Infected

Starred review from February 25, 2008
In Sigler's riveting horror thriller, alien seeds from outer space infect a number of unlucky humans, who develop some unusual symptoms—itchy, blue triangular growths on their skin—that eventually result in the carriers becoming screaming, homicidal maniacs. CIA agent Dew Phillips must find out why these formerly docile citizens are running amok, aided by Margaret Montoya, a Centers for Disease Control epidemiologist, who reported the first of the strange cases. One of the infected, former football player Perry Dawsey, doesn't take any crap from anybody, not even the aliens residing in his body. Sigler (Ancestor
) leads the reader from one startling detail to the next—the creatures learn to speak (“feed us we hungry”); they grow little black eyes—until even hardened genre fans will find themselves whimpering at each new revelation. This terrifying page-turner could be the author's breakout book, fueled by an extensive online podcast campaign. 5-city author tour.

March 15, 2008
Sigler has taken an active and original approach to getting his books published, building up a readership with blogs and podcast versions of his writing, then using that momentum to secure a book deal. This novel doesn't suffer from any sense of gimmickry, though, despite its noticeably short, podcast-friendly chapters. It's a solid example of the technically minded sf horror Sigler aims to produce. Former football star Perry Dawsey becomes infected with a malevolent, sentient parasite. Meanwhile, a cast of standard charactersa hardened CIA operative near the end of his career, a beautiful researcher still finding her assertiveness, and so onworks to discover the cause of the strange, triangular growths that appear to turn their victims into raging killers. For public libraries.Fred Baerkircher, Twinsburg P.L., OH

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