The Scourge Between Stars

by Ness Brown

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.

• ISBN10: 1250834686
• ISBN13: 9781250834683
• Publish Date: 22 May 2023
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 176
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Book Summary:

Jacklyn Albright shouldn't be in the position to be the acting captain of the Calypso, yet here we are. The Calypso is one of several ships limping home to Earth – where they hope to find a better home than what they left.

The trip has been long (literally centuries) and challenging. Starvation is never far from the mind, and the crew is feeling fractious. Naturally, that is only the beginning of what is to come. For there are monsters in the walls, and they are waking up.

My Review:

Holy cow. They were NOT kidding when they called The Scourge Between Stars a claustrophobic horror novella. It's dark, gritty, and very much not afraid to show us how vulnerable human beings are.

This book gave me chills. Even from the beginning, I was trying to prepare myself for how bad this could go (let's be honest – horror stories on ships rarely end well for humans). There are a lot of familiar vibes woven into this narrative, such as "things in the wall," space opera elements, and even some monster horror elements. It made for a fun and quick read.

I'll admit I struggled at first to get into this story. Mainly I was put off by how Jacklyn reacted to one of the androids on the ship. That said, this was clearly just establishing a metric for character growth. I liked Jacklyn so much by the end.

The storytelling style makes it easy to picture the setting and events, which adds to the chill factor. Long story short, The Scourge Between Stars is absolutely worth the read!

Highlights:
Science Fiction with Strong Horror Elements
Claustrophobic Horror
There's Something In the Walls
Debut Author

Trigger Warnings:
Gore
Familial Death

Thanks to Tor Nightfire and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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