The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**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!