Review: Parasite

Parasite

 by Mira Grant

Series: Parasitology #1 
Publication date:  29 October 2013 
Source:  eARC NetGalley 

 

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. (Goodreads)

My thoughts:
Sal was implanted with the genetically engineered tapeworm like most of the population in the not too distant future.  It is not mandatory yet but more and more people are taking the step.  The tapeworm controls all your health needs.   
But it cannnot prevent the terrible car crash that Sal was involved in.  The tapeworm did however help her heal and come out of the coma just as her parents were discussing taking her off life support.  

The tapeworms are engineered by the all powerful SymboGem Corporation. The SymboGem Corporation started out with a good intentions, wanting to make the world a better, healthier place.  Unfortunately greed and the lust for power soon drives them into cloudy waters.  
Parasite follows Sal's life after she wakes from her coma.  After six years, she still finds it difficult to fit in - with life in general and with her family at home.  She is not the Sally from before the accident and her family does not let her forget that.

I must admit that I guessed what the ending would be quite early on in the book.  It did however not take away any of the enjoyment I felt reading of Sal and her boyfriend's journey to discover this truth.  

Mira Grant is an excellent author and she made me suspect everyone at one time, even Sal's boyfirend was part of the "enemy" in my mind at one stage.

The ending leads us right up to the next in the series and I for one, cannot wait . . . 

 

Thank you NetGalley!

Super Six Sunday: Supernatural Creatures

Super Six Sunday is an original bookish meme hosted at Bewitched Bookworms.  Today we share our favourite supernatural creatures (what a toughie!).

You can see the weekly schedule of themes here.

Here is my list of favourite creatures - what are yours?

Vampires: 

 There are loads of vampire books that I love.  Every girl secretly wants someone to protect her from the big bad world. :)  The Black Dagger Brotherhood has been one of my favourite series for a long time (even before Twilight :))

Shapeshifters:

THE PRIDE series is my all time favourite in this genre.  They have werewolves, were-bears, she-jackels, she-tigers and loads more to come.  The girls in this series are just as dangerous as the guys and they do not stand back for anyone.  I just love that all the characters from the earlier books keep making appearances.  This is definately loud-out-load fun.

Trylle (trolls):

The trylle in this series are not the stereotypical short, ugly creatures hinding under bridges but they do leave their babies with humans to be raised.  I loved Wendy and her journey as she discovered that she is really a princess in the world of the Trylle.

Angels:

I loved the first book in THE FALLEN series and the second is waiting in my TBR pile.  It was quite a surprise finding this gem as I started reading without knowing anything about the book.  I was away from home and this book just happened to fall in my lap.  I am so glad it did!  It reminds me, I have to move up the sequel in my list!

SONS OF DESTINY  

(I don't know how to catogorize these brothers with their supernatural powers . . . )

Eight brothers, born in four sets of twins, two years apart to the day-they fulfill the Curse of Eight Prophecy. To avoid tempting their destiny, the brothers are exiled to Nightfall Island, a land where women are strictly forbidden.

Off course each book in the series focuses on a brother finding the love of his life.  There are all kinds of supernatural events including magic, time-travel and much more.

Demons:

  

THE NIGHTWALKER series was a fun read with the centuries-old demons finding love.  These are not the demons of our nightmares . . . 

 

 

Scary books and movies

It is that time of year again.  Time to get out your favorite scary books and movies! 

Even though we do not really celebrate Halloween in South Africa, I thought I would share some of my favorites today.  I just love horror books and movies.

Here are some of top picks - in no particular order.

The recent sequels has really diminished my memories of this franchise but the first movie really scared me senseless.  For a long time afterwards, I would not sleep if any part of my body was hanging of the bed or was not totally covered by the duvet.  And don't even remind me of the period that I  woke up every morning at  3am - too scared to walk my dogs outside.  The awesomeness that was  

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

  



THE SHINING was scary for my in book form as well as in movie form.   Reading about the Torrance family who were snowed in while taking care of the Overlook Hotel, I had to put the book down a few time to catch my breath.


And who would ever forget the most memoral part of the movie  . . . . "here's Johnny".  No-one can do crazy like Jack Nicholson.


 
THE DAY OF THE TRIFFITS is a classic.  I love reading about the world coming to an end . . . 

 Here is what Goodreads says:  The risks of genetic engineering become horrifyingly real in this post-apocalyptic tale of the collapse human society and nature's revenge.

When Bill Masen wakes up in hospital after recovering from eye injuries, he is faced with a deathly silence. As he peels the bandages from his eyes he discovers that the rest of the world has gone blind and civilization has come to an end. A future of chaos and violence awaits him. But the greatest threat is yet to come: the triffids, genetically engineered plants who feed on human flesh. Sensing their new-found ecological advantage, they quietly escape from their confines and seize the day...


 SHUTTER ( the 2008 remake) is a scary movie that is also a feel-good movie.  During the cause of the movie the terrible secret is unveiled and none of the perpertrators are safe.  No secrets can stay hidden forever.


CHASM by Stephen Laws was another "the world is coming to an end . . . " book.  Here is what Goodreads says about it:

 
 "What lurks in the darkness of the chasm? "

Edmonville was an ordinary town full of ordinary citizens going about their everyday business. Then the tremor hit. Glass shattered, concrete crumbled, buildings collapsed, and everything vanished beneath choking clouds of dust. The few survivors emerged, only to confront a terrifying and unbelievable sight.

Most of Edmonville has disappeared into an enormous crevasse. The ruined buildings that remain are perched on a series of peaks, many of them separated from each other by hundreds of feet. The world outside seems to no longer exist.

But something is stirring deep below in the darkness. Something is about to emerge from the depths to unleash a horrifying onslaught on the survivors, an onslaught that will become a desperate fight to stay alive.

What are your favourites?

Super Six Sunday: Favorite Book Couples

Super Six Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by the awesome people @ Bewitched Bookworms. The theme for today is your favorite book couples. 

I think I might get some flack for some of the books I am going to list below but I never said my taste in books fit in perfectly with the rest of the world :)  
This is also from all genres . . . I like a little bit of everything :)

These are only six of my favorite couples (there are so many).  The list is in no order what so ever . . .  

Angie Peterson and Alastair Honeybun (A Honeybun and Coffee)


This was a fun loving couple that did not take life too seriously and had me laughing out load quite a few times. I would definitely recommend this sweet book if you enjoy switching between laughs and keeping one step ahead of the bad guys.

 

 Henry DeTamble and Clare Abshire (The Time Traveler's Wife)

These two had me in tears - such a beautiful (and sad) love story.

 Sascha and Lucas  (Slave to Sensation)

I just love an alpha male . . . 

Bella and Edward (Twilight Series)


In spite of everything, I think this is a beautiful love story :) 

 
 Blayne Thorpe and Bo Novikov (Beast Behaving Badly)

What a wonderful mismatch made in heaven!

 

 Odd Thomas and Stormy Llewellyn (Odd Thomas)


A bitter sweet love story (maybe it was just too perfect to last . . . )



What do you think of my choices?  Read any of them yet? 

Audiobook Review: A B C D is for . . . Kinsey Millhone PI

My thoughts:
Kinsey Millhone is a private detective with a good heart.  Unfortunately she will never be rich as her clients have a tendency to turn up dead.  

The ABC murder books are light crime fiction with a female lead character that is hard not to like.  She is a twice divorced tough cookie that finds it hard to let go even when her minds tell her it is a bad idea.  

The stories are set in the 1980's  -  all before cellphones and the internet became part of our lives.  

This is definitely not going to win any literally acclaim but it is very enjoyable (maybe just because of that fact).  Sometimes you just want to loose yourself in the story without too much thought about anything else.

W is for Wasted was published this year, so I have a few letters to go yet. 

Review: 101 Things You Thought You Knew about the Titanic... But Didn't!

Title: 101 Things You Thought You Knew about the Titanic... But Didn't!
Author: Tim Maltin
Source: eARC from NetGalley









Blurb:


April 15th, 2012, will be the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the "Titanic."

People have an endless fascination with the "Titanic," yet much of what they know today is a mixture of fact and fiction. In one hundred and one brief and engaging chapters, Tim Maltin, one of the foremost experts on the Titanic, reveals the truth behind the most common beliefs about the ship and the night it sank. From physics to photographs, lawsuits to love stories, Maltin doesn't miss one tidbit surrounding its history. Heavily researched and filled with detailed descriptions, quotes from survivors, and excerpts from the official inquiries, this book is guaranteed to make readers rethink everything they thought they knew about the legendary ship and its tragic fate.


Review:


All things Titanic have always interested me.  I have watched countless documentaries, read a lot of books and even watched all the movies :)  Having said that, I am not a Titanic expert.  I am more of a casual Titanic trivia lover.

This book was something different though.  Yes, there are all the facts and trivia we already know but there are also quotes from survivors, detailed transcripts of the official inquiries (which was not impartial at all in my view) and some fun mentions of the myths surrounding this great ship.


I loved finding this gem of a book and know that it will be very popular with all Titanic lovers.

Audiobook Review: Doctor Sleep

Title: Doctor Sleep
Author: Stephen King
Source: My own audio copy 
Narrated by: Will Patton









Blurb:
 
On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless—mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky twelve-year-old Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are

quasi-immortal, living off the “steam” that children with the “shining” produce when they are slowly tortured to death.

Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant “shining” power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.”

Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of devoted readers of The Shining and satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.

Review:

I loved THE SHINING.  I read the book more than once, saw the movie a few times (here's Johnny!) and even sat through the disaster that was the re-make.  So imagine how excited I was, when Doctor Sleep was announced.  

Unfortunately my excitement turned to disappointment fairly quickly.  I was irritated from the start.  Dan is messed up (as I imagine anyone would be after his experiences at the Overlook Hotel) but his troubled life was not shared sympathetically at all.  He just came across as a very unlikeable bum.   

Luckily he gets off the bus in the right town and his life is turned around when he meets Billy, someone with just a twinkle of shine.  He is introduced to AA by his new friends and his life becomes more bearable.  

He starts working at a Hospice (or Hot Spice as Abra calls it) as an orderly.  He uses his shine to ease dying patients as they finally let go and he becomes known as Doctor Sleep. 

Abra not only shines, she radiates!  Dan has never known anyone that shines so brightly.  Unfortunately this is also recognized by The True Knot, a group of creatures that craves shine.  They use steam (as they call it) like vampires use blood.  They hunt for children with the shine and through torturing them to death, they steal their steam.  Steam that has given them centuries of life.  They feel invincible, high above the average human being. 

As you can imagine, it becomes a battle for Abra's life.  And here her parents become the next irritating sequence for me. Abra is thelve years old - her parents have experienced some of her specialness through the years.  You would imagine that her mother would have some inkling of how to handle this paranormal situation . . .

There are not much horror in the supernatural sense in this book.  And I would not like to compare it to THE SHINING.  In fact, you can read Doctor Sleep without even having heard of THE SHINING.  All in all, it is not a bad book . . . as long as you do not expect the suffocating terror of his predecessor.