Books › Peeps
Peeps
336 pages
A snarky, science-heavy spin on urban fantasy that makes the natural world feel far more terrifying than any supernatural monster.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like taking a midnight biology class taught by a cynical, street-smart insomniac. It moves at a brisk, engaging clip, balancing the gritty, nocturnal atmosphere of a monster-hunting thriller with genuinely fascinating—and stomach-churning—scientific interludes. The narrative voice is wry and conversational, grounding the creeping dread of the premise in cold, hard biological facts that make the horror feel uncomfortably real. It is a story steeped in the hidden, parasitic ecosystems operating just beneath the surface of everyday life, exploring themes of unintended consequences and the monstrousness of nature. Perfect for readers who love their urban fantasy stripped of romantic glamour and injected with dark humor, geeky trivia, and a healthy dose of body horror.
- Mood
- gritty
- nocturnal
- creeping dread
- gross-out
- Tone
- wry
- clinical
- sarcastic
- geeky
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- the monstrousness of nature · hidden ecosystems · unintended consequences · biological determinism
- The writing
- The narrative voice is sharp, conversational, and unapologetically nerdy, seamlessly weaving dry humor with fascinatingly repulsive scientific trivia.
- The arc
- The protagonist moves from a detached, cynical hunter burdened by guilt to someone who embraces the terrifying complexity of the biological world and his place within it.
- Who it's for
- Teen and adult readers who enjoy their urban fantasy spiked with hard science, dark humor, and a healthy dose of biological horror.
Content notes
- body horror
- disease and parasitism
- violence
- STI metaphors
About the book
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.
Description from Open Library.
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