Parasite Pig

Chronologically, this book continues where the old one left off, but steers the story in a new direction: Barney is infected with a parasite named Toxoplasma. Like its Earth namesake, it makes him attracted to animals that want to eat him. One unusual element of style in this book is that Sleator intersperses scenes told from the point of view of the parasite with the regular Barney narrative. Thus we know a lot more about what is going on than the protagonist does. But at no point does this lead to future events in the story being spoiled. The ending is neither a surprise nor is it easily predictable: it's just perfect. I'm rating the book five stars for being exciting enough to get me to read it all in one sitting while the plumber was drilling away next to me trying to fix my bathroom.

This is the sequel to Interstellar pig. With the same characters and exciting plot, William Sleator really makes this a fantastic story. Barney and his friends play Interstellar Pig again, like last summer. Only this time, a new person joins in. A new holigraphic person, or worm. Barney's friends are suspicious of Julian, the new person. Later, they find out that one of their friends are creatures too. Barney and his human friend, Katie, begin to explore the new creatures and new worlds as the game begins again. I think this is a great book because it's very exciting and fantasy filled. When you read the first page, you can't stop, the book is filled with action and mystery, making you want to finish the book in one day. I would definitely reccomend this book to everyone, especially if they like action filled stories. --P.Z.

Barney is out one night walking his dog, Chang, when he's abducted. Julian beams Barney into his ship to take him to J'koot to find the Interstellar Piggy so he can win the game. But Matt abducts Katie, Barney's friend , so he can get the piggy first. Once they reach J'koot Katie and Barney are captured by man eating crabs, who take them to Death Palace to pamper them. The crabs pamper and feed the two teens to make them nice and fat. But Katie doesn't fall for it, she cuts down on her meals for all of the meals are fatening. Barney on the otherhand eats like he's never eaten before, and becomes fat. Julian has a plan for them to escape, but it doesn't work because the parasite in Barneys brain ruins it. While Barney, Katie, Moyna, Jrlb, and Moyna are all disguised as aliens and about to escape out of the Death Palace, when Madame Gondii uses her hormones to make the disguise disapear. Katie and Barney escape from the crabs, lichen, aliens, and the piggy takes the parasite out of Barneys brain and puts it in a crabs body, Mademe Gondii can have her babies.Katie and Barney have the Intersellar Piggy and they get beamed into Julians ship when Soma,Matt, appears but it is too late the piggy has been dumped into a galaxy trash can flying faster than light. I recommend this book to Science Fiction fans who love page turners. Madame Gondii is a very selfish parasite living in a cyst in Barneys brain. She wanted Barney to get eaten by crabs, so she could escape into the crabs body, take it over, and have her babies. Madame Gondii also didn't like Katie because she had an effect on Barney that made him listen to her instead of Madade Gondii's hormones. Also she sent out tracking hormones to Julian to help him find Barney, who was immune to the lichen, who had the piggy, so Barney could be sent to J;koot where the crabs were. Barney never knew he had a parasite in his brain until it was too late. All this time when he thought he was acting different it was really Madame Gondii sending hormones through his blood. When Julian and Katie tried to tell him what was making him not be scared of the crabs was the parasite in his brain, she blocked out his hearing. While Katie and Julian are talking about there escape plan they dont want the parasite to hear it, so Barney had to go into his room; he had to force himself to sit there and read a book even with Madame Gondii's powerful hormones. The crabs seemed so nice to the Katie and Barney when they were really trying to make them fat so they could grill their bodies. The crabs give them a suite, like in a hotel, with two bedrooms, a living room, two bathrooms, and a mini fridge with free snacks; to calm them down and make them feel like they are at a resort and not a Death Palace. Every day Katie and Barney were fed scrumptious fatening meals that any child would love only to make them fat. Also there was a mud bath, steam room, and a pool to keep them busy, when it was really a way to gather their

Barney, the sixteen-year-old star of Interstellar Pig, is back. He is playing the game with friends. The game is safe. It is not the real thing. But before he knows it, Barney is sucked into a real game once again.This time he has a parasite living in his brain that can control his actions to a degree. The parasite and at least one of the aliens wants Barney to travel to a planet of man-eating crabs. To make matters worse, Barney also has to watch out for another player; a girl he really likes.Barney must combat his parasite, escape from giant crabs, avoid being killed by other players, and somehow make his way home. But will the Piggy let him?A very nice sequel that times up some loose ends from the first book. However, I would have liked some explanation as to how the Americans and Chinese got to the planet of giant crabs. That detail just stuck in my mind the rest of the book. But still, it was a quick-paces and enjoyable book. Certainly anyone who enjoyed the first one would enjoy this one as well.

Fans of the author's prior Interstellar Pig will find Parasite Pig a suitable sequel: it not only adds action based on the original plot; it goes further in explaining the purposes and dilemmas of the Pig who controls other forces in the universe. Barney is grounded after his summer face-off with a dangerous space game; but when he's kidnapped by aliens, it's danger revisited in this absorbing story.