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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Fast paced “horror” that actually got my heart rate up in some parts! Fun book that can essentially be summarized as “zombies in space.”
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was on the Contagion hype train before it released. Having found Erin Bowman through her other books, Vengeance Road and Retribution Rails - which I absolutely fell head over heels in love with - I was so ready for more. And scifi! I have a hard time getting into scifi novels, but I was ready to try! I participated in launch week instagram story fun stuff, I went to an actual physical bookstore for it even!
And then sometimes your summer gets weird and you don’t even start the book until September and read the first hundred or so pages and go ‘Oh… I am in for a ride… I better pack a lunch and sign the waiver’. And boy was I not wrong about that.
- I really did stop myself after the first hundred or so pages because this book required all of my attention. Everything happens so much! In the best ways. So many characters to meet, and relationships to understand, and concepts to grasp, and science! And world! And everything!
- It is a large cast, especially for a YA novel. I love large casts. There is something silly in me that takes great pleasure in reading all the different ways different people interact with one another.
- Despite having a somewhat unconventional chapter style, the POV switches work! I was not once confused or frustrated by the jump to anyone else’s head.
- Like, half the cast is girls. All the important people are women. And they are all such awesome and unique people with different strengths and weaknesses.
- We have Thea, technically the protagonist, precious science intern. She wants so bad to prove herself and takes so much flack for being ‘just’ the intern. How can you not love her?
- You think you know Dr. Harlow and her introverted married to her work ways, but no. The woman has depths. Depths on depths on depths. And delving into them was a treat.
- Female! Pilot! In a similar vein to Thea, Nova is a young pilot with something to prove and I am here for her. Her varied relationships with the rest of the crew were maybe the most fun for me.
- But Dylan may actually be my favorite. Captain Dylan. A woman who’s allowed to be wrong and terrible! My government allotted trash woman, who also deserved so much better.
- My only real negative comment is this, without spoilers; I am not happy with the ending of Nova and Dylan’s storyline. Curious to see how it plays out in the next book, but… Mm. Unfortunate.
- The men were equally as wonderful characters. None of these people were overt stereotypes, which I feel gets easy when you start having to fill out the traditional roles of say… a horror story, or a ship’s crew. I especially enjoyed Coen’s character, as he did not quite go the direction I would have expected.
- You know what else is great about the multiple POVs? Nobody trusts anyone entirely and it’s beautiful. The amount of secrets that were juggled between characters was amazing and so well done! Sure, you wind up looking like the Pepe Silvia scene from Always Sunny, but I live for that.
- And we haven’t even gotten into the plot yet! Partially because gosh, you really want to go into this as unspoiled as you can be, trust me. It’s a ride.
- I will admit I was a little apprehensive of the concept. With that title and summary, the comparison to films like 28 Days Later, you know something’s coming back from the dead. How though? That was the part that was going to get me. I am pleased to say these are the good kind of space zombies and Contagion only scratches their surface.
- I! Cannot! Wait! For! Book! Two! I have so many questions now. Uhg.
- The 11th and 12th hour plot drop were everything. I had been strung along on this ride, not a moment’s pause, surely… surely there could not be anything else. And yet. There was.
Contagion by Erin Bowman is an absolute thrill to read, jam packed with emotion and twists, not something you want to have to put down.
And then sometimes your summer gets weird and you don’t even start the book until September and read the first hundred or so pages and go ‘Oh… I am in for a ride… I better pack a lunch and sign the waiver’. And boy was I not wrong about that.
- I really did stop myself after the first hundred or so pages because this book required all of my attention. Everything happens so much! In the best ways. So many characters to meet, and relationships to understand, and concepts to grasp, and science! And world! And everything!
- It is a large cast, especially for a YA novel. I love large casts. There is something silly in me that takes great pleasure in reading all the different ways different people interact with one another.
- Despite having a somewhat unconventional chapter style, the POV switches work! I was not once confused or frustrated by the jump to anyone else’s head.
- Like, half the cast is girls. All the important people are women. And they are all such awesome and unique people with different strengths and weaknesses.
- We have Thea, technically the protagonist, precious science intern. She wants so bad to prove herself and takes so much flack for being ‘just’ the intern. How can you not love her?
- You think you know Dr. Harlow and her introverted married to her work ways, but no. The woman has depths. Depths on depths on depths. And delving into them was a treat.
- Female! Pilot! In a similar vein to Thea, Nova is a young pilot with something to prove and I am here for her. Her varied relationships with the rest of the crew were maybe the most fun for me.
- But Dylan may actually be my favorite. Captain Dylan. A woman who’s allowed to be wrong and terrible! My government allotted trash woman, who also deserved so much better.
- My only real negative comment is this, without spoilers; I am not happy with the ending of Nova and Dylan’s storyline. Curious to see how it plays out in the next book, but… Mm. Unfortunate.
- The men were equally as wonderful characters. None of these people were overt stereotypes, which I feel gets easy when you start having to fill out the traditional roles of say… a horror story, or a ship’s crew. I especially enjoyed Coen’s character, as he did not quite go the direction I would have expected.
- You know what else is great about the multiple POVs? Nobody trusts anyone entirely and it’s beautiful. The amount of secrets that were juggled between characters was amazing and so well done! Sure, you wind up looking like the Pepe Silvia scene from Always Sunny, but I live for that.
- And we haven’t even gotten into the plot yet! Partially because gosh, you really want to go into this as unspoiled as you can be, trust me. It’s a ride.
- I will admit I was a little apprehensive of the concept. With that title and summary, the comparison to films like 28 Days Later, you know something’s coming back from the dead. How though? That was the part that was going to get me. I am pleased to say these are the good kind of space zombies and Contagion only scratches their surface.
- I! Cannot! Wait! For! Book! Two! I have so many questions now. Uhg.
- The 11th and 12th hour plot drop were everything. I had been strung along on this ride, not a moment’s pause, surely… surely there could not be anything else. And yet. There was.
Contagion by Erin Bowman is an absolute thrill to read, jam packed with emotion and twists, not something you want to have to put down.
This was fantastic. It got steadily better as the story progressed and had me locked in every time I picked up the book. I put together clues pretty quick so there weren’t any twists but it didn’t feel like the author was going for that. Allowing the reader to figure things out as it went instead of a shock twist at the end. I loved it.
High 3.5.
Two words: space zombies.
I enjoyed this ya sci-fi. There was a good level of mystery when it came to figuring out the infection and how it happened. I like Thea and Coen, though I did feel like they trusted each other a little too easily, and the ending interest with each other felt a little fast (Granted, extreme conditions and all that). I also felt like the evil military reveal was a little forced. The conspiracy theories at the beginning of the book don't really affect anything until the last chapter, so they feel a bit out of place. Plus, Toby isn't around long enough to keep bringing them up to make us think they're important.
Unfortunately, I think this book suffers from having a cool concept but not using it to say anything about the things they touch on. If you like Illumine, you'll enjoy this. It was a fun, popcorn read, but I hope the second book pushes some of the ethical and social questions a little further.
Two words: space zombies.
I enjoyed this ya sci-fi. There was a good level of mystery when it came to figuring out the infection and how it happened. I like Thea and Coen, though I did feel like they trusted each other a little too easily, and the ending interest with each other felt a little fast (Granted, extreme conditions and all that). I also felt like the evil military reveal was a little forced. The conspiracy theories at the beginning of the book don't really affect anything until the last chapter, so they feel a bit out of place. Plus, Toby isn't around long enough to keep bringing them up to make us think they're important.
Unfortunately, I think this book suffers from having a cool concept but not using it to say anything about the things they touch on. If you like Illumine, you'll enjoy this. It was a fun, popcorn read, but I hope the second book pushes some of the ethical and social questions a little further.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I wasn't totally hooked but I think for YA this is a league above what I've read lately. Also I love a good primarily female main cast in a sci Fi book.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Look, I liked the plot of this book a lot, but there are two characters in this book that made this so hard to read. I was actively hoping for their death, which I almost never do. I would recommend but go into this book knowing that Dylan and Toby are the absolute worst. I’m most likely going to finish the series just maybe not right away.