Contagion by Erin Bowman Published by HarperCollins on July 24, 2018
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Science Fiction, General, Action & Adventure, Survival Stories, Thrillers & Suspense
Pages: 432
Format: eARC
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Perfect for fans of Madeleine Roux, Jonathan Maberry, and horror films like 28 Days Later and Resident Evil, this pulse-pounding, hair-raising, utterly terrifying novel is the first in a duology from the critically acclaimed author of the Taken trilogy.
After 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.
When they arrive, they find the planet littered with the remains of the project—including its members’ dead bodies. 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.
My Thoughts:
So this was one of my top anticipated books of 2018! I really loved Erin Bowman’s Vengeance Road and Retribution Rails so I was psyched to find out she was coming out with a sci fi!
Unfortunately… I was really let down! You know when you’re watching a bad movie and everyone is just making bad decisions left and right and you’re sitting there thinking of COURSE you’re going to do that. Like the scary movie when the main character is like “we should split up and keep going into the deep dark words instead of turning back”. Everyone knows it’s a bad idea and it happens anyway but if it doesn’t happen, the whole movie doesn’t really happen? That’s pretty much this book. So, so many bad decisions made and that’s how the plot moves forward — from one bad choice to the next. It drove me bonkers and on top of which, it just makes things really predictable.
The last bit of the book is where things pick up. The action is really good and it kept me riveted. I was totally picturing this play out like a movie in my head. I think what has me interested in continuing with the series is where things left off. I think it sets things up for a really interesting premise for the following book. It seems like it would be more unique, less bad decision driven, therefore less frustrating, at least for me. So I’m definitely interested in the sequel! I just wish the plot in this one had gone forward a bit differently.
In Short…
I was definitely disappointed in what was a really anticipated new release this year but the world and set up for the next book has me intrigued. When things picked up in the second half of Contagion, the action kept me glued to the pages. The downside is how predictable it was leading up to everything and how frustrating it was to see things move forward due to classically bad choices. If you like YA sci fi though, I’d give this a chance, especially if you like movies like Alien and The Thing. It gave me a lot of vibes from those two movies!
Hmm. This is the first I am hearing about this one, but it sounds like I would be frustrated. I glad to hear the end picked up, though!