A review by mals_reads
Symbiote by Michael Nayak

dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

I really, really enjoyed the concept, and the thrills started quickly — this book does not drag on, yet at each turn there are new developments with the main conflict/plot. It still didn’t get tiring to me! I was flying through this because I needed to know what happened next.

Great for fans of survival stories, military thrillers, and parasite vibes in sci-fi. Contagion meets The Walking Dead is an awesome comp haha

My biggest gripes are the characters. There are a lot, understandably, and I love them, but Nayak delves into many of their POVs in Symbiote. I just wish he had stuck to a more limited number. There was a lot of focus on multiple character relationships that I thought were slightly unnecessary to the overarching story.

I also think his female characters could have used more development — if he focused more on Ben, Rajan, and Siri only, that would have given him more time to flesh them out and the reader would feel less overwhelmed.

All to say, I’m still looking forward to more from Michael Nayak and would definitely pick up his next book, no questions asked. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings