I had such high hopes for this one. The topic sounded right up my alley as someone who is interested in Antarctica and has a soft spot for zombie and other similar pandemic thrillers. I loved the idea of a pandemic in Antarctica, a remote area where you can’t escape from it. And there were moments where I could see what this book could have been – the reason I kept pushing through. But unfortunately, the shortcomings mean I can’t rate this book particularly highly.

I feel like the book could have gone through more editing. The writing didn’t flow well at times. Although the action was often well written, the interactions could have been tightened up and improved on. It felt a bit circular and repetitive at times, with some events and explanations being rehashed more than I would have liked which made it feel like it was dragging at times, even though this was a pretty action heavy book. I think the book could have benefitted from focusing on fewer characters. We jumped around a lot which can work but unfortunately many of the characters were not particularly well developed and did not stand put from each other as much as they should have. It got a bit better towards the end, but it took a while to get there. And unfortunately this was worse for the female characters, which made for an uncomfortable read at times. They were far too often discussed in the context of how attracted the male characters were to them. Not even the fully infected men who under the control of the microbe were immune from this. As someone who has lived in field stations, yes, some people get horny in these conditions but I wish it wasn’t so prevalent in this book as it just came across as objectifying and uncomfortable, and not in a “this is how it feels for the people going through this” kind of a way. The almost jokey way in which it feels like it is treated at times feels deeply troubling to me.

Overall, this book had promise and I do think people will enjoy the thriller aspects. I just wish more attention had been given to the relationships and interactions between the characters. Especially since these are so important in remote communities.

This is a contagion story set at a snowy South Pole. As a sci-fi thriller, I felt this one will most appeal to readers looking for a suspenseful read. I have read a lot of similar narratives so I found this one to be relatively predictable and tropey.

This was a very very entertaining read. The plot was fast paced & kept me hooked. The cast of characters were very diverse, which I appreciated, though I do wish the female characters had some more depth. I loved the concept of science-gone-wrong and politics manipulating/meddling with science - I think that’s a relevant topic right now. Great option for when you’re in a reading slump.

Thank you Angry Robot Books for the ARC!

So I dove into this book not really knowing what to expect. I still don’t really understand every I read but I finished it. I don’t know if it was intentional but the writing came off a little sexist. Heavy on the manliness and less focus on women as whole and not just what they look like. The plot was new to me and I was really excited for the concept but it fell flat because of other factors and flaws in the novel. I think if the author focused more on the story of a really contagion and less on what humans think and what makes them tick this would have been a 5 star for me. The blood and gore really did it for me as well.

In the long, dark winter of Antarctica, something is coming to life. Michael Nayak’s Symbiote follows a group of scientists who encounter a mysterious and violent parasite that turns an already challenging environment into a battle for survival. As the bodies begin piling up, they are forced to fight for—and hide from—each other as well as the organism that is taking them out one by one.

This sci-fi horror takes the tension of The Walking Dead and wraps it in the eerie otherness of The Thing, making for an atmospheric and terrifying read.

While Symbiote‘s greatest strength is its characters, it takes some time to find your footing with a semi-omniscient POV that ping-pongs around a fairly large cast. Once answers start revealing themselves, however, it’s a race to the finish, and the elaborate world building is impressive for a debut novel. If the tone is rooted in horror, the intricate plot is firmly science fiction, which makes the ending both complex and satisfying. The book questions what makes us human while also hinting at broader geopolitical themes of morality and warfare.

Overall, I enjoyed the read once the characters became more streamlined and the puzzle pieces started slotting together. The setting alone makes the effort worthwhile, especially considering that the author wrote it while actually in Antarctica.

Many thanks to Angry Robot and NetGalley for this ARC! Symbiote is available now, so be sure to check your local bookstore or library for a copy!

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I love that there are more sci-fi horror books being released. This book reminded me somewhat of the show Fortitude. The isolation aspect adds so much to the panic and dread.

There were a bit too many characters and because some had very similar names, I had a hard time keeping track of who was who. Overall this was a solid entry into one of my favorite genres.

This book had me by the throat the minute I read the description. It is a great mix of sci-fi and horror and hit all of my favorite parts about dystopian and apocalyptic fiction right on the head, including that it doesn't seem too far off from the realm of possibility. It took me a bit to be completely engrossed, but once it got rolling, I was definitely sucked in. Seeing how the polies try to learn everything that they can about this aggressive foreign microbe while they are both 1) cut off from the rest of the world and 2) fighting for their life against is what had me LOCKED in. The virus somewhat becoming a character itself as it evolved across generations was also a great touch and the fact that it did feel autonomous certainly added to the suspense of the story. One thing that I didn't particularly appreciate was the way that the women in the book were kind of portrayed as pawns to be passed around, but it also did add another layer of unlikability to many of the already terrible male characters, which maybe helped make a lot of the rest of their personalities and actions make sense. Super excited to see what Nayak has in store for the sequel!
Sincere thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robots for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This Antarctic-set thriller - Michael Nayak's debut - had some things going for it. First and foremost, this is the only novel set in the Antarctic I've read that was written by somebody who's actually spent significant time on an Antarctic research station, and in the early chapters of the novel, Nayak uses that experience to good purpose. The cold is 'a physical wall that their lungs strain against with every breath' as 'an endless river of snow kicks between his legs like fine baking flour'. Lying in a bunk, a character 'often sees blue sparks of static electricity arcing in the high-altitude dry air when he moves his legs too quickly'. Second, it has a good premise; when an extremophile parasite that multiplies rapidly in very cold temperatures but is otherwise dormant reaches South Pole Station, its inhabitants have to figure out how to deal with the situation given that they cannot venture outside. Unfortunately, despite these plus points, this turned out to be one of the worst books I'd read in a very long time. I reserve one-star ratings for books that were not only bad but were actually offensive - and Symbiote definitely falls into that category.

As a number of other reviewers have pointed out, this novel is intensely male-gazy. It head-hops like a bunny on steroids but it very rarely hops into the viewpoint of any of the female characters. This is because they exist to be desired by the male characters and to cause conflict between the team. While this was bad enough, what really made me recoil from Symbiote was the small details. An early, violent attack is also a gratuitous attempted rape. When the characters have to strip off to be checked for parasitic infection, we hear about a woman getting her body closely scrutinised but not any of the men. When they also have to shave their hair due to the outbreak, obviously the women stupidly kick off about it - I guess this parasite only likes living in head hair, so we don't have to see our manly men shaving their legs or armpits. Then there's the scene where a group of zombies still get erections at the sight of naked female zombies. WHY. Given the way the novel treats its only two queer male characters, I'm going to say it's pretty homophobic as well (queer women don't exist in this universe, I think they all sensibly fled).

Even putting aside this incredibly problematic material, Symbiote is just a bad novel. I've read my share of macho thrillers and enjoyed some of them, but this was a mess. There are so many characters it's impossible to keep track of them, and with zero characterisation beyond whom they are currently lusting after, it's hard to care when they die. While there are some good moments in the parasite plot, especially in the earlier part of the book, it's very unevenly paced, and also driven by stupid choices made by our protagonists. The final showdown leaves everybody looking like villains, even the character who is supposed to lead us into a sequel (noooooooo). I was disgusted by this novel, and I'm amazed that anybody would publish it.

I have applied a couple of times to work in Antarctica. If something causes the staff to start killing each other I'm glad I didn't get accepted. Or if it is 50% as messy, I'm too tired for that in real life.

"Symbiote" takes places in WWIII, in an uncomfortably close future. Happy to not be in the crossfire the staff is surprised with scientists from the Chinese base make the nearly impossible trek to the US base. Something has killed their staff and made an art exhibit of the second truck with them. Unbeknownst to them they have brought in something. Something that thrives in the cold. Something that changes people. And it is evolving.

Reasons to read:
-Wild interpersonal drama taken to the extremes
-Workplace feuds blow up to insane levels
-Use of the Antarctic base as a setting done well
-Clashing evolution
-Geopolitical bs that isn't happening to us in reality

Cons:
-Yea... They would do that if they could

DNF. I want to start by saying I consider myself open minded and far from a prude. I can handle elements of a story that are sexual for a purpose, however I have failed to see the purpose of the sexual elements of this story.

This is the second book I've started this year with a settling in Antarctica that takes place during a time that war breaks out in the rest of the world. Being cut off from the rest of the world during that time, while dealing with your own problems is a fantastic premise. I had such high hopes, and the first book set them even higher.

Perhaps that's why the huge cast of characters that the reader hasn't had time to care about and yes, the odd sexual descriptions, made this novel a slog for me. I had hoped that the constant odd thoughts and actions of the characters were a side effect of the outbreak, but I just couldn't get to the end to find out.

1/5

I picked this one up, primarily due to the unique setting of a research station in Antarctica, and the idea of how a contagion plot would play out in the most isolated place in the world.
First up, the setting is incredible and Nayak has brought all of his own experience to bear on building this claustrophobic world. I also liked the sections where Nayak delves into what is happening the outside world, namely World War III between the U.S. and China / Russia.
There are a lot of questions around that side of the plot, and not all in an intriguing way. For example, Rajan is logging into the secure channel for what appears to be a test of the parasite/symbiote, but I fail to see why he is here as it seems like they never expected the originally infected Chinese scientists to attempt (or succeed with) a trek across the ice.
It would have been good to understand more of Rajan’s actual role at the station as all we get otherwise is everybody else’s suspicion about him. Did he have some prior knowledge of the experiment, or was he just dropped in there blind? His presence felt a little clunky after that reveal, which was unfortunate given that he was the main character.
As for the parasite, while the descriptions around the infection (particularly the second strain) were quite gruesome, I found the chapters where the symbiote was speaking about manipulating the character a little overkill – it took what little mystery there was about some of the characters out of the equation. When more than one infected person was in the room, it became downright confusing and I don’t know that the symbiote’s point of view really added anything to the story.
We jump between a lot of characters throughout the novel and we don’t really know that much about any of them in the end – as others have pointed out, the female characters are particularly underdeveloped and there are some rather juvenile attitudes around sex and relationships in general.
While I found the plot and action intriguing enough to keep reading, the novel itself left me feeling a little indifferent as regards its main players. As I said earlier, I was intrigued by Rajan’s presence and still somewhat interested as to where his story goes next. But if there was no sequel, I couldn’t say I’d lose sleep wondering what happened to him. And there was no other character, apart from maybe Siri, that I really had any interest in.
Symbiote is not a bad read, but a decent plot can’t survive without some good characters – there’s some symbiosis for you.

My thanks to Angry Robot, via NetGalley for an eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This wasn't anything that new, it was exactly what you assume it would be. It was ok, could've had better world/character building to make the connection with the reader stronger.

I'm going to be honest--I requested this on a whim because I saw the cover on Reddit and I thought it was really cool. I thought that I was ready for this kind of story, but I think that I still just can't do pandemic/contagion things. I do think that the story was very clearly well-researched though, especially when it came to Antarctica and also politics. So, I do appreciate that Nayak really put their heart and effort into this story. It just wasn't for me. However, I definitely know a lot of patrons who are really going to get a kick out of this one!

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!