Alien: Echo
Mira Grant
Brilliant science fiction horror!
So, let's start with some disclaimers. I have never seen an Alien movie. And I don't really want to. I'm not a big horror fan -- I can read it, but the horror part mostly leaves me cold. And, although I'm a big Seanan McGuire fan, her horror brand Mira Grant has disappointed me. McGuire is an extremely prolific author -- she has published over 200 books and stories under three names that I know of (Seanan McGuire, Mira Grant, and A. Deborah Baker). The output of any author who publishes that much is going to be uneven. Besides, it's like she uses the Grant pseudonym as her toxic waste dump. So I had low expectations for this. I read Alien: Echo because I have made a project of reading everything that McGuire has published. (Now nearing completion -- I have just two books left to read. That I know of.)
I was therefore surprised and delighted to find that Alien: Echo is brilliantly imaginative, and that it works! The predators are truly chilling -- I suppose that comes from the Alien franchise, but I'm evaluating the book, not the speculative source of the ideas. Moreover, there are some truly brilliant scenes. I was blown away by a scene in which our narrator, Olivia, cuts off her sister Viola's head with a hacksaw in order to save her. (I'm convinced that McGuire's final words will be a Shakespeare allusion.) Trust me -- it makes sense in context.
So, in this book, Grant struck the gold for me. I have one Mira Grant book left to read, so there's still a possibility of two five-star ratings. But I will be surprised if that happens.