The Scourge Between Stars

I remember coming across the announcement for this novella early this year, and knew I HAD to read it, because I???m a fan of things like Event Horizon and Dead Space, where horror intersects with scifi. (Though tbh I had to watch the former in broad daylight with the volume on low, and I haven???t played the latter because it scares me too much. Yes I???m a scaredy-cat why do you ask?)

As it turned out, this novella is more Alien than Event Horizon, which was not what I was hoping for, but it???s still an amazing read regardless! The prose reads very cinematic, and the novella format makes it feel like you???re more watching a fast-faced scifi thriller film than reading a story. I did find myself wishing that there???d been a bit more time devoted to developing some of the other characters, like Jolie and Michiko (especially Michiko, who seems like a total badass), as well as exploring the sociopolitical dynamics of the people onboard the ship, but I understand that there???s just not enough room for that sort of storytelling and development in the novella. If this???d been a novel though...

Regardless, the way the novella developed Jack and especially Watson over the course of the story hit a nice sweet spot for the format: enough that they felt fleshed-out, but without eating up too much of the action and the thrills of the plot???s main events. To be honest I found the circumstances around Watson???s creation and its (their?) relationship with Otto Watson a lot creepier and freakier than all the intruder on the ship, but then again isn???t that usually the case? Unknown intruder, you can kill, but there???s just something entirely terrifying about what goes on in other people???s heads - and how they enact what goes on in there. 

So overall, this was definitely a fun, quick read that made for a good break between the historical romantic fluffiness of my ongoing Pink Carnation reread. I find myself wishing that there???d been more to it, that some aspects of it had been explored a bit more, but that???s mostly just me wanting more of this fabulousness. I hope Ness Brown puts out something longer soon; I like the way they tell a story, and I like the stories they tell.