Books About Creepy Crawlies

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First, Mira Grant's Parasite (new).  Then, a few Mira Grant recommends.




Mira Grant gleefully admits she kept jars of caterpillars as a child, telling Goodreads, "I have lived my life in a glorious sea of worms, slimy things, leeches, and other such exciting denizens of the natural world." The horror writer, whose Goodreads Choice Award-winning Newsflesh Trilogy put a smart-edged political spin on the zombie apocalypse, now turns her attention to the study of pests, especially those that make the human body their home. Her new novel, Parasite, is the first in a series and imagines a near-future in which 83 percent of the human population has willingly become hosts to genetically engineered tapeworms that protect them from disease—but the worms have a plan of their own. Grant (an alias for urban fantasy writer Seanan McGuire, author of the October Daye and InCryptid series) offers her favorite books about creepy crawlies. Read with a cast-iron stomach!

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Peeps by Scott Westerfeld




This awesome vampire adventure is as much about parasitism as it is about blood-sucking. It's both educational and disgusting as well as an awesome story full of fascinating characters that nicely sets up the desire to learn more. Which leads us to..."



Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer



"This nonfiction journey through the real world of real parasites is as disturbing as it is fascinating. Not for the weak of stomach or the faint of heart, it may inspire the need to take lots and lots of really long baths."



The Dreamcatcher by Stephen King



"This is ostensibly a book about friendship, growing up, growing apart, and alien invasion. But anyone who's read it knows that it's actually a book about horrifying extraterrestrial parasites that eventually explode out of your ass. One of King's grosser, more fascinating books in recent memory."

[beth]

The Ruins by Scott B. Smith



This is stretching the definition of 'creepy crawly' a bit, but plants that can move of their own accord are definitely creepy in my book, and they get unfortunately crawly at certain points. This is a book to read with the lights on. And maybe when someone else is in the house, so you're not reading it alone."



Starbridge by A. C. Crispin



The first book in Crispin's Starbridge series introduced a lot of alien life-forms, including everything from sapient jellyfish to educated slime molds. She reimagined creepy crawlies in a way that made them people without ever making them human. If I had to live in a science fiction world, I would want it to be this one."