Of course, the science isn’t perfect – this is Science Fiction – but enough attention has been paid to details to make it feel like a plausible step forward and this makes it a really intriguing story to follow. It features tapeworms that have been genetically engineered to provide medical assistance for humans (very plausible), but that manage to cross over the blood/brain barrier and integrate with the human brain. The premise of the ‘Parasitology’ series is really interesting from a science point of view.

Can Sal help her cousins emerge into sentience without destroying everyone she loves or will only one side come out of this alive? With two species vying for control, moral lines are blurred and the choice between wrong and right is never clear. Cale to find a cure, while Sherman tries to build a sentient tapeworm society and Dr. As society disintegrates, Sal must work with Dr. Sal Mitchell and her friends know it’s caused by the Symbogen intestinal parasites intended to help the human race, but the company behind them, Symbogen, is working hard to keep this knowledge from the rest of the world. The sleepwalker plague is now spreading rapidly and throwing the country into chaos. Originally promoted as a duology, it has now been extended to trilogy length and, unfortunately at times, you do get the feeling that what you’re reading is just there to fill a few extra pages. I likely will just check the plot summary of the final book to see how it all wraps up, rather then take the time to read the thing.‘Symbiont’ is the second book in Mira Grant’s ‘Parasitology’ series. If I found out this was a re-publish of a previously unpublished freshman effort, it would all make sense. But this isn’t a freshman work! Grant is well-established, and these are not her first books. If I read it as a debut I’d say that the seeds of greatness are present, but the author needs more experience working on pacing and plot, and I’m excited for future endeavors. Also, our main character has gone from “who are you strangers” to “these are MY FAMILY AND BESTIES” in two seconds flat. There’s a pathos section involving the torture of an ally with actual stakes that is absolutely gut wrenching. This was….okay I guess? Sal is being held captive by someone she thought was a friend, and that whole part was interesting. Now those who do not appear to be afflicted are being gathered for quarantine as panic spreads, but Sal and her companions must discover how the tapeworms are taking over their hosts, what their eventual goal is, and how they can be stopped. But the implants in the majority of the world’s population began attacking their hosts, turning them into a ravenous horde. The SymboGen-designed tapeworms were created to relieve humanity of disease and sickness.

Symbiont mira grant