The Infection

More Than Just a Zombie Book

The zombie genre is all the rage today, which is a mixed blessing. The good news for readers is that there are a ton of zombie-themed books out there to choose from. The bad news for authors is that they really have to step up their game and do something unique to stand out from the crowd. And that's what DiLouie manages to pull off with this novel about a ragtag band of apocalypse survivors. Something unique. Without giving too much away, The Infection begins like many other books in this genre -- a big chunk of humanity suddenly becomes "infected," which in this case means mindless and homicidal, and is hell-bent on destroying or infecting the rest of humanity. But it doesn't take long for DiLouie to spin the story in creative directions that really keep you guessing what will happen next right up till the hugely climactic end of the novel. Not the least of these plot twists is when DiLouie pits the survivors against not only uber-violent zombies, but also against a collection of bizarre and terrifyingly inhuman infection-induced creatures that would make even H.P. Lovecraft pee his pants a little. If anybody ever makes a movie out of this book, I'll be the first one in line, if only to see how they bring some of these creatures to life. Plot twists aside, where this novel truly shines is with the characters. In DiLouie's other zombie book, Tooth And Nail, the range of primary characters was somewhat restricted by the subject material, which centered mostly around the military. In this book, we have a few soldiers, but also a cop, a teacher, a housewife, a reverend, and a geek, all fighting for survival side by side. And by the end of the book, you know them all inside and out, thanks to a series of masterfully executed flashbacks that manage to tell you who these people are -- and how they came together -- without ever breaking the stride of the main narrative. I'm going to close by quoting what I had to say at the end of my review of Tooth and Nail, because it applies equally well to The Infection ... "Based on its premise alone, one should realize that this novel is not for the squeamish. But in case you don't, let me repeat: this novel is not for the squeamish. It is highly graphic throughout, on a par with any R-rated movie you'd watch in this genre. At times, you will wish you were wearing a hazard suit while reading it, and you may feel the urge to go take a shower from time to time. But that's just because the author is doing it right. After all, there shouldn't be anything pink and fluffy about the apocalypse."

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

THIS is a MUST READ!

Craig DiLouie takes us on a roller coaster ride of high tension action in his latest novel. The Infection is a great read that grips you from the first page and never lets go. This book is one of the best I have read in the genre and you will not be dissapointed! Get it NOW!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Left 4 Dead w/out the XBOX360

After reading the overview I bought this book because it sounded like the plot of the Left 4 Dead video games, and it seems to me that's what the author was going for... -group of survivors from different backgrounds -chapters are broken down by 'battles': Hospital, Bridge... -mutations in the infected(Bosses), making them harder to kill Like a lot of reviews have stated, this is not a zombie book. The antagonists in the story are infected but not dead. Besides that small detail, this book falls in line with the rest of the novels in the zombie apocalypse genre. Every fan of this genre will tell you that they know the 'Zombie Apocalypse' is complete fiction, but even the most dedicated zombie fan will laugh out loud at some of the ridiculous mutations this book contains. Despite that, this book is a solid read and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed playing Left 4 Dead, or watching Dawn of the Dead.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Eh.

Disappointing. Poor character development; by the end of the book, they still felt like strangers. The "abominations" weren't necessary. I feel they took away from what could have been a decent story. Sometimes less really is more. The grammatical errors irked me. I forced myself to finish this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Doubleshot Reviews book review

Let me start out by saying, Craig DiLouie's The Infection is not a zombie book. The creatures that the survivors in this tale encounter are not dead (unless I totally missed the dying part and if I did someone please set me straight and my apologies to, Mr DiLouie) The majority of the world's population became infected, went into coma's for 3 days and when they woke up they were vicious man eating abominations. But don't let that little piece of information take you away from considering this gem of a story.

DiLouie created a vivid world of mayhem and destruction. A environment made of nightmares that I sometimes had a hard time believing anyone would WANT to survive let alone be able to. The Infection's characters were very well developed. Flashbacks are used to give the background of each individual character and the author did a wonderful job creating a past and present that I could not only envision, but one that actually had me truly caring about most of the characters and what happened to them. The descriptive elements of The Infection were intense. I would not say they were overly graphic, but they definitely left little to the imagination.

I would have to say that, honestly, the only aspect of The Infection that I did not particularly care for was that the Infected mutated into various creatures. I just don't get the obsession people seem to have with mutated creatures. It is a personal preference and while it detracts a bit from the story for me, I know that a lot of readers do enjoy a grotesque transformation of a species.

Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining read that I would definitely recommend to add to your shelves.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Well worth reading

I liked this book for a few reasons. It's well written, especially for the zombie genre, and presents the point of view of military survivors, which is often missing from the zombie apocalypse. I also find the explanation for the "zombification" of humanity a little lacking in most zombie fiction. I know a zombie invasion isn't plausible, but I do like it when authors bother to develop a decent premise for the collapse. DiLouie goes well beyond the "they died and they're back!" explanation in a very satisfying way.

C Decent

Not spectacular, but solid.

One for the Zombie Lovers.

Good story, satisfying characters.

great zombie book

I enjoyed reading this book

A great read

This is awesome book, with great characters and a good plot. Aside from a few technical goofs (Glocks do not have safeties) I enjoyed this book greatly and cannot wait for a sequel!

best of genre

This is one of the best of the 'zombie' books I've read. I would definitely pick up another book by this author.

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