From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

Prey (Infected, #1)

Andrea Speed

Start date: April 1, 2013

Finish date: April 30, 2013

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

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What Members Thought

Oct 19, 2010 Ami rated it really liked it

Shelves: mm-fantasy-pnr-futuristic-scifi, 4-and-half-stars_rating

4.5 stars

This book has an intelligent urban fantasy world build up; a world where (instead of AIDS) people can be infected with cat virus. Depending on the virus strain, those people will be transformed into the respective cat -- there were five separate strains: cougar, lion, leopard, panther, and tiger. Roan McKichan (read: "McKee-Cann") is an ex-cop turns private detective is a virus child: he was born with the virus integrated to his DNA (his strain is Lion and he is a lion for five days out 4.5 stars

This book has an intelligent urban fantasy world build up; a world where (instead of AIDS) people can be infected with cat virus. Depending on the virus strain, those people will be transformed into the respective cat -- there were five separate strains: cougar, lion, leopard, panther, and tiger. Roan McKichan (read: "McKee-Cann") is an ex-cop turns private detective is a virus child: he was born with the virus integrated to his DNA (his strain is Lion and he is a lion for five days out of every month.). While his partner (and lover), Paris Lehane (after the myth, not the city) is a tiger-strain infected.

This book actually consists of two books. In book 1: Roan takes a case to look for a missing child. Danny Nakamura is a kitty worshipper (those people who want to get infected). During the investigation, Roan stumbles into multiple murders, which leads him and Paris into a possibility of a hybrid virus child. Book 2 takes place exactly after book 1 ends, and this time Roan (reluctantly) takes a case from Eli Winter, a leader of “Church of the Divine Transformation,” the premiere kitty cult. The case is missing infected kids who are possibly murdered. Along the way -- in this two books -- Roan must also deal with changes in him, how he seems to be able to transform outside of his viral cycle; as well as an impending doom in Paris's life since no tiger strain victim had ever been documented as living over the age of thirty-five; while Paris is reaching the age of 30.

I'm in such awe with the world presented in this book. It sets in contemporary (there are so many contemporary reference, from Green Day to Pete Yorn, from Law and Order to The Wire to YouTube) but at the same time it feels like a different world; a world with infected victims and cat worshippers. It becomes so real without being too out there. Roan and Paris are two enganging characters; especially because they are so different. Roan is the ideal private detective you find in characters like Sam Spade; he has his morality and he is more grumpy. He takes such non-sense people and will not think twice to hit scum people like wife-beaters or child-abusers. While Paris is the charming partner, he calls himself Roan's "Guy Friday" -- a natural manipulator and man whore, Paris can charm anyone into submission. Though anything sexual is put in the backburner, there is no doubt about the strong bond (and romance) betwen Roan and Paris. They are one unit, where one just makes the other better. The secondary characters are also appaling, from Roan's friends on the force to Paris's fag-hag best friend.

It's a very well-written urban fantasy series with a solid crime/mystery element. I can't wait to read the upcoming sequel, ALTHOUGH, I sense some melancholy ahead especialy due to concern of Paris's health (better prepare tissue for it). ...more

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Jul 28, 2010 Tara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2010, detectives-private-investigators, m-m, weres-and-shifters, featured, top-tbr-16

I keep trying to start this review and I can't because I really loved this book. In the world of this story there is a virus- which is spread similarly to AIDS- and when you catch it, you shift in to one of four things: lion, tiger, panther, leopard. But it's not like other shifter stories. It's a virus so the transformations are not quick or painless and it manifests in a cycle. Roan McKichan and Paris Lehane are the main characters and the story is told mostly from their POV. Well, stories. Be ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Nov 14, 2010 Justacat rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: re-read, m-m

This is a tough one for me to rate. As other reviewers have said, the urban fantasy world building is first rate. The author has created a rich, complex, fully thought out and imagined, and unique world, and she has the skill to thoroughly immerse you in it. Her characters are similarly well developed, complex and compelling, particularly the primary protagonist, Roan, and his partner Paris. Roan in particular is flawed and damaged and utterly aggravating at times, and yet once again the author This is a tough one for me to rate. As other reviewers have said, the urban fantasy world building is first rate. The author has created a rich, complex, fully thought out and imagined, and unique world, and she has the skill to thoroughly immerse you in it. Her characters are similarly well developed, complex and compelling, particularly the primary protagonist, Roan, and his partner Paris. Roan in particular is flawed and damaged and utterly aggravating at times, and yet once again the author has the skill to write him in such a way that you find yourself drawn to him, loving him. The relationship between the two is understated in some ways - no explicit sex, which, while I have nothing against smut and in fact love it on the relatively rare occasions that it's done well, I nonetheless have to admit I find something of a relief after reading book after book in which I find myself skimming monotonous, unnecessary sex scenes - and no explicit declarations - but as another reviewer noted, their affection for each other is obvious nonetheless (again a testament to the author's skill; she shows us the characters' feelings, no statements required), and the scenes between the two of them are wonderful.

The writing is, for the most part, a joy to read. It's the kind of writing I love - complex, correct, smart. It's a little dense at times, but density in this author's hands didn't bother me; there were only a very few occasions I felt it went a little overboard. There are not-infrequent long tracts of internal thought; though often I find these unbelievably annoying and an indication that an author doesn't know how to "show" and has to "tell," that was not the case here. However, while not knowing how is clearly not this author's issue, telling too much is still something to watch out for as an editing issue: I was struck by some scenes toward the end of the second half of the book that were described after the fact in thought/narrative in a way that left me feeling cheated; those scenes felt important enough to need to be written out, for readers to see unfold as they happened rather than hearing about afterwards.

These are relatively minor criticisms, though; I seldom encounter writing that I enjoy so much. And overall, I found this book utterly compelling. It's one of the rare books that stayed in my head for quite a while after I finished it, that even colored my dreams. It got inside me.

My only hesitation about giving it five stars relates to the darkness of the ending. I wouldn't say it's depressing, but this is not an uplifting book. On the one hand, that's part of its effectiveness and fits with the story. On the other, though, I usually reserve five stars for books that I want to re-read over and over. I have a little trepidation about doing that with this one; knowing I'm going to finish a book in near-tears, or feeling like I'll need to immediately seek out something else to read to enable me to escape from the dark feelings it has left me with, is a bit of a deterrent when it comes to re-reading.

Nonetheless, I feel the book deserves that rating for the way it got under my skin, and for the way the world and characters the author created now have a permanent place in my head right alongside so many others from the best fantasy books I've read throughout my life. And the fact that there is more to come - this is not the end, or anywhere near the end - somehow makes the darkness easier to bear. ...more

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Jan 25, 2013 leigh rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned-bn

Well-written and substantial werecat mystery saga. The shifters are unique in that their condition is caused by a viral contagion and is poorly understood by both the infected and those who study them. In shifted form (lion, tiger, or some other form of big cat), all intelligence and memory of humanity is lost.

Roan is a former cop and now runs a PI agency with his lover, Paris. Both are infected and they specialize in cases involving those like themselves. While Roan was a complex and engaging c ...more

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Feb 18, 2012 K.Z. Snow added it

My first-ever shifter story (shh, don't tell anybody) and what a good one!

I'm maybe a third of the way through, and so far, my assessment seems to mirror that of Rachel Haimowitz, which is below. It would be a somewhat smoother read if the pronoun police had run through the streets of this book, breaking up the gangs of "hims," "hes," and "hises" with some antecedents, and if there were fewer textual speed bumps. (Too much tangential and irrelevant material has slowed me down -- e.g., an entire ...more

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Jan 28, 2012 Susinok rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, urban-fantasy, glbt

Great set of two stories in this book. I love the different take on shifter culture.

Re-Read went well. I was just as caught up in the story as the first time.

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Oct 18, 2011 Victoria rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m, angels, m-m-paranormal, m-m-urban-fantasy, m-m-shape-shifter

Infected Prey is a well written urban fantasy/mystery, which takes a unique and intriguing view on shape shifters. Roan and Paris were great together, as lovers and as partners. Despite how long it took me to finish it, I really enjoyed it.

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