Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Chimera (Parasitology, #3)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Chimera (Parasitology #3)

by Mira Grant

3.78 · Rating Details · 1,790 Ratings · 236 Reviews

The final book in Mira Grant's terrifying Parasitology trilogy.

The outbreak has spread, tearing apart the foundations of society, as implanted tapeworms have turned their human hosts into a seemingly mindless mob.

Sal and her family are trapped between bad and worse, and must find a way to compromise between the two sides of their nature before the battle becomes large enou ...more

Hardcover, 496 pages

Published November 24th 2015 by Orbit

More Details... edit details

Get a copy:

Or buy for

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Chimera, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about Chimera

Lists with This Book

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

The "Can't Wait" Books of 2015

291st out of 2,319 books — 12,376 voters

Most Anticipated: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Novels of 2015

81st out of 458 books — 1,531 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30)

filter | sort: default (?) | Rating Details

Dec 12, 2015 karen rated it really liked it

Shelves: from-publisher-or-author

Forgiveness was for people who didn't have as much to lose.

this is the third part in mira grant's parasitology trilogy. but hopefully, fingers crossed, not the end of the story. not that it doesn't wrap up well - it ends in a satisfying place, but as any mira grant fan knows, there's always more to the story than can fit comfortably in a trilogy. and that's why she has written 6 novellas and short stories branching out from her newsflesh series, with a fourth, full-length standalone book to be p ...more

flag 132 likes · Like · see review

Dec 21, 2015 Brad rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror, sci-fi, zombies-go-braaaaaaaaaains

Okay, there's still no zombies in this book, not that I was actually expecting any, but all those Throwbacks are such a close fit, I just had to add the descriptor.

How did the trilogy end? Was it a satisfying ride? Did it fulfill all my expectations?

It was okay. It didn't quite wow me like Newsflesh did. I enjoyed the feel of falling deeper into Sal's viewpoint all the way from book one and having a slow burn, and it did promise to have a pretty interesting finale. So now that I've made it throu ...more

flag 24 likes · Like · see review

Jan 29, 2016 Jeann (Happy Indulgence) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: horror, review-copy, sci-fi, hachette

This review appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

Reading this series is always a delightfully horrific and philosophical experience. Being centered around a scientific experiment gone wrong, causing tapeworms that were meant to be the end of human disease and suffering to overtake their hosts, it gets pretty squeamish during some parts.

That’s part of the appeal of the Parasitology series, the pure horror of knowing that some of the people you interact with are no longer hu This review appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

Reading this series is always a delightfully horrific and philosophical experience. Being centered around a scientific experiment gone wrong, causing tapeworms that were meant to be the end of human disease and suffering to overtake their hosts, it gets pretty squeamish during some parts.

That’s part of the appeal of the Parasitology series, the pure horror of knowing that some of the people you interact with are no longer human. Instead, they’re tapeworms living in human brains, either driving the human hosts into a zombie-like state or becoming a rare incidence of chimera, who think and even believe that they’re that human.

What’s even more fascinating about this series, is the realism that this could actually happen 13 years from now. If a new technology came out that could cure all diseases, that could safeguard you from any cold or virus, that could prolong your lifespan and give you quality of life – would you take it no matter the cost?

Chimera is the third book in the series and it asks all the tough questions. It’s multi-layered and complex, contrasting morality with prejudice, survival and human instinct, and the radical views of opposing groups when it comes to humanity. Whether it’s the military faction who has the firepower to wipe out all zombies, to Dr Cale in her hand to creating these monsters, and to a tapeworm scientist who just wants to preserve his species. Time and time again you’ll be asking yourself – who is right? Who is wrong? What is right? What is wrong?

Sal is a strong character with the pure determination to survive, to right any wrongs that have been made, to protect her loved ones and to reunite her family. Following her through all three books, she’s come a long way from the confused accident survivor we met in the first book. Even in Chimera, she hasn’t figured everything out. The one thing I admire about Sal is that, she relies on her determination to succeed to push herself forward, no matter how hopeless, no matter how risky or dangerous the circumstance. Because Sal would rather act and fail, than to sit around doing nothing, and that’s how she’s succeeded thus far. But it hasn’t been without failure or without consequence.

Being the third in the series, Chimera is actually quite slow moving. But if you’ve read any of Mira Grant’s books, you’ll know that she favours the detail, bringing forth a vivid world that comes to life, multi-dimensional characters that you can root for and philosophical questions on mankind and survival.

The ending also doesn’t solve the worlds’ problems, but it just addresses this little patch of North America that has been affected by sleepwalkers. More warm and fuzzy moments between Sal and Nathan would have been welcome too, but this story was never about the romance.

If you love science, horror and philosophy, this series will absolutely blow you away with its pure detail of a scientific experiment gone wrong. It never ever skimps on character development, scientific methodology or the morality of different factions. I never thought I’d enjoy a book about tapeworms, but anything that Mira Grant writes deserves to be read. If you can’t stand the thought of tapeworms, but wouldn’t mind the rest, check out Feed, which is one of my all-time favourite books!

I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ...more

flag 17 likes · Like · see review

Oct 06, 2016 Lindsay rated it really liked it

I've not been terribly excited about this trilogy. It's overlong and there are no twists anywhere.

Sal is back with her father and the evil head of Symbogen, having given herself up so that her fiance and a friend can escape. Meanwhile, the megalomaniac tapeworm* Sherman has enacted his master plan and infected the water supply with clones of Sal's tapeworm having removed her personality information and made it even more invasive. So Sal needs to escape the military version of the CDC and get bac ...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Aug 11, 2016 Amanda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars

This was a (mostly) satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I just can't help but feel somewhat disappointed though. I don't think the trilogy as a whole lived up to the promise of the first book. I think some of the most interesting characters (like Tansy) were wasted. That being said though I did really enjoy it and I want to read more (a lot) more by this author.

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Jan 08, 2016 Kerri (Book Hoarder) marked it as to-read

Shelves: priority

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Nov 17, 2015 Kimberly rated it it was amazing

Grant takes us into the not so distant future, introduces us to a world on the cutting edge of medical technology, and shows us how miracle medical cures could be society’s downfall. Eerily realistic it highlighted financial greed, humanity's search for the magic pill and ponders how far in the name of science is too far.

Since the beginning of the trilogy Grant has presented multiple perspectives some in diary format, audio messages, and others in scientific documents. Throughout the trilogy, we Grant takes us into the not so distant future, introduces us to a world on the cutting edge of medical technology, and shows us how miracle medical cures could be society’s downfall. Eerily realistic it highlighted financial greed, humanity's search for the magic pill and ponders how far in the name of science is too far.

Since the beginning of the trilogy Grant has presented multiple perspectives some in diary format, audio messages, and others in scientific documents. Throughout the trilogy, we have watched the transformation and growth of protagonist Sal as she finds herself caught on both sides of this war. We witness good characters, greedy characters, sympathetic characters and villains who will make you shiver. Human and parasites alike fall into these categories. I love that Grant did not make this a battle against good and evil, but gave it a realistic perspective where both sides need to compromise.

One of the things that impressed me with the trilogy and particularly Chimera is that Grant blurs the lines between humans and tapeworms. The characters played a large role in this transformation. Sal in particular as well as her brother Adam and her sister Tansy changed my perspective. While this is classified as horror and yes in the beginning, I shivered it slowly became more about the characters and made me ponder humanity's advancement. Could the ultimate medical cure be our downfall? Is our search for eternal youth, diet pills and carefree eating going to be our undoing?

Grant once again weaves in humor, tender moments and surprises that tugged at my heartstrings and made me giggle. She highlights strong characters who can accept and those whom are close minded presenting a realistic look at what if. She made me care and I became completely engrossed in the outcome. I feared for them, cried for them, loathed others, and damn it she made the unthinkable loveable.

"Sometimes I miss lying to myself about the things that make my life complicated."-SAL

"Wow"said Fishy. "I don't think I heard a single full stop in there. You know, when you start talking entirely in comma splices, you're probably ready for a time-out and a tranquilizer."

For fans of the trilogy Chimera packs a punch and delivers a nail-biting final book with twists and turns before closing with an open-ending that left me deeply satisfied. Of course, it also left room for novellas in this world, something Grant does these marvelously and I gobble them up like candy. If you read this Ms. Grant, I would like Fishy’s story and for the love of all that is holy, I need a copy of Don't Go Out Alone.
Copy provided by publisher. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Dec 30, 2015 Celine rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, dystopian, apocalyptic, thriller, adult-fiction

Mira Grant - of Feed fame - has finished another wonderful science-fiction trilogy, proving again that she knows how to write good endings.

In the final Parasitology book, the tapeworms are spreading. Countless people are getting infected and turned into mindless husks, incapable of complex thought, ruled by their instincts. It is up to Sal and her friends to save the world - but the world doesn't seem to want to be saved.

An issue that is incredibly prevalent in science-fiction is a lack of chara ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Jun 08, 2016 Christina (A Reader of Fictions) rated it it was ok

Shelves: finishedreviewcopy

If I wanted to, I could probably write a long rant about Chimera and Parasitology as a whole. But I’m too disappointed and I just don’t fucking care enough, which is really the biggest problem. After finally being won over by book one, books two and three frustrated me no end, and I’m left just glad that it’s over.

The plot of both Symbiont and Chimera can be summed up in one word: kidnapping. For 1000 pages, someone is always getting kidnapped. Then they have to go rescue them. Then they’re all ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Dec 07, 2015 Eric rated it liked it

Shelves: scifi, young-adult-fiction, older-ya-vibe, in-the-not-too-distant-future

I feel really bad a bout this but apparently that time has come where I now misplace my love of one theme/book onto another. Not that I was uninterested in the story of Sal and her badassness but really there was a book about 7 years ago that focused on alien "worms" coming and taking over the world and "The Resistance" and the struggle with going native. An oversimplification? Maybe, but I loved that book. I want more of that book. Sadly, Twilight seems to be the only cash cow in her mind :(

So ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 17, 2016 Dragana rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: post-apocalyptic, zombies, clean-romance, what-makes-us-human, genetic-engineering, thought-provoking

Parasitology series is less scary and thought-provoking with every book.
Chimers is the last piece of the story and although something is always happening and Sal manages to pull of required number of miraculous escapes, it all felt same-old same-old.
Like nothing really new and significant happened.
The only refreshing thing in the story was Fishy and his conviction that real life is actually a video game.
"Sal, we're stuck in a cutscene-level battle here, and I didn't find a single power-up on my ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 23, 2015 Bonnie marked it as dnf · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs-netgalley

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Nov 25, 2015 Christina Torretta rated it really liked it

I love Mira Grant's writing but there were things that bugged me about this. Still, she is a fantastic writer and is obviously fantastic when it comes to zombie trilogies. Full review coming soon.

Received from the author, through audiobookreviewer.com, in exchange for an honest review.

**Edit**

This starts out much like book two, it jumps right in with little to go on if you have not read the previous books. There is so much in this one that there really just isn’t any time to reiterate what has ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 13, 2016 Erin (PT) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, sci-fi, zombies, apoc-post-apoc, series, thriller, cops-military, alternate-universe, dystopia, coming-of-age

To be honest, though I’ve given each book a decent rating, I’ve struggled with this trilogy a lot, and that makes it hard to gauge quite how I feel about it, and this final novel. I read this with my husband, and in the subsequent discussion after reading, we really crystallized some why I had such a hard time.

First of all, the trilogy was supposed to be a duology. I think it shows. Each novel of the trilogy had a certain feeling of flabbiness to it, too much stuff happening that felt like it we To be honest, though I’ve given each book a decent rating, I’ve struggled with this trilogy a lot, and that makes it hard to gauge quite how I feel about it, and this final novel. I read this with my husband, and in the subsequent discussion after reading, we really crystallized some why I had such a hard time.

First of all, the trilogy was supposed to be a duology. I think it shows. Each novel of the trilogy had a certain feeling of flabbiness to it, too much stuff happening that felt like it went nowhere or took too long to get where it was going. It would’ve been so much better if it had been tightened up into just two books.

Secondly, I think it’s a mash-up of genres that don’t necessarily worth that well together? That is, apocalyptic fic and more-or-less zombie apocalypse fic create certain expectations about what kind of story this is going to be. But really, this is more a coming-of-age story. To be fair to Grant, it would be really difficult to write the coming-of-age story of a body-possessing tapeworm without the backdrop she’s given us, but it still wasn’t what I was expecting and I don’t know how well it mashes up together.

Because my biggest problem throughout and especially in Chimera is that I spent most of it not really knowing where it was going. That’s not to say I was expecting--or wanting--predictability. I don’t. I always give higher credit to stories that I have no idea where they’ll end up. But I want to know, in broad strokes, what kind of story I’m reading. The expectations of an apocalyptic story are fundamentally different than those of a coming of age story and if I go into it expecting one, it’s going to ruin my experience of the other. It feels like a bait and switch.

Throughout the trilogy, we know this apocalypse is happening and that there are two sides, the tapeworms and the humans. There’s a conflict there. However, Sal spends most of her time and thoughts being neutral in this conflict, and she spends a lot of her time and loyalty with Dr. Cale who is also neutral. And Sal--and to a greater or lesser extent, Dr. Cale and crew--is our protagonist and presented as “the right side”. And, as a result, it doesn’t seem to MATTER much who wins in this conflict. So as I said before, it makes me, as the reader, wonder, “Okay, well, what AM I supposed to care about?” And I don’t think it’s really clear enough. Not until around two-thirds of the way through Chimera, when Sal finally has a clear goal and makes a clear decision about who and what she’s supporting.

Grant is an excellent writer; in the microcosm, I found the story engrossing. When I was reading, I found myself swept up in it and entertained. But when I put it down, I found myself without a whole lot of desire to pick it up again, and I read a number of other things in the course of reading this. It’s a difficult thing to resolve and leaves me still very conflicted about the story as a whole. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 15, 2015 Stephanie G rated it liked it

Shelves: reviewed-read-by-beth

Tapeworm eggs have infected the water supply and the government is on its last leg. They blame Dr. Cale (and her people), while the truth is that war is being waged by Sherman and his Chimera. Sal’s loyalty is with Dr. Cale (and her people), but getting to them presents a problem.

Chimera is the last novel in Grant’s Parasitology trilogy. The story is mainly in Sal’s POV with interludes from Sherman. Sal never catches a break as she is forced to travel from place to place saving the day, and whil Tapeworm eggs have infected the water supply and the government is on its last leg. They blame Dr. Cale (and her people), while the truth is that war is being waged by Sherman and his Chimera. Sal’s loyalty is with Dr. Cale (and her people), but getting to them presents a problem.

Chimera is the last novel in Grant’s Parasitology trilogy. The story is mainly in Sal’s POV with interludes from Sherman. Sal never catches a break as she is forced to travel from place to place saving the day, and while she has transformed as a character, this also means readers get too much exposition along with reminders of what happened in the pervious two novels. The motion of the novel doesn’t slow down as one thing after another speeds up to a final show down.

Sal has to first escape quarantine and get back home, back to her boyfriend, dogs, and friends. Because of short staffing, and general lack of caring, the quarantine is a post apocalyptic mad house. Sal is continually threatened and abused by those in charge but it isn’t long until she makes her escape setting out on a nail biting journey back towards Dr. Cale.

Coming back Sal has learned what she’s willing to do to survive for herself and those she cares about, despite her repetitive compassion for those in situations she can’t help. Sherman and his force of Chimera raid Dr. Cale facility leaving Sal to make hard choices for humanity and the Chimera. This amounts to a lot of running around. Instead of being a fast paced part it slowed down as Sal overly explained what she was doing.

Overall the trilogy has a number of interesting concepts and is made (at least for me) to make readers ask: How do I define myself? But as a trilogy overall it doesn’t stand out from other books. The tension and danger dragged out in exposition as too much was explained or the audience is reminded of what has happened. In Sal’s head we deal with a person who figures out who she is while the world is stacked against her, and just as she figures it out she is forced to make decisions for others.

The cast of characters seemed like a flip of the coin. Some I really enjoyed while others felt lacking in substance. Tansy, Nathan, and Dr. Cale all seemed well rounded, but some of Dr. Cale’s staff and antagonists’ decisions and dialogue seemed out of place.

In the end, Chimera centers on the choices Sal has to make for her survival and those she loves.
- Elizabeth ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 02, 2016 SmartBitches rated it did not like it

Shelves: science-fiction, did-not-finish

Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Chimera is the final book in the Parasitology Trilogy by Mira Grant. Having reviewed the first two books, Parasite and Symbiont, I felt obligated to read and review the conclusion.

Technically, this review is a DNF because I read the first 70 pages, threw a fit, and then skipped around to get the feel of the rest of the book. I read large chunks of the middle as well as the last eighty pages, but I never read the entire book cover to cover. This book was Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Chimera is the final book in the Parasitology Trilogy by Mira Grant. Having reviewed the first two books, Parasite and Symbiont, I felt obligated to read and review the conclusion.

Technically, this review is a DNF because I read the first 70 pages, threw a fit, and then skipped around to get the feel of the rest of the book. I read large chunks of the middle as well as the last eighty pages, but I never read the entire book cover to cover. This book was such a disappointment, not just because it was bad, but also because Mira Grant’s other writing has been so, so good – seriously, please read the Newsflesh Trilogy and leave the Parasitology Trilogy alone.

This book is destroyed by its relentless use of filler. Writers fill their books with extra stuff all the time for excellent reasons. Maybe the character has a thought digression or an experience because it reveals something about the character. Maybe there’s background because we need to know what’s happening with the setting and the story. But Chimera is the conclusion to the series. If Sal’s characters, and the place and story concept, are not clear, then we are in real trouble. This book is full of digressions and passages of over-explaining that tell the reader absolutely nothing new.

The Parasite Trilogy was weird because it feels like a first-time book. If a new author wrote this, I’d say, “Well, this was loaded with horrible problems but there’s also some great stuff so this is an up and coming writer to watch.” But Grant isn’t a first time writer. I don’t want all her books to be the same (I’m not looking for a new version of Newsflesh) but I do feel like Grant set a high bar for herself, and this series falls way, way, way, way short.

It’s always hard to follow a big success. While the Parasitology Trilogy lacks the economy and compelling characters that made the Newsflesh trilogy so good, it has interesting ideas. Mira Grant remains an auto-buy for me, but with caution.

- Carrie S. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 07, 2016 Booniss rated it really liked it

This is the third in Grant's hard SF Parasite trilogy, so firstly you really should pick up the preceding two books and secondly beware because HERE BE SPOILERS FOR PARASITE AND SYMBIONT.

Chimera brings the trilogy to a very satisfying and very gripping close, with Sal and Dr Cale allying themselves with Colonel Mitchell to bring down the fantastically egotistical Sherman and his plans for world domination.

It's been a fantastic series - my initial issues with the main protagonist seeming passive ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 01, 2016 Shelby rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2016-favorites

I had a lot of feelings after reading this. It actually made me see zombie-ish people differently. This last book invoked thoughts from me and made me question how accepting and understanding we are as a species. I realized we are not very accepting even when we think we are. We play with things we shouldn't. those who have power lack the emotions and intelligence they should have to be able to responsibly wield that power.
I love Sal's character. I was able to relate to her a lot despite 'who' s ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 09, 2015 Sara rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: digital, written-by-women

Being a monster is not the same as being a bad person. It just means you're willing to eat the world if that's what you have to do to keep yourself alive.

There were moments of this I really loved - the chimera scent parts, the eventual resolution - but overall I kind of felt let down a little. It's definitely on me, I mean, I wanted wildly improbable endings for the people I cared about, so. Yeah. The four stars here are really because of the running tension about the rights of these sentient cr ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 15, 2016 Dominic rated it did not like it

By the end of this, I was really hoping all of the characters would die. This was another example of what could have been a good single book stretched out to a very boring trilogy.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 01, 2015 Dilliebooks marked it as to-read

The fact that it comes out in my birthday month is a sign. Someone please sedate me till it comes out, I can't wait for this book!!

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 09, 2016 beatricks rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015, fiction-sff

In this book, characters drive from the Oakland Coliseum to Jack London Square, and then set out for Vallejo by way of Berkeley. At this point, the driver is said to get off the freeway to take surface streets to I-4.

It's very important to me that everyone knows this makes no sense. I can charitably chalk this up to the author (I believe) living along I-4 and not being a driver herself; however, Google Maps will tell you instantly that I-4 is absolutely nowhere near Berkeley and that moreover it doesn't take you to Vallejo, whereas I-80 goes directly from Berkeley to Vallejo. Even assuming you could get to 4 from Berkeley (look at the map; 4 branches off of 80 and not until you're north of Hercules, more than halfway to Vallejo), you would be going massively out of your way to veer east to Martinez and up north via the Benicia Bridge instead of the Carquinez Bridge which connects the lower East Bay directly to Vallejo!! Can you take surface streets from Berkeley to the Carquinez Bridge? Absolutely! Would it ever occur to ANY driver familiar with the inner Bay to haul ass all the fuck the way to 4 (either via surface streets along 80 or even worse, hilly backroads winding around the San Pablo reservoir to Concord so you can catch 4 there) just still not be in Vallejo? No. No it would not.

And the whole thing is just an excuse for the characters to change course and decide to head for Concord (conveniently located on 4). Which I guess makes sense, if you're already going there for no reason! THROWS UP HANDS IN FRUSTRATION

Anyway. There was a book in here somewhere. To be honest, if you've read the Newsflesh trilogy, you probably needn't bother with this one. They're substantially different, of course, but both seem to have grown out of the same basic premise -- zombie apocalypse born from medical science -- and follow the same basic recipe. Newsflesh is set 20 years post-Rising whereas Parasitology shows the beginning of the crisis, and Newsflesh uses the viral infection outbreak scenario rather than the parasitic one in these books. Still, it's not difficult to connect George to Sal, the CDC to USAMRIID, or Dr. Abbey to Dr. Cale. And although Newsflesh isn't perfect and the last third let me down, at least the first two were damn exciting. This trilogy is uniformly "okay, not bad," and as compulsively readable as everything she's ever written. But after it's all over, I'm bemused as to why we even bothered. (view spoiler)[Aside from the (rather saccharine, IMO) final disposition of the main characters -- which again is almost exactly how George and Shaun end up in Newsflesh -- nothing really gets resolved. The apocalypse just happened and is likely still ongoing. The ending is an arbitrary "well, we're retiring" and it's just like... okay? ?

?!

In other news, the book is called Chimera. From the previous installment, I was given to understand that this term is meant to encompass the tapeworm-in-a-human-suit system as a single integrated being containing the DNA of two different creatures (you know, like in reality). But throughout the book the tapeworm part is referred to as the chimera's "true body," and the "human suit" idea persists -- even though it's clear that the human brain is the vehicle for the tapeworm to achieve any kind of consciousness. What bothers me is that there is no evolution in philosophy evident; Sal never quite goes "hey maybe they are both my true body" and no one ever suggests that it's the unique combination of the two that is the essence of the chimera; that the tapeworm is just another organ of the organism. In fact, the opposite continues to be implied even though it's clearly not the case, and Sal even thinks "oh wow if my tapeworm were removed and placed in another host body, *I* would die even if the tapeworm lived. Yet she and the rest of the crew continue to think of Tansy as merely a worm, and once implanted in Joyce she becomes Tansy. What? You're acknowledging that Tansy's memories and knowledge and brain damage and physicality are completely altered. Like, why can't we admit that this new symbiosis between Tansy and Joyce represents a new individual, or at least a really different iteration of that individual? Obligatory DS9 reference!1! Jadzia Dax is not Ezri Dax!!! Tansy-the-tapeworm can be the Dax symbiont, but the first host and Joyce are Jadzia and Ezri respectively and THAT'S. FINE.

ALSO. What the hell is the point of telling us on PAGE FOUR that Sherman put eggs in the water while the POV characters labor in the dark wondering how people are getting sick for nearly half the book?! What is this dramatic irony supposed to accomplish in the reader? Is it annoyance and frustration. If it's annoyance and frustration, good job. I don't.... get it.... (hide spoiler)]

All this being said, I will probably read whatever Grant comes out with next, and certainly recommend her books to anyone looking for disabled characters in scifi. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Mar 07, 2016 Maggie Gordon rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction-speculative-fiction, horror, kick-ass-female-protagonist, favourite-author

Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire is one of my favourite authors. Her Newsflesh trilogy all received five stars from me, and I buy basically everything she produces. When Parasitology began, I was super excited to read another science fiction world from her, but I never quite warmed to this universe like I did with Newsflesh. This is not to suggest that Chimera or its prequels are boring, unreadable books. Grant writes compulsively readable items. You can devour them because they are so quick, witty, Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire is one of my favourite authors. Her Newsflesh trilogy all received five stars from me, and I buy basically everything she produces. When Parasitology began, I was super excited to read another science fiction world from her, but I never quite warmed to this universe like I did with Newsflesh. This is not to suggest that Chimera or its prequels are boring, unreadable books. Grant writes compulsively readable items. You can devour them because they are so quick, witty, and full of neat ideas. I still think Parasitology is a fun read, but it's not on par with some of her other works, and Chimera in particular frustrated me in a few ways.

- Parasitology was originally meant to be a duology, and I think the story suffered from its extension into a trilogy. Each book is a behemoth in hardcover, and I don't want to complain about having more of something I like to read. However, there's a lot of filler in these books. I noted this in Symbiont as well, and was hoping that Chimera really ramped up the action. While the narrative rarely stopped for a rest, it felt like many of the scenarios were unnecessary. Combining the two books together would have made everything seemed more urgent, and helped Grant avoid Sal's sometimes monotonous conversations about survival.

- Our evil villains were a bit of a letdown as Chimera really didn't focus that much on them. Sherman gets some journal entries, but he's reduced to being a megalomaniac in the corner who is far too obsessed with Sal, and the doctor who created and unleashed the tape worms for profit avoids punishment and blame for all his actions. The book is really about Sal and her attempts to protect her family, but given how essential the villains were to the plot and her development, the fact that they are off-screen so often was disappointing. Sherman in particular had the potential to be a really interesting player, but he feels generic and predictable in Chimera, (view spoiler).

- Juniper. Oy. One of the things I wanted more of in Parasitology was interaction and exploration of the Chimera themselves and their connections with one another (another reason why it was so sad that Sherman and his crew had almost no role other than to do bad things behind the scenes). I thought that some of the differences in how Chimera interacted was an interesting area to explore, and the introduction of Juniper could have been a great way to reveal more about Chimera themselves. However, Juniper doesn't add much to the narrative. Sal finds her and falls in love instantly with the little girl. Then Juniper gets kidnapped. At the end she calls Sal mommy. I despise insta-love in all its incarnations. Not to say you can't have immediate feelings for someone, but the incredible depths of Sal's sudden devotion to the little girl seemed unrealistic and trope-y. She added little to the narrative and was one of the plot devices I would have deleted during the editing stage.

- Sal really doesn't get much development in this book. Yes, she's ready to survive and be a tape worm in a meat suit with minimal guilt, but most of her growth happened in book one and two. Given the fact that the series is so largely about her, it was frustrating to see her stagnate so much. I appreciated that she stood up to more people, but despite all her internal monologues, she just didn't change that much or push the boundaries of the very complex philosophical debates she was immersed in.

(view spoiler)

All in all, I powered through Chimera in between marking and lesson plans, and enjoyed my very pleasurable break with it. Unfortunately, the book is not one of my favourites (though I am super pleased to have the entire set in their beautiful hardcover releases). Newsflesh is where Grant really shines, but Parasitology is fun as well as long as you lower your expectations a bit. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 08, 2015 Wendy F rated it liked it

Shelves: dystopian-apocalyptic, futuristic-sci-fi, scary-thriller-creepy, zombies, 2015

Beware, I will be discussing things that would be spoilers for anyone who hasn’t read books one and two.

Early on I realized I would have a love hate relationship with Mira Grant’s Parasitology series. It didn’t sit well in my head how anyone would accept a tapeworm inside their bodies! Let me clarify this: A tape worm. Inside your BODY!

Never, never ever ever, does a worm even touch my body, let alone enter it! This is like ‘Monsters inside me’ and I want nothing to do with it, literally. Right o Beware, I will be discussing things that would be spoilers for anyone who hasn’t read books one and two.

Early on I realized I would have a love hate relationship with Mira Grant’s Parasitology series. It didn’t sit well in my head how anyone would accept a tapeworm inside their bodies! Let me clarify this: A tape worm. Inside your BODY!

Never, never ever ever, does a worm even touch my body, let alone enter it! This is like ‘Monsters inside me’ and I want nothing to do with it, literally. Right off the bat, me and the series were on the outs.

Then, in the second book, it’s revealed that integral characters are actually implanted tapeworms… and it’s not supposed to change my opinion of this character. I’m supposed to be okay with them taking over someones body, acting like a human sexual being. Except, I’m not. It’s not something I can get past.

So, needless to say I was apprehensive about picking up Chimera and a lot of my old hang ups were all still there. We’re never able to forget how gross tapeworms are. The book is filled with talk about extracting segments of the implant and how the worms could be dislodged from the brain and just lost, without control, inside the host. Even just the sound of that statement gives me the willies. I can’t help but feel completely disgusted at the idea of it. Because of my worm phobia, there will always be a part of me that feels for the humans in the story, who are mostly kinda asses.

Can you blame them? I would want to eradicate the tapeworms too!

In addition to the plot that I just can not fundamentally understand, there was also a new addition to the Chimera family that was seriously hard for me. I can’t give specifics, but you’ll know it when you read it… and it’s just so wrong. The science was interesting, and I felt the new addition drove the plot-line. It doesn’t matter, my dislike was on a basic level.

Finally, Mira Grant is a brilliant writer. Her skills with horror stories are incredible. Feed is, hands down, one of my most favorite books, and that fact that her brain came up with the world of Parasitology astounds me. I’ll continue to read everything she writes, I just think this series was a little too much for me.

For this and other reviews, visit Badass Book Reviews! ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Feb 09, 2016 All Things Urban Fantasy rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed-by-kim

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy.

CHIMERA is the last book in the Parasitology series, and it kept me glued to its pages for the whole ride. It's the end of the world and sentient tapeworms are to blame... or are they?

Sal, a chimera, a sentient tapeworm who has successfully taken over her host body, is an amazing character, growing throughout the events of the series, but really coming into herself in this final book. She is an invertebrate stuck in a mammalian body. She doesn't like i ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 15, 2015 Lauren rated it really liked it

"Chimera" is pretty much everything I wanted from the end of this trilogy. Plot lines and characters are brought to satisfying ends that fit the narrative without things being either too easy or too insane. One of my complaints about "Parasite" was that I found Sal to be too passive and oblivious as a narrator. While she's still not my favorite Mira Grant character, I did appreciate her character development over the course of the trilogy. It turns out that there are good reasons for Sal's ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 15, 2015 Samantha rated it it was ok

Shelves: sci-fi, 2015

By the end of book three I wanted to throw the book at Grant every time the words "broken doors" popped up. It got to be so annoyingly repetitive. Broken doors. Broken doors. Broken. Doors. BROKEN DOORS! DO YOU GET THE MESSAGE?! DO YOU????

Aside from that, here are some other issues I have with this book/series: Sal is a semi-annoying almost overly moralist character. (These books should have been about Tansy. That would have been a series worth reading!) Also the question of the sleepwalkers/thr ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Mar 15, 2016 Hayley rated it it was amazing

What a series this has been. Whilst being fiction, Grant touches on the scientific ramifications of relying on doctored parasites to modify and control our medicine rather than taking ownership of how we got to this state in the first place.
The characters are all well thought out and complex, making you care about so many of them, dislike some and feel morally torn about others (like Juniper and Adam)
Sal is at war with what was, what is and what is meant to come from the battle between human an ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Mar 09, 2016 Sam rated it it was amazing

I think, what I love most about Seanan - besides her amazing world building and characters who live and want and die with everything they have - is that she doesn't do cut and dry happy endings.

(view spoiler) ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 09, 2016 Andrea rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, library-requests

It was very good. On the surface, lots of action (which at times got rather tedious TBH, with sequential abduction that felt like watching a tennis match), and deeper down an interesting exploration of the nature of a "person".
Zombies with a twist, and Ms Grant does write zombie-genre so very well.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
November :(	1	13	Feb 24, 2015 03:47PM

Readers Also Enjoyed

Genres

Science Fiction

99 users

Horror

82 users

Horror > Zombies

40 users

Fiction

30 users

Science Fiction > Dystopia

21 users

See top shelves…

About Mira Grant

Mira also writes as Seanan McGuire.

Born and raised in Northern California, Mira Grant has made a lifelong study of horror movies, horrible viruses, and the inevitable threat of the living dead. In college, she was voted Most Likely to Summon Something Horrible in the Cornfield, and was a founding member of the Horror Movie Sleep-Away Survival Camp, where her record for time survived in the Swamp C ...more

More about Mira Grant...

Other Books in the Series

Parasitology (3 books)

Books by Mira Grant

More…

Share This Book

+ Share on your website

Trivia About Chimera

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Chimera

“Science is a powerful tool, but like any tool, it doesn’t care whether it hurts you. Fire warms us, cooks our food, protects us from predators, but it will burn us if we let it. Fire is more than happy to eat us all alive. Science is fire writ large.” — 3 likes

“We're all monsters...Being a monster is not the same as being a bad person. It just means you're willing to eat the world if that's what you have to do to keep yourself alive.” — 2 likes

More quotes…

title link	preview: Chimera
avg rating	preview: Chimera Goodreads rating: 3.78 (1790 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23307166-chimera?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1446267269l/23307166.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23307166-chimera?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Chimera by Mira Grant[/url]

See a Problem?

Preview — Chimera by Mira Grant

Chimera (Parasitology #3)

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers Also Enjoyed

Genres

About Mira Grant

Other Books in the Series

Books by Mira Grant

Share This Book

Share on your website

Trivia About Chimera

Quotes from Chimera