Review: The Sarcophagus of Lamia by Rebecca E. Reyes
Blurb:
A dark science-fiction novelette
The lab ship, Magpie, is hired by the Lamia Mining Commission to investigate an escape pod signal near one of their many colonies. What former ripper doc, Doctor Selma Seaward, discovers is a radiant cadaver, laying in an escape pod straight out of fairytales. Perfectly preserved, she's reminiscent of the monster haunting the mining colonists in their sleep. Who really is the mystery woman and will the journey to return her home be worth it?
Review:
A riveting, fast-paced sci-fi adventure with a grim touch. The premise of the story is intriguing and brings together many curious elements - a strange sleeping illness plaguing an off-world mining colony, a mysterious escape pod signal and an unidentified cadaver that is inexplicably well-preserved. The story begins at a high velocity and keeps its pace brisk throughout.
“The comforting thing about being in a pursued, windowless vessel was that Selma didn’t have to know what was going on in outer space. Nor did she have to feel the ship move.”
The dystopic colony backdrop serves as a fantastic environment for a mystery that combines gothic and cyberpunk elements. While not scary, I did enjoy the many gruesome technological advancements - some that we experienced first hand, others that were only alluded to in the passing.
The atmosphere starts out pretty dark and bleak - early on we are introduced to the pervasive economic class system where the difference between the amenities available to folks on the opposite sides of the spectrum of the tiers is depressingly vast. The law is fluid for the privileged upper echelons, and the overseer corporations care little about the welfare of their people.
Soon after, we are thrown into a colony where the people are continuously injecting themselves with drugs to stay awake because they do not know if they will wake up if they fall asleep. And things only go downhill from there.
“I don’t get it either. I would if I visited Frye, but that place is wrong. People comin’ out are wrong”
Between a crash landing, a church hiding strange secrets and some utterly horrifying revelations about reckless scientific experimentation - this relatively short novelette packs in quite a bit. It reminded me of the Alien and Event Horizon movies, though the big reveal towards the end was quite novel.
“No! If she were not our salvation, she’d be ejected again.”
The characters are interesting - a crafty ambitious lot thrown into a difficult situation. It was fun to see the rapid deescalation of their aspirations over the course of the book. However, most of the members of the primary cast felt, at least to me, somewhat uniform in their general shared apathy. A bit of emotional diversity could have made them more engaging and relatable.
“Technically, Selma Seaward’s specialty was with the already deceased, with a morbid fascination in interstellar forensic pathology. Space was a great place to find new ways to die.”
All in all, a fun, enjoyable quick read if you like your sci-fi dark like your espresso. The ending hints at a possibility of future adventures - and I do hope the author builds up on this in future books.
