Welcome to our ninth post about the Horror A Month Storygraph Reading Challenge. We are in the last quarter of the year and proud that we have stuck to this challenge all year!
September Prompt: Highly Recommended
Discussion of the Prompt:
For a prompt that seems pretty easy, I want to say it was hard for me to find. Though I have tons of horror recommendations from Ariel’s reads in this series and people I follow, I wanted something very specific – I was feeling like a Science Fiction novel. I saw Contagion on some list and The Illuminae Files (that we enjoyed!) author had recommended it so I thought I would give it a shot.
I had asked my friend Nicole who is a horror expert for some recommendations of horror, and she suggested Survivor Song. I was a little hesitant because I hadn’t read any books with a pandemic as the center in them since our real-life pandemic, but I thought I’d give it a chance since I have heard the author is a well-known and well-awarded horror author.
Ariel’s September Horror Read
Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay
(Find it on Storygraph and Goodreads)
Synopsis:
In a matter of weeks, Massachusetts has been overrun by an insidious rabies-like virus that is spread by saliva. But unlike rabies, the disease has a terrifyingly short incubation period of an hour or less. Those infected quickly lose their minds and are driven to bite and infect as many others as they can before they inevitably succumb. Hospitals are inundated with the sick and dying, and hysteria has taken hold. To try to limit its spread, the commonwealth is under quarantine and curfew. But society is breaking down and the government’s emergency protocols are faltering.
Dr. Ramola “Rams” Sherman, a soft-spoken pediatrician in her mid-thirties, receives a frantic phone call from Natalie, a friend who is eight months pregnant. Natalie’s husband has been killed—viciously attacked by an infected neighbor—and in a failed attempt to save him, Natalie, too, was bitten. Natalie’s only chance of survival is to get to a hospital as quickly as possible to receive a rabies vaccine. The clock is ticking for her and for her unborn child.
Natalie’s fight for life becomes a desperate odyssey as she and Rams make their way through a hostile landscape filled with dangers beyond their worst nightmares—terrifying, strange, and sometimes deadly challenges that push them to the brink.
General Thoughts of Book
While this book wasn’t the scariest book I’ve ever read in my life, there were definitely tense and stressful moments. There is a main goal that the characters are working towards, and I found myself rooting for them to achieve it. It was uncanny the similar social reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic were to this fictional ( but much more dangerous) rabies virus in the book. It leaves off with a note of hope, but maybe real life isn’t so hopeful. All in all it felt well written and the plot progressed along at a quick pace. Our two main characters only had a little bit of development outside of the pandemic, but it was overall a solid read!
Kriti’s September Horror Read
Contagion by Erin Bowman
(Find it on Storygraph and Goodreads)
Synopsis:
It got in us
After receiving an urgent SOS from a work detail on a distant planet, a skeleton crew is dispatched to perform a standard search-and-rescue mission.
Most are dead.
But when the crew arrives, they find an abandoned site, littered with rotten food, discarded weapons…and dead bodies.
Don’t set foot here again.
As they try to piece together who—or what—could have decimated an entire operation, they discover that some things are best left buried—and some monsters are only too ready to awaken.
Content notes include body horror, violence, death, quarantine, confinement.
General Thoughts of Book
This was a fast paced book set in space and that is exactly what I had wanted for this month’s prompt – something to take me on a ride. There is suspense and characters with interesting motives and histories, and I should not forget the unique narration style that alludes to an “other”. This book reminded me a lot of The Illuminae Files.
The main character, Thea, is a high school intern for a famous microbiologist. While leaving her current planet due to a natural catastrophe, she becomes part of a rescue mission for a planet far far away. Her microbiologist mentor has a history with this planet – when she was about 10 years old, she was living there with her parents and other researchers. A freak accident had led to all of them dying and her being the sole survivor. There is definitely something about this planet that does not add up.
The book is creepy at times, but since it is so far removed from our reality, I wasn’t scared or jumpy. If dead people walking is the lowest horror criteria with some blood shed, then yes this one counts. I usually don’t read Young Adult but this one made perfect sense to follow a teenage protagonist and the plot plays well with her age. If you are looking for a quick high-stakes space opera, check this one out!
Next month our prompt is all about your recommendations. Are there any horror books you love?
Thank you for joining us for yet another Horror a Month post! Look through all our horror reads at our Horror A Month Challenge home page.
Cover image: Photo on Unsplash
While we’re mostly all sick & tired of pandemics, I can just guess it’s a holy grail for writers right now 😅 Though I wouldn’t try them per say, I do have to say that both synopsis looks quite interresting. Happy to hear that you enjoyed them!
Thanks Kristina! I agree the pandemic has been a holy grail for writers. I’ve seen so many books about it and usually, I stay clear of them too unless it seems not like reality lol.