I have come to a realization that Scott
Sigler is one of the hardest working authors out there. I first heard
about Mr. Sigler while listening to his interview on The Dragon Page
podcast. They were discussing his book Infested and the ‘radical’
methods that he uses to get his work recognized, such as, releasing it
as a free e-book and offering the free audio version. Soon after the
podcast was finished a free copy of Infested appeared in my iTunes que. I
am pretty sure the publisher did not know what to make of this but I
glad they took a chance. I really admired the different approach Mr.
Sigler was taking to promote his work so I went out that weekend and
purchased a copy of the hardcover edition, at full price no less, even
though I had a free copy on my hard drive.
Now, all this promotion would not work if Mr. Sigler could not write. Luckily, he is a hell of writer and reminds me of a young Stephen King in that the further you get into the story the harder it is to put the book down. Infested ended up being one of my favorite novels of 2008. So I was eagerly awaiting the sequel, Contagious. It is not so much a sequel as it is a continuation.
Contagious starts off right about where Infected left off. My two favorite characters are back, Perry Dawsey and CIA agent Dew Phillips along with all the people from the first novel. Perry is left affected by the events of Infected and his able to track the triangles and their constant attempts to build gates (portals). So Perry, the CIA and the military spend their time tracking down gates and taking them out before the alien invaders can come through. Unfortunately, the aliens are getting wise to the human tactics and shift their strategy. So instead of infecting humans, they work out a way for the triangles to become contagious so that it will be impossible for the puny humans to stop them. From here, all hell breaks loose.
Contagious takes place on much grander scale than Infested did. The ending is shocking in it’s brutality and will leave you stunned.
What I liked: As I said, about half way through the book it is impossible to put down. It kinda reminded of the TV Show 24. Bad things keep happening to the good guys and you wonder how they are going to get out of it. The action continues to build a break neck speed and Mr. Sigler does not let up on throttle until the last page. By the time you turn the last page, you will your best Keanu Reeves’ rendition of “Woh”.
What I didn’t like: The third book, Pandemic, is not ready to go and I have to wait.
Last word: Scott Sigler is on the precipice of becoming a big time author and this is due in large part to the work he puts into his novels and into his ‘radical’ promotional methods. Even though it is early in 2009, I can confidently state that Contagious will be one of favorite books of the year.
As a side note, Mr. Sigler also made into our family’s lexicon. My wife and I use numerous saying that a few people understand. For example, when watching a movie and a character is suddenly introduced just so that they can be killed, we will laugh and point out that they are a “Red Shirt” (Google it if you don’t get it). Anyway, after reading Contagious I now threatened my wife that she will get the “Spanky-Spoon” if she does not behave. So, congratulations Mr. Sigler, you have made into our family’s weird sayings that nobody understands and gets us strange looks from friends and family.
Now, all this promotion would not work if Mr. Sigler could not write. Luckily, he is a hell of writer and reminds me of a young Stephen King in that the further you get into the story the harder it is to put the book down. Infested ended up being one of my favorite novels of 2008. So I was eagerly awaiting the sequel, Contagious. It is not so much a sequel as it is a continuation.
Contagious starts off right about where Infected left off. My two favorite characters are back, Perry Dawsey and CIA agent Dew Phillips along with all the people from the first novel. Perry is left affected by the events of Infected and his able to track the triangles and their constant attempts to build gates (portals). So Perry, the CIA and the military spend their time tracking down gates and taking them out before the alien invaders can come through. Unfortunately, the aliens are getting wise to the human tactics and shift their strategy. So instead of infecting humans, they work out a way for the triangles to become contagious so that it will be impossible for the puny humans to stop them. From here, all hell breaks loose.
Contagious takes place on much grander scale than Infested did. The ending is shocking in it’s brutality and will leave you stunned.
What I liked: As I said, about half way through the book it is impossible to put down. It kinda reminded of the TV Show 24. Bad things keep happening to the good guys and you wonder how they are going to get out of it. The action continues to build a break neck speed and Mr. Sigler does not let up on throttle until the last page. By the time you turn the last page, you will your best Keanu Reeves’ rendition of “Woh”.
What I didn’t like: The third book, Pandemic, is not ready to go and I have to wait.
Last word: Scott Sigler is on the precipice of becoming a big time author and this is due in large part to the work he puts into his novels and into his ‘radical’ promotional methods. Even though it is early in 2009, I can confidently state that Contagious will be one of favorite books of the year.
As a side note, Mr. Sigler also made into our family’s lexicon. My wife and I use numerous saying that a few people understand. For example, when watching a movie and a character is suddenly introduced just so that they can be killed, we will laugh and point out that they are a “Red Shirt” (Google it if you don’t get it). Anyway, after reading Contagious I now threatened my wife that she will get the “Spanky-Spoon” if she does not behave. So, congratulations Mr. Sigler, you have made into our family’s weird sayings that nobody understands and gets us strange looks from friends and family.
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