This was a great contagion read and reminded me a little of The Thing. At times it was hard to follow the story as there were many character introductions, but overall a good read.

I like the idea but I was never hooked. It would benefit in being a bit shorter and tighter. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Loved the premise, it sounded very interesting and I have liked similar stories before set in very contained spaces., but I was left wanting something else or something more. It felt too long, and I lost interest fairly quickly even though I wanted to pay attention. Didn’t connect with the characters.

One could tell the author has experience with the environment described which added to a realistic feel to the story,

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 this e-ARC.

An unknown infection is affecting the staff at the South Pole. With an intelligent, adaptive enemy it comes down to a fight for survival, both at the pole and beyond.

This book touches on a lot of issues that are becoming more prevalent in our lives:

Disease X ✅
Post Covid there’s a bigger conversation around when the next “big one” is coming and what disease x might look like.

Fear around bioweapons and growing hostility globally ✅

Global warming and the risk of ancient, unknown microorganisms and viruses being released in the melting glaciers and permafrost ✅

The above themes and the remote setting create a terrifying story that you can’t look away from as it plays out in the microcosm of the South Pole.

Symbiote is chilling, disturbing and exciting. It’s hard to put down. The characters are interesting and the relationships explored between them help drive the action.
The Author has no problem in letting his characters die but it really ups the stakes. Theres a large roster of characters but you get to know a lot of them.

There’s multiple POVs as events unfold and at times it is difficult to tell who’s narrating.
The ‘we’ section of the infected is fascinating. Ben and the hive are so disconcerting and creepy it really sets you on edge. Seeing the shared POV was fascinating.

The ending gives me chills! Life finds a way.
Fantastic read!

Authors note - it’s mindblowing blowing to think this book might not have made it to the shelf if this author didn’t persevere. Thank god he did!

Despite the horror, the authors immersive writing style does make you want to spend some time at the South Pole! There’s a passion for the ice and it shows in the writing - a setting doesn’t need to fictional to be gripping and the backdrop of experience brings this book to life.

This was mind-bending, nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat, violent, crazy thrilling.
Contagion meets The Walking Dead in this new sci-fi thriller where a biological threat ravages scientists and military personnel at the South Pole.

2028. The U.S. and China wage war, but there is still a peace treaty at the end of the world at the ice-bound Amundsen-Scott Station in Antarctica where a U.S. research team is preparing for four months of complete darkness. Then a desperate Chinese convoy turns up with three scientists and one mutilated body, Antarctica’s first murder.
From there, things quickly dissolve into madness, violence, and a fast-mutating microbe that thrives in the cold and controls its hosts’ minds.

This book plays on that cold creeping feeling. On the isolation and loneliness and a parasite that thrives on suspicion, on turning people against each other. Easy enough in a confined facility with limited outside contact, hierarchies, high emotions, and sexual tension.

<b>The anxiety of realizing how isolated they are from help. The inescapable feeling that they are trapped, backs to a cliff, being edged implacably toward the edge; a chess game they didn’t know they were playing, but are losing. Ice-cold hands curling implacably around his throat.
</b>
I was worried I wouldn’t enjoy this as there were so many characters and facts thrown at you at the start, but this does become more character focused, centring on the only military personnel on the station, Rajan.

It does jump between other perspectives and even the microbe and past articles, outside communications. This keeps you on your toes as you see the situation from every perspective possible but keeping you grounded with Rajan as the protagonist.

<b>The male ego was the bedrock of the patriarchy, but a girl could throw a saddle on that stallion and ride it to her own benefit, given the right circumstances.
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The ending demonstrates horror at both an invading species and humanity’s capacity for selfishness, survival, and choices.

WARNING: This is not a standalone! However, I do think you can feel satisfied reading this alone or continuing if? when? the next book does release!

If you enjoyed Ascension by Nicholas Binge, I would recommend this or vice versa!

Thank you to Angry Robit for sending me a physical arc in exchange for a review!

Symbiote - mixing anxiety inducing isolation in the middle of nowhere with no sun and subfreezing temps with the creepy and gory body horror of a parasitic hive minded microbe determined to survive and multiply.
I enjoyed the concept, atmosphere, and the ending was solid. There were a lot of characters so it was hard to keep track of who's who for me. Thankfully there was a cast of characters which I was able to reference a few times. I appreciated the authors note explaining some of the inspiration and origins of this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot Books for this e-ARC! Expected release date 2/11/2025.

I was hooked from the tagline “Contagion meets the Walking Dead” and was excited to get into this world. It had that element that I wanted and really did the concept justice. I enjoyed the scifi thriller elements to this and was everything that I was looking for. The characters continued to work with the story and was glad they had that realism in this scifi world. Michael Nayak has a strong writing style and am excited for more.