Welcome to my Saturday Screams where I share reviews of all things scary.
For today I have three books in the Cymic Parasite Breach series to share with you. I really like this series. So fun and so scary.
And now, without further adieu….
Station 331
Cymic Parasite Breach #1
Darcy Coates
Pages: 26
My Review
I grabbed this as a free download from Amazon. I’ve always enjoyed stories set in space and I do love horror.
Imagine this. Three women, so different, isolated on a small moon. Their job, patrol and keep strange beings from taking root there. They use their sting sticks to rid the moon of mostly benign and nuisance things.
So, when a new alien, one not recognized on any database, is discovered by one of the girls, she isn’t too concerned about it. She should have been.
Strange beings on a moon far, far away. What’s not to love. Remember the movie The Thing. That’s what this story reminded me of. How do you defend against something that you can’t detect? With help at least three days away, you only have each other to rely on, and no one can trust the other now.
Not a very long book. Crisp writing with no wasted words had it moving along quickly. While the outcome may have been a bit predictable, it was still a blast to read.
And the author does a great job of fleshing out her characters in a short amount of words. They come to life quickly and are easily visualized.
This is a series and I feared a cliff hanger. Nope. The story is wrapped up, yet, it does leave an opening for you to wonder where the author will take the story from here. I plan to find out, as I have the rest of the books now.
A fun, creepy read for those who like the dynamics of characters isolated by the elements and the unknown things that share space with us.
Creepy aliens and the trials of contending with danger in remote locations has always fascinated me. Getting all of that plus the spectacular cover will keep me reading this series.
4 Stars
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Synopsis
It wears our skin…
Station 331, situated on a remote moon near at edge of the known system, isn’t a prestigious place to work. Its three-person staff has one basic job: kill the plant-like lifeforms that come off space rubble and meteors.
Jen just wants to get through her eight-month shift without going crazy from the tedium or her co-workers’ bickering. That plan crumbles when Carly discovers a strange lifeform during a routine patrol.
The small, fluid creature nestled in the base of a crater doesn’t match any of the entries in their database. Protocol says they should call for backup, but Carly insists they can deal with the lifeform themselves.
It’s a simple choice for Jen, but her mistake will unleash unimaginable horror…
…and the nearest help is three days away.
Station 331 is a short story in the five-part Cymic Parasite Breach series. Each story can be read independently.
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Station 332
Cymic Parasite Breach #2
by Darcy Coates
Pages: 26
My Review
Here we go again. On to Station 332. A distress call has been sent. Cryptic in nature. No clue what’s wrong.
The response team hurtles through space to the far off moon to answer the call. Upon arrival, no one is there to greet them. Once they get inside, it appears normal enough. Then they find the first body, and the next….Something bad went down. It looks to be a murder-suicide. But one team member is accounted for and nothing is at it seems.
Cue the creepy music. I know something bad is going to go down. And it doesn’t take long for the rescue team to find it. Drawing again from John Carpenter’s movie The Thing, I had some great visuals as the alien being leaves a trail of bloody destruction.
There’s this really cool scene where they step onto the moon’s surface and sink knee deep into diamond dust. Had to snicker when Jay made a snow angel. Imagine a planet covered in diamond dust. I’d be stuffing my pockets and anything else I had. But, I guess it’s not as valuable in the future. Just a nuisance.
As with the first book, there is an ending to this part of the story, but I suspect it only gets worse in the coming books. And it didn’t matter that some of this was predictable. I may have had an idea of what would happen, but who would live and who would die wasn’t certain. Don’t become too fond of any one character. The author may leave that one in a bloody pile in the station.
Another fun episode in the series. Things can only get worse! Can’t wait.
4 Stars
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Synopsis
For Charles, responding to Station 332’s emergency help request starts out no different than any other mission. She’s been paired with a near-retirement medic, Robin, and a lax mechanic, Jay. Their job is simple: check the station, kill any threats, provide assistance if needed, then return to Central.
But this is unlike any assistance request Charles has been on before.
Someone or something has destroyed the station, smashing the control panel and upending equipment. They find two bodies–murdered–in the bedroom, and the third staff member is missing.
Robin labels it a murder-suicide, but Charles has doubts.
Something is killing Central’s best fighters, leaving humanity defenceless. It’s spreading quickly. And the danger lives closer to home than anyone ever expected…
Station 332 is a short story in the five-part Cymic Parasite Breach series. Each story can be read independently.
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Station 333
Cymic Parasite Breach #3
By Darcy Coates
Pages: 34
My Review
The amount of distress calls coming in are becoming too frequent, too numerous to be a normal occurrence. teams are being sent all over the place. As one scientist waits for a team to return, she can’t help but fear what might be coming.
It doesn’t take long for the suspense to start building. You know something’s not right after the team returns. The leaders actions are kind of off. And when Kala, the young scientist, gets her hands on an alien sample, the horror becomes reality.
How do you fight such an organism. It cleverly disguises itself as its host, hiding beneath the skin, taking on the hosts memories and mannerisms. What if it becomes smarter? Learns? And what if it begins to spread it’s infection, branching out from moons to stations as rescue teams return, exposing unsuspecting people?
The first three books in this series are short. The author is busy building her world, introducing the alien being, and setting the stage for more horrors to come. The final two books are much longer and I’m looking forward to more action, deeper plots, and bloody mayhem as the people battle a creature that’s nearly indestructible. Bring it on!
4 Stars
Synopsis
Kala never wanted to be a hero. She was a junior scientist studying under the highly-respected Commander Stanos when her station was attacked.
The threat is unlike anything Kala could have imagined: the aliens are fast, overwhelmingly strong and pathologically intent on killing any human they encounter. Worse, they have a flawless disguise. Once they kill a human, the aliens absorb its body and assume its skin.
But Kala thinks she’s discovered their weakness. And her knowledge might be humanity’s only hope.
Station 333 is a short story in the five-part Cymic Parasite Breach series. Each story can be read independently.
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The next two books are now released. These are a bit longer reads at a little over 100 pages. The first three books, being short reads are only 99 cents. These last two, being longer, are still a steal at $2.99. Click on all of the covers to get your copies. I’ll be sharing my these last two reviews soon.
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These count towards my Horror Reading Challenge
