Infection

by Craig Di Louie

Permuted Press 2011

Infection continues the story in "Tooth and Nail", where a world dealing with a deadly virus that renders its victims as a mob of ravening killers bent on infecting others. 


"Tooth and Nail" was a very good story but "Infection" is the superior novel.  This novel gives the reader something very exciting and different. The storyline moves incredibly fast and is beyond the regular apocalyptic novel. It offers the reader many new horrors and the scenes with the infected are particularly terrifying. The author produces a new ingredient along with the virus to boost the pervasive atmosphere of fear.  There are hideous monsters running around the ravaged scenery which the author describes vividly.

The characters that Mr. DiLouie has created are exceedingly well shaped. The book has  a different set of characters with a wide range of personalities in this novel.   The reader gets a military man, Sarge, who acts as a leader of the small group traveling around a ruined world. Other characters include a very believable rookie police officer, Wendy that readers will empathize with,  Paul, a minister who acts as the groups conscience, Todd a teenager trying to grow up too fast and Anne, a woman who resembles Ellen Ripley and pulls no punches when it comes to encounters with the infected.  Each of these characters are deep, multi-dimensional and offer the reader genuine and often disturbing people. One cannot help but respond with a variety of emotions to these characters.  The author has created some very enduring cast members to populate his story. I would recommend this novel to any reader, even those that may not like this type of fiction.  It illustrates human resolve and the will to survive against very catastrophic circumstances.