Book Review: Peeps

Title: Peeps
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Published: 2006

In Westerfeld's latest smart, urbane fantasy, parasite positives, or "peeps," are maniacal cannibals that cause illness. College freshman Cal was lucky: he contracted the sexually transmitted disease during a one-night stand, but it never developed into its full-blown form. Now he works for an underground bureau in Manhattan that tracks down peeps. Apart from the cravings for rare meat and enforced celibacy (turning lovers into monsters is "not an uplifting thing"), life is okay--until a hip, cute journalism student intensifies Cal's yearnings for companionship. Complicating matters are indications that peeps have an urgent evolutionary purpose. . .

My Review: In Peeps, Westerfeld creates a brand new kind of vampires.
Vampyrism is a disease spread by parasites, and you get infected through body fluids. Most people who are infected become vampires; wild, inhuman and deadly creatures. But some end up like Cal, a carrier who has the virus and infects others - but doesn't turn into a vampire himself. The parasite also infects creatures who feast on the leftovers of the "Peeps" (Parasite Positives), so hoards of bats and rats are likely to follow every step they take.

This book is definitely not for the easily disgusted! In every even numbered chapter of this book Cal acquaints us in the world of parasitology - stories about real-world biological parasites, where they live, how they spread and how they affect us. If you're interested in biology, parasites and diseases you will love these chapters! But if you rather not know about parasites that lives in your stomach or eats their way into your legs, I suggest that you skip these chapters. Truth be told, I skipped a few chapters, they were a bit to icky even for me!

If you like Westerfeld's writing or want a different take on vampyrism, I suggest that you pick this book up. It's quite a quick, interesting and adventure-filled book, suitable for both male and female readers.

Rating: 3 of 5

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Spotlight: Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

Scott Westerfeld is the author of the bestselling "Uglies" series, as well as several other books including the newly released Leviathan. And he is also the author of a young adult vampire novel - Peeps.

A year ago, Cal Thompson was a college freshman more interested in meeting girls and partying than in attending biology class. Now, after a fateful encounter with a mysterious woman named Morgan, biology has become, literally, Cal’s life.

Cal was infected by a parasite that has a truly horrifying effect on its host. Cal himself is a carrier, unchanged by the parasite, but he’s infected the girlfriends he’s had since Morgan. All three have turned into the ravening ghouls Cal calls Peeps. The rest of us know them as vampires. It’s Cal’s job to hunt them down before they can create more of their kind. . . .

Bursting with the sharp intelligence and sly humor that are fast becoming his trademark, Scott Westerfeld’s novel is an utterly original take on an archetype of horror.

There is a sequel/companion novel to Peeps called The Last Days, this book was released in 2006 as well.

Strange things are happening: old friends disappearing, angels (or devils) clambering on the fire escapes of New York City. But for Pearl, Moz, and Zahler, all that matters is the band. As the city reels under a mysterious epidemic, the three combine their talents with a vampire lead singer and a drummer whose fractured mind can glimpse the coming darkness. Will their music stave off the end? Or summon it?

Set against the gritty apocalypse that began in Peeps, The Last Days is about five teenagers who find themselves creating the soundtrack for the end of the world.

If you are a fan of Scott's other novels, or if you just want to read an horror urban fantasy - Peeps might be the perfect series for you!

Have you read these books? Leave a comment and tell me, and other readers, what you thought about them!

Fan(g) Girl