Scourge Between Stars

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The ones behind the engagements probably weren’t gods, even with the ability to make interstellar war, but they were definitely too advanced for the fleet’s antiquated systems to detect or hail. The Calypso had no way of sidestepping the invisible crossfire of the skirmish that had drifted into their neighborhood since their species had last crossed this empty space. is… the Atalanta. Something—ssssss—ollow… xima. It’s… the ship. Wa—ssssss—epeat, warning… ssssss—ssssss—ssssss… on’t… epeat, don’t… ssssss. This is Captain Isidora of the Atalanta. I—ssssss—anyone listening. Please. Don’t open the door.” My main criticism is that the plot wasn’t that original and the ending felt very abrupt and wrapped up too neatly. It was also hard to connect with any of the side characters since the book was so short, so when deaths started happening there wasn’t much of an emotional impact for me. The static buzzed in her ear again, but this time it fizzled into clarity. The last fragment of the message came out loud and clear. If Ness Brown ever writes a sequel or an additional book in this universe, I will definitely be buying it. I cannot say enough positive things about The Scourge Between Stars! I had such a good time reading it. 🙂

The nitty-gritty: The Scourge Between Stars had plenty of thrilling action, but the story itself was too big for the short format. I thought the scenes involving the alien monster were so well done. Brown creates tension right from the beginning, starting with Watson’s creepy messages that don’t make much sense at first, but become chilling in hindsight. There’s definitely some Alien in these sections—the dark corridors of the ship, a terrifying scratching noise coming from behind the bulkhead walls, and of course, the sudden appearance of what’s been hiding from the crew and some very tense chase scenes. Brown uses tried and true space tropes to tell their story, and they worked. Speaking as someone who is already deep in Alien/Salvation Day territory, this book was everything I hoped it would be. I appreciated the no-nonsense pacing that didn't drag out for no reason what would be an immediate, crisis situation. The writing style was mostly matter-of-fact, but not without lyrical shine at times. It managed to be gritty and dark without crossing the line into exploiting the grief and depression felt by its characters. The emergence of this sinister lifeform is a scientific breakthrough, the first proof of extraterrestrial life and therefore worthy of study. However, it is also a menace to everyone aboard the Calypso spacecraft, so the crew must debate about whether the alien should be destroyed or preserved for scientific posterity.NESS BROWN is a speculative fiction author by day and astrophysicist by night. They are a proud New Mexican living in New York City (and missing green chile) with their husband and two cats, Faust and Mephi. They are currently studying graduate astrophysics after several years of teaching astronomy and encouraging students to wonder about worlds beyond our own. The Scourge Between Stars is their debut. Are you afraid of generation ships? And outer space? And dying airless, stranded in nothing? Then keep your eyes out for The Scourge Between Stars , which crosses The Expanse with Pandorum by way of Event Horizon and emerges darkly victorious.”— Gemma Files However, I really liked the ending and the way most of it tied together. Honestly, though, there was enough to flesh this into a Robinson/Stephenson sized-novel if Brown would have been up for it. (That said, as a reader I appreciated just a bite-sized chunk). As it is, I'd definitely read more of her writing, particularly if Brown puts out a full-length novel in this world. This would make a very solid 0.5 kind of story in a series.

I’m not a huge sci-fi/alien reader (unless the aliens are the love interests but that’s something entirely different and none-of-yer-business, lol) but I do like a dark and terrifying hell in space story sometimes. But I think I’ve finally come to the realization that I prefer the Event Horizon bleak types better than the straight-up sci-fi types so keep that in mind when you see these three stars. Trust me, if you think you know where this story is going, you’re wrong. Combines the sudden, heart-rending fear of immediate danger with the freezing spun-out dread of being lost in infinite space. Just wonderful.”— David Wellington , author of The Last Astronaut You know what I'm going to say: I would absolutely recommend the audio format. I'm serious though. It's great! There were literally times when I gasped out loud, and wished I could read it with my hands over my eyes. But in her dreams she had always emerged from the Calypso after her father and mother, with her sister beside her. No matter the promise this signal held, that dream would never come true. She was painfully reminded of that by the eerie sound floating out of Watson’s familiar face, a face stolen from the grave.

It could take weeks—months—years to translate this data.” Otto hummed. “Perhaps longer to figure out how to use it to map a safe route.”

If you enjoy sci-fi sprinkled with a light bit of creepiness, The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown might be the book for you, but as someone who was initially drawn to its horror-in-space premise, I confess I was left feeling disappointed. The novella format was also perhaps not the most ideal for the author’s vision of the story, which recycled far too many genre tropes making the plot feel unoriginal and predictable.While the ending is a little hmmm and reminds me a bit of An Unkindness of Ghosts (vaguely), the beginning and middle parts are straight up out of a horror movie and I LOVED IT. We’re thrilled to share an excerpt from The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown, a tense sci-fi/horror blend set aboard a doomed generation ship—publishing April 4, 2023 with Tor Nightfire. She didn’t laugh. “What’s so secretive that you couldn’t tell everyone earlier?” They could have used some good news at the briefing, which was otherwise spent discussing how close the Calypso was to collapse. She had seen corpses before--that was the reality of war, even if they were just the ones caught in a cosmic crossfire beyond their perception--but never with viscera hanging out like the wires of an opened console."