Contagion by Erin Bowman

Contagion (Contagion, #1)

by Erin Bowman

Responding to the distress call was supposed to be a straightforward mission. But when Thea Sadik and her crew land on the distant planet of Achlys, they find destruction and devastation . . . and no survivors. As they try to piece together the puzzle of who or what could have decimated an entire operation, they discover that some SOS messages should be ignored and some monsters are only too ready to awaken.

Reviewed by shannonmiz on

3 of 5 stars

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You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

3.5*

It's time for space zombies, y'all! Need I say more? I do? Okayyy.

The Stuff I liked:

  • It's quite action packed! Honestly this would make an amazing movie or show, because it almost read like one? But yeah, there was pretty much always something exciting happening, so that's a plus.


  • Um, space zombies are always a plus. I've never been like "nah, space zombies, pass", and I doubt I ever will be. It's just a cool concept, and I think that the author handled it in a way that really worked. Because it was well-thought out, they made much more sense than say, The Walking Dead zombies.


  • It was quite dark (space pun not intended, but accepted), and the atmosphere was awesome. Seriously, you could feel how dire this situation was, no question. Like space itself was cool, but this planet was a mess, and you could feel it throughout the book. The stakes were very high, and they felt it.


  • It's super readable. I finished almost the entire book on one very short plane ride, so... that should tell you something. I actually didn't even nap, like I'd planned, because I wanted to keep going.


The Stuff I Didn't:

  • The POV switches threw me off a little. They were frequent, which I didn't even mind, but sometimes they didn't feel necessary? Like it could have just continued being someone else's turn, you know?


  • Since it is so action-packed, I didn't get as strong of a connection to the characters as I'd have liked. What I knew of them I did enjoy, and I liked finding out bits and pieces, but I do think going a bit deeper into the characterization would have made it stronger. Plus, it would have been easier to handle the POV switches really.



Will I Read the Sequel? I mean, it's more likely that I will than I won't!

Bottom Line: Felt different than the average space book, in a good way! A little light on characterization, but heavy on action.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 26 June, 2018: Finished reading
  • 26 June, 2018: Reviewed