Will Sargent reviewed Parasite by Seanan McGuire
Review of 'Parasite' on 'Storygraph'
2 stars
I read through Feed, the first of the Newflesh books, and loved it. I read through the subsequent two books in the trilogy, and went "huh." Now, with Parasite, I think I'm done.
Grant makes the same mistakes in every book. Her protagonist is ridiculously well-connected: her father and sister work for USAMRIID and even her loving boyfriend is a parasitologist with his own ridiculous plot twist. She introduces funhouse mary-sue characters two thirds into the plot. She has hitherto reasonable characters throw temper tantrums and threaten people for no reason. She makes absolutely safe places into death traps with some handwaving, and worst of all, she has her protagonist decide to not share vital information for the flimsiest of reasons.
Don't get me wrong, it's good reading. But it's like eating bad Mexican food when you're hungry -- sure, you're happy at the time but you know you're going …
I read through Feed, the first of the Newflesh books, and loved it. I read through the subsequent two books in the trilogy, and went "huh." Now, with Parasite, I think I'm done.
Grant makes the same mistakes in every book. Her protagonist is ridiculously well-connected: her father and sister work for USAMRIID and even her loving boyfriend is a parasitologist with his own ridiculous plot twist. She introduces funhouse mary-sue characters two thirds into the plot. She has hitherto reasonable characters throw temper tantrums and threaten people for no reason. She makes absolutely safe places into death traps with some handwaving, and worst of all, she has her protagonist decide to not share vital information for the flimsiest of reasons.
Don't get me wrong, it's good reading. But it's like eating bad Mexican food when you're hungry -- sure, you're happy at the time but you know you're going to regret and be vaguely ashamed for having eaten it afterwards.
