I felt like this book couldn't quite decide what it was. An Alien-style claustrophobic slaughter? Eldritch space horror? The plus is that this led to some really interesting mysteries as the story ramped up; the downside is that the answers to most of those mysteries were really uninteresting.

That said, it was extremely atmospheric and a lot of fun. The thumps in the walls really got to me. I appreciated how all the problems just kept cascading - it felt more real, and the level of sleep deprivation the characters reached made the hints even more strange. Was it just hallucinations? Debris from all the catastrophic failures? Or something spooky?

The side-storyline about sexual exploitation of an android was unnecessary in all ways.

The ending was frustrating in many ways. The use of alien DNA was just silly. The sudden climax of the super-powerful space beings left me longing for the eldritch horror that could have been. The mutiny is just dissolved like it never existed, and it basically didn't; we never really FEEL the mutiny, never even meet anyone that's part of it. It might as well be on a TV in the background. And the ship is left by Jupiter, much to everyone's delight, having forgotten that they're completely adrift with no propulsion whatsoever. They're going to starve to death right next to Earth. What even happened to the other ships anyway? Did they get shooed out as well, eaten by aliens, jumped off somewhere on their own? Why do ALL the ships have stowaways? Some very frustrating questions to be left with.

What a little book, that definitely brings a punch. Loved it.

A ship, that's falling apart, is heading back towards the Earth. Our MC, the daughter of the captain, gets thrown into making decisions for him, as he has locked himself up in his cabin. There is a rebellion, missing stores of food, disasters with production of food. And bring on the Aliens.

Alien vibes, sapphic romance, all the bodies - what more could I want?

So fast you'll get whiplash before you can even think about the alien in the duct behind you! This novella was quick-paced, no-nonsense and bowel-tighteningly frightening. Ness Brown lays out the story of the Calypso and its crew's tenuous grip on survival in just the right way for the reader to cling on as it screams off into blackness. Five stars from me for this lovely morsel of space horror, sci-fi fans/those who did not like the Alien films may find it lacking.

This plot was a great example of the credo, 'Things can always get worse'! The setting is a generation ship trying desperately to return to Earth after an unsuccessful attempt to colonise a different planet around Proxima Centauri. Running out of food and with mutiny afoot, the crew realise that they're not alone on the ship and a fight for their lives ensues. It took me a while to get into the narrative, as I found the first third of the novella a bit confusing. However, with the addition of the aliens, the plot became a lot more streamlined and action-packed and I really enjoyed the latter two thirds. I thought Jack was a likable protagonist with an interesting back story that meant her motivations were always believable. I also really enjoyed Watson and it's growth throughout the story. Overall, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys the 'Alien' movie franchise and anyone who likes claustrophobic, space settings.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up

The Scourge Between Stars is an entertaining scifi/horror novella following the acting captain of a large spaceship trying to return to Earth when things begin to go very wrong. Jacklyn is a queer Black woman willing to do whatever it takes to protect the people in her care from the unknown threat stalking them from inside the ship. It's action-packed and creepy, but without being outright terrifying. There is casual queer representation and over all I really enjoyed it. Some elements of the ending are a bit convenient and not super believable, but it offers high entertainment value and a complete story in not too many pages. The audio narration is well-executed. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Content warnings include gore, death, bug-like aliens, a character sexually abusing an android (not on page or explicit), killing a loved one

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader and audiobook copy of The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown in exchange for an honest review. This was a wonderful book that reminded me a bit of Alien and a bit of Lost in Space. I really enjoyed it and the fast pace of the book.

This was such a fast paced, quick sci-fi read. As much as I would never go to space I love reading about it. This had some horror in it as they were starting to run out of food and they noticed anomalies in their systems that looked like additions. Jaclyn the Captain's daughter is trying to hunt down this threat and save her crew and ship. This was exactly the type of book I needed this week.

Read if you like movies/books like: The 100, Aliens, Illuminae

Thank you turnthepagestours and tordotcom for the earc and gifted copy for my honest and voluntary review.

I have to give props to Tor Nightfire for hitting the ground running with its space horror releases. Granted, The Scourge Between Stars is only their second proper space horror release following last year's Dead Silence, which I was less than enamored with, but it's certainly a trend I'd like to see continue. I'd also like to see these books break away from the obvious influences of Alien and Aliens, two monolithic space horror films that not only loom large over this corner of horror subgenres but have come to define it, and give us something that feels a bit more original and less like a retread. Whereas Dead Silence borrowed heavily from Aliens, Ness Brown follows the road map of Ridley Scott's original classic, but not always for the better.

The Scourge Between Stars starts off feeling a bit like a haunted house story - there's inexplicable noises coming from within the walls, things malfunction seemingly without cause, panels explode, etc. It's an effective opening that primes us for Brown's ultimate reveal, even if that reveal isn't particularly surprising, shifting gears from haunted house to violent creature feature. It's very much an Alien clone (in fact, Jonathan Barkan opines that Alien is the perfect haunted house movie in his piece for Bloody Disgusting. If you're going to copy somebody's template, you may as well copy from the best, right?), but Brown puts in just enough of their own touches to make the story feel more like pastiche than pure derivative. Sadly, Brown's few attempts to make the story their own aren't quite enough to salvage the whole enterprise.

One thing Brown does really well is the overarching sense of doom and the crew's battle for preservation. Jacklyn, acting captain of the generation ship Calypso, is hellbent on saving her people against all odds. Each new crinkle and wrinkle that promises to shorten everyone's life expectancy only drives her harder to overcome the obstacles put in her way. The Calypso is fleeing a doomed colony and charting a course back to Earth, a planet these folks are unlikely to see in their own lifetime even if everything went OK to begin with. But now they have some busted propulsion systems slowing them down, food scarcity is a growing concern, and Earth itself is hundreds of lightyears away. And to top it all off, there's some nasty, hungry creatures hiding out onboard, too, leaving dead bodies (or parts of dead bodies, at least) lying around the ship.

Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of room aboard Calypso for anything too surprising. The Scourge Between Stars is a quick, punchy novella, but it also has a few too many story threads that I really would have liked to have seen expanded and expounded upon. We get brief teases about a mutiny and a shockingly late-game, off-handed, blink and you'll miss it reveal of a cult that feels shoehorned into the narrative, coming so straight out of left-field it had me keyword searching my Kindle to see if I'd somehow missed pertinent information earlier in the story. It's a clumsy reveal and its placement in the story offers little in the way of game-changing information, offering little more than a head-scratching "Wait, what?!", but it also offers a lot of tantalizing promise that, had it been handled less lazily and haphazardly, could have made for a truly compelling element.

Brown's churned out a quick novella, a format I typically love when done well, but unfortunately it's not done particularly magnificently here and there are a handful of elements I wish they'd taken longer to flesh out more fully. Rather than playing up these more hair-raising elements, which could have truly helped separate The Scourge Between Stars from just another Alien clone, Brown instead relegates them to the background and then resolves them off-page, opting instead to give us a story we've already seen executed better elsewhere. It's shame, as Brown does show some genuine promise; they just needed another draft or two, maybe, to fully realize this story's full potential.

The Scourge Between Stars was an entertaining sci-fi horror novella that genuinely creeped me out! Ness Brown creates a wonderfully tense atmosphere that is sustained throughout the story and a main character who we grow to care about in a short period of time. I do wish the ending hadn't felt rushed, but overall this was a solid novella that I will be recommending on my YouTube channel.

This book kept me up at night. I loved it! I would describe it as ALIEN meets APOLLO 18. It starts out explaining the crews dire situation and builds up from there.

The author, Ness Brown, does a wonderful job with the main character internal conflict. This really is what kept me reading. I wanted to know why her mother died and why her father is locked in his cabin. I won't say much more because I don't want to spoil the book.

Overall, if you love science fiction, space, and gore with many jump scares. Then be sure to read THE SCOURGE BETWEEN STARS!

If novellas about space passage, alien invasions, a darker version of Wall-E, and Thanos-like destruction of mankind are your jam, this book is for you!

The suspense carried me to the end of the book, giving me a comfortable victory that things turned out the way I thought they would. There were a few jaw-dropping moments I won't reveal and an outlook that will question if you are a villain or a hero when it comes to peril and danger.

Though it's not the typical genre I read, I gave it 3-stars. Three cheers for trying something new!

Jack & Watson, yes!! I found this debut novel from Ness Brown to be really quite an enjoyable space novella. Even though it was marketed as horror/thriller I would actually categorize it more in the suspense genre. And I do love a well-written female captain/lead. I am a fan of space fantasy/horror/thriller/suspense stories and if this is the start of the fantastic voyage I believe it is, I am buying my ticket now.

I was so excited to be granted the E-Arc but I will definitely be picking up the physical copy for my shelves so that I can continue this journey with this crew of characters and Ness Brown.

This novella was very reminiscent of Alien but the author was able to make the story her own. It was atmospheric, I could vividly envision the Calypso and her crew and I appreciate that the officers in charge were mostly women. Also there was just the right amount of sci fi and horror. Overall, this novella felt complete and I was very entertained!

Great start to a series, I'm excited to continue the adventure. The descriptions for this novel always include "claustrophobic" and that couldn't' be more accurate. Ratchets up the tension and anxiety!

I read this book as an arc from Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book. It was slow in the beginning but when it picked up, it was interesting. this novella follows Jacklyn on the starship, Calypso. Jacklyn is a very strong character as she becomes the acting caption of the starship. I think this book clearly conveys the creepy atmosphere and a character we can root for. I kinda wish it was longer to spend more time with Jack because I like her. I will be looking forward to other works by this author.

The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown was an interesting read for sure. I’ve always loved sci-fi/fantasy novels, but haven’t read much horror. In spite of that, I gobbled up this novella within a few hours.

I adored Brown’s main character, Jacklyn. I could feel her personality like my own, her anger, her fears, & the heavy obligation she carried with her throughout the story. I wish her secondary characters were stronger in their development, but in an action-filled short story, I could forgive their weaker characterization. The plot was fast-paced & snagged my attention immediately. Never once did I feel bored while reading. The setting & world-building fantastic; I love it when I’m so immersed in a book that I don’t feel like I’m reading it so much as I’m living it.

The relationships between characters were easy to follow, some of them developed more strongly than others, but still enjoyable. The familial growth between the two main characters was perfect, even in such a short amount of time. There were very few things I found myself annoyed by, but those details were intentional, given how they were written. The horror aspect wasn’t all that terrifying, but I did find myself on edge throughout the majority of the book.

I definitely recommend short story this for all sci-fi/horror readers. Strong plot, lovable characters, & just a little bit of horror to make you question if space-travel is really all that necessary. 4.5/5 stars.

I received an ARC copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ness Brown's novella has just about everything I love in a story: mysterious alien monster, outer space, feisty heroine. If you're a fan of Aliens, Dead Space, or Event Horizon, then you'll love The Scourge Between the Stars.

I think this easily could have been a full novel, with some additions of flashbacks to the original settlers, or more with Jack's mom (very Sophia Lamb from BioShock), or maybe some more science-y stuff about Them. While this is a horror novel and the antagonist is an alien creature, there are in fact another group of aliens present the whole time - those that the human fleet believe to be so advanced as to not even notice the human ships trying to avoid whatever epic battle these advanced beings are in the middle of (the ricochets and fragments of which are damaging Jack's ship). It's a fascinating mystery, especially upon the conclusion.

I hope that Ness Brown shares more of this world in the future - I'd love to read more Jack!

Many thanks to Tor Nightfire and Netgalley for the ARC!!!

When an alien intruder invades the Calypso, one of the last remaining vessels carrying the dwindling numbers of humanity, Captain Jacklyn finds herself in a tight situation in order to keep their numbers from dwindling further. But when the systems begin failing and the alien begins to make short work of the crewmembers, Jacklyn will be forced to make choices she never saw herself making, especially with her father being locked in his cabin and not responding to anyone's messages.

The novella is very fast-paced, which is something that is definitely needed in sci-fi horror. I also didn't feel that Brown used gore for gore's sake. Every kill or incident that happened was treated with the right kind of gore and allowed the reader some time to rest between the action. There was a small spark of romance, but not overly so as to distract from the horror. The only thing that I didn't really like about this book was the less-than-stellar ending. The story ended on a poignant note, however, I felt that there should have had a little more fleshing out of certain characters and creatures, but no spoilers!

If you're looking for a fast-paced sci-fi horror told from a Black perspective, The Scourge Between Stars is definitely a book that you should pick up.

"The Scourge between the Stars" is a fast-paced and thrilling sci-fi novel that takes readers on a journey through the depths of space. The story revolves around a damaged interstellar spaceship under attack and the missing captain. The author's attention to detail and vivid description of the ship's systems and technology gives the story a sense of realism that makes it easy for readers to imagine themselves on board. The characters are well-developed and relatable, with their unique personalities and motivations, adding depth to the story. The intense action scenes will keep you on the edge of your seat. The author also tackles essential themes such as leadership, sacrifice, and teamwork, making the story, not just an exciting adventure but also a thought-provoking one. Overall, "The Scourge between the Stars" is a must-read for fans of sci-fi and space adventures.

2.5 stars


I thought this novella was fine, but not anything particularly remarkable. What made it much less appealing to me was the fact that it seemed to take the framework of Alien (1979) (and also some of the flesh), and added things on from there. (Alien is one of my favourite movies, & it's hard to improve on that.) I also think the story worked fine as a book, but would have worked much better as a film. The horror elements also didn't feel particularly striking to me -- whether that was completely an issue of tension, or if it was also that I basically knew where the book was going to go, I'm not sure. And I did NOT like how the ending just basically magically resolved the big overarching issue -- it felt like a cop-out.

While it didn't work for me, this might be a good novella for those less into space horror -- I think it would provide a good way for those readers to get their feet wet.