Parasite (Parasitology #1) by Mira Grant (Thoughts On)

Title: Parasite (Parasitology #1)
Author: Mira Grant (website and here)(Twitter)
Publisher: Orbit (website)(Twitter)
Source: library loan
Rating: 4 out of 5

Goodreads summary:

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.

I am a huge fan of Grant's, having read the Newsflesh trilogy and loving it. I came thisclose to buying a copy of Parasite when it first came out but waited because I was a bit scared of all the science. I shouldn't have been. It *is* technical in some aspects but the story line still carries very well for me. It is creepy and scary in all the right ways. 

I love books set in the near future and this one is a dozen or so years out. The world no longer has disease thanks to SymbGen Corp which has engineered a special tapeworm. It is implanted into humans and then does all kinds of good things...until it doesn't. I'm surprised that I enjoyed the more scientific parts of the book. Book goddess Christina really helped my love for this book because she brought my expectations down a little lower. She enjoyed it but not as much as the Newsflesh trilogy. I usually agree with her how she feels about books so I went into this one with the right mindset, I think.

Sally Mitchell is the main character. She wakes from a coma and doesn't remember a thing. She wants to be called "Sal" because she doesn't remember Sally. When she goes searching for answers for some well placed questions, she finds things are not as they seem. Dun dun dun.

My favorite character was Tansy who was crazy. She really was nuts but she had the most personality of anyone in the whole book. I loved how matter of fact she was about killing you.

It is a chunkster at 500 pages and there were a couple of times when I wanted it to speed up but it held my attention for the most part. Although I wasn't in love with Sally or her boyfriend Nathan, big enough secrets are revealed that I look forward to seeing where Grant takes it in the next book.