Invasive audiobook

I thought it would be impossible to beat Zeroes' fast paced and action packed storyline but Invasive surpassed it by leaps and bounds! I was completely sucked in from the very first page and only found myself being more and more sucked in as it went along! Wendig is truly a master storyteller, with every book I read by him I fall more and more in love with his writing and Invasive pushed that love to pure adoration. This story is truly brilliant, it's so intricate and spun together in a way that's really mind blowing! Every time I thought I had something figured out, something new was revealed and completely changed the game! Twist after twist was thrown in and I loved every second of it! It made me feel like I was going through everything alongside Hannah and figuring it out as she was. I thought the concept of the ants was both incredibly interesting and incredibly terrifying. I loved the way everything was explained, it could have been overwhelming trying to understand everything but Wendig does a fantastic job of explaining things in a very understandable and very interesting way! I also thought it was terrifying because it kind of seems like something that's totally plausible you know? I know I'll definitely never look at ants in the same way again...

Hugely entertaining and skin-creepingly chilly bug-invading thriller. Reminiscent in a good way of Crichton.

Factoid of the Day, brought to you by Chuck Wendig, author of Invasive: "Earth is home to more than twelve thousand species of ants." Sadly, there are only four species of anteaters. Remember Isla Sorna, the deserted island located off Central America, in the Jurassic Park sequel? Invasive is a little bit The Lost World and a lot The Island of Doctor Moreau. Hybridized ants run amok. "But then later there's running and screaming."If you love bent billionaires and demented scientists, go for it. You'll enjoy this creature double feature. I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Between Ezekiel Boone’s The Hatching (my review) and, now, Chuck Wendig’s Invasive, this has been a pretty good summer for bug books! While the former concerned itself with the reemergence of an ancient spider species violently troubling mankind, Wending brings us a brand new strain of genetically modified ultra-violent ants.Invasive opens with a brief definition of the word ‘formication,’ which is a sensation that feels like insects crawling over or under your skin. This is a good word to know because you’ll be feeling plenty of formication throughout the book, likely by chapter two.Set in the world of Wendig’s prior novel, Zer0es (which, if you haven’t read, now is a good time to buy. It’s not completely necessary to this title’s narrative, but it is a damn fun read and worth checking out. Minor references are made to Zer0es, but this series seems to be building on a theme of hacking – first cyber hacking in the previous entry, and now bio-hacking with Invasive), Hollis Copper returns and recruits FBI futurist consultant, Hannah Stander, to investigate an unusual case: a cabin housing ten thousand dead bodies. One of them is human; the rest are ant corpses, but are the apparent cause of death for the victim in question.What follows is a horrific technothriller that feels like the spiritual lovechild of Michael Crichton and The X-Files. While there are streaks of humor, Invasive is a fairly dark read, but it carries all the hallmarks of a big summer blockbuster, right down a gloriously large-scale action set-piece for the book’s second half. Hannah Stander is a terrific female heroine, and shines wonderfully as the book’s strong, central protagonist. I will admit, though, that I was more than a bit captivated by Ez Choi, an entomologist and friend of Stander brought in as a consult. She’s a fun, spunky, punky bug geek and I hope we get to see more of her in future books.I’ve never been particularly phobic of ants before (I can’t say the same about spiders), and I find them to be rather intriguing little creatures. Wendig has me second-guessing myself just a bit now, though… He does capture their intriguing nature with some nicely done sciencey bits (it seems clear he did plenty of homework, and the book’s layman explanations of the more technical aspects of ant-life and genetic mucking about ring true enough to me), and the more graphic depictions of what these vicious colonies are capable of left with me more than a few uncomfortable sensations. Yes, it’s true – this book made me formicate.[Note: I received an advance copy of this title for review from the publisher via Edelweiss.]

4 Stars Invasive by Chuck Wendig is a fun creature feature that is the perfect beach read for you this summer. What could be better than a second book about bugs after having read and enjoyed, Ezekiel Boone’s The Hatching. I went into this book not realizing that it was part of a series called Zeroes. Well, I am pleased to say that it did not even matter. Any references to the first book were lost on me as standard world building."“It’s not impossible. Earth is home to more than twelve thousand species of ants. If you weighed all the ants and all the humans, the ants would weigh more. We discover new ant species every year."I love Chuck Wendig and I am a huge fan. As a result, I knew going into this one that I would have fun reading a fast paced thrill ride. Invasive comes across as Jurassic Park with ants instead of dinosaurs, but that really simplifies it. Although there is some science in the book, you cannot even classify this as a science fiction. Invasive is a story about genetics, greed, and guts. It features a brave female lead and is completed with not one, but two meglomaniacs.I had fun with this story and as a result have given it higher marks. I highly recommend it for fans of bugs, of Wendig, and of the fun creature feature.

3.5 Stars~"If you want to be scared of anything, be scared of here and now. It's the present that's frightening. The future we can fix. If we want to. But we have to really want it. We can't just keep our heads down."Invasive is the somewhat-sequel-but-not-really to Zer0es, a cyberpunk novel about hacker culture from the one and only Chuck Wendig. Invasive is set within the same world, and although a recurring character (Agent Hollis Copper) is seen here recovering from the events that took place in Zer0es, this is more of a spiritual sequel that doesn't follow the hacker storyline.Nope, instead it's ants. MOTHER FUCKING MURDER ANTS!!Ants are irritating, yeah? But there's also something innately interesting about them, as well. I mean.. the fact that male ants exist just to mate with the queen and pretty much die after is gnarly as fuck. Not only that, but it's more than a little badass that they can lift and carry something that is over three times its own weight. Now imagine a horde of ants and the damage they can do. Like kill someone. ::ahem::The fuckers are itchy though. So itchy. I'm scratching my arms already thinking about them. Considering we are in the prime infestation period for ants around here, Invasive started calling to me and so here we are!"Science is trumped by ignorance when the ignorant are given a vote."FBI Agent Hollis Copper has recruited Hannah Stander, a futurist consultant, to come to central New York and work on a case. One that involves over a thousand dead bodies discovered inside a cabin on the lake. The victim is an unidentified man who was skinned and is surrounded by dead ants.Raised by doomsday preppers, Hannah continues to fight against a possible apocalypse, working towards a future, rather than preparing for the end of times. Plagued with anxiety, amongst other things, our reluctant heroine finds herself as the worlds sole hope of survival."That’s why we gotta do good things now. Make good decisions. Try to move the rudder long before the boat ever gets near the iceberg, right?"Creepy crawlies and gore and plausible science. Invasive entertainingly blends fact with fiction.I'm a big fan of Chuck Wendig and beyond everything else that he writes, it is his female characters that especially shine for me. Hannah Stander is no exception! Flawed, intelligent and tough as nails. She's strong, yet damaged. The best are, aren't they?Invasive is a twisty turny, blazingly paced, witty and gritty read. Although it isn't necessary to read Zer0es before tucking into this, the story builds in a more authentic future-fearing way. Invasive didn't quite do it for me as much as Zer0es, but it did give me wicked Crichton vibes. Not to mention The X-Files.. War of the Coprophages, anyone?!?

Another creepy tale from Mr. Wendig that motors along at breakneck speed. I really enjoyed it. Full review to come.

I hate ants. Every year, and it seems no matter what part of the country I live in, these evil creatures invade my home. They find every nook and every cranny and scurry looking for water or some little crumb to enjoy and bring back to their nest. They crawl over your skin with a slight tickle, and sometimes they bite you for the fun of it. Plus they smell an impossible to describe scent. Imagine putrid ammonia and lemon cleanser, and you have a general idea. They are everywhere, and there are 12,000 species in the world. They are a pest, a pestilence upon my household. This book takes my fear of ants and turns it up to 11. You know how to take the whole idea of a swarming mass of black ants and make it worse. Make them poison you, cause anaphylactic shock, and then cut bits and pieces of your skin off and leave your insides facing the outside while still alive. That's how you make it worse. Chuck Wendig, you are a maniac. I thought The Hatching was terrible for the pure creepy crawlies, nope. Spiders have nothing on killer ants. Not only has Wendig provided a genuine and visceral fearscape to set his imagination wild in, but he also did that with fantastic characters, pacing, and lead heroine. The story stars Hannah Stander. She reminds me of a grittier version of Clarice Starling from Silence of the Lambs. She is smart, capable, and tough FBI agent working a murder investigation. Where I think Wendig soared with her character is that she is not two dimensional. No person is hardened all the time. Hannah has moments of weakness and guilt, which makes her character more realistic and empathetic. The supporting characters, although not as fleshed out as Hannah, add a great dimension to the story through the various interactions with Hannah. You want her to succeed in her quest to discover the truth and survive, but as a reader, you are curious to the going-ons of all the supporting characters. This is a character-heavy story. Because of the development of the characters, the setting and worldbuilding are not as comprehensive as the character creation, and frankly, it doesn't need to be. Think Jungle. Think tropical. Think medical/scientific compound where experiments are created and carried out, and you have the gist. Hannah is speculating about a homicide in upstate New York. The victim is found stripped of all skin and laying in a pile of thousands of dead ants. The death is strange and sparks the intrigue of Hannah. Through a series of logical leaps, Hannah finds herself at a research compound of an eccentric billionaire that studies insects. From there the story becomes a fast-paced thriller full of survival, both of Hannah and the humans as a species. It bounces from scene to scene, keeping the reader on edge with the tight storytelling. This is an exhilarating and exciting read that had me feeling phantom tickles on my cheek after reading. If you are a fan of the creepy crawlies, this is for you.

After finishing Wendig’s Zeroes, I saw there was a second book so I downloaded it right away and jumped in. I was prepared for the fact that it wasn’t really a sequel to Zeroes other than that a couple of the characters were just secondary characters. We have a new main character, Hannah, an FBI consultant and Futurist, whom I did really enjoy. Great kickass heroine! What I didn’t know, at all, was what this book was about. If I’d been smart I may taken a closer look at the cover of the book, and the title. Ants... This story is about end of the world apocalyptic, invasive killer ants!! Last night when I was finishing up the book, I kept seeing things out of the corner of my eye; on my bed, on my nightstand, on my arm... I’d feel little tickles on my leg, on my hand, on my face... There was nothing there, of course, but this story was seriously messing with my subconscious. Well done, Mr. Wendig! I will never again be able to look at an anthill or another ant without thinking about this book.

Holy crazy cow, Batman. This book was crazy good. And that's besides the freaky ant drawings crawling all over the pages in the book. Nessa has formication: the sensation that ants or other insects are crawling on one's skin. Yeah. I haven't read a good science fiction Crichton-esk book since well, Crichton. And this is book 2! How did I miss reading book 1!?! So guess what, that is next on my reading list. Thanks Goodreads. I would tell you more about this book but that would ruin it. So read it now before all the bugs wake up for Spring time. Go. Now. Before it gets really buggy out there...

This is plausibly terrifying. I read it in two days, couldn’t put it down. Genetically modified killer ants swarming a whole island is the stuff of nightmares.

Terrific. Wendig has a way with words, which is not to say that his writing is delicate and lovely, but that it's very inventive, specific and filled with vitality. As high-tech thrillers go, this one centers on bio-tech: someone had genetically engineered an ant that swarms people and kills them. The book never cheats on the science and isn't afraid to go large-scale with the implications. It's fun. I suspect I would have enjoyed it more if I thought ants are creepy or whatever but I haven't grown up around fire ants or crazy ants. I haven't read the first book in the series, but that wasn't a problem.

I was fortunate enough to get an advance proof of this book (thanks Tor!), and devoured it over the course of a couple days.Set in the same world as his previous thriller Zer0es, with FBI agent Hollis Copper returning in a supporting role, this thriller could perhaps be summed up as Michael Crichton by way of GMO ants -- the Jurassic Park influence is obvious, and Wendig even lampshades it at one point -- but the underlying message and themes of Crichton's work are not the same as Wendig's.Where the book really shines -- in another departure from the inevitable comparison -- is in the protagonist. Where Zer0es stumbled a bit because of multiple viewpoints, this one is much tighter, and we only occasionally get outside Hannah's point of view. Wendig excels at developing compelling main characters with complex personalities. Miriam Black. Atlanta Burns. And now Hannah Stander.If you are a fan of Wendig's work, you will find this to be right up your alley. If you haven't encountered him before, this would be a great introduction.

I’ve been enjoying the hell out of this super-fun summer read. It’s completely un-put-downable. A truly thrilling thriller, it’s got a badass female protagonist—and plenty of other awesome female characters—as well as demon ants, spiders, potential conspiracies, flashbacks, dramatic weather, a coral atoll, and so much more.Basically, it’s everything you want in a gripping read.I was up for three hours in the middle of the night reading it this week, which is not great for actual resting, but was very fun and indulgent. If you’re up for a whiz-bang action book, this is it!