adams

"Readers with strong stomachs will welcome this unusual take on the future."—Kirkus Reviews

"Fans of [the Newsflesh] series will definitely want to check this new book out. But fans of Michael Crichton-style technothrillers will be equally enthralled: as wild as Grant's premise is, the novel is firmly anchored in real-world science and technology."—Booklist

Excellent book, hope to see a continuation soon

What made the experience of listening to Parasite the most enjoyable?

The story itself is exceptional keeping you wanting for more.
Christine Lakin brings the characters to life quite well and makes it quite entertaining.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tansy. She is so delightfully creepy and random. Funny and scary at the same time.

What about Christine Lakin’s performance did you like?

Christine Lakin brought each of the characters to life, reflecting their own distinct personalities.

Any additional comments?

Hope to see a continuation soon

Unique Futuristic Fright

Takes place in a futuristic world with unique life saving techniques. Not for the squeamish. I really liked the concept, but the execution seemed poor. This author is still growing and getting better. I will continue trying out her new books, but so far all of her books are misses. Her zombie books are a lot better, but she wrote too much and it became a mess in the end. I hope she hasn’t done that with this trilogy. I’ll keep you posted.

Amazing read!

This book kept my attention from the beginning to the end. The science explanations were very detailed yet comprehensible. The narrator is quite remarkable. I look forward to more from both this author and narrator.

A bit too predictable

somewhere about the middle of the book I was coo involved I knew the ending, just to have it end exactly that way. Some scenes were just too convenient and overall it lacked the buildup of tension and suspense.

Enjoyable if not predictable

Enjoyable if not predictable. The story has potential and there are plenty of fun parts.

Solid first entry, some predictability

3.5 stars. Mira Grant certainly has a knack for exciting stories, deep conspiracies, and gross outs. Sal Mitchell (formerly Sally) has a second lease on life. Six years earlier she was in a car accident that, by all accounts, should have proved fatal. But as the daughter of an army colonel who also happens to be the head of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), she has been among the first people to get an intestinal bodyguard (the euphemism for the tape worm in her body, engineered to act as an implant for medical purposes). When she should have died she finds herself waking up, with no memory, and a long road to recovery.

In present day, Sal has spent six years relearning everything from language to coordination to social niceties. She has carved out a new life, though still under the guardianship of her parents (despite her calendar age of 27). She has a satisfying job at an animal shelter, a loving boyfriend who is a parisitologist, a chance to have better relationships with her family than her predecessor enjoyed, oh -- and standing appointments at SymboGen.

SymboGen is the massive and profitable company that has the patent on the intestinal bodyguard, and though they have done all the work to get the PR of being a benevolent do-gooder, Sal is suspicious of them and their intentions to her. In the aftermath of her accident, she has had a host of health issues and has needed extensive therapy (both psychological and behavioral). SymboGen covers the costs and keeps her close, seeming to observe nearly every aspect of her life.

The book moves well and has perfectly serviceable characters. It isn't particularly surprising as it becomes increasingly clear that the intestinal bodyguards aren't as harmless as they are billed, or when SymboGen's intentions are revealed to be firmly focused on the bottom line and not necessarily the public good. A massive company with impure motives? Not particularly groundbreaking. The idea that the majority of earth's inhabitants have swallowed (pun intended) what SymboGen was selling strains credulity a bit (humans have a fairly pronounced ick factor and willingly becoming the symbiote of a parasitic tape worm would have definitely triggered it). But there is an interesting blend of science into this fiction, and as major players are revealed in the book we meet far more interesting characters (though one definitely qualifies as a partial stereotype), and some nicely conflicting aims. The war is coming, and it seems everyone will have to pick sides. First in a trilogy.

It's a bit creepy

The narrator got the voices mixed up a couple of times. There is some foul language & other unnecessary things that detract from the book. The story is excellent & believable enough to give you the chills. Man likes to play with things he shouldn't.

Interesting concept, although scary if you consider the possibilities

I work in medicine, so the when I read the summary I found the health promoting parasite concept intriguing and knew I had to read it.
I enjoyed the reader and the plot kept me listening and interested to the very end. Overall a good read, but you have to pay attention, as it goes back and forth at times. I would definitely recommend it, and am looking forward to the sequel.

Tanzie!

What a great character! She loves to sled, Shoot her gun and drink Hawaiian Punch (The Red Kind). What's not to like!

Series Endings

POSSIBLE SPOILERS I give this three stars only because the ending is drawn out a bit beyond my patience, even as it embraces the internal struggle and denial of the narrator. The big reveal is not a reveal, but something we've known for quite a while. Still, the characters are well drawn, the dialogue is excellent, and the performance was great. I'll read more when the next book is available.