[The JD]

Just finished Peeps by Scott Westerfeld. If you like thinking about diseases, parasites, vectors and hosts, and combining all that with (yet another) theory on the origins of vampires, you'll like this book.

The fictional narrative is pretty gruesome, but even more gruesome (and fascinating) are the interspersed chapters that describe non-fictional parasites and the very real ways that the host's behavior changes to accommodate the parasite. Example: Rats infected with the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis become attracted to the smell of cat pee. They seek it out, increasing their chances of finding the cat it belongs to, and increasing the parasite's chances of getting into a cat's gut, which is the only place it can start its reproductive cycle. Nifty, huh?

All the real examples of the mechanisms of disease strengthen the story, and makes it seem that much more plausible... or at least really enjoyable. Highly recommended.