First published 1995
The fifth victim lies dead in a Chicago alley on a sweltering June night. Then she opens her eyes. She has returned from death, but something fundamental has changed. Her body burns with an alien craving that she cannot name or resist. This hunger drives her to seek others, to touch them, to pass along what now lives inside her. The addiction spreads through the city's violent streets like wildfire. Each person it touches dies and returns, only to discover they face the same terrible need. The contagion moves from predator to prey, creating a growing network of the not-quite-living. These unwilling converts learn that their resurrection comes with a price. Death offered no escape, only transformation into something that exists between life and death. They must feed the craving or be consumed by it. As more victims join their ranks, they realize the horrible truth about their condition. They have not cheated death but become slaves to an appetite that will never be satisfied.
Genres: science-fiction, horror, thriller, action
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: body-horror, contagion, resurrection
Setting: Chicago
351 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Bantam Books
Content warnings: body-horror, death, graphic-violence