Chimera is the concluding part of Mira Grant’s Parasitology trilogy. You can read my full reviews of Parasite and Symbiont on the blog which will give you a better idea of what these books are about. A large part of this book is about family, those we are born with and those we make for ourselves. I teared up at the gestures of the most unlikely character towards the end. In times of hardship everyone must make hard decisions and it’s one of those books that looks at the things from the perspective of an intruder. In the eyes of humans, Sal and her ilk are the enemy.


I did find it unnecessarily repetitive in places. A little recap at the start is fine, but do we really need it repeatedly explained to us that tapeworms don’t like teeth and therefore are uncomfortable with people grinning? I enjoyed it but I think the editing could have been tighter, and therefore the book would have had more momentum.

I’ve finally read a Marvel comic! Spider-Gwen: Most Wanted? includes a Spider-Verse issue in which Spider-Gwen appeared and issues 1 to 5 of the spin-off. Gwen is Captain Stacy’s daughter, a member of a band called the Mary Janes and she blames herself for Peter Parker’s death. I only have basic knowledge of the Marvelverse which maybe helped my enjoyment. Gwen starts hallucinating Spider-Pig which made me laugh (Simpsons reference) and overall I enjoyed her story.

The artwork is gorgeous too. There are some alternate covers included and I’m glad they didn’t go with the over-sexualised Spider-Gwen. I’m not running out to read more but I wouldn’t rule it out.


The Pale Dreamer novella is a prequel to The Bone Season, following Paige in her early days with the syndicate. She is eager to please Jaxon and doesn’t want to step out of line, oh how so different from the young woman we know now. The story follows her first assignment to track down a hostile poltergeist. It’s not got a huge amount of back-story that wasn’t revealed in the novels, but it’s a reasonable filler whilst we wait for The Song Rising.

Deep Dark Fears originated on Tumblr and this collection includes both existing and new material. People send their fears to Fran Krause and he draws them in comic form. They are a mix of funny and scary, and sometimes sad. I super recommend checking out the web comics.