Parasite Positive [Paperback]

When nineteen-year-old Cal Thompson looses his virginity he gets a lot more than he bargained for. He contracts a parasite that normally reduces its host to a crazed and bestial creature with a thirst for human blood. Cal is lucky - he becomes a carrier rather than a parasite positive. He carries the parasite and develops heightened senses and abilities but he is still in possession of his sanity.

Now a member of the mysterious organisation the Night Watch, Cal must stop the disease from spreading by tracking down parasite positives - starting with the ones he unwittingly created himself. The parasite spreads through bodily fluids - meaning every girl Cal has kissed since contracting the disease has become a slavering monster. He calls them peeps. The rest of the world knows them as vampires. Cal has to track them down so that they can be contained, as well as trying to find Morgan, the girl who passed on the parasite to him in the first place.

As well as peeps Cal must fight his growing affection for Lace, a human girl who is determined to learn the truth about both Cal and the peeps, as well as the growing suspicion that something much worse than the peeps is rising up from deep underground...

These are not the romanticised and aristocratic vampires of popular fiction, nor the opera cloak wearing monsters of classic horror. Westerfeld's peeps are all the more creepy because their existence is explained so rationally. Every symptom, from photosensitivity to cruciphobia is granted a plausible explanation and each chapter is interspersed with horrifying yet fascinating descriptions of real life parasites. Combine this with a believable narrator with a dry sense of humour and you've got a book that's definitely well worth a read!

(I have never written a review before so take anything I say with a pinch of salt)

This is in my opinion a completley new look at the Vampire Genre, theres no magic involved and everything has a rational explanation.
Vampires are the victims of parasites something of course hinted at in the title
Instead of being creatures of myth and legend whose powers cannot be explained, its all down to Science and more specifically biology.

This is brilliant, the vampires of Twilight can't explain thier existence, can't explain why they are strong or fast or interested in blood. Parasite Positive provides explanations to all of these questions and backs it up with scientific evidence. There are several extracts in the book that is devoted to the explanation of different parasites and thier effects. This is needed for a full understanding of the story.

Apart from the sciency stuff, theres an intriguing plot. Theres an entire hidden world, and one which has its own problems and mystery's. There are several interesting revelations even if the ultimate enemy is a bit anti-climactic. The ending is definetley a set-up but it couldn't really be anything else.
Theres a subtle romatic element which isn't really manifested until the last chapters of the book alongside the rest of the revelations.

On the whole I loved this book, I couldn't put it down from the moment I started. If your a fan of the tragically romantic vampires of the Cullen type then you might be in for a surprise.
This isn't a book for teenage girls who are dreaming of falling in love with a vampire its a book for those who want a throughly good read.

When Cal Thompson loses his virginity in a one-night-stand, he's left infected with a parasite that makes him ravenous for red meat and has souped up his senses. As a carrier, he can control his urges, but others aren't so lucky and are driven to kill and maim people as they seek to spread the parasite to others, while things that they previously loved have now become anathema to them.

Cal joins the Night Watch, a secret organisation that seeks to control the spread of the parasite (which is transmitted through kissing and sex). Now, Cal has to track down his subsequent girlfriends, all of whom have been infected, including his one-night-stand, whose name he can't remember. When Lacey, a journalism student, tells him about weird things happening in her apartment block, Cal discovers that the parasites are only part of the problem - there's something big and evil lurking beneath New York City, something that only Cal and the Night Watch can stop.

Westerfeld's use of parasites is an interesting take on vampirism and by interspersing the action with scientific interludes explaining how parasites work in nature, he gives his worldbuilding added credibility. However while we start with the idea of the infected all being homicidal maniacs, the only infected characters we meet are those who retain some element of control. The distinction between `zombies' (infected and unable to control it) and `vampires' (infected and able to control it), doesn't come until the end of the book which was confusing, not least because the `zombies' are never shown.

Cal is an engaging (if at times too naive) hero although he takes longer than the reader to work out what's really going on. The problems of being a carrier are nicely depicted - notably his sexual frustration. Lacey is a good counterfoil, curious to know what's really going on and smart enough to work out when she's being lied to. However other characters are little more than cyphers used to keep the plot moving - notably Dr Rat, the Professor and the mysterious Morgan.

There are some very tense scenes - the opening, with Cal tracking down a former girlfriend is gripping but, the final revelations are anti-climactic exposition dumps. There's a set-up for a sequel, which I would be interested in reading, but I hope that there's more clarity as to the threat that Cal is facing.