Peeps (Scott Westerfeld)

Yet another vampire book I am afraid. Peeps isn't normally the sort of thing that I would pick up and read- not only is it about vampires but it has also been slotted into the Young Adult genre (which I no longer belong in, unfortunately). It was one of those books that someone else suggested, giving me enough reason to buy it.
But these aren’t regular vampires we’ve got here and this can be interesting to people who are no longer considered ‘young adults’. The writing is at times a little too simplistic for the older generation and the language the characters use can be grating- but that is the way that the kids speak these days. Westerfeld’s vampires, or Peeps (parasite-positives), are cannibalistic monsters who hate the day light and some of them even hate crucifixes, but that’s all because the parasite that they have contracted has evolved to make them hate the things that they once loved. The vampirism as a disease things isn’t new, yet coupled with the even numbered chapters of parasitic descriptions that curdle the stomach, it makes for an interesting read. It can even be an interesting learning experience.
This is Cal’s story. He’s a recently infected carrier, someone who does not display the side effects but enjoys the benefits. He works for the Night Watch (a name that unfortunately was used without any hint of cynicism or sarcasm) and is searching for the few people that he had infected without knowing it. Along the way he meets a girl that he adores, but whom he cannot even kiss without passing along the disease and turning her into a Peep. He’s destined to live a life of celibacy because only 1% of the population is immune like him. Of course something has got to go wrong, and that is where we step in.
It was a fun ride while it lasted, good for a rainy afternoon. If you do read it though, you may never want to eat a steak again.

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