Hello Galactic Explorers!
I’ve been on a roll catching up on my TBR lately, and it feels so great to finally get around to some of these reads! For this read I wanted to get back in touch with my horror and scifi roots, so I chose Contagion (Contagion #1) by Erin Bowman.
I’ve had this book on my TBR since 2019, just before the COVID pandemic hit. Nowadays I preview my reads to make sure the writing connects with me right away, and this one passed the test.
Let’s see how it went!
Blurb
It got in us
After receiving an urgent SOS from a work detail on a distant planet, a skeleton crew is dispatched to perform a standard search-and-rescue mission.
Most are dead.
But when the crew arrives, they find an abandoned site, littered with rotten food, discarded weapons…and dead bodies.
Don’t set foot here again.
As they try to piece together who—or what—could have decimated an entire operation, they discover that some things are best left buried—and some monsters are only too ready to awaken.
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The Review
I was absolutely blown away by this amazing scifi horror novel!
In this book we follow a ragtag crew tasked with a rescue mission to a distant, little known planet called Achlys. They arrive on the stormy rocky planet, surprised to find an abandoned site littered with corpses. Desperate to figure out what happened to those stationed on Achlys, the crew investigates, unraveling a terrifying mystery that may kill them all in the process.
I’ve been a fan of scifi horror since watching the Alien franchise many years ago, and this novel had the perfect ambience for me. The atmosphere on the dark side of planet Achlys is dangerous with frequent storms and constant strong winds. That helped sustain the ominous tone of this book, and I loved the doom and gloom feel it gave.
The crew investigating the mystery on Achlys was varied and had a lot of great diversity and personality. Thea is young and trying to make a name for herself, Nova struggles with her attraction to the demanding and uncompromising captain Dylan, and Coen was an enigma that was fun to figure out. All the dialogue between the ragtag team was great. You could cut the tension between them with a knife at times, and it felt very realistic.
The plot of this book was all that and a bag of chips. The beginning starts with mystery at the forefront, and as events take place, the thriller and horror elements kick in and take over. Each chapter moves at a swift pace and pulls the reader along, making them wonder who on the crew will survive the horrifying ordeal against the mounting odds. By the end, I was beyond thrilled with this read.
I have zero complaints, and I’m going to start the sequel very soon. If you love scifi horror, you simply must give this book a chance!
That’s A Wrap!
Well that’s it for this book review. Like what you see? Leave a tip!
Have you read this book? Are there other similar books you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!
Have a great day!
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