dnf @ about 20%

I think I thought that I was ready for this kind of book - a science fiction-esque survival thriller about a viral contagion in the near future. But I think I'm maybe not quite there yet. I think a lot of people are really going to enjoy this book if it's their thing. There's a lot to be appreciative of - well thought out envisions of politics in future decades, incredibly well researched depictions of living in Antarctica (I believe the author has spent time there), suspenseful twists and turns. It may just edge a little too close to horror for my own tastes.

Thank you NetGalley and Angry Robot for the eARC. All opinions are my own

During World War III, as tensions continue between the US and China, three scientists from the Chinese base in the Antarctic make their long way to the closest (though, by far) US station with evidence of the first murder on Antarctic soil... and many more passengers as yet unseen.

This is Nayak's debut, which he expounds upon in his lengthy afterward, and a good chunk of it was really interesting-- what drew me mostly was the microbes and their evolution in the pole and the mingling of their deep desire for more, many, into taking advantage of their hosts. Saying this as a long-time Stephen King reader, a LOT reminded me of his style especially in the way some of the dialogues from the mad or the taken over repeated certain things in a way that's always been creepy to me (so, a success!).

There were a few things that didn't work well-- the strongest was that every time a woman was narrated upon, the narration focused on her body or how the man of the chapter felt about her body. There was even some random throwaway muttered line about a character early on being a big, broad woman- why? And any time Summer was mentioned it was all about how hot she was and how much she was wanted by Rajan... this is not the way! But as a debut hopefully Nayak's next books, as he's planning further adventures for aforementioned Rajan, will treat women less as bodies (which also doesn't even make sense with asexual symbiotes).

Additionally, how the microbes came into being was sort of ??? for me in a way that would be spoilers and I think I would have enjoyed it much better if it was more "oopsie well this sure happened!" and less how it happened. The WWIII and the CIA/military additions were unnecessary parts to what was a pretty decent spooky short-time horror.

Overall I enjoyed it (except the random objectification and honestly I don't even... often notice that kind of thing even so) and it sure was a fun book to finish up in the hospital waiting for a procedure! Rounding up to 4 because I do feel overall positive here even several days after I finished. Appreciated the variety of races and sexualities present and the perspective from someone who was actually there and did the thing and then wrote out all this long-hand way the heck at the end of the earth!

Thank you to Angry Robot Books for the NetGalley widget!

Extraordinarily riveting, this engrossing tale of Winter-Over at the South Pole Station, Antarctica, is a page-turning, non-stop adventure, as scientists and crew alike must bond together to battle a mysterious, highly contagious, biological event which could have 100% fatal consequences. This novel would also make for an amazing film. The author's personal Antarctic tenure vifies the story as the constant darkness, the human "soap-opera" drama, rampant loneliness, and the emotional and physiological effects of the introduced bioweapon magnetize the reader in this near-future "could this actually occur."

Set at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station in 2028. It is the second year of the Pacific Rim war between China and the USA. Three Chinese scientists come to the station, bringing a ravaged corpse with them that speaks of a very violent death. The dead body carries microbes and people start to act strangely. The horror story develops from there. The Thing meets… something violent and creepy, anyway.

The author uses many, many metaphors and similes to describe everything and anything. Early on it‘s very heavy handed and really threw me out of my reading flow. It took me forever to make progress (slow buildup) and I almost tossed the book during the first few chapters. It gets less pronounced as the story proceeds, but I wish he (or his editor) would have toned it down a little more.

This ticks the boxes for a horror story. Yuck, I felt uncomfortable for many stretches of this. The Antarctic setting is always something that works well for me. But I had serious issues with the writing. Too many crude characters and sexual swear words for my taste—that’s me though. Mileage may vary for you. Written from a very male perspective, aka should make male readers happier.

I started to lightly skim about three-quarters into this, because I just didn‘t like the direction and the feel of the story much anymore and wanted to be done with it. My interest level picked up again in the stretch to the finale and the ending was full of action, suspenseful and fun. Maybe a little too violent, the good guys were barely distinguishable from the monsters.

So, this is a hard one to have an opinion about and to rate. Lots that I didn‘t like about the writing. Deducting one star for the excessive use of similes. Not sure I am a fan of the pacing or the switch of narrative voice in the middle. Struggling a bit with the characterizations. It‘s his first published novel, so benefit of the doubt?

Do I recommend this novel? Well, if my above comments haven‘t deterred you so far, go for it! Depending on the sound of the blurb, I might even pick up the sequel that seems to be in the works.

The author has an interesting sounding bio: https://www.michaelnayak.com/about-me

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher or author through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review.

If you have ever watched the thing wether it's the original movie or the remake I really think you are going to enjoy this book. With the background of ww3 with America and China that hits kind of close to home right now, this book was really atmospheric. I felt like I could feel the cold creeping in through the words. Has that really unsettling who could be the creature vibe that tge thing did so well at. Lots of suspicion and a creeping terror that follows you all the way through the book. Hard to get into it at the start but it quickly picks up and gets crazy. Lots of perspectives at first but Narrows down to only one main character which I thought was unique to the story. Seriously if you liked the thing you need to read this book.

Ahhhh! I’m still feeling the microbes all over me and claustrophobic even though I finished it a few days ago! This was a fresh take on microbiology horror with the authors first hand experience in Antartica. I couldn’t put it down.


Thank you SO much Angry Robot for eARC it was right up my alley!

Symbiote is perfect for fans of horror and sci-fi that has the perfect combination to freak you out with the possibility that this could happen in our near future with contagions. Michael Nayak is brilliant weaving together this story that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat!

In the near-future, a group of American scientists researching at the South Pole come in contact with a deadly parasite that seeks to propagate throughout the world.

Symbiote does an great job at capturing the claustrophobic, tense and paranoid atmosphere surrounding the characters as they intially go about their research in one of the most isolated locations in the world. The technological, scientific and behavioral information provided is also very detailed and felt like an interesting glimpse at a place that most people will never encounter.

The cast of characters in Symbiote is intially so large however, it makes getting attached to more than a few central characters difficult. The characters that are given focus aren’t always the most engaging and there is an undercurrent of the male characters receiving more depth and development than their female counterparts.

The emphasis upon sex throughout the novel is sometimes uncomfortable as well. There is a fair amount of violence and some body horror, but that is to be expected from a story involving unexpected and deadly infections.

A parasitic species attempting to infiltrate a number of hosts in a frigid environment isn’t the most unique plot, yet Symbiote utilizes intriguing methods of depicting the evolution of the microbe; not only due to new and unsettling behaviors, but also through actual changes in the novel’s perspectives.

Given the nature of the ending, I am quite curious to see where the story will go.

Thank you Angry Robot and NetGalley for providing a physical copy and ebook of Symbiote in exchange for an honest review.

Four years from now – just think about that for a minute. Four years from right NOW. The world is on the brink of World War III.

And that’s not necessarily the most frightening part of the story!

The fears and frights and scares and outright terrors are layered in this OMG DEBUT novel, to the point where the reader’s heart is pounding alongside all the rest of the characters. I say ‘rest’ of the characters because frankly, if this is that close then we’re already in it and it’s already all of us.

But those layers of fear may start with just thinking about how close this might be, but the part of the story that grabs the reader by the throat and doesn’t let go is the part that happens far, far away, in the remotest place on Earth.

Over an entirely too short 72 hours in the midst of the long Antarctic winter, the tiny overwinter crew at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is reduced from 41 scientists, technicians and support crew to just FIVE scarred and scared survivors after the station is invaded.

In the midst of the Third World War that is happening in the world at large, the crew at the U.S. controlled South Pole fears that the vehicle heading their way from the Chinese-controlled Dome A is the vanguard of that invasion.

And it is – but not in the way that anyone thinks. It’s not the three starving Chinese men who are the threat – it’s the dead man in the back, the one who dashed himself against the walls until he died.

He had a passenger. (Technically, the dead man had a host of passengers.) In the best SF horror thriller tradition, those passengers, a lab experiment gone much too successfully and entirely too wrong, have plans of their own.

Escape Rating A+: There are so many ways to think/talk/write about Symbiote – and they ALL work. The whole thing was a WOW. (Admittedly, a WOW I had to stop reading at 1 am, even though I had less than an hour left. I could have finished. And I’d probably have been awake for the rest of the night as a result. It’s that kind of WOW.)

The horrors, as I said, are layered. There’s the World War III aspect, which is touched on just enough to give the reader the shivers, which then gets subsumed in all the other horrors, only to rear its ugly head again at the end.

Underneath the World War III scares and the political maneuverings that go with it is the horror so brilliantly pointed out in the first Jurassic Park movie, “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” The results are not actually dissimilar, although part of the horror leans a bit on another famous, and much older quote from Walt Kelly’s Pogo, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

One of the biggest, and most in the moment layers of the horrors in Symbiote is very definitely the human equation.

The small crew of overwinter “polies” is, as they are every year, alternately hard working and bored, often introverted but stuck in the enforced intimacy of a VERY TINY small town, isolated from the whole entire rest of the world and quite possibly just a bit – or a lot – cracked in one way or another.

There’s also a deep, resentful divide between the scientists – the ‘beakers’, and the techs and support crew – the ‘loggers’. On top of that there’s a huge gender imbalance, three men for every woman. It’s a pressure cooker on multiple axes and the stew gets aside to cook for a nine-month season. It’s not really a surprise that it boils over at the best of times – which this particular overwinter absolutely is not.

In other words, the story in Symbiote had more than enough stress factors to go to the ‘dark side’ from the human parts of the equation alone. And to some extent those human factors continue to drive events even after not all the humans are exactly still or just merely human.

And it’s those human factors that give the story its compulsive, breakneck pace. Because it’s the humans that we care about – and we do. We absolutely do. From the beginning, when it just seems like the scares come from humans just being human and some of them being shitty humans, we already have our hero, our sidekicks and most definitely our villains.

As the snow gets deeper and the shit gets WAY more complicated, so do the motivations of ALL the players – and the reader gets even more invested as each character learns something new and shitty about themselves – and stands or folds under the weight of that knowledge.

I got so caught up in this story I barely stopped to sleep while I still could. When I finished, I found the ending cathartic enough – and yet still open. Because it reads like this chapter may be done, but there is plenty of story yet to come.

As there should be. Because the survivors have merely managed to survive the horror they faced in their isolated base. The huge, horrifying issues that brought this mess to their snowy doorstep are out in the wider world – and have yet to be addressed. Even though one of those messes already clearly has plans to address them.

Thank you to Angry Robot Books and Michael Nayak for this ARC.

Imagine "The Thing" colliding with "The Walking Dead," and you get this icy, bone-chilling sci-fi thriller that keeps you turning pages late into the night 🥶. The plot centers on a terrifying biological contagion that spreads rapidly among scientists and military personnel stationed at the South Pole. What follows is a relentless mix of body horror, intense violence, and nail-biting action sequences that pull you into a desperate fight for survival.

One of the book’s strongest elements is its portrayal of isolation and paranoia — the sheer cold and the vast emptiness of the Antarctic setting only heighten the claustrophobic tension ❄️.

The POV structure takes a little time to adjust to, as there are several characters to keep track of. However, as the body count starts rising (and it definitely rises 💀), the plot becomes more streamlined and gripping. Each death raises the stakes, making survival feel more desperate and thrilling.

If you love stories that blend edge-of-your-seat action 🎢, disturbing body horror 🧬, and the eerie dread of isolation, this book will absolutely hit the mark. Just be prepared to sleep with the lights on after finishing it! 😱

3.5 stars rounded up.
Symbiote is a sci-fi thriller that wastes little time getting down to business, with an action packed opening that keeps the tension and the threat constant throughout the novel. It feels like a definite homage to John Carpenter’s The Thing, with plenty of the horror coming from the enemies hidden in plain sight, and creating a strong sense of paranoia among the crew. Bonus points for the author writing the majority of the book actually at an Antarctic research station!

The story gets straight down to business in the first few chapters, as a deadly new parasite that thrives in cold climates is accidentally introduced to the base, and rapidly starts decimating the population. The story jumps frequently between different perspectives, so you can watch the panic slowly spread across the camp, with no one character having the whole picture at first. There’s even a few chapters from the perspective of the infected individuals, that really bring the horror elements to life. I’ll admit that I formed little connection to the majority of POV characters in Symbiote, as most of them don’t get a lot (or any) character development. Given the rapidly increasing body count though, the lack of connection is probably for the best! The book does a very good job at distinguishing a huge cast of researchers and maintenance staff, though it fell down a little in the final third where I found lots of the surviving crew started to blur into one another.

I personally feel Symbiote does a much better job at being a thriller novel than being a science fiction one. There’s a constant action film vibe running throughout, with tension coming from the surviving characters not understanding the threat, then not knowing who to trust. The nature of the threat they face continues to chop and change too, keeping the story fresh and the tension high. The science frankly goes a little wild in Symbiote; if you’re able to suspend belief in a lot of questionable scientific practices for the sake of a good thriller, then this won’t be a problem. The science of the parasitic enemy is about as crazy as the theories and tests thought up by the science team, which end up being correct surprisingly often. Thank you to Angry Robot and to NetGalley for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review!

Symbiote is such a cool story (pun not intended, but I'm going to go ahead and keep it). I mean, Antarctica is a fascinating setting regardless, but when you take into the account that the author has actual firsthand knowledge that makes this probably the most authentic fiction book possible, it's downright mesmerizing. I've read a few "unearthed frozen germ" type books, but this one has been my favorite, and I think the author's experience is a huge reason why. Because look- you and I cannot really put ourselves in the shoes of the folks at the South Pole. We could try, sure, and that is the fun of reading, but actually living the psychology of being so sequestered from the rest of humanity really packs a punch here in terms of characterization and emotional evocativity.

I was, at first, bummed that we didn't learn more about what was happening elsewhere in the world, since it is a plot point. But then, I found out there is more planned for this world and so that became much less of an issue. I will also say that at first I had a bit of trouble connecting with the characters, but that started to change midway through the book. Obviously, the stakes are huge, because it is clear from the start that this parasitic entity isn't just going to wreak havoc in Antarctica and then burrow back into the snow for a hibernation. No, this has the potential to disrupt the world at large, and at the very least, mess up the entire continent beyond recognition.

My only qualm is that I didn't wholly love some of the more action-driven parts where we actually get to hear from the parasite, in a way. Funny enough, this is the part that most other reviewers seem to enjoy the most, so take my opinion with a grain of salt! I am glad that we did get to understand more of how the parasite worked, I just maybe would have wanted a little less once we did know what we were dealing with. The atmosphere was also on point, which I suppose makes sense since the author lived it, but he did a great job translating it to paper, too.

Bottom Line: Very atmospheric and exciting, I look forward to whatever comes next!

Symbiote by Michael Nayak

Whispy vapors escaped my mouth as I prepared for my daily hike. Icy winds slashed at my unprotected eyes, and my tongue tasted the coastal sea salt trapped in the air. I imagined being hired by the government to live on an Antarctic station. Vast and expansive knowledge permeates through the South Pole snowdrifted soil, as the people known as “Polies” provide valuable information to the American intelligence community. The harshness of the environment is exposed to the novel's readers. However, a feeling of calm and peace accompanies this seclusion. A startling meeting with three Chinese scientists, one of whom is found deceased in the truck bed with unimaginable wounds, instigates an undying need for answers. Why would the Chinese risk their lives to travel this far and vacate their home base?

Death by parasitic disease, surely it must be. Michael Nayak dangles the answer like a carrot teasing an emaciated horse. My antennae are working rhythmically in unison, providing, sensing, and, to the best of my ability, providing an answer that makes sense. For that is all I have, a hunch. The solution is far more dire than I first predicted, one that has more permanent and global implications. Nayak’s ability to extricate a sense of hopelessness from the protagonists helped bring a terrifying reading experience. Simply invoking fear would not do, as my skin stung as if on the onset of hypothermia.

Miscellaneous moving parts haunt the tale. There are an abundance of characters residing within the compound, many of which have their seasonal flings. I tried to remember who was hooking up with whom but this only lent to more confusion on my behalf. Somehow these romances seemed significant to the story. Creating natural alliances and enemies alike played as much a crucial role as the sub-zero temperatures outside. I suppose there is some truth in that: people turning against their neighbor in the name of survival. I am just not sure I would have gone to this length to highlight those relationships. There were just too many, in my opinion, and it started to spoil my fun within the world. Feeling somewhat bogged down towards the middle, my determination paid off as an increase in action stoked the fire causing a relentless stream of unrest and intensity to seep through the cracked veins of ice.

All in all, I had a good time with the “Polies,” one I will remember for it’s intense environment, be that of a blistering chill or hot sauna, or individuals clinging to lifelines as long as humanly possible. The plot struck me as unique, and as the author divulged more information, I was left gobsmacked on more than a few occasions. Questions arose about symbiosis, and parasites riddled my fragile cranium. An enemy working in tandem with a host? Could this really happen? I have no clue, but I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.

I am giving this 3.25 stars and rounding down to 3 stars.

Many thanks to Angry Robot for the ARC through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion.

Thank you to Angry Robot Books for the ARC! Here are my thoughts.

A group of American scientists are researching at the South Pole. A trick of Chinese scientists arrives, but one of the men in their truck is dead. Soon the scientists are facing their worst fear as a parasite begins taking over. Can the scientists study and learn and prevent their death, or is the parasite just too quick for them?

This book was the perfect cold weather book to read. We were facing temperatures that felt around -30C. It’s not quite the temps these characters had to face, but I felt for them. The elements felt like an extra character in this novel, as the harsh cold was so isolating and heavily impacted the characters’ ability to make decisions. It also played a huge part with the parasite.

I worked in microbiology for about 12 years and am currently writing my thesis on a micro project, so any horror/sci fi novel that uses microbiology makes me happy. I try my best to not focus too much on the actual scientific fact and allow myself to have fun with the disbelief. Symbiote was very well researched and yes some of the scenarios are a little farfetched but that’s what makes it a fun horror read.

The characters are vast and there are some readers will love and some they will hate. They all felt human though, living a very complicated and unique job experience. Overall, I enjoyed this. Reading a little about the author’s background also shed some light on why this book felt so real and well researched. I would pick up another book by Nayak, as I love sci-fi and horror and he balanced the two beautifully.

As soon as I read the synopsis I knew I had to request this ARC. It did not disappoint! The storyline was familiar, but a classic for a reason so I have no complaints. It was well developed, great atmosphere and storyline development, it felt well researched/informed, and I would highly recommend it.

Complete isolation and a bone-chilling, parasitic epidemic - sign me up! I do believe relating this book to The Walking Dead was a bit far-fetched and misleading, but overall, I still really enjoyed this sci-fi thriller. I know it will continue to haunt my thoughts for weeks to come.

Thank you to Angry Robot Books, NetGalley, and Michael Nayak for sending me this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Michael Nayak's Symbiote is a chilling and propulsive sci-fi thriller that immediately reminds of the tense atmosphere of John Carpenter's The Thing, but with a modern sin for new audiences. Set against the backdrop of a raging World War III, the story unfolds in a claustrophobic Antarctic research outpost, where the arrival of a Chinese team with a mysterious corpse unleashes a terrifying parasitic entity. Nayak builds suspense as the isolated crew faces not only the monstrous threat but also the potential for a geopolitical crisis. The narrative is packed with cinematic gore and visceral descriptions of the parasite's gruesome effects, making for a gripping read. Beyond the horror, Symbiote explores the tense dynamics and of this isolated community filled with already damaged and volatile characters. The parasite's ability to trigger violence and establish a strange symbiotic telepathy adds a fascinating and disturbing dimension to the story. Nayak's authentic details about life in Antarctica further enhance the sense of realism and isolation, making Symbiote a truly immersive read. Highly recommended for fans of horror, sci-fi thrillers, and anyone who enjoys a good dose of Antarctic chill.

I was very excited to start reading this one. It is winter and I love cold weather horror stories, but very quickly I gave up. I thought it was shorter than it was so I tried to push on, but at a third of the way through I thought okay, I have had enough.

While reading this I kept thinking that a man definitely wrote it. The way the men and women are described was definitely a man writing. Like the dudes and their dicks and them thinking about sex was a huge turnoff for me. It is why I eventually stopped reading. I don't need to read about these awful men and how they objectify the women so much. Really didn't care what happened to anyone so why keep reading?

Everything about this should have been enjoyable and fun. Its not entirely ground breaking but hits the right spot in terms of sci-fi tropes, integrating geopolitics and horror. Be it "The Thing" mixed with isolated horror with new pathogens, etc., the narration treats characters (there are plenty of them) with a level of disregard that takes away enjoyment of reading.

<i>Thank you to Netgalley and Angry Robot for providing me with a free copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Fun little sci fi horror thriller set at the South Pole. I think it’s my first book I’ve read that is set there and Nayak does a great job with the setting. He mentions in the acknowledgements he spent a year though and loved it and it shows. I’m American and a southeastern one at that so I can’t say I’ve experienced any extreme cold weather. So it was fascinating to see the different protocols in place for safety and health.

Symbiote has a LARGE cast of characters and at time it was hard to keep everyone’s various connections in check. This coupled with the fact there is a fair amount of sex/love triangles within the plot. They’re absolutely not integral to the book but I wouldn’t consider it overly raunchy. Considering Nayak has spent some time in Antarctica I find it likely that spending this much time in close quarters with a small amount of people could lead into some Love Island-ish drama. Overall, the extensive cast lead to some confusion within the plot as the story continued to evolve but it helped having a digital edition where I could search by name to aid recollection. I think this would’ve been more of a struggle with a physical copy.

Symbiote doesn’t have the most unique storyline (rampant infection that changes people, isolation, government being shady, etc etc) but I still found it well written and entertaining. It does have some gory scenes but nothing too over the top.

Symbiote follows a team in Antarctica in winter of 2028 as a war between the heavy hitters rages around the world. When a small group of Chinese researchers unexpectedly head into the National Science Foundation’s area things get pretty bad. It does feel a bit cinematic at times but the pacing is solid and the story was definitely entertaining. I would definitely love to check out more work by Nayak in the future.