Scourge Between Stars

Ness Brown's The Scourge Between Stars is a tense, claustrophobic sci-fi/horror blend set aboard a doomed generation ship harboring something terrible within its walls.

“A perfect scare to swallow up in one sitting.” —Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights
A LibraryReads Pick! • Featured on the 2024 RUSA Reading List: Science Fiction

As acting captain of the starship Calypso, Jacklyn Albright is responsible for keeping the last of humanity alive as they limp back to Earth from their forebears’ failed colony on a distant planet.

Faced with constant threats of starvation and destruction in the treacherous minefield of interstellar space, Jacklyn's crew has reached their breaking point. As unrest begins to spread throughout the ship’s Wards, a new threat emerges, picking off crew members in grim, bloody fashion.

Jacklyn and her team must hunt down the ship’s unknown intruder if they have any hope of making it back to their solar system alive.

“Highly recommended.” —Library Journal, STARRED review

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Published Apr 4, 2023

176 pages

Average rating: 7.39

18 RATINGS

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Elliedom

Feb 09, 2025

10/10 stars

Reminds me of the movie Aliens except no baby aliens ripping out of men's stomachs. Nessa does an excellent job of making me feel like I'm in the spaceship. She expertly weaves personal information about Jack and her family throughout the story without losing the fast pace of the narrative. She handles action scenes fantastically and the aliens are appropriately scary. I think the big reveal was great and nearly perfect, I just wished it had maybe one more beat before segwaying to the next sequences. There was something about it that left me a little dissatisfied, but I also know that the character is seconds away from having her ship in mortal peril and also the novel itself is pretty short. The ending was handled well and on a hopeful note that reminded me of Star Trek.

Tera84*

Mar 04, 2024

8/10 stars

Quick and fun read. Pretty short novella, but I really enjoyed it. I thought the plot twist could've been better, but it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment.

Chuckstafer

Feb 02, 2024

8/10 stars

This was a pretty good little Sci-Fi/Horror after all! Fast-paced, graphic, tense, and, while not perfect, a well-done story about alien takeover and space exploration.

Hartfullofbooks

Jul 12, 2023

9/10 stars

Jack is the first mate on the spaceship Calypso whose failing mission is to return to Earth to hopefully live there again. However, with dwindling resources, meteor storms, an absent captain, and feuding factions, the journey seems impossible; and that’s before they discover the dangerous creatures in the walls…. Scourge Between our Stars is a fast paced sci-fi horror with diverse characters, intriguing story, and an engaging premise. I really wish this had been a full length novel so we could really delve into the world Ness Brown created and learn more about the characters and aliens they encounter. With my only complaint being this was too short, I highly recommend it! It’s a novella so you very well could read it in one sitting; I dragged it out because like I said, I wish there was more!

Jessie Barnes

Jun 01, 2023

8/10 stars

I wish this had been a full length novel

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