Thank you so much to Angry Robot for providing me a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

In the not-so-distant future, World War III has begun raging. However, at the South Pole, the research stations have an uneasy truce. When a Chinese truck travels the distance to the American base, they bring a body, a horror story, and another invisible passenger. The crew must battle time and the cold to figure out what the organism is and how to destroy it before it threatens humanity.

This book had a premise that really excited me! The Walking Dead meets Contagion was definitely delivered in this fast-paced horror novel. However, I feel like it resembled The Thing in a few ways rather than The Walking Dead. I love a good plague, but I had to knock off a few points for a few silly things that make this microbiologist roll her eyes a little bit. However, this book was incredibly unique, I had no idea what direction the story was going to take or how it would end.

It is so rare to see an author successfully navigate such a large cast of characters. Michael Nayak did such an amazing job balancing the stories and motivations of all the individual characters in the South Pole American research base. I never felt overwhelmed by how many people were introduced or got anyone confused. The cast was diverse and all very interesting people.

There were great technical explanations, it is clear that the author is very familiar with the setting and some of the roles. This was probably one of the strongest parts of the book; the setting was well-characterized and extremely believable. The horror in this book starts off with an appropriate amount of gore, but transitions to something more insidious. I feel it was very effective, especially with the isolating atmosphere.

If you’re looking for your next horror novel with an isolating setting, diverse cast, and a mysterious evolving organism, then Symbiote releases on February 11th!

Symbiote is a wild, fast-paced sci-fi thriller perfect for winter! I am always down for survival horror, especially set in extreme climates; and it’s hard to get more extreme than an isolated base in Antarctica. Symbiote is fast-paced biological horror, perfect for fans of The Thing and readers who enjoy contagion stories, alien parasites, and isolated settings. I would recommend it especially to fans of Michael Crichton and Kali Wallace. If you enjoy any of these authors or tropes, you will enjoy Symbiote!

Thank you to NetGalley & Angry Robot for the arc! All thoughts & opinions stated in the review are my own.

Symbiote is a fast paced contagion style horror book about researchers and workers in Antarctica that are exposed to a parasitic entity that thrives in the cold.
Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review. I am giving this book 3 stars.
I think that if you are a fan of the movie The Thing that you will enjoy this book. I was happy that this wasn't so close to that movie that it felt like an imitation but it is definitely comparable.
The biggest issue I have with this book is how the women in the book were handled. While the men had back stories, internal emotions and thought processes, the women were mostly relegated to.arm candy. Their significance was purely based on who they were sleeping with and their places.in love triangles that motivated acts of violence by the men.
While I would be interested in exploring more books by this author in the future and will make.sure to post about this book on my social media (TikTok and YouTube) closer to its release date, I can't help but feel a bit disappointed by this one.

Interesting techno-thriller/SF book that really had me captivated for large chunks. Maybe not as well written as I would have liked but the action and cool science ideas made up for that for the most part. Definitely check it out if you like the works of Michael Crichton or Douglas Preston. A more thorough review to follow on my blog.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

The premise was decently interesting, as well done infections and plague survival thrillers are definitely packed. However, what really bothered me most about this is extremely sexist and racist portrayals and dialogue. I do believe that including these is to be a sort of undertone regarding current events that humanity has experienced such as the global pandemic and the ensuing results. The writing includes a lot of data, twists, and the pace is truly an avalanche halfway through. Great for isolated survival themes!

I flew through this book. It is fast moving, engaging, frightening, and just a real good read. Recommended for horror/thriller fans and people that loved Andromeda Strain. It is biological terror at a very high standard. 4.25

Enjoyed this, although I felt it could have been trimmed down somewhat.

Characters are well flushed out with their own mental state, what they’ve been through and how they view themselves. Really appreciated the characters.

World felt constantly cold and when parts of the story they were feeling hot, you, as the reader, felt hot with them.

The story flows really well, it was very interesting and it had me hooked the majority of the way. The only problem is I started to lose steam towards the end, it felt like the story could have been tied up earlier than what it is.

All in all, very enjoyable and will be looking out for book 2.

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.
</b>
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.