Reviews

The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown

fiction's review

4.0

y'all after 84 years of not reading i was able to finish a book again god bless

esko's review against another edition

medium-paced

2.0

Annoying main character...The story was so dragged...It takes forever to reveal anything,and anything in between is just lame stuff...I liked the droid,thats it.

spaceysloth's review

4.0

Truly loved this! If you want something that is like Alien. Yes, there are a lot of parallels to Alien but this is also its own story. The character development of our MC from start to finish was great for a novella. The suspense made me feel like I was playing Alien: Isolation again.

scottjp's review

1.0

Alien (1979), but with a black lesbian.

Look, if you're going to rip of a successful property so blatantly, why not be honest and submit it to the license holder for publication as one of their official spin-offs? Don't pretend it's original.

Beyond that, it really should have been expanded and given depth, but it seems like the author only wanted to write the "fun" (i.e. action) parts. She states in her afterword that she completed it in a month, and I can believe it.

danrosan's review

tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

mylibrarybooks's review

5.0

Could this pretty please be part of a series?? I want a prologue, and like at least three more books after this.

If you love the Alien movies, and horror that deals with more than just a scary monster, you will adore this book as much as I did. I would love to be able to read it in one sitting. And get more information about the generations before and their folklore. All of this was well explained and the world building was amazing. I just want more. And more.

hjswinford's review

3.0

This was enjoyable enough, but it was pretty much all action and little else, which is fine, if that's what you're looking for. I think it would make an awesome movie, but as a novella, it was lacking the literary depth I wanted. And honestly the horror elements, which I was really excited about, didn't really hit home for me. The characters were fine, the worldbuilding was pretty standard future-humanity-scifi. A fun little novella, but nothing earth-shattering.

dzurek66's review against another edition

5.0

Excellent story. The story builds an ominous atmosphere as our main character deals with issues on the generational ship traveling between star systems. While she, as the first mate, attempts to deal with one issue after another from riots to ship damage and failure, her father, the captain, has locked himself in his cabin. When a murder is discovered but not by anyone of the crew the mood and fear really accelerates. This is an excellent story and I look forward to reading more from this author.

meggamillion14's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Took about 20% to really hook me (but that’s normal for sci fi- you gotta get your bearings!) but that tension was fucking BOMB. 

lizmart88's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I loved this book! It was so short and yet packed so much. It's nonstop action and felt a lot like a movie (would be a great movie). If you're looking for a fun, action-packed book that leaves you wondering -will they make it back to Earth and survive the invasion? This is the book for you!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Xenophobia and Blood

Minor: Death of parent