Posts Tagged ‘Parasitology’

From the Editor: Why I love Hugo Award-nominated PARASITE

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There are few books that unsettle me like a Mira Grant novel, but no other books give me the chills as much while also drawing me in with raw humanity. In PARASITE you’re taken to a world where the inexorable march of corporate progress and medical advancement has designed a cure for the ailments that haunt all of us. Oh, and this miracle cure is tapeworms surgically implanted into our digestive system. But this remedy is revealing itself to have hidden and profound side effects.

In the era of “too big to fail” and the devastating effects we’re having on our environment it’s not difficult for me to imagine massive companies having devastating results, consequences we are all complicit in, but the author’s intelligence, in-depth research, and uncanny ability to raise suspense make the nightmare of this book all too believable.

But what makes the horror fully real is the main character Sal. In Sal I found the perfect protagonist to draw me into this world and behind the curtain of SymboGen, the corporation claiming to be our savior. Waking up from an accident Sal has to learn to start all over again. Walking, speaking, and everything else is new to her. She is a child, but not a child, and her raw innocence made me fully share in the same sense of defenselessness she feels as she learns the dark secrets of the world and finds monsters everywhere. Reading Parasite terrifyingly brought me back to the days when I looked for creatures under the bed, but this story shows that monsters are within us and all around.

PARASITE is currently available for $1.99 in the US and £1.99 in the UK for a limited time. Read an excerpt here.

Exciting news for fans of Mira Grant!

MIRA GRANT TO COMPLETE “PARASITOLOGY” SERIES AND RETURN TO “NEWSFLESH” SERIES IN NEW NOVELS AND NOVELLAS FROM ORBIT

Orbit announced today the acquisition of three new novels and four original novellas from multiple Hugo Award-nominated author Mira Grant. One of the novels will be a third book in the “Parasitology” series, following the Hugo Award-nominated PARASITE (US | UK | AUS) and SYMBIONT, and will conclude the trilogy, while the second novel and all four novellas will be set in the world of the “Newsflesh” series. The third novel will be a standalone.

Mira Grant is a pseudonym of Seanan McGuire, winner of the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for best new writer. Orbit published the first Mira Grant novel, FEED (US | UK | AUS), in 2010, and the following year it became her first Hugo Award-nominated novel. The sequels, DEADLINE (US | UK | AUS) and BLACKOUT (US | UK | AUS), were also nominated for the award. Seanan McGuire has also received two shared Hugo Awards for Best Fancast for her work on the SF Squeecast.

PARASITE is a finalist for the 2014 Hugo Award, the fourth Best Novel nomination for Mira Grant. Her science fiction writing has been praised as “Horrifying, riveting, and a bit too plausible” (Library Journal, starred review of PARASITE) and “exceptionally creepy” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram on PARASITE).

Editor Will Hinton said, “It’s a dream to work with an author like Seanan and it’s thrilling to have more Mira Grant books to look forward to. I know her readers will be as excited as I am to return to the Parasitology trilogy, the beloved Newflesh series, and explore entirely new territory in a standalone novel.”

SYMBIONT, book two in the “Parasitology” series, will be published in Fall 2014. The “Parasitology” series is set in a near-future world where parasites have nearly eliminated human disease, but dependence on them may prove to be disastrous.

Seanan McGuire said of the deal, “I am overjoyed to be able to continue to write in the Parasite universe, and more, I am so, so excited to return to the world of Kellis-Amberlee, the Rising, and my unique approach to future journalism.  I hope that everyone else will be as excited as I am to go back there, and I promise I have some thrilling surprises in store for you.  As for that stand-alone third novel, well…  You’ll have to wait and see what that’s going to be about.  I can tell you one thing for sure: it’s going to be an adventure.”

The newly-acquired book three in the “Parasitology” series is currently scheduled for Fall 2015, while the first two “Newsflesh” novellas are slated for release in Summer 2014 and Summer 2015.

PARASITE: Choose life. Choose health. Choose SymboGen

“Imagine a world without costly prescription drugs. Where useless diets, insulin checks, and allergies are a thing of the past.”

Hmm, sounds pretty good. Maybe too good…

SymboGen wants to tell you all about their new product, the Intestinal Bodyguard, which has been hailed as the next step in human evolution, but do we trust them? Head over to Symbogen.net today for more information or follow them on Twitter.

Remember to pre-order PARASITE (US | UK | AUS) by Mira Grant, releasing on October 29th!

SymboGen: Come join us!

Praise for PARASITE:

“Grant extends the zombie theme of her Newsflesh trilogy to incorporate thoughtful reflections on biomedical issues that are both ominously challenging and eerily plausible. Sally is a complex, compassionate character, well suited to this exploration of trust, uncertainty, and the price of progress.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Readers with strong stomachs will welcome this unusual take on the future.” — Kirkus

“The first book of this ominous duology blends sci-fi imagination with the terrifying authenticity of horror then delivers like a creeping thriller, getting under your skin in a very good way.” — Amazon Big Fall Preview List

Orbit signs up two new novels and three novellas by Mira Grant!

Following the rampant success of Mira Grant’s zombie novels FEED (US | UK | ANZ) and DEADLINE (US | UK | ANZ), and after the forthcoming BLACKOUT (US | UK | ANZ), Orbit will publish three novellas in the Newsflesh world:  Countdown (already released in the US and soon-to-be-published in the UK), San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats, and How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea. As inventive, fast-paced, and dare-I-say charming as the novels, these shorter works provide a more global view of the Rising.

And the centerpiece of the deal is a duology of completely new novels: science fiction thrillers titled PARASITOLOGY and SYMBIOGENESIS, drawing on the author’s abiding fascination with subjects medical, biological, parasitological, and beyond. We are delighted that Mira Grant (alter-ego of bestselling author Seanan McGuire) will be launching a new series with Orbit. It promises to be cool, creepy, and incredibly fun.

Follow along on Facebook for more news about the Newsflesh Trilogy and forthcoming novellas.