phronk's review against another edition
5.0
I went into this with zero expectations, which is probably the best way to experience it. The Hematophages wriggles through several different genres, inhabiting each one like it belongs there. The sci-fi worldbuilding is beautifully subtle, the horror is beautifully unsubtle, and the comedy is like Office Space in, uh, space. I think what I like most is how each of these elements are thematically connected, but the action moves so quickly that there’s never time to beat you over the head with deeper meaning. Instead, the novel’s depth comfortably nestles into your brain as it races along.
wchorak's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
mikekaz's review
4.25
Kozeniewski's books are very diverse. He creates these worlds that are amazing and unique. They are incredibly rich with stories and potential. Then he populates them with interesting characters trying to survive. Just look at BRAINEATER JONES where a dead guy tries to solve his own murder in a world of dead being. Or BILLY AND THE CLONEASAURUS where a clone in a world of clones tries to do something different. Or THE GHOUL ARCHIPELAGO where pirates live in a society co-existing with the zombie apocalypse. And now THE HEMOTAPHAGES where in a universe of women, the crew of a spaceship try to salvage the wreckage from a colonization vessel.
Paige Ambroziak is at the center of this story. A doctoral student who convinces those necessary to include her on the salvage mission, that she is an expert on the target ship and can help retrieve valuable goods. While running into skinwrappers is expected, finding the Manifest Destiny crashed into a fleshworld populated by lamprey-like creatures swimming through blood is not expected.
It definitely had me thinking of the movie "Event Horizon" (complete with blood and eyes and gore) and of the movie "John Carpenter's The Thing". Similar to "The Thing", THE HEMATOPHAGES had a test for infected or not; their test though had me cringing. The action kept things moving pretty fast; the book seemed shorter than it actually was. Something that makes devouring it easier but also mini-sucks because it was over faster than I wanted. There are some questions that get left unanswered like why a world of only women, but at the same time, who cares. It's the same as how does a meteor/comet create zombies for George Romero? Just roll with it and enjoy the story. I can't wait to see what world Kozeniewski creates next.
Paige Ambroziak is at the center of this story. A doctoral student who convinces those necessary to include her on the salvage mission, that she is an expert on the target ship and can help retrieve valuable goods. While running into skinwrappers is expected, finding the Manifest Destiny crashed into a fleshworld populated by lamprey-like creatures swimming through blood is not expected.
It definitely had me thinking of the movie "Event Horizon" (complete with blood and eyes and gore) and of the movie "John Carpenter's The Thing". Similar to "The Thing", THE HEMATOPHAGES had a test for infected or not; their test though had me cringing. The action kept things moving pretty fast; the book seemed shorter than it actually was. Something that makes devouring it easier but also mini-sucks because it was over faster than I wanted. There are some questions that get left unanswered like why a world of only women, but at the same time, who cares. It's the same as how does a meteor/comet create zombies for George Romero? Just roll with it and enjoy the story. I can't wait to see what world Kozeniewski creates next.
david_agranoff's review against another edition
4.0
They say in marketing that you have to hear a pitch a couple times before it hooks you. That I am afraid is why we talk so often about our books. This is a classic example. I first heard of this novel and Kozeniewski on The Horror Show with Brian Keene. When Kozeniewski was on the podcast the second time he talked about this book and I thought the novel sounded right up my alley. I requested it at the library as I do many books. (By the way if you can get a library to to get an author's book that is better than just buying a copy)
I checked the library website a few times but every time Brian Keene mentioned Kozeniewski on the podcast which is often I would think about The Hematophages. So a few months back I bought a copy and saved it for an airplane read. Yesterday thanks to a delayed flight and long lay-over I read this book in about 4 hours during a trip from Indiana back to San Diego.
The Hematophages is a blend of horror and science fiction. Kozeniewski is most well known for his zombie detective bizarro novel Brain-eater Jones. I hope this novel signals a blending of genre he will continue. The story of Paige Ambroziek a young woman who has lived the majority of her life on a space station. Paige's history makes her a perfect narrator, because she has no experience out in the ink(cool slang for space) or being on worlds. This fish out of water aspect is thankfully not used for comedy but is subtly applied to help world-build in the narrative.
Paige is a student who has expertise on ship salvage and is given a mission by a mega-corporation to find the wreck of a famous spaceship lost for hundreds of years. The major problem with this operation is the ship is on a fleshworld with oceans of blood. I enjoyed the universe of this novel that involved nasty corporations, wormy blood drinking monsters, cancer-ridden zero-g Mutant pirates (the Skin-wrappers) and a planet with bat-shit crazy ecologically that was more surreal than hard sci-fi.
It is clear that Kozeniewski was inspired by Aliens and the Thing and working from that sense he came up with a cool hook for this kind of Sci-fi tale. Once he got to the insanity of the Fleshworld I was sold. If it seems like I am harsh or critical of the book it is important to that I am doing that because I really really LOVED it. There were just a few things that kept it from being a masterpiece for me. That is no slight, I loved it and I think you should read it. It is 1,000 better than most attempts to marry sci-fi and horror.
Let us start with what is great about this novel. I liked that Kozeniewski didn't bother trying to explain the science of deep space travel. He assumes in this first person narrative Paige would expect understanding from her readers. When writing about a coast to coast car trip do modern writers feel the need to explain the science of cars? I suspect that will turn off a few sci-fi readers stuck in their ways, but I found it was refreshing. My mind filled in the gaps.
The world(universe)building is effective, with enough clever and sometimes funny elements like the opening interview and the skin-tight airlocks. The Skinwrapper pirates who lived in zero-G for so long they barely looked human were so well realized that Nia was one of my favorite characters. The paranoia in the second half is well done, never going overboard but just enough to give us a sense of distrust the survivors at the end felt. The planet is soaked in blood before the over the top gore comes in but it is done in smart was, including a fantastic chapter break in the last act that got a "Oh shit" out of me.This universe that Kozeniewski has built is rich and deserves more stories set in it.
That said I had a few minor problems. I have seen the society in this book described as Matriarchal. It is true that in this future men are extinct and referred to as the dead gender. This is a cool set up, and certainly enjoyed this aspect of the novel. I might be nitpicking without men or patriarchy the society is not matriarchy it just is. I felt like this culture just seemed like any other corporate structure in our world. There was not enough of what makes a a woman's society for me. There was some ball-busting and macho behavior that I think undermined the potential of a different looking future with-out us men.
Sci-fi has played with those gender roles as far back Leguin's Left Hand of Darkness and bit more subtle in Carrie Vaughn's Coast Roads books. I loved the idea of a all-woman culture but thought that was weakest part of the execution. If Kozeniewski returns to this universe needs some attention to that aspect.
Also one aspect that this novel is rightly getting lots of praise for is world-building. The Fleshworld is a crazy and cool place that this novel visits. The problem for me is that it is very similar to the world of Splatterjay from the Neal Asher novel The Skinner. I suspect Kozeniewski has not read the Skinner, but the eco-system of the Flesh world is very close. The Skinner is my favorite Sci-fi novel of the 21st century so it was a little hard for me to ignore. In the end they are different enough that I am glad both exist.
The Hematophages is one of the best books I have read so far this year. It is bold and weird science fiction that feels old school and insane at the same time. It is bizarro, dark sci-fi and horror in equal measure. A super neat book that I am glad I picked up.
I checked the library website a few times but every time Brian Keene mentioned Kozeniewski on the podcast which is often I would think about The Hematophages. So a few months back I bought a copy and saved it for an airplane read. Yesterday thanks to a delayed flight and long lay-over I read this book in about 4 hours during a trip from Indiana back to San Diego.
The Hematophages is a blend of horror and science fiction. Kozeniewski is most well known for his zombie detective bizarro novel Brain-eater Jones. I hope this novel signals a blending of genre he will continue. The story of Paige Ambroziek a young woman who has lived the majority of her life on a space station. Paige's history makes her a perfect narrator, because she has no experience out in the ink(cool slang for space) or being on worlds. This fish out of water aspect is thankfully not used for comedy but is subtly applied to help world-build in the narrative.
Paige is a student who has expertise on ship salvage and is given a mission by a mega-corporation to find the wreck of a famous spaceship lost for hundreds of years. The major problem with this operation is the ship is on a fleshworld with oceans of blood. I enjoyed the universe of this novel that involved nasty corporations, wormy blood drinking monsters, cancer-ridden zero-g Mutant pirates (the Skin-wrappers) and a planet with bat-shit crazy ecologically that was more surreal than hard sci-fi.
It is clear that Kozeniewski was inspired by Aliens and the Thing and working from that sense he came up with a cool hook for this kind of Sci-fi tale. Once he got to the insanity of the Fleshworld I was sold. If it seems like I am harsh or critical of the book it is important to that I am doing that because I really really LOVED it. There were just a few things that kept it from being a masterpiece for me. That is no slight, I loved it and I think you should read it. It is 1,000 better than most attempts to marry sci-fi and horror.
Let us start with what is great about this novel. I liked that Kozeniewski didn't bother trying to explain the science of deep space travel. He assumes in this first person narrative Paige would expect understanding from her readers. When writing about a coast to coast car trip do modern writers feel the need to explain the science of cars? I suspect that will turn off a few sci-fi readers stuck in their ways, but I found it was refreshing. My mind filled in the gaps.
The world(universe)building is effective, with enough clever and sometimes funny elements like the opening interview and the skin-tight airlocks. The Skinwrapper pirates who lived in zero-G for so long they barely looked human were so well realized that Nia was one of my favorite characters. The paranoia in the second half is well done, never going overboard but just enough to give us a sense of distrust the survivors at the end felt. The planet is soaked in blood before the over the top gore comes in but it is done in smart was, including a fantastic chapter break in the last act that got a "Oh shit" out of me.This universe that Kozeniewski has built is rich and deserves more stories set in it.
That said I had a few minor problems. I have seen the society in this book described as Matriarchal. It is true that in this future men are extinct and referred to as the dead gender. This is a cool set up, and certainly enjoyed this aspect of the novel. I might be nitpicking without men or patriarchy the society is not matriarchy it just is. I felt like this culture just seemed like any other corporate structure in our world. There was not enough of what makes a a woman's society for me. There was some ball-busting and macho behavior that I think undermined the potential of a different looking future with-out us men.
Sci-fi has played with those gender roles as far back Leguin's Left Hand of Darkness and bit more subtle in Carrie Vaughn's Coast Roads books. I loved the idea of a all-woman culture but thought that was weakest part of the execution. If Kozeniewski returns to this universe needs some attention to that aspect.
Also one aspect that this novel is rightly getting lots of praise for is world-building. The Fleshworld is a crazy and cool place that this novel visits. The problem for me is that it is very similar to the world of Splatterjay from the Neal Asher novel The Skinner. I suspect Kozeniewski has not read the Skinner, but the eco-system of the Flesh world is very close. The Skinner is my favorite Sci-fi novel of the 21st century so it was a little hard for me to ignore. In the end they are different enough that I am glad both exist.
The Hematophages is one of the best books I have read so far this year. It is bold and weird science fiction that feels old school and insane at the same time. It is bizarro, dark sci-fi and horror in equal measure. A super neat book that I am glad I picked up.
raforall's review against another edition
5.0
Review in IndiePicks Magazine and on the blog: http://raforall.blogspot.com/2017/09/indie-picks-website-is-live-with-sample.html
netslummer's review against another edition
4.0
After spending her whole life on a space station, doctoral student Paige Ambroziak takes a job on a ship heading to a far distant almost mythological fleshworld to recover the ruins of The Manifest Destiny, a ship that crashed two hundred years ago. When the crew departs on their mission they meet more than they bargained for including skin-wrappers, descendants of the crew that wrecked The Manifest Destiny, and horrible parasites.
This was such a fun time to read. I previously was given a copy of the Skin-Wrappers short and that made me super want to read this. I loved it. Only gripe is that I wish some of the world building had a bit more clarification (exclusively because I just want more info on this world and stories set in it...somehow.). Highly recommend.
This was such a fun time to read. I previously was given a copy of the Skin-Wrappers short and that made me super want to read this. I loved it. Only gripe is that I wish some of the world building had a bit more clarification (exclusively because I just want more info on this world and stories set in it...somehow.). Highly recommend.
lamusadelils's review against another edition
4.0
Es muy difícil asustarme, pero es bien sabido que mi debilidad es Alien. Este libro tiene una atmósfera similar y es la comparación obvia, pero además me pareció original y tiene un ritmo menos parsimonioso.
En este barrifest del terror estuve buscando horror espacial en particular y me alegra haber encontrado un par de excelentes lecturas porque el espacio (y el mar, y saben) es mi tema de terror favorito pero rara vez funciona para mi.
En este barrifest del terror estuve buscando horror espacial en particular y me alegra haber encontrado un par de excelentes lecturas porque el espacio (y el mar, y saben) es mi tema de terror favorito pero rara vez funciona para mi.
ladilira's review against another edition
5.0
I entered a world these past few days that I have not entered before. My experience with science fiction/horror for years was a child’s memory of “Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal…” Enter center stage, a mini alien tearing open a guy’s stomach from Space Balls.
Yes, I honestly thought this was incredibly disturbing and horrific for years, until I actually saw the real thing. Once. And never again.
So, I was a bit shocked as I began reading this — not just because this is a genre I have worked very hard at pretending does not exist, but also because I felt I was reading something from a completely different author.
Absent was the usual sarcastic humor that twists and spans throughout the story from Kozeniewski. Instead, this was dark. Not dark funny. Just dark, with a hearty side of tentacle porn. It brought images of HR Giger’s artwork to mind.
So, considering this is a genre that gives me nightmares, I will concede that it is quality work. It is dark, disturbing and carnal. I have to say I feel oddly closer to the writer, for no other reason than perhaps there was something raw about this story that I feel exposes a vulnerability? A kink? Or reminds me of someone from my past? I don’t know, maybe all three, but this was an excellent, gruesome creation. And even though I was uncomfortable for the duration, and I am sure that it will haunt me for longer than I care to admit, I accept that it is well-written and a welcome addition to its genre.
If you are in the mood for something tantalizingly inky and skin cripplingly sinister then you found your story.
https://cellardoorbooks.wordpress.com/2017/12/11/the-hematophages-stephen-kozeniewski/
Yes, I honestly thought this was incredibly disturbing and horrific for years, until I actually saw the real thing. Once. And never again.
So, I was a bit shocked as I began reading this — not just because this is a genre I have worked very hard at pretending does not exist, but also because I felt I was reading something from a completely different author.
Absent was the usual sarcastic humor that twists and spans throughout the story from Kozeniewski. Instead, this was dark. Not dark funny. Just dark, with a hearty side of tentacle porn. It brought images of HR Giger’s artwork to mind.
So, considering this is a genre that gives me nightmares, I will concede that it is quality work. It is dark, disturbing and carnal. I have to say I feel oddly closer to the writer, for no other reason than perhaps there was something raw about this story that I feel exposes a vulnerability? A kink? Or reminds me of someone from my past? I don’t know, maybe all three, but this was an excellent, gruesome creation. And even though I was uncomfortable for the duration, and I am sure that it will haunt me for longer than I care to admit, I accept that it is well-written and a welcome addition to its genre.
If you are in the mood for something tantalizingly inky and skin cripplingly sinister then you found your story.
https://cellardoorbooks.wordpress.com/2017/12/11/the-hematophages-stephen-kozeniewski/
abi00356's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5