Alien Infection

by Darrell Bain

When a laboratory technician on the verge of retirement accidentally infects himself with blood from an emergency room patient, he intends to report it-- until government agents swarm the hospital, confiscating every sample of blood taken from the patient--at gunpoint. Deciding not to report the incident just yet for fear of being thrown into an isolation chamber, he goes home--and falls violently ill. By the time he recovers and returns to work, scary things are happening.

Genres: Science Fiction, Ebooks, Fiction

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

I grew up in an extremely poor family that was dysfunctional in many ways. We lived in the old segregated south, an era many of my readers have no knowledge of. This and a hardscrabble existence as well as an addictive personality gene(s) that apparently runs in our family shaped my life and played a part in me finally realizing a life-long dream and becoming a writer when I was about fifty years old. This autobiography, now in print and ebook both was begun in response to fans wanting to know more about me, and eventually one of my publishers thought it might make an interesting book. Many members from Betty’s side of the family were amazed at all the things they hadn’t known about me. You can judge for yourself now whether my publisher had the right idea of me doing an autobiography. I hope you are both entertained and possibly that some of you will learn a number of life’s lessons that I discovered the hard way!

Reviews

[Tawallah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first time reading a novel by this seemingly prolific author. Darrell Bain has written 50 books according to his bio on his website. I picked this up quite a few years ago on a whim. Why did I wait so long to read it? Not even sure. This is a romp of a ride. It suffers from some minor editing errors like spelling and certain tropes( disparate ages between love interests). But I was inhaled this plot driven science fiction novel. I was pleasantly impressed that the author chose an older protagonist, 62 years old who was blunt about his own limits and wondered why being what women want he is divorced. I definitely like the humor here. And mostly I am glad that the characters had the required skills to face the challenges they had and the author chose to tackle prejudices and assumptions made in this novel.

For an unknown author with few reviews here on Goodreads this was a pleasant experience. I can see the author is a fan of older science fiction but has taken the time to make this novel relevant.

[Bonnie Ferrante · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alien Infection is a science fiction/suspense novel for adults. A lab technician is accidentally stuck with the needle while drawing blood from a dying man who has been brought in by Homeland Security. At first he is worried that he may have contracted AIDS or some other disease but he soon discovers it is much more complicated and terrifying.

Darrell Bain creates a believable protagonist, Mike Brandon. We may not agree with all of his choices but we definitely understand them. When it becomes apparent that there is more going on than Homeland Security rounding up threats to America’s safety, Mike has to make some difficult and heartbreaking decisions.

The author puts just enough tech and medical jargon to make the book professional without bogging down the plot with unnecessary details. He uses all the skills necessary to create a fast-paced yet comfortable read. Darrell Bain’s experiences working in the medical field and as a Vietnam vet give the sickness, injury, and death scenes as well as the gun-fights authenticity.

I don’t want to give spoilers. The book is an enjoyable and suspenseful read. From the title, you can ascertain that aliens are involved but they are quite likely not what you expect.

This is definitely an adult book as there are some fairly explicit sexual scenes, not erotica, but for mature readers.

I was given a paperback copy for my Little Free Library.

A lot of fun that also gets the reader thinking.

[Cynthia Armistead · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kept wanting to look at the author's name again, to be sure I wasn't actually reading an old Heinlein novel updated with some 21st century concepts like throwaway cell phones. That's not a bad thing, depending on how far along Mr. Bain is in his own career, I suppose. I'm not really familiar with him, as I believe this is the first of his novels that I've read. In any case, it was a fun read, if a wee bit predictable to those of us who have read the master's works.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started out well but seemed to devolve quickly in plot. I liked the premise of an invasive parasitic organism but the rest of the plot fell into line too easily. Not enough description of the technology the aliens possessed and too much description of Mike and Mona's "compatibility".

[Wilson E. Stevens Sr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the review to understand the overall plot. The book was very well done, and I enjoyed it a lot. I recommend this to anyone that loves science fiction books.

[AnnaM · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the twists in this, the way things weren't what most people would assume they were. I can't be more specific because it would give away the plot. I enjoyed the love story. I liked the characters, the humor, the SF.

The only parts that annoyed me a bit were the missing commas. I was surprised. The story was great enough that I kept reading, but I was still jarred out of the story each time this happened.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. Mostly action. Very short periods of down time. It's a thriller without being too intense except near the end. I was not expecting how it played out at the end - wonderful choices by the author there. This is the first book that I have read by this author and I'll be looking for more now.

[Sean Randall · Rating 2 out of 5]

With vague, grammatically tortuous leanings toward Scalzi's Old Man's War in tone, a typical and old-hat story and very little in the way of innovation. And what's wrong with the word people? I know persons is the vogue in some circles, but...

[Wilco Roos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice storie, a shame the buildup kinda struggles at the end.