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The Scourge Between Stars
Ness Brown's The Scourge Between Stars is a tense, claustrophobic sci-fi/horror blend set aboard a doomed generation ship harboring something terrible within its walls.
As acting captain of the starship Calypso, Jacklyn Albright is responsible for keeping the last of humanity alive as they limp back to Earth from their forebears� failed colony on a distant planet.
Faced with constant threats of starvation and destruction in the treacherous minefield of interstellar space, Jacklyn's crew has reached their breaking point. As unrest begins to spread throughout the ship’s Wards, a new threat emerges, picking off crew members in grim, bloody fashion.
Jacklyn and her team must hunt down the ship’s unknown intruder if they have any hope of making it back to their solar system alive.
As acting captain of the starship Calypso, Jacklyn Albright is responsible for keeping the last of humanity alive as they limp back to Earth from their forebears� failed colony on a distant planet.
Faced with constant threats of starvation and destruction in the treacherous minefield of interstellar space, Jacklyn's crew has reached their breaking point. As unrest begins to spread throughout the ship’s Wards, a new threat emerges, picking off crew members in grim, bloody fashion.
Jacklyn and her team must hunt down the ship’s unknown intruder if they have any hope of making it back to their solar system alive.
165 pages, Paperback
First published April 4, 2023
138 people are currently reading
16625 people want to read
About the author
Ness Brown
2books136followersNess Brown is a speculative fiction author by day and astrophysicist by night. She is a proud New Mexican living in New York City (and missing green chile) with her husband and two cats, Faust and Mephi. She is 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 her debut.
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June 2, 2024
My complete review is published at .
The Scourge Between Stars is the debut sci-fi horror by Ness Brown, an astrophysics graduate student and former astronomy instructor. Earth has become uninhabitable due to the unmitigated environmental damage of modern human civilization, and repairing the damage to Earth has been deemed too difficult compared to establishing civilization elsewhere. However, an attempt to colonize a faraway planet has also proved unsuccessful. Now the starship Calypso is headed back to Earth in a final effort to save the last of humanity.
Jacklyn Albright is the acting captain of Calypso, filling the role vacated by her incapacitated father, who remains locked in his quarters, unresponsive to the needs of the crew. Jacklyn is left to face an increasingly dire situation with insufficient food and a growing threat of mutiny. But a new and harrowing threat arises when crew members are found murdered in gruesome fashion, purportedly by a hostile alien on board the ship.
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.
Jacklyn Albright is an outstanding character who endeavors to provide steady and capable leadership in a role abdicated by her reticent father. The rest of the crew make for a great supporting cast, especially the android Watson, whose loyalties operate in a gray area.
Ness Brown’s writing is compulsively readable, and her fast-paced plot kept me flipping through the pages of this short novel. The Scourge Between Stars is a well-written debut, despite several awkward word choices scattered throughout the novel which could be polished with a bit of additional editing.
Notwithstanding the strong cast of characters, The Scourge Between Stars is fundamentally a plot-driven novel. Unfortunately, the plot itself is largely a retelling of the classic space horror Alien, with Jacklyn Albright playing the role of Ellen Ripley. In that sense, The Scourge Between Stars is quite predictable, complete with the initial discovery of alien eggs and the one-by-one gorefest of weary crew members returning to Earth. The main plot twist near the end of the novel would also benefit from further development.
While I enjoyed the characters and the setup of The Scourge Between Stars, the horror elements were not developed well enough to leave a lasting impression. The novel would have benefitted from being more thoroughly fleshed out, with emphasis on providing greater deviation from the familiar plot points of Alien.
Nevertheless, fans of space horror will find much to enjoy in The Scourge Between Stars as Jacklyn leads the crew of the Calypso against an existential extraterrestrial threat. Ness Brown shows promise with her debut novel, and I look forward to reading more from this talented new author.
The Scourge Between Stars is the debut sci-fi horror by Ness Brown, an astrophysics graduate student and former astronomy instructor. Earth has become uninhabitable due to the unmitigated environmental damage of modern human civilization, and repairing the damage to Earth has been deemed too difficult compared to establishing civilization elsewhere. However, an attempt to colonize a faraway planet has also proved unsuccessful. Now the starship Calypso is headed back to Earth in a final effort to save the last of humanity.
Jacklyn Albright is the acting captain of Calypso, filling the role vacated by her incapacitated father, who remains locked in his quarters, unresponsive to the needs of the crew. Jacklyn is left to face an increasingly dire situation with insufficient food and a growing threat of mutiny. But a new and harrowing threat arises when crew members are found murdered in gruesome fashion, purportedly by a hostile alien on board the ship.
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.
Jacklyn Albright is an outstanding character who endeavors to provide steady and capable leadership in a role abdicated by her reticent father. The rest of the crew make for a great supporting cast, especially the android Watson, whose loyalties operate in a gray area.
Ness Brown’s writing is compulsively readable, and her fast-paced plot kept me flipping through the pages of this short novel. The Scourge Between Stars is a well-written debut, despite several awkward word choices scattered throughout the novel which could be polished with a bit of additional editing.
Notwithstanding the strong cast of characters, The Scourge Between Stars is fundamentally a plot-driven novel. Unfortunately, the plot itself is largely a retelling of the classic space horror Alien, with Jacklyn Albright playing the role of Ellen Ripley. In that sense, The Scourge Between Stars is quite predictable, complete with the initial discovery of alien eggs and the one-by-one gorefest of weary crew members returning to Earth. The main plot twist near the end of the novel would also benefit from further development.
While I enjoyed the characters and the setup of The Scourge Between Stars, the horror elements were not developed well enough to leave a lasting impression. The novel would have benefitted from being more thoroughly fleshed out, with emphasis on providing greater deviation from the familiar plot points of Alien.
Nevertheless, fans of space horror will find much to enjoy in The Scourge Between Stars as Jacklyn leads the crew of the Calypso against an existential extraterrestrial threat. Ness Brown shows promise with her debut novel, and I look forward to reading more from this talented new author.
August 13, 2023
Here's how you write The Scourge Between Stars:
Take the alien from Alien, one that preys on humans and is able to gestate inside of them - even go so far as to describe it as a "perfect, peak" organism - and have it pick off the crew of a starship one by one, secretly facilitated by someone onboard.
Then take the android from Aliens, the one everyone is leery of but ultimately proves itself competent and trustworthy, and have it team up with the protagonist to take on the alien threat. But also imply that some questionable android sex is happening behind closed doors, including a pair of robo-boobs à la Kay-Em 14 in Jason X. Just make sure the book is too short to fully explore the ideas of consent this brings up or the impact such activity would have on the android, who is befitted with artificial intelligence. Just have the characters breathe a sigh of relief when the skeevy tech guy is offed, as if his death negates what he did.
Finally, take the weird sparseness of the 1998 Alien ripoff movie Legion, the movie only I remember because Trevor Goddard was in it (though I never finished it because he was the alien’s first kill 🙃 and if TG is out, so am I bb), and set your alien horror story in an equally unestablished, textureless environment.
And there you go; you've got The Scourge Between Stars, a novella that is readable, but unoriginal.
Take the alien from Alien, one that preys on humans and is able to gestate inside of them - even go so far as to describe it as a "perfect, peak" organism - and have it pick off the crew of a starship one by one, secretly facilitated by someone onboard.
Then take the android from Aliens, the one everyone is leery of but ultimately proves itself competent and trustworthy, and have it team up with the protagonist to take on the alien threat. But also imply that some questionable android sex is happening behind closed doors, including a pair of robo-boobs à la Kay-Em 14 in Jason X. Just make sure the book is too short to fully explore the ideas of consent this brings up or the impact such activity would have on the android, who is befitted with artificial intelligence. Just have the characters breathe a sigh of relief when the skeevy tech guy is offed, as if his death negates what he did.
Finally, take the weird sparseness of the 1998 Alien ripoff movie Legion, the movie only I remember because Trevor Goddard was in it (though I never finished it because he was the alien’s first kill 🙃 and if TG is out, so am I bb), and set your alien horror story in an equally unestablished, textureless environment.
And there you go; you've got The Scourge Between Stars, a novella that is readable, but unoriginal.
March 28, 2023
4.0 Stars
Video Review:
Finally! A Space horror book� that is actually a space opera.
This is a simple but enjoyable piece of space horror. It was fairly predictable and tropey, but it delivered what was promised. This is a great novella for readers looking for a creepy space romp.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
I review books on YouTube:
Video Review:
Finally! A Space horror book� that is actually a space opera.
This is a simple but enjoyable piece of space horror. It was fairly predictable and tropey, but it delivered what was promised. This is a great novella for readers looking for a creepy space romp.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
I review books on YouTube:
January 11, 2023
An enjoyable, recommended entry for my women-in-space files. Though loosely described as horror, I found--thankfully--it to be more about suspense. It's a quick little novella for fans of a colony ships, female captains and manor-house mysteries. I hesitate to say too much more because I find that part of the joy in these briefer works is the unfolding of the story.
"If Otto was right, then Watson had just discovered their first confirmation of something else out there in the space between the stars, perhaps the very thing that took the Calypso between its teeth at random and shook. Their systems hadn't been powerful enough to detect anything during engagements, until now. If they could finally sense them, they could survive them."
While Brown does a nice job of building the world and the ship, this is one of those that I'd say falls under 'sci-fi' light as it doesn't get too far into the mechanics and details of the technology. There's enough to give us the parameters for the set-up. That's okay; I didn't need level technical details, but some might want more. I, for instance, found myself wondering more about the crisis that launched multiple giant colony ships without better resources.
What I did need details on, partially because it seemed the set-up for the reason the protagonist is captain and partly because it seems to play a role in her psychological state, is why a crew would allow their captain to isolateduring a time of crisis. It didn't make sense to me on any level and very much had the feeling of being saved for Later Dramatic Reveal.
"'I'm here to report ship and mission status.' She looked as stupid yelling outside the bulkhead now as she had the first twenty times."
Horror details are skimpy, and are more about suspense of both mystery and situation than body-horror. Personally, that's exactly the kind of book I'm looking for.
"As soon as her fingers touched the metal panel, a bang like a gunshot cracked under her touch, making her spring back. It came again, even louder. This time it was accompanied by a hard, metallic scraping."
There's some word choices that feel a little off, one of those first-book, pre-hard-editing kinds of things ('stared at a horrible noise,' and my personal peeve, an inappropriate 'smirked'). Hopefully, that will improve in the final edition, but I'll note that it seemed better than the average first-book.
It has a good heart: an interim female captain trying to find her footing, a potential romantic interest, the sense of scrappy, desperate humanity going to try and overcome the odds through science, technology and grit. With all the elements that were eventually brought into the story (spoilery thematic stuff ), it might have been a bit too much for a novella.
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.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor/Forge for the advance reader copy. Of course, all opinions are my own. Duh. And of course, quotes are subject to change, but I think they'll give you a flavor of the writing style.
"If Otto was right, then Watson had just discovered their first confirmation of something else out there in the space between the stars, perhaps the very thing that took the Calypso between its teeth at random and shook. Their systems hadn't been powerful enough to detect anything during engagements, until now. If they could finally sense them, they could survive them."
While Brown does a nice job of building the world and the ship, this is one of those that I'd say falls under 'sci-fi' light as it doesn't get too far into the mechanics and details of the technology. There's enough to give us the parameters for the set-up. That's okay; I didn't need level technical details, but some might want more. I, for instance, found myself wondering more about the crisis that launched multiple giant colony ships without better resources.
What I did need details on, partially because it seemed the set-up for the reason the protagonist is captain and partly because it seems to play a role in her psychological state, is why a crew would allow their captain to isolateduring a time of crisis. It didn't make sense to me on any level and very much had the feeling of being saved for Later Dramatic Reveal.
"'I'm here to report ship and mission status.' She looked as stupid yelling outside the bulkhead now as she had the first twenty times."
Horror details are skimpy, and are more about suspense of both mystery and situation than body-horror. Personally, that's exactly the kind of book I'm looking for.
"As soon as her fingers touched the metal panel, a bang like a gunshot cracked under her touch, making her spring back. It came again, even louder. This time it was accompanied by a hard, metallic scraping."
There's some word choices that feel a little off, one of those first-book, pre-hard-editing kinds of things ('stared at a horrible noise,' and my personal peeve, an inappropriate 'smirked'). Hopefully, that will improve in the final edition, but I'll note that it seemed better than the average first-book.
It has a good heart: an interim female captain trying to find her footing, a potential romantic interest, the sense of scrappy, desperate humanity going to try and overcome the odds through science, technology and grit. With all the elements that were eventually brought into the story (spoilery thematic stuff ), it might have been a bit too much for a novella.
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.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor/Forge for the advance reader copy. Of course, all opinions are my own. Duh. And of course, quotes are subject to change, but I think they'll give you a flavor of the writing style.
May 8, 2024
**3.5-stars rounded up**
The Scourge Between Stars is a SF-Horror novella from Ness Brown. I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, which is performed by my favorite narrator, Bahni Turpin.
You know what I'm going to say: I would absolutely recommend the audio format. I'm serious though. It's great!
This story follows, Jack Albright, a captain on the starship Calypso. The Calypso is slowly making its way back to its home planet after a failed mission.
There are constant threats involved with traveling through deep space and Jack, along with her crew, question if they will even be able to make it back to Earth. As if food shortages and potentially harmful space debris aren't enough, there seems to be a murderer on board.
As bodies start dropping, and we're talking in a very brutal, bloody fashion, Jack's realizes she needs to figure out this danger ASAP.
Along with an AI, Watson, who I'll admit to being fully suspicious of the entire way through, Jack digs deep into the mystery. The clock is ticking. Will anyone make it off this ship alive?
I really enjoyed my time listening to this story. The SF-writing was really well done. It felt fluid and engaging the whole way through.
I liked following Jack and wish I could have gotten the chance to learn more about her, the ship and Watson. That's sometimes the only disappointing thing about a novella; that it's not longer. I'm left wanting more. Please understand, this is a compliment.
I seriously hope this is like a prequel novella or something to a larger series. I would love more with these characters and within this SF-world.
Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.
I'm happy to have been introduced to the work of Ness Brown and am looking forward to more!
The Scourge Between Stars is a SF-Horror novella from Ness Brown. I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, which is performed by my favorite narrator, Bahni Turpin.
You know what I'm going to say: I would absolutely recommend the audio format. I'm serious though. It's great!
This story follows, Jack Albright, a captain on the starship Calypso. The Calypso is slowly making its way back to its home planet after a failed mission.
There are constant threats involved with traveling through deep space and Jack, along with her crew, question if they will even be able to make it back to Earth. As if food shortages and potentially harmful space debris aren't enough, there seems to be a murderer on board.
As bodies start dropping, and we're talking in a very brutal, bloody fashion, Jack's realizes she needs to figure out this danger ASAP.
Along with an AI, Watson, who I'll admit to being fully suspicious of the entire way through, Jack digs deep into the mystery. The clock is ticking. Will anyone make it off this ship alive?
I really enjoyed my time listening to this story. The SF-writing was really well done. It felt fluid and engaging the whole way through.
I liked following Jack and wish I could have gotten the chance to learn more about her, the ship and Watson. That's sometimes the only disappointing thing about a novella; that it's not longer. I'm left wanting more. Please understand, this is a compliment.
I seriously hope this is like a prequel novella or something to a larger series. I would love more with these characters and within this SF-world.
Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.
I'm happy to have been introduced to the work of Ness Brown and am looking forward to more!
June 7, 2023
I loved this. For me, the tension never let up!! My only complaint is that I wanted more, but that’s only because I was enjoying myself so much.
January 24, 2023
vacation book #5 - review to come??? i promise i will come back to reviewing - i SWEAR!
July 23, 2024
Very readable and compact sci-fi horror space novella. I can see why people enjoyed this book for the tense atmosphere it creates within a relatively short page count. For me, I wanted more character depth � without that it was difficult for me to feel invested in our protagonist and her crew. It was a quick read though and glad I tried it based on my bestie’s favorable review.
April 10, 2023
At first I had hoped for a more terrifying space horror but I quickly became very engaged with the audiobook and ended up really liking it. One of the rare enemies to friends (no romance between these two) I've read. The mystery of what was going on, what happened to her father and a few different things definitely made this an intriguing read. So curious to read/listen to more from this author.
September 12, 2022
Stars: 5 out of 5
This was a surprise winner for me. I picked it up on whim and because the cover was so cool. I didn't expect much of the story apart from space horror. I got that alright, but I also got surprisingly a lot of heart.
Imagine for a moment that you are on board of a generation ship that is running out of resources and no matter how many times you do the math, it all points to the same thing: we won't reach Earth before our air and food runs out. Add to that that the ship is traveling through a literal minefield deployed by two unknown alien species at war with each other. The humans are just collateral damage in this battle, but it hurts the ship and their chances of survival all the same, because we don't have the technology to detect and avoid the mines. Then add to that the fact that they unknowingly picked up a hitchhiker or two when they left the colony. And those hitchhikers are fond of human flesh. Yes, the sum total is one terrifying ride.
What I didn't expect, is that this short novel, more a novella, would be populated by fleshed out characters I would sympathize and root for. Jacklyn "Jack" Albright is an amazing character. She feels real. She has her flaws and insecurities and moments of pettiness or self-doubt, but she is also courageous and willing to do the right thing even if doing so means facing off with a terrifying monster that tears people apart like they were paper cutouts. She is trying her best to keep her crew together and prevent her ship from falling apart after each space mine, or "engagement" they encounter. She is overwhelmed and terrified, but she still tries everything she can to face the new treat when it arises. That's what a true captain is, unlike her father who chose to abandon them in this trying time.
As I had mentioned, the book is very short, and I devoured it in a lazy afternoon reading session. And I ended up loving the story and all the characters and wanting to know more. Like why had the colonists decided to attempt a doomed voyage back to Earth? What had gone wrong in the new colony? Especially since the existence of the native species was just speculation, from what I could understand. Who are those spacefaring aliens waging war across the stars? They seem to have technology eons above what humanity can master. I really hope that the author will revisit this universe in her future books.PS:
I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a surprise winner for me. I picked it up on whim and because the cover was so cool. I didn't expect much of the story apart from space horror. I got that alright, but I also got surprisingly a lot of heart.
Imagine for a moment that you are on board of a generation ship that is running out of resources and no matter how many times you do the math, it all points to the same thing: we won't reach Earth before our air and food runs out. Add to that that the ship is traveling through a literal minefield deployed by two unknown alien species at war with each other. The humans are just collateral damage in this battle, but it hurts the ship and their chances of survival all the same, because we don't have the technology to detect and avoid the mines. Then add to that the fact that they unknowingly picked up a hitchhiker or two when they left the colony. And those hitchhikers are fond of human flesh. Yes, the sum total is one terrifying ride.
What I didn't expect, is that this short novel, more a novella, would be populated by fleshed out characters I would sympathize and root for. Jacklyn "Jack" Albright is an amazing character. She feels real. She has her flaws and insecurities and moments of pettiness or self-doubt, but she is also courageous and willing to do the right thing even if doing so means facing off with a terrifying monster that tears people apart like they were paper cutouts. She is trying her best to keep her crew together and prevent her ship from falling apart after each space mine, or "engagement" they encounter. She is overwhelmed and terrified, but she still tries everything she can to face the new treat when it arises. That's what a true captain is, unlike her father who chose to abandon them in this trying time.
As I had mentioned, the book is very short, and I devoured it in a lazy afternoon reading session. And I ended up loving the story and all the characters and wanting to know more. Like why had the colonists decided to attempt a doomed voyage back to Earth? What had gone wrong in the new colony? Especially since the existence of the native species was just speculation, from what I could understand. Who are those spacefaring aliens waging war across the stars? They seem to have technology eons above what humanity can master. I really hope that the author will revisit this universe in her future books.PS:
I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
October 6, 2023
4 out of 5 stars
Jacklyn "Jack" Albright is the acting captain of the Calypso, one of the many generation ships within a massive flotilla. However, supplies and resources are gradually running low, Jack's father has completely abandoned his duties, no contact can be made with the other members of the flotilla, and no one aboard the Calypso is convinced that they can make it back to Earth or find a new world.
Then the first bodies are found.
Something is aboard the ship and Jack, along with the android Watson who unsettles her, needs to keep her crew alive from its onslaught. Easier said than done.
This was a really fun sci-fi horror. Reminiscent of the Alien franchise--and, to be honest, if you've seen any of those movies you kinda know how it goes--Ness Brown utilizes some of the typical tropes of sci-fi horror, but it in no way bores you. The Scourge Between Stars is short, sweet (well, bloody), and to the point.
What gets topmost praise here is both the pacing and the action. The Scourge Between Stars's pacing is mostly perfect, never overstaying its welcome, but moving appropriately enough that it loses none of its tension during the fight and killing scenes. Jack's desperation and frustration can be felt throughout the pages. You can just imagine her sweating, her heart racing, breathing heavily in the darkened ship, and see her furrowed brow, trying to gather her thoughts and survive. This also lends praise to the prose. It's perfect for this kind of novella! It's very accessible and readable, but isn't plain or dry. There's also a few moments for some charming descriptions of space.
One thing that I will slightly criticize is the other characters, aside from Watson and Jack's father. Jack gets most of the character development in this book, and she's a great character. While the other characters are in no way flat, their development remains a little static. We definitely see their personalities and rapport with Jack, they still seem a little distant to us the readers. Even Jack's little cute romance with Jolie, which isn't too huge of a focus, not complaining, seemed very light dressing to the story.
That critique aside, I think Jack's best interactions were with the android Watson. It is implied that Watson' face resembles Jack's deceased sister and she doesn't like how Watson's creator humanized its appearance and personality, even to the point of giving its breasts. It's interesting because Watson's goals and path form an interesting comparing and contrasting to the monstrous aliens' paths and goals. The aliens, dubbed the Centauri, are very much like the xenomorphs minus the unsettling breeding process. They are merely going off their base nature in attack the crew of the Calypso. Watson is merely going off its nature to protect and serve Jack and the rest of the Calypso. It too does extraordinary and strange things that unsettle Jack more, but it isn't a vicious killer like the aliens.
You'll notice on the cover of this book a somewhat vague image of the Centauri and that's pretty much the closest you get into any sort of full-on idea on what they look like. Brown does describe them, but they remembered that the Calypso is thrown in total darkness, so Jack only sees so much. We only get a little bit of description in text on what they look like. I wasn't unhappy with it, but I would've liked a little more. My only other criticism is that there was one eye-rolling, kind of ham-fisted line which was clearly a critique of our current, modern world that I think could've been delivered a little less ham-fistedly. But it did not ruin that book for me.
A great read to start Halloween season 2023!
Jacklyn "Jack" Albright is the acting captain of the Calypso, one of the many generation ships within a massive flotilla. However, supplies and resources are gradually running low, Jack's father has completely abandoned his duties, no contact can be made with the other members of the flotilla, and no one aboard the Calypso is convinced that they can make it back to Earth or find a new world.
Then the first bodies are found.
Something is aboard the ship and Jack, along with the android Watson who unsettles her, needs to keep her crew alive from its onslaught. Easier said than done.
This was a really fun sci-fi horror. Reminiscent of the Alien franchise--and, to be honest, if you've seen any of those movies you kinda know how it goes--Ness Brown utilizes some of the typical tropes of sci-fi horror, but it in no way bores you. The Scourge Between Stars is short, sweet (well, bloody), and to the point.
What gets topmost praise here is both the pacing and the action. The Scourge Between Stars's pacing is mostly perfect, never overstaying its welcome, but moving appropriately enough that it loses none of its tension during the fight and killing scenes. Jack's desperation and frustration can be felt throughout the pages. You can just imagine her sweating, her heart racing, breathing heavily in the darkened ship, and see her furrowed brow, trying to gather her thoughts and survive. This also lends praise to the prose. It's perfect for this kind of novella! It's very accessible and readable, but isn't plain or dry. There's also a few moments for some charming descriptions of space.
One thing that I will slightly criticize is the other characters, aside from Watson and Jack's father. Jack gets most of the character development in this book, and she's a great character. While the other characters are in no way flat, their development remains a little static. We definitely see their personalities and rapport with Jack, they still seem a little distant to us the readers. Even Jack's little cute romance with Jolie, which isn't too huge of a focus, not complaining, seemed very light dressing to the story.
That critique aside, I think Jack's best interactions were with the android Watson. It is implied that Watson' face resembles Jack's deceased sister and she doesn't like how Watson's creator humanized its appearance and personality, even to the point of giving its breasts. It's interesting because Watson's goals and path form an interesting comparing and contrasting to the monstrous aliens' paths and goals. The aliens, dubbed the Centauri, are very much like the xenomorphs minus the unsettling breeding process. They are merely going off their base nature in attack the crew of the Calypso. Watson is merely going off its nature to protect and serve Jack and the rest of the Calypso. It too does extraordinary and strange things that unsettle Jack more, but it isn't a vicious killer like the aliens.
You'll notice on the cover of this book a somewhat vague image of the Centauri and that's pretty much the closest you get into any sort of full-on idea on what they look like. Brown does describe them, but they remembered that the Calypso is thrown in total darkness, so Jack only sees so much. We only get a little bit of description in text on what they look like. I wasn't unhappy with it, but I would've liked a little more. My only other criticism is that there was one eye-rolling, kind of ham-fisted line which was clearly a critique of our current, modern world that I think could've been delivered a little less ham-fistedly. But it did not ruin that book for me.
A great read to start Halloween season 2023!
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February 28, 2023
“Don’t open the door.�
Jacklyn Albright is first mate and acting captain of a ship limping home from a failed colony. She’s in charge of humanity’s last hope—and they’re not going to make it.
The ship’s drives are broken, the food stores depleting faster than possible, and something is out there in the void, something that attacks their ships and picks them off one by one. The crew and passengers are growing mutinous, and there are no good options at hand.
And then something starts murdering crew.
Something that is not human.
“It had been cheaper to take to the heavens than try to undo the environmental sins of twenty-first century capitalism.�
Sapphic space horror is my JAM.
This novella is short, grisly and packs a mean punch to the gut, with no good answers at hand for its crew, or for its acting captain.
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.
Claustrophobia. Mysterious monster. Banging in the walls. The call is coming from inside the house and we are not alone in here. It’s a nonstop ride and does not let up on its heroine or the crew.
I received an ARC from the publisher
Jacklyn Albright is first mate and acting captain of a ship limping home from a failed colony. She’s in charge of humanity’s last hope—and they’re not going to make it.
The ship’s drives are broken, the food stores depleting faster than possible, and something is out there in the void, something that attacks their ships and picks them off one by one. The crew and passengers are growing mutinous, and there are no good options at hand.
And then something starts murdering crew.
Something that is not human.
“It had been cheaper to take to the heavens than try to undo the environmental sins of twenty-first century capitalism.�
Sapphic space horror is my JAM.
This novella is short, grisly and packs a mean punch to the gut, with no good answers at hand for its crew, or for its acting captain.
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.
Claustrophobia. Mysterious monster. Banging in the walls. The call is coming from inside the house and we are not alone in here. It’s a nonstop ride and does not let up on its heroine or the crew.
I received an ARC from the publisher
April 10, 2023
A woman, with the help of an android, fights killer alien monsters in a spaceship. Sound familiar?
Pretty light on the action. Ended up feeling like someone just wanted to remake aliens with a queer POC as the main character.
Pretty light on the action. Ended up feeling like someone just wanted to remake aliens with a queer POC as the main character.
Read
June 23, 2023DNF @ 50%
August 29, 2023
Craving something space opera, or space opera adjacent, I was really looking forward to The Scourge Between Stars. Alas, not only did I find its world-building to be thinly generic, but the plot was predictable, worst still, we follow a character who is meant to come across as cool and badass, but seemed to me little other than a self-righteous and annoying asshole. The novella takes place on a ship that harbors ‘the last of humanity� who are making their way to Earth…Jacklyn Albright is acting as Captain in her father’s stead. She makes tough calls with little to no hesitation, even if these result in the death of those who are more disadvantaged and or taking a stand against the hierarchies within the ship. Things become particularly dire at the discovery of something ‘other� being aboard the ship, something that soon enough seems intent on shedding blood.
The premise had potential, between the enclosed setting, the claustrophobic atmosphere, and the ‘unknown� threat within. Sadly, much of the novella is wasted on Jacklyn being a really dull character. Most of her interactions are with this AI, I believe that it went by Watson, whom she mistreats for way too long. I couldn’t account for Watson’s devotion to Jacklyn, sure, she is the acting Captain but I wonder why Watson gives little thought to the actual Captain (who is a non-character really). I also hated that similarly to two other books (The King of Crows and Chain of Thorns), Brown relies on a ‘supposedly� ominous message in order to create and maintain suspense…but I find this trick little other than a cheap gimmick. Especially when, as to be expected, the main characters ignore the message, then waste time thinking about it, and by the time their brain is making the right connections shit has already hit the fan.
All in all this novella was scant on plot, character development, and world-building. If the premise sounded like your kind of thing you should still check it out as ymmv.
June 14, 2023
In the distant future, human descendants of colonists who fled an Earth devastated by climate change have undertaken a generations long trek back to their home planet. It the current time, their circumstances are near dire. Their food stores are running out, and their ship has sustained damage that brings into question whether they will be able to make it back to Earth. With dissent in the ranks, First Mate Jacklyn Albright commands a ship poised on a razor edge when it becomes clear that there is a bloodthirsty threat hiding in the walls of the ship, picking off people one by one. It soon becomes clear that getting back to Earth will require surviving what lurks in the dark corners of the ship.
The Scourge Between Stars is tense, exciting, scary space horror that hits on common fears of close spaces, the dark, and the unknown. This short novel packs a punch. This book reads like a motion picture, the tension high pitch, as the reader asks along with the characters, are they the hunters or the hunted? The Scourge Between Stars is tailor made for fans of space horror, both movies and books.
Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine.
ARC provided for review by Tor Nightfire through Netgalley.
The Scourge Between Stars is tense, exciting, scary space horror that hits on common fears of close spaces, the dark, and the unknown. This short novel packs a punch. This book reads like a motion picture, the tension high pitch, as the reader asks along with the characters, are they the hunters or the hunted? The Scourge Between Stars is tailor made for fans of space horror, both movies and books.
Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine.
ARC provided for review by Tor Nightfire through Netgalley.
March 24, 2023
"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."
It's books like this that remind me why I love space horror so damn much. This was an excellent debut novella from author Ness Brown--who, by the way, studied astrophysics as a graduate student and was actually an astronomy instructor! (Badass!)
This was a perfectly paced novella following Jacklyn Albright, acting captain of a starship carrying thousands of colonists--the last of humanity--back to Earth from their failed colony on another planet. They've been traveling for a long time, passengers have grown restless and hostile, the food supply is dwindling, and just when one thinks matters can't get any worse, it is discovered that an intruder is on board. Members of the crew are found brutally murdered, and if Jacklyn wants to get her passengers safely back home, she'll have to hunt down what's hunting them.
I loved this so damn much. I loved the diverse cast of characters, the quick pacing, the claustrophobic setting, the suspense. I loved Jacklyn as a strong, relatable, intelligent, Black queer protagonist. I also loved that while readers know the intruder on board the starship is a non-human threat, it's physical form is kept a mystery for most of the story, leaving readers to imagine whatever monster comes to mind while turning the volume up on the chills. (I won't lie, I imagined the xenomorphs from Alien because DUH! I'm an Alien fan).
I want more sci-fi horror from Ness Brown. In fact, I want a whole sci-fi horror book series! Their writing in The Scourge Between Stars is certain to draw readers in, keep them in suspense, and leave them applauding by the final page without overwhelming them with heavy science fiction jargon--which is key for readers who might be new to science fiction and horror as genres. If that reader is you, definitely give this book a try!
(Thank you to Tor Nightfire for this early review copy!)
It's books like this that remind me why I love space horror so damn much. This was an excellent debut novella from author Ness Brown--who, by the way, studied astrophysics as a graduate student and was actually an astronomy instructor! (Badass!)
This was a perfectly paced novella following Jacklyn Albright, acting captain of a starship carrying thousands of colonists--the last of humanity--back to Earth from their failed colony on another planet. They've been traveling for a long time, passengers have grown restless and hostile, the food supply is dwindling, and just when one thinks matters can't get any worse, it is discovered that an intruder is on board. Members of the crew are found brutally murdered, and if Jacklyn wants to get her passengers safely back home, she'll have to hunt down what's hunting them.
I loved this so damn much. I loved the diverse cast of characters, the quick pacing, the claustrophobic setting, the suspense. I loved Jacklyn as a strong, relatable, intelligent, Black queer protagonist. I also loved that while readers know the intruder on board the starship is a non-human threat, it's physical form is kept a mystery for most of the story, leaving readers to imagine whatever monster comes to mind while turning the volume up on the chills. (I won't lie, I imagined the xenomorphs from Alien because DUH! I'm an Alien fan).
I want more sci-fi horror from Ness Brown. In fact, I want a whole sci-fi horror book series! Their writing in The Scourge Between Stars is certain to draw readers in, keep them in suspense, and leave them applauding by the final page without overwhelming them with heavy science fiction jargon--which is key for readers who might be new to science fiction and horror as genres. If that reader is you, definitely give this book a try!
(Thank you to Tor Nightfire for this early review copy!)
May 7, 2023
The generation ship Calypso is limping its way back to Earth with the remains of a failed colony on Proxima b. The ship is crippled due to damage sustained by its long voyage, communications with the rest of the fleet are spotty at best and space itself is riven by unknowable alien forces that cause even more damage to the ship and its crew.
Jacklyn Albright is the Calypso's first mate, and suddenly in charge, as her father, the captain, has locked himself in his room and hasn't been heard from for a week. It's also as unrest in the crew is coming to a head as it becomes plain to everyone that the ship doesn't have enough resources for everyone to make it to Earth.
And there's something in the walls ...
I really liked this one, although it has lots of moving parts. Jack's antipathy to the android Watson is interesting to unpack, particularly as she comes to depend on it. The quiet dedication to duty of the crew, even in the face of horrible injuries, is a great backdrop to an inexperienced leader with no good choices in front of her. The idea of the "engagements" and the ship being buffeted by unimaginable alien conflicts in deep space is also a fascinating one, but its only used here as just one more nearly insurmountable difficulty on Jack's plate. And then of course there's what's behind the noises in the walls and why they're there.
Great little sci-fi horror story and just about perfect at novella length.
Jacklyn Albright is the Calypso's first mate, and suddenly in charge, as her father, the captain, has locked himself in his room and hasn't been heard from for a week. It's also as unrest in the crew is coming to a head as it becomes plain to everyone that the ship doesn't have enough resources for everyone to make it to Earth.
And there's something in the walls ...
I really liked this one, although it has lots of moving parts. Jack's antipathy to the android Watson is interesting to unpack, particularly as she comes to depend on it. The quiet dedication to duty of the crew, even in the face of horrible injuries, is a great backdrop to an inexperienced leader with no good choices in front of her. The idea of the "engagements" and the ship being buffeted by unimaginable alien conflicts in deep space is also a fascinating one, but its only used here as just one more nearly insurmountable difficulty on Jack's plate. And then of course there's what's behind the noises in the walls and why they're there.
Great little sci-fi horror story and just about perfect at novella length.
April 13, 2023
The Scourge Between the Stars is a good choice if you like a quick and to-the-point alien 👽 spaceship adventure.
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.
Jacklyn (Jack) is the acting captain of the Calypso - a giant spacecraft housing 6000 people after a failed attempt to colonize another planet. The captain, also her father, has barricaded himself inside a room and refuses to perform his duties. Jack is doing her best while dealing with grief, a hopeless mission, a mutiny, a degrading ship, a food shortage, and “engagements� that keep banging up the ship and harming/killing people. As if all of that weren’t enough, there’s also something inside the walls posing a new threat . . .
Jack is a terrific character, well fleshed out and you will understand her motivations but she’s pretty much the only character you get to know here. There are a lot of plot threads going on and once the action kicks in, it’s all action all the time which is fine if that’s your thing. There are some eerie bits thrown in, some gory scenes, ominous warnings, and a frightening claustrophobic situation but this Alienesque novella is more sci-fi adventure-suspense novel than anything else. So, for me? I liked it well enough. The pages moved because the writing is engaging even though it wasn’t entirely my thing. It might be yours though.
This is my personal reading experience, yours may differ. Don't come at me if it does!
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.
Jacklyn (Jack) is the acting captain of the Calypso - a giant spacecraft housing 6000 people after a failed attempt to colonize another planet. The captain, also her father, has barricaded himself inside a room and refuses to perform his duties. Jack is doing her best while dealing with grief, a hopeless mission, a mutiny, a degrading ship, a food shortage, and “engagements� that keep banging up the ship and harming/killing people. As if all of that weren’t enough, there’s also something inside the walls posing a new threat . . .
Jack is a terrific character, well fleshed out and you will understand her motivations but she’s pretty much the only character you get to know here. There are a lot of plot threads going on and once the action kicks in, it’s all action all the time which is fine if that’s your thing. There are some eerie bits thrown in, some gory scenes, ominous warnings, and a frightening claustrophobic situation but this Alienesque novella is more sci-fi adventure-suspense novel than anything else. So, for me? I liked it well enough. The pages moved because the writing is engaging even though it wasn’t entirely my thing. It might be yours though.
This is my personal reading experience, yours may differ. Don't come at me if it does!
June 5, 2023
2.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum
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.
Set aboard the doomed generation ship Calypso, the story follows acting captain Jacklyn Albright and her crew as their fleet makes its way back to Earth following a failed attempt at establishing a colony. Facing dwindling resources, poor morale, and a ship that’s barely holding itself together, things look rather hopeless, but Jacklyn isn’t about to let the last remnants of humanity die on her watch. She’s already angry at her father, the current captain, for having retreated to his quarters and abandoning his responsibilities. Now it’s up to her to guide the Calypso on its treacherous way home, a journey that will take them through a part of space riddled with pockets of storm-like phenomena that wreak havoc on the ship’s hull.
Then one day, while overseeing some repairs, Jacklyn notices some strange sounds coming from within the belly of the Calypso. From there, more alarming reports and foreboding messages start to stack up, culminating in a dead body, brutally eviscerated. Something hungry is on Jack’s ship and set loose on the crew, for whom there is no escape.
With a setup like that, it’s hard to believe this book didn’t strike the right chord, but not only did I struggle to engage with the story, there were parts that I found tedious and frustrating. Many of the issues stemmed from the length of the novella—namely, I felt it was too short to truly explore any of its elements in depth. First of all, the reader is thrown headfirst into a situation about which they know very little; all we know is that the colony at a planet called Proxima b failed and that the fleet has been limping along home for quite some time yet nobody in the story appears to be reacting convincingly to what has transpired. Human beings can exhibit a wide range of reactions to a desperate situation, but the attitude on the Calypso feels oddly indifferent considering their captain has not been seen or heard from in more than a week.
As other reviews have mentioned, A Scourge Between the Stars also borrows heavily from Alien, right down to the discovery of alien eggs and a dubious android. Don’t get me wrong, there are timeless tropes I will always love and monsters running amok in dark, creepy ramshackle spaceships is always going to be one of them. But this book was missing a certain, for lack of a better word, flair. Good ideas were underutilized or handled without much innovation. There was a clinical, almost detached approach to the scenes of violence and gore. The atmosphere was stagnant and pretty much non-existent. In sum, you can have all the best horror ingredients but still miss the mark.
I do think I would have enjoyed this more if the characters, plot, and world-building had been more fleshed out, possibly into a full-length novel. However, the current page length is hardly enough to develop any of these sufficiently, and more than likely hobbled the book’s overall potential. I suppose if you have time to spare for a quick, throwaway story which doesn’t use up too much brain bandwidth, The Scourge Between the Stars is perfectly readable and entertaining enough, but I doubt it will make a lasting impression.
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.
Set aboard the doomed generation ship Calypso, the story follows acting captain Jacklyn Albright and her crew as their fleet makes its way back to Earth following a failed attempt at establishing a colony. Facing dwindling resources, poor morale, and a ship that’s barely holding itself together, things look rather hopeless, but Jacklyn isn’t about to let the last remnants of humanity die on her watch. She’s already angry at her father, the current captain, for having retreated to his quarters and abandoning his responsibilities. Now it’s up to her to guide the Calypso on its treacherous way home, a journey that will take them through a part of space riddled with pockets of storm-like phenomena that wreak havoc on the ship’s hull.
Then one day, while overseeing some repairs, Jacklyn notices some strange sounds coming from within the belly of the Calypso. From there, more alarming reports and foreboding messages start to stack up, culminating in a dead body, brutally eviscerated. Something hungry is on Jack’s ship and set loose on the crew, for whom there is no escape.
With a setup like that, it’s hard to believe this book didn’t strike the right chord, but not only did I struggle to engage with the story, there were parts that I found tedious and frustrating. Many of the issues stemmed from the length of the novella—namely, I felt it was too short to truly explore any of its elements in depth. First of all, the reader is thrown headfirst into a situation about which they know very little; all we know is that the colony at a planet called Proxima b failed and that the fleet has been limping along home for quite some time yet nobody in the story appears to be reacting convincingly to what has transpired. Human beings can exhibit a wide range of reactions to a desperate situation, but the attitude on the Calypso feels oddly indifferent considering their captain has not been seen or heard from in more than a week.
As other reviews have mentioned, A Scourge Between the Stars also borrows heavily from Alien, right down to the discovery of alien eggs and a dubious android. Don’t get me wrong, there are timeless tropes I will always love and monsters running amok in dark, creepy ramshackle spaceships is always going to be one of them. But this book was missing a certain, for lack of a better word, flair. Good ideas were underutilized or handled without much innovation. There was a clinical, almost detached approach to the scenes of violence and gore. The atmosphere was stagnant and pretty much non-existent. In sum, you can have all the best horror ingredients but still miss the mark.
I do think I would have enjoyed this more if the characters, plot, and world-building had been more fleshed out, possibly into a full-length novel. However, the current page length is hardly enough to develop any of these sufficiently, and more than likely hobbled the book’s overall potential. I suppose if you have time to spare for a quick, throwaway story which doesn’t use up too much brain bandwidth, The Scourge Between the Stars is perfectly readable and entertaining enough, but I doubt it will make a lasting impression.
April 18, 2023
Generation ships have been a popular science fiction trope for a long time, but would you really want to live on one? To spend your entire life in the confines of a single vessel, never knowing anyone outside your crew? Never knowing if your descendants will make it to your ultimate destination, let alone establish a successful and thriving colony?
If Ness Brown does anything with indisputable success in her debut short novel, The Scourge Between Stars, she will cure you of any romantic notions you may have about venturing into deep space aboard a generation ship. When we meet the crew of the Calypso, we know they’re already pretty much doomed. The Calypso is part of a massive flotilla of generation ships fleeing a climate-ravaged Earth for the promise of a fresh start in a colony on Proxima B. But the colony has proven to be a complete failure. Now the ships are limping back to a home they know is also unlivable.
If all that wasn’t bad enough, someone or something has been attacking them. The ship has taken severe damage from what the crew calls “engagements�: sudden, random barrages that impact the vessel without warning. No one knows where they come from. No one even knows if they are intentionally targeting the Calypso, or if the ship has just haplessly blundered into the middle of somebody else’s interstellar war. But lives have been lost, food stores are depleting too rapidly, and morale is close to rock bottom, on the verge of full mutiny.
All of this, naturally, is weighing heavily on Jacklyn Albright, the Calypso’s acting captain. Her father, the actual captain, has locked himself in his quarters and hasn’t come out or made any attempt to communicate with Jack or anyone else in the crew for a solid week. Ness Brown roots her story in Jack’s character, who is so convincingly written that the sympathy we feel for her, and by extension the ship, helps to smooth over the story’s over-reliance on ideas recycled from the Alien film franchise. Jacklyn is exhausted, grieving both a lost sister and mother, angry with her father’s dereliction of duty, nearly overwhelmed with imposter syndrome in trying to fill his role, yet always, always doing her absolute best to project authority and confidence towards a crew in need of strong leadership. It’s a tribute to Brown’s skill at character development that nothing about Jack feels forced or contrived, that every emotion feels genuine.
Bombarded by unknown alien hostiles, not enough food to last the crew of 6,000 for the trip home, people splitting into factions and rioting � could anything get worse? Of course it could! ()
If Ness Brown does anything with indisputable success in her debut short novel, The Scourge Between Stars, she will cure you of any romantic notions you may have about venturing into deep space aboard a generation ship. When we meet the crew of the Calypso, we know they’re already pretty much doomed. The Calypso is part of a massive flotilla of generation ships fleeing a climate-ravaged Earth for the promise of a fresh start in a colony on Proxima B. But the colony has proven to be a complete failure. Now the ships are limping back to a home they know is also unlivable.
If all that wasn’t bad enough, someone or something has been attacking them. The ship has taken severe damage from what the crew calls “engagements�: sudden, random barrages that impact the vessel without warning. No one knows where they come from. No one even knows if they are intentionally targeting the Calypso, or if the ship has just haplessly blundered into the middle of somebody else’s interstellar war. But lives have been lost, food stores are depleting too rapidly, and morale is close to rock bottom, on the verge of full mutiny.
All of this, naturally, is weighing heavily on Jacklyn Albright, the Calypso’s acting captain. Her father, the actual captain, has locked himself in his quarters and hasn’t come out or made any attempt to communicate with Jack or anyone else in the crew for a solid week. Ness Brown roots her story in Jack’s character, who is so convincingly written that the sympathy we feel for her, and by extension the ship, helps to smooth over the story’s over-reliance on ideas recycled from the Alien film franchise. Jacklyn is exhausted, grieving both a lost sister and mother, angry with her father’s dereliction of duty, nearly overwhelmed with imposter syndrome in trying to fill his role, yet always, always doing her absolute best to project authority and confidence towards a crew in need of strong leadership. It’s a tribute to Brown’s skill at character development that nothing about Jack feels forced or contrived, that every emotion feels genuine.
Bombarded by unknown alien hostiles, not enough food to last the crew of 6,000 for the trip home, people splitting into factions and rioting � could anything get worse? Of course it could! ()
November 24, 2022
When aliens invade the Calypso, Jacklyn must take charge as the crew's numbers dwindle.
This was definitely one of the better novellas I've read recently because it felt like a full story. Sometimes I'll pick up a novella where the concept was interesting but the execution is shaky.
The crew members of the Calypso are the remaining people from a failed colonization attempt of another planet called Proxima B. They are on a journey back to Earth to see if it can be salvaged. Tensions have been high on the ship for months with various rebellions breaking out due to the scarcity of food and uncertainly of survival.
I had a very clear visual of what the ship was like and how it function and Ness Brown weaves their astrophysics background into the story while also keeping it relatively easy to read. As someone who sometimes struggles with the language in sci-fi books I appreciated that this didn't feel overly complicated.
For readers worried about it being too dark and gruesome, you get just enough detail to know what's going down but the body horror isn't too graphic.
This was definitely one of the better novellas I've read recently because it felt like a full story. Sometimes I'll pick up a novella where the concept was interesting but the execution is shaky.
The crew members of the Calypso are the remaining people from a failed colonization attempt of another planet called Proxima B. They are on a journey back to Earth to see if it can be salvaged. Tensions have been high on the ship for months with various rebellions breaking out due to the scarcity of food and uncertainly of survival.
I had a very clear visual of what the ship was like and how it function and Ness Brown weaves their astrophysics background into the story while also keeping it relatively easy to read. As someone who sometimes struggles with the language in sci-fi books I appreciated that this didn't feel overly complicated.
For readers worried about it being too dark and gruesome, you get just enough detail to know what's going down but the body horror isn't too graphic.
February 17, 2023
3.5 stars rounded up
The Scourge Between Stars is an entertaining scifi/horror novella following the acting captain of a large spaceship trying to return to Earth when things begin to go very wrong. Jacklyn is a queer Black woman willing to do whatever it takes to protect the people in her care from the unknown threat stalking them from inside the ship. It's action-packed and creepy, but without being outright terrifying. There is casual queer representation and over all I really enjoyed it. Some elements of the ending are a bit convenient and not super believable, but it offers high entertainment value and a complete story in not too many pages. The audio narration is well-executed. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
Content warnings include gore, death, bug-like aliens, a character sexually abusing an android (not on page or explicit), killing a loved one
The Scourge Between Stars is an entertaining scifi/horror novella following the acting captain of a large spaceship trying to return to Earth when things begin to go very wrong. Jacklyn is a queer Black woman willing to do whatever it takes to protect the people in her care from the unknown threat stalking them from inside the ship. It's action-packed and creepy, but without being outright terrifying. There is casual queer representation and over all I really enjoyed it. Some elements of the ending are a bit convenient and not super believable, but it offers high entertainment value and a complete story in not too many pages. The audio narration is well-executed. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
Content warnings include gore, death, bug-like aliens, a character sexually abusing an android (not on page or explicit), killing a loved one
May 6, 2023
2.5 stars
Middling at best, for me anyway. I liked the premise, but the story felt unfocused, particularly for a novella length work.
There were so many things going on, mostly all interesting, but none of them adequately explored.
This is a story with a lot of good ideas, but without enough follow through to take advantage of any of them.
Middling at best, for me anyway. I liked the premise, but the story felt unfocused, particularly for a novella length work.
There were so many things going on, mostly all interesting, but none of them adequately explored.
This is a story with a lot of good ideas, but without enough follow through to take advantage of any of them.
April 5, 2023
*3.5 stars
If you liked the fast-paced action and horror elements of the Alien movies, I think you’d really enjoy The Scourge Between the Stars.
We follow Jacklyn, acting captain of the generational spaceship Calypso. The ship is headed back to Earth after a failed attempt at forming a colony on a distant planet. After facing food shortages and civil unrest, a new threat emerges. Jack must figure out what dark force is lurking within the walls and determine why her father, the captain, has locked himself in his room and refuses to respond to the growing crisis.
I quite enjoyed Brown’s writing style. They have a way of capturing the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped in a space ship with an unknown intruder prowling about. I also enjoyed Jacklyn as a main character and her relationship with Watson, a droid.
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.
I’m still looking forward to reading a full-length novel, though, by the author.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the digital arc. All opinions are my own.
If you liked the fast-paced action and horror elements of the Alien movies, I think you’d really enjoy The Scourge Between the Stars.
We follow Jacklyn, acting captain of the generational spaceship Calypso. The ship is headed back to Earth after a failed attempt at forming a colony on a distant planet. After facing food shortages and civil unrest, a new threat emerges. Jack must figure out what dark force is lurking within the walls and determine why her father, the captain, has locked himself in his room and refuses to respond to the growing crisis.
I quite enjoyed Brown’s writing style. They have a way of capturing the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped in a space ship with an unknown intruder prowling about. I also enjoyed Jacklyn as a main character and her relationship with Watson, a droid.
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.
I’m still looking forward to reading a full-length novel, though, by the author.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the digital arc. All opinions are my own.
June 7, 2023
There's lots to like about this sci-fi horror novella. The main character Jacklyn is a Black queer woman on a generation ship headed back towards Earth (and that's a new one), and there's a f*ckton going wrong. Reading this is an enjoyable enough way to spend a couple hours, though I did have some critiques. Bottom line I would read another by Brown, though.
Normally I do a plot summary to remind myself of the story, but this one can really be summed up by the description "monster on a sinking ship". There's lots of scary broken-down ship chase and jump scare horror, also the horror of someone you know betraying you. That, plus a very realistic description of the quotidian problems of an aged generation ship and a diverse cast round out the strengths.
The weaknesses can actually all be dialed into the fact that this felt like it wanted to be a novel and got slimmed down. I had unresolved questions about certain plot actions, really felt like more character backstory would be warranted (particularly on Jacklyn's parents) and it did stretch my credibility how the "monster" got - and stayed - aboard.
So I suppose the real question is if Brown can carry off a novel-length story, which seems to be what they want to write. The good news is, this novella was fun and interesting enough I'd try something like that from them.
Normally I do a plot summary to remind myself of the story, but this one can really be summed up by the description "monster on a sinking ship". There's lots of scary broken-down ship chase and jump scare horror, also the horror of someone you know betraying you. That, plus a very realistic description of the quotidian problems of an aged generation ship and a diverse cast round out the strengths.
The weaknesses can actually all be dialed into the fact that this felt like it wanted to be a novel and got slimmed down. I had unresolved questions about certain plot actions, really felt like more character backstory would be warranted (particularly on Jacklyn's parents) and it did stretch my credibility how the "monster" got - and stayed - aboard.
So I suppose the real question is if Brown can carry off a novel-length story, which seems to be what they want to write. The good news is, this novella was fun and interesting enough I'd try something like that from them.
December 5, 2022
i think if this was longer and i spent more time with the characters i would’ve cared about this story. i couldn’t find myself really too much interested the story because i didn’t really know the story. i like how big the cast was but at the same time it didn’t matter because i didn’t know anyone.
February 16, 2023
I have to give props to Tor Nightfire for hitting the ground running with its space horror releases. Granted, The Scourge Between Stars is only their second proper space horror release following last year's Dead Silence, which I was less than enamored with, but it's certainly a trend I'd like to see continue. I'd also like to see these books break away from the obvious influences of Alien and Aliens, two monolithic space horror films that not only loom large over this corner of horror subgenres but have come to define it, and give us something that feels a bit more original and less like a retread. Whereas Dead Silence borrowed heavily from Aliens, Ness Brown follows the road map of Ridley Scott's original classic, but not always for the better.
The Scourge Between Stars starts off feeling a bit like a haunted house story - there's inexplicable noises coming from within the walls, things malfunction seemingly without cause, panels explode, etc. It's an effective opening that primes us for Brown's ultimate reveal, even if that reveal isn't particularly surprising, shifting gears from haunted house to violent creature feature. It's very much an Alien clone (in fact, Jonathan Barkan opines that Alien is the perfect haunted house movie in his piece for . If you're going to copy somebody's template, you may as well copy from the best, right?), but Brown puts in just enough of their own touches to make the story feel more like pastiche than pure derivative. Sadly, Brown's few attempts to make the story their own aren't quite enough to salvage the whole enterprise.
One thing Brown does really well is the overarching sense of doom and the crew's battle for preservation. Jacklyn, acting captain of the generation ship Calypso, is hellbent on saving her people against all odds. Each new crinkle and wrinkle that promises to shorten everyone's life expectancy only drives her harder to overcome the obstacles put in her way. The Calypso is fleeing a doomed colony and charting a course back to Earth, a planet these folks are unlikely to see in their own lifetime even if everything went OK to begin with. But now they have some busted propulsion systems slowing them down, food scarcity is a growing concern, and Earth itself is hundreds of lightyears away. And to top it all off, there's some nasty, hungry creatures hiding out onboard, too, leaving dead bodies (or parts of dead bodies, at least) lying around the ship.
Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of room aboard Calypso for anything too surprising. The Scourge Between Stars is a quick, punchy novella, but it also has a few too many story threads that I really would have liked to have seen expanded and expounded upon. We get brief teases about a mutiny and a shockingly late-game, off-handed, blink and you'll miss it reveal of a cult that feels shoehorned into the narrative, coming so straight out of left-field it had me keyword searching my Kindle to see if I'd somehow missed pertinent information earlier in the story. It's a clumsy reveal and its placement in the story offers little in the way of game-changing information, offering little more than a head-scratching "Wait, what?!", but it also offers a lot of tantalizing promise that, had it been handled less lazily and haphazardly, could have made for a truly compelling element.
Brown's churned out a quick novella, a format I typically love when done well, but unfortunately it's not done particularly magnificently here and there are a handful of elements I wish they'd taken longer to flesh out more fully. Rather than playing up these more hair-raising elements, which could have truly helped separate The Scourge Between Stars from just another Alien clone, Brown instead relegates them to the background and then resolves them off-page, opting instead to give us a story we've already seen executed better elsewhere. It's shame, as Brown does show some genuine promise; they just needed another draft or two, maybe, to fully realize this story's full potential.
The Scourge Between Stars starts off feeling a bit like a haunted house story - there's inexplicable noises coming from within the walls, things malfunction seemingly without cause, panels explode, etc. It's an effective opening that primes us for Brown's ultimate reveal, even if that reveal isn't particularly surprising, shifting gears from haunted house to violent creature feature. It's very much an Alien clone (in fact, Jonathan Barkan opines that Alien is the perfect haunted house movie in his piece for . If you're going to copy somebody's template, you may as well copy from the best, right?), but Brown puts in just enough of their own touches to make the story feel more like pastiche than pure derivative. Sadly, Brown's few attempts to make the story their own aren't quite enough to salvage the whole enterprise.
One thing Brown does really well is the overarching sense of doom and the crew's battle for preservation. Jacklyn, acting captain of the generation ship Calypso, is hellbent on saving her people against all odds. Each new crinkle and wrinkle that promises to shorten everyone's life expectancy only drives her harder to overcome the obstacles put in her way. The Calypso is fleeing a doomed colony and charting a course back to Earth, a planet these folks are unlikely to see in their own lifetime even if everything went OK to begin with. But now they have some busted propulsion systems slowing them down, food scarcity is a growing concern, and Earth itself is hundreds of lightyears away. And to top it all off, there's some nasty, hungry creatures hiding out onboard, too, leaving dead bodies (or parts of dead bodies, at least) lying around the ship.
Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of room aboard Calypso for anything too surprising. The Scourge Between Stars is a quick, punchy novella, but it also has a few too many story threads that I really would have liked to have seen expanded and expounded upon. We get brief teases about a mutiny and a shockingly late-game, off-handed, blink and you'll miss it reveal of a cult that feels shoehorned into the narrative, coming so straight out of left-field it had me keyword searching my Kindle to see if I'd somehow missed pertinent information earlier in the story. It's a clumsy reveal and its placement in the story offers little in the way of game-changing information, offering little more than a head-scratching "Wait, what?!", but it also offers a lot of tantalizing promise that, had it been handled less lazily and haphazardly, could have made for a truly compelling element.
Brown's churned out a quick novella, a format I typically love when done well, but unfortunately it's not done particularly magnificently here and there are a handful of elements I wish they'd taken longer to flesh out more fully. Rather than playing up these more hair-raising elements, which could have truly helped separate The Scourge Between Stars from just another Alien clone, Brown instead relegates them to the background and then resolves them off-page, opting instead to give us a story we've already seen executed better elsewhere. It's shame, as Brown does show some genuine promise; they just needed another draft or two, maybe, to fully realize this story's full potential.
April 5, 2023
� 4.25 / 5
Can more horror science fiction release please? I need more content like this novella!
I binged this audiobook in less than ten hours, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I was immediately sucked back into my thirteen year old self when I watched Alien for the first time, and while this novella isn't QUITE like that movie, the nostalgia was there anyway.
Now... I am not a stem girlie, but surprisingly, Ness Brown did a fantastic job utilizing engineer and scientific language without overwhelming me. I wouldn't have initially expected this story to be a debut because it has a strong overarching plot with great spaceship world building. You can tell that Ness is a scientist purely from her writing style because she's very direct. The writing doesn't have any lyrical prose because she's describing the scenes as concisely as possible and then jumping into what's next for the characters. This type of writing style, in my opinion, is less common because people like to create lush descriptions of the scenes, so Ness was refreshing in that she doesn't mess around with her writing. Moreover, this writing style led the story to be fast paced with constant action around nearly every corner and sometimes... even within the walls.
See what I did there? Hehe.
Anyway, switching gears to characters, Jacklyn Albright was another refreshing element to this novella. Her father, the Captain of the ship Calypso, is unresponsive in his room, and she's forced to take up the mantle of running the ship, which only worsens due to the fact that Calypso has limited fuel and supplies. Can they make it back to Earth? Can they even turn back to Proxima b, their failed colony on another planet? The centuries worth of their journey ahead doesn't look so promising. All of these thoughts are plaguing Jack as she tries to pick the best course of action, particularly as a possible coup is forming from the civilian passengers on board. And then, finally, to make matters worse, an intruder arrives, so all hell truly breaks loose. The entire time Jack is a solid force even as her own terror completely envelopes her. She is the sort of Captain anyone on board a ship would be honored to have because protecting her ship and passengers always comes first. She's certainly put through the ringer throughout this 176 page novella, but she sticks the landing as one of my favorite characters.
Also, for anyone curious, the diversity within this novella was THROUGH THE ROOF. The entire crew was from a wide variety of backgrounds across Earth, and Jack is even LGBTQ+ due to her relationship with fellow crew member. While they're a few characters that reflect the darker versions of humanity, the crews constant empathy and communication towards one another was phenomenal. There's a genuine respect and care for safety, so Jack is again a perfect example of a Captain who will not let her crew do anything that she doesn't also do. It's just refreshing to see such a natural and realistic depiction/ reflection of the world's diversity but in a space setting. I'm really hyped to see what else Ness releases in the future because if it was anything like this, then I'll be lined up front and center to get a copy myself.
Lastly, as any great horror book has, Ness Brown brought the creepy crawlies. I felt transported back to Alien (but honestly even better because there's a whole crew and not just one woman fighting) whenever Jack is forced to confront whatever came aboard the Calypso. From the eerie darkness unfurling to the inhumane screams down the hallway, I had goosebumps all over my body. It was a blast *cue the plasma blasters* reading this book, and I'm definitely going to recommend it to any sci-fi or horror fans.
Thank you Tor Nightfire for the audiobook ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
TWs: gore, blood, gun violence, female body festishization, SA (implied and done to a female coded droid), near death injuries, mass suicide (referenced), attempted mass murder, death of loved ones
Can more horror science fiction release please? I need more content like this novella!
I binged this audiobook in less than ten hours, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I was immediately sucked back into my thirteen year old self when I watched Alien for the first time, and while this novella isn't QUITE like that movie, the nostalgia was there anyway.
Now... I am not a stem girlie, but surprisingly, Ness Brown did a fantastic job utilizing engineer and scientific language without overwhelming me. I wouldn't have initially expected this story to be a debut because it has a strong overarching plot with great spaceship world building. You can tell that Ness is a scientist purely from her writing style because she's very direct. The writing doesn't have any lyrical prose because she's describing the scenes as concisely as possible and then jumping into what's next for the characters. This type of writing style, in my opinion, is less common because people like to create lush descriptions of the scenes, so Ness was refreshing in that she doesn't mess around with her writing. Moreover, this writing style led the story to be fast paced with constant action around nearly every corner and sometimes... even within the walls.
See what I did there? Hehe.
Anyway, switching gears to characters, Jacklyn Albright was another refreshing element to this novella. Her father, the Captain of the ship Calypso, is unresponsive in his room, and she's forced to take up the mantle of running the ship, which only worsens due to the fact that Calypso has limited fuel and supplies. Can they make it back to Earth? Can they even turn back to Proxima b, their failed colony on another planet? The centuries worth of their journey ahead doesn't look so promising. All of these thoughts are plaguing Jack as she tries to pick the best course of action, particularly as a possible coup is forming from the civilian passengers on board. And then, finally, to make matters worse, an intruder arrives, so all hell truly breaks loose. The entire time Jack is a solid force even as her own terror completely envelopes her. She is the sort of Captain anyone on board a ship would be honored to have because protecting her ship and passengers always comes first. She's certainly put through the ringer throughout this 176 page novella, but she sticks the landing as one of my favorite characters.
Also, for anyone curious, the diversity within this novella was THROUGH THE ROOF. The entire crew was from a wide variety of backgrounds across Earth, and Jack is even LGBTQ+ due to her relationship with fellow crew member. While they're a few characters that reflect the darker versions of humanity, the crews constant empathy and communication towards one another was phenomenal. There's a genuine respect and care for safety, so Jack is again a perfect example of a Captain who will not let her crew do anything that she doesn't also do. It's just refreshing to see such a natural and realistic depiction/ reflection of the world's diversity but in a space setting. I'm really hyped to see what else Ness releases in the future because if it was anything like this, then I'll be lined up front and center to get a copy myself.
Lastly, as any great horror book has, Ness Brown brought the creepy crawlies. I felt transported back to Alien (but honestly even better because there's a whole crew and not just one woman fighting) whenever Jack is forced to confront whatever came aboard the Calypso. From the eerie darkness unfurling to the inhumane screams down the hallway, I had goosebumps all over my body. It was a blast *cue the plasma blasters* reading this book, and I'm definitely going to recommend it to any sci-fi or horror fans.
Thank you Tor Nightfire for the audiobook ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
TWs: gore, blood, gun violence, female body festishization, SA (implied and done to a female coded droid), near death injuries, mass suicide (referenced), attempted mass murder, death of loved ones
July 9, 2023
3.5 I really liked this didn’t love it though. Loved bahni Turpin narrating though
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