A review by eggcatsreads
Symbiote by Michael Nayak

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

 

Combining the isolation from any outside help with a deadly biological threat that infiltrates an Antarctic research base  - Symbiote remains grounded in reality as chaos threatens to take over. This book felt like a fantastic combination of a zombie and survival thriller, where every step the main characters take to learn more about the microbe - it is also learning about them, as well. 

One thing I really loved about this book was how realistic the biological threat present in this book felt. Even as the body count began to stack up and the chaos was building - everything felt like it could be happening right now, and no one not at the bottom of the world would even know about it. I also loved the surprise with how the politics of the world, and the war currently going on, was incorporated into this story, as up until a certain point I wasn’t certain the relevance of the specific timeline. However, with the current political climate this book felt almost too realistic, at times.

I also really liked how this book took the typical bones of the typical zombie virus and developed it into its own story as the novel progressed. The microbe present in this book evolved and developed in ways I never anticipated, and I really loved the changes that occurred from the start to the ending of this book. It seemed that once the main characters got a handle on how to survive and eliminate the threat, it would change in a new way to still outmaneuver them. I really liked how at no point was I certain who, or how, anyone would survive to the end of this novel. 

Also, this book ends with such a bang! This ending could be perfect just on its own to read this book as a standalone - but it also lends itself for a sequel to continue the story. And I was so excited that the author’s note promised more to see how everything develops after the chaos of this book. I’ll absolutely be wanting to read the next installment to see what happens next.

The only thing I struggled with during this book was some of the technical names, naming conventions, and buildings and their locations. While my copy did include a brief glossary of characters and their titles, as well as the abbreviations that were used throughout this book, I do think it would benefit with a small map (nothing fancy) of the buildings and their locations to allow the reader to more easily picture and track the movements of the characters throughout the novel. 

If you like zombie thrillers, Antarctic/Arctic horror, and authors like Darcy Coates and SA Barnes, I would highly recommend picking up this novel to read for yourself With no true heroes or villains, only people desperate to survive a chaos they never expected when they signed up to work at the bottom of the world - Symbiote is a strangely realistic tale of survival against all costs, even when the odds are stacked against you. 

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Angry Robot for providing both an e-ARC as well as a physical copy for review.