You’ll have fun.Īnd, hey, Netflix? Get on it. But I enjoyed the atmosphere and tension leading up to that moment so much that I’m mostly willing to forgive it.Īnd…that’s all you need to know, really. Because after the reveal of the “monsters” (space zombies, essentially) a lot of the initial horror was lost. Something a little more visceral and insidious. I do wish the effect of the contagion was less…mundane than what it turned out to be. Some of the other characters aren’t as developed as she is, but Bowman gives you just enough information to keep you interested in their well-being (or demise). She’s introverted yet resourceful and, being the youngest of the crew, feels she has something to prove. I loved the fact that Thea’s not a leader–not your typical confident SFF hero with a smart tongue. It also boasts a fairly large cast and multiple PoVs, with an intern named Thea being the central character. Bowman combines the fear of outer space with that of alien biological entities–all the more scary because they’re microscopic–and creates a entertaining, claustrophobic tale with breakneck pacing and moments that are genuinely creepy. This is one of those “I liked it! The end!” books, so the review is going to be obscenely short.Ĭontagion offers something I desperately want to see more of in sci-fi: biological space horror. As they try to piece together what could have possibly decimated an entire project, they discover that some things are best left buried-and some monsters are only too ready to awaken. When they arrive, they find the planet littered with the remains of the project-including its members’ dead bodies. Subjects and Themes: Microbiology, LGBTQIAP+Īfter receiving a distress call from a drill team on a distant planet, a skeleton crew is sent into deep space to perform a standard search-and-rescue mission.

Erin bowman contagion