I was craving a space opera, so I was really looking forward to this one. This was a fun, fast paced, thrilling novella. This novel made me uncomfortable with the thought of just floating in deep space without any signs of other human life. It created a very claustrophobic feel.

The build up of suspense and atmosphere was well done, and the internal and external threats that the crew faced added to the tension. I enjoyed the mystery and intrigue of what kind of entity is wreaking havoc on this ship. The ending was very climactic and had me on the edge of my seat.

That being said, I don't know if this will have much staying power with me. The audiobook was fantastic, and the narrator did a wonderful job. I appreciated that the author used her astrophysics background to add to the science in the novella. If you want something that is pacey and suspenseful, I recommend this one!

Craving something space opera, or space opera adjacent, I was really looking forward to The Scourge Between Stars. Alas, not only did I find its world-building to be thinly generic, but the plot was predictable, worst still, we follow a character who is meant to come across as cool and badass, but seemed to me little other than a self-righteous and annoying asshole. The novella takes place on a ship that harbors ‘the last of humanity’ who are making their way to Earth…Jacklyn Albright is acting as Captain in her father’s stead. She makes tough calls with little to no hesitation, even if these result in the death of those who are more disadvantaged and or taking a stand against the hierarchies within the ship. Things become particularly dire at the discovery of something ‘other’ being aboard the ship, something that soon enough seems intent on shedding blood.

The premise had potential, between the enclosed setting, the claustrophobic atmosphere, and the ‘unknown’ threat within. Sadly, much of the novella is wasted on Jacklyn being a really dull character. Most of her interactions are with this AI, I believe that it went by Watson, whom she mistreats for way too long. I couldn’t account for Watson’s devotion to Jacklyn, sure, she is the acting Captain but I wonder why Watson gives little thought to the actual Captain (who is a non-character really). I also hated that similarly to two other books (The King of Crows and Chain of Thorns), Brown relies on a ‘supposedly’ ominous message in order to create and maintain suspense…but I find this trick little other than a cheap gimmick. Especially when, as to be expected, the main characters ignore the message, then waste time thinking about it, and by the time their brain is making the right connections shit has already hit the fan.

All in all this novella was scant on plot, character development, and world-building. If the premise sounded like your kind of thing you should still check it out as ymmv.

Decent narrator. Easy to listen to.



The novella itself was fun. If you're in the mood for a creature feature in space with the locked room tension of Alien (but far less body horror and despair) then this could be for you. The main character, Jacqueline, was engaging and pleasingly competent without being unbelievable and the rest of the cast were a decent support. It's quite hard to actually creep me out so I didn't get any of the dread or claustrophobia but if you have a lower threshold than me you might find the story does it for you. There's a hint of queer romance and some interesting though (due to word count constraints) not fully developed conflict with the lower deck crews and the passengers which threatens to become a full mutiny. Overall this packs a lot into a small space and is an ideal quick sci-fi/horror read. Recommended.

Jacklyn is acting as the ship's captain, keeping humanity alive, while her father is out of commission. But even as unrest spread through the ship, an unknown attacker begins to kill off members of the crew. Jacklyn must keep everyone alive as she waits for her father to snap out of his funk and take over again.

This is quite the novella. It's creepy and unnerving. I really enjoyed trying to figure out what was happening, and if there was really a monster or something just in someone's head. I think the people that they are interacting with were a bit hand-wavey, and it would've been nice to get a bit more world building. But I definitely enjoyed the relationship Jacklyn has with her mother and father and the implications of these relationships as she acts as the captain of the ship. There were a lot of moving parts and for the most part I think thus novella works really well. Quick read, would recommend as an unnerving space story.

Thank you so much to Tor Nightfire and the author for partnering with B2Weird for a book tour and the gifted copy!

This is such a solid debut! I love a good scifi horror story and this one delivered. I think The Scourge Between Stars would actually be a great first scifi horror story for those intrigued by the idea but who might feel intimidated. It's a novella, so it's not a big commitment, but it is absolutely worth reading!

The Scourge Between Stars is a good novella, but I'll admit I think it would've been an even better novel. I really liked the main character Jacklyn and the world-building was really intriguing. I would have happily read a longer version of this with more backstory about the characters and what happened to their ancestors. Nonetheless, I loved The Scourge Between Stars and will definitely be keeping an eye out for future work by Ness Brown! If a sapphic scifi horror is up your alley, add this one to your TBR!

Books like this remind of how much I truly enjoy sci-fi horror set in space. I thought the pacing was excellent, and I truly enjoyed the wild ride. My only gripe is that I wish this was a full novel instead of novella because I still have so many questions. Can't wait for the author's next one though!

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
Jacklyn Albright is responsible for a generation ship, making sure its crew can survive a mysterious knocking presence that is killing people and sudden rebellions.
The idea was good, however, the short format left me wanting more information. I felt like there was important information left out to keep the story short, while there was unnecessary information included that took away from the main plot. Had this been longer, I would have rated this higher.

Wow, this book was action-packed from start to finish.
I really felt like I couldn't catch my breath with this book.
Jacklyn Albright is the acting captain of the Calypso, deep in space when they're faced with all kinds of trouble you just don't want.
I love a strong female character and Jack gave us that in this too short book.
She was relentless when trying to find the trouble messing with her crew and even more so when she exacts retribution.
A solid read

Murder/disaster by numbers sci fi book. I would like to see more in this world. There were some hints and basic world building but I would like to know more. The narrator was great: very lively and energetic. There was a bit too much gore for my taste.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Let’s get this out of the way right at the start. There is no denying there are similarities between The Scourge Between Stars and the Alien series. It takes place in space aboard a ship, features a strong female lead character taking on violent/aggressive aliens (including the laying of a type of egg—though quite different from the xenomorph eggs in Aliens), and it even has a humanoid droid as a pivotal character. Even with all those similarities, Scourge has it’s own identity. Things are already bad for the thousands of survivors aboard the Calypso. Their original colonization mission was a failure and they are attempting to make their way back to Earth but supplies are dwindling and there is strife, borderline rebellion in the air. And then things get worse, a strange banging in the walls…whatever could it be? If you didn’t guess aliens you haven’t been paying attention, lol. As the situation spirals out of control and with humanity on it’s last leg it’s up to Jacklyn Albright and the crew of the Calypso to fight back. Being a novella, Scourge is a quick listen/read. It’s a tight, tense story, featuring a solid cast, and solid action. But also like many novellas, I found myself wanting to know more. It’s almost like Ness Brown is teasing us. I’d definitely be interested in returning to this universe for further adventures. I’d like to thank OrangeSky Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advanced audio copy of The Scourge Between Stars.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R2H8515A3IS5QX/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

This novella was absolutely fine. It is just...Alien, but with murderbot, kinda? Nothing about it was bad, and I enjoyed my time with it...but it really needed *something* to make it stick out more. As it is, it's just too similiar to Alien.

Jack Albright is taking her crew back to Earth after their failed attempt at building a new colony. As acting captain of the Calypso, her goal is to get them home safely, but they soon find out that they're not alone on the ship and people are starting to die.

The Scourge Between the Stars is a quick sci-fi novella in the vein of Alien. However, this book failed to grab me. It pretty much cuts straight to the suspense and action which causes the characters to suffer. I felt that for such a small book, there are way too many characters that I didn't really get to know. Even Jack fell flat for me. Besides that the ending felt rushed. It also felt to me like Brown was trying to cram so much in to be all wrapped up in a nice bow so the turns the story took at the end were like what?

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this ALC. Bahni Turpin was a fine narrator, but this book wasn't for me.

first off thank you to netgalley, the publisher, author, and audiobook publisher for an ARC!

super hard to put down - a blistering space opera/mystery/thriller with some horror elements (some gore which i found to be mild, more so the feeling of creepy and increasing dread). the narrator is fantastic and ness brown paints vivid ship environments and compelling characters. length is perfect with lots of world building nestled into the story but not overwhelming the reader. female protagonist goes on my list of favorite scifi lead heroines and the robot is also a fav. highly recommended

book itself is 4/5 but elevated to 4.5 with the audio version

The ark ship Calypso is journeying through space, having abandoned humanities attempt at life on Proxima B. Humanity is looking for a new home, but the ships systems have long passed their peak operating condition, and the ship is frequently beset by mysterious attacks known as 'engagements' that cost resources that cannot be spared.

Ness Brown's The Scourge Between Stars is a space horror thrill. While short, we see the events unfurl from the perspective of first mate Jacqueline (frequently called Jaw) daughter of the captain. She is struggling to keep things moving along for her father has locked himself away and is not responding to any attempts at communication. She is forced to take charge, with support from the crew she was raised with and what could become love with another of the bridge crew. Jaq very much takes charge by doing or being at the point of issue.

As we join the crew of Calypso, they are trying to journey back to Earth, but have lost contact with their fellow colonial ships. The head technician has adapted one of the androids in a way he thinks will lead them home, but if nothing else this superior android has more power and capabilities then the average droid. But will it be enough to keep Jack safe from the danger already inside the ship?

Brown has written a fully realized story, with a ship that one could picture themselves on (though maps or technical drawings would be nice!). As an audio book it was engaging with the narrator adjusting their tone to fit the emotion of the scene and differentiating the characters with changes in tone and pitch.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free Audio ARC of "The Scurge Between Stars" by Ness Brown.
The narration by Bahni Turpin was absolutely amazing and made the story and characters feel so real, even to someone like me who is new to the SF genre. Their voice created a suspensfull and intriguing atmosphere. Without this narrator's vivid performance I would probably have abandoned this novella, being just a bit overwhelmed by all the scientific terms.
As it happens sometimes with novellas, the reader only gets to really know a few characters. For me these were Jacklyn and Watson.
I think that a full lenght novel would have been a better choice for this story. There were so many intresting things that could have been revealed in more depth.
Possible mild spoillers:

A few bits I was curious about: what was the crisis that forced the failed colony to travel with such limited provision, why was the isolation of the captain permited in a time of crisis and so on.

**I received an audio review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.**

Ness Brown (they/them) presents scifi horror novella The Scourge Between Stars. The audio format is narrated by fan favorite Bahni Turpin. Readers follow Jacklyn who has been assigned the role of acting captain for the starship meant to keep humanity alive. The threats of space are constant and just when the crew has reached a breaking point, Jack learns there is an intruder on board.

This novella is fast-paced with all of the blood, thrills, and dread of potential death in deep space. Brown has made skillful use of the novella length and the pacing is very well done. Brown's day job as an astrophysicist also shines in their scifi writing. This novella really embodies the scifi horror genre blend and delivers on the premise with flair. It doesn't step far out of established tropes,then has a neat conclusion that is utterly satisfying.

Turpin is a favored narrator for a reason. Her performances as an audiobook narrator always add to whatever she reads. She excels at high drama, tense scenes which really made her a great fit for this novella.

I would absolutely recommend this novella in whatever format is available, but with a special nod to the audio for Turpin's performance.

It was such a delight reading Ness Brown's first novella, The Scourge Between Stars. I am not a huge sci-fi/horror fiction reader but this book hit all the notes you could want in the category of sci-fi/horror. If you are a fan of Ellen Ripley, Robots/Droids (like R2D2, Hal, etc.), and science fiction that feels based in real science this is a must read.

This story follows the character Jacklyn Albright who must help keep the last of humanity alive while trying to find a new planet to call home. We follow a survivor who faces not only the difficulty of protecting everyone else on the Calypso (the ship) alive, but also tackling her grief and own personal trauma. The story is fast passed as we follow Jacklyn, Watson (a droid), who help to try to solve an infestation that could be fatal to the last of humanity on the Calypso.

I really loved this novella and every character, emotion, and response felt so real to me. I could totally see this story expanding into its own universe, but loved that it was a complete story from start to finish.

I read this on audiobook and absolutely loved it and cannot recommend it enough.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and OrangeSky Audio, for providing me with an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

The Scourge Between Stars is a SF-Horror novella from Ness Brown. I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, which is performed by my favorite narrator, Bahni Turpin. You know what I'm going to say: I would absolutely recommend the audio format. I'm serious though. It's great!

This story follows, Jack Albright, a captain on the starship Calypso. The Calypso is slowly making its way back to its home planet after a failed mission.

There are constant threats involved with traveling through deep space and Jack, along with her crew, question if they will even be able to make it back to Earth. As if food shortages and potentially harmful space debris aren't enough, there seems to be a murderer on board.

As bodies start dropping, and we're talking in a very brutal, bloody fashion, Jack's realizes she needs to figure out this danger ASAP. Along with an AI, Watson, who I'll admit to being fully suspicious of the entire way through, Jack digs deep into the mystery. The clock is ticking. Will anyone make it off this ship alive?

I really enjoyed my time listening to this story. The SF-writing was really well done. It felt fluid and engaging the whole way through. I liked following Jack and wish I could have gotten the chance to learn more about her, the ship and Watson. That's sometimes the only disappointing thing about a novella; that it's not longer. I'm left wanting more.

Please understand, this is a compliment.

I seriously hope this is like a prequel novella or something to a larger series. I would love more with these characters and within this SF-world.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.
I'm happy to have been introduced to the work of Ness Brown and am looking forward to more!

This short sci-fi tale is a horror set in a generation ship. There is a strong, female protagonist, who is surrounded by a cast of characters who support her role on the ship. The plot is fairly straightforward with no real surprises. The narrator did an adequate job with this audiobook.

Although this story was brief, which was a good point, it just fell flat for me. I never really got to know the characters because I did not feel they were developed well enough. Some of them were frankly two dimensional. The plot did have some holes in it, and the ending felt rushed and wrapped up with a tidy little bow.

Two stars is my rating. While the author did do a good job at building tension in a couple of places, I had too many other issues with the story. I am not sure what audience this story would do well for, but it isn’t me. My thanks to orange sky audio via net galley for this audio arc. All opinions expressed are strictly my own, and offered without recompense.

The Scourge Between Stars
by Ness Brown
Tagged for my list of black authors to read this year I was pleasantly surprised by this book. A great science fiction horror book. The author has a great way of developing tension in the audible story. The reader is absorbed in the fear with the characters as they try to piece together what is happening. The failed colony is not the only problem, as the fleet returns they are attacked again and again. They are remarkable in the depth and reality of the characters responses and the overwhelming situation just draws the tension.