Sorry if I come off as a book snob, but I am totally baffled by the good press and stellar reviews this book is getting. The premise is absurd and explained at the last moment with a twist that is so ridiculous you only won’t see if coming if you already thought of it and decided it was too stupid to be what was going on. The voice is inconsistent to a point where the first time you really hear a character come through in the narration it’s shockingly offensive. The characters are all ludicrous stereotypes, particularly Margaret; Mat wonders if Sigler ever met a real Hispanic woman, I wonder if he ever met ANY woman. You’ve got all the usual suspects here; the grizzled detective avenging his partner, the witty gay man, the perfect star athlete, the hyper-capable (and hyper-sexual) woman, the gruff military man, the wise-cracking best friend… you’ll know everything you’ll need to about every character within a page of their introduction.

What’s left is a non-sensical story with shallow characters. Basically, a summer movie in text form. For the most part the writing is solid even if the content is not, though there are occasional slip-ups that make me wonder if the book was proof-read. For instance, the exact same metaphor, phrased exactly the same way, can be found three times in one short paragraph. Like a fly stuck between the window and the screen, OK, I got it the first time.

Sigler notes that he’s been trying to get published for years and has had hundreds of rejections. To the casual reader this is an admirable trait. His perseverance and determination paid off and he refused to give up his dream. But the fact of the matter is, it’s really not all that hard to get published and the fact that it’s taken him so long is as much a testament to his mediocre writing as his moxie.

If you’re looking for a popcorn book to listen to during your commute or while you wait for a plane you could do a lot worse than Infected but if you’re looking for a good horror story this won’t scratch that itch.

I will definitely buy honest to god old school paper books by this author in the future.

Now, that said, the voice acting for Margaret drives me absolutely, out of my mind, nuts. A 42 year old hispanic woman, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, SHOULD NOT HAVE AN ACCENT. The voice Sigler uses for her sounds like a Pablo Fransisco stereotype impression. It’s absurd. “Hey! Wat ah you doing, mang?” I can’t stand it! A 42 year old Hispanic woman born and raised in America with a top level American-English education should not sound like she just walked off the set of a low budget Mexican soap show. I have students that have only been in this country for three years that have less of an accent than Margaret does. It’s friggin’ ridiculous, and it really makes me wonder if the author has ever even met a Hispanic American.

Other than that, Infected gets tops marks in every other area from me. The rest of the voice acting is awesome, the writing and story is excellent, and the characters are intriguing.

Coooooooool