PARASITE by Darcy Coates is a sci-fi horror set in space, and it has one of the most interesting and refreshing takes on a classic alien story. At the same time, it has some uniquely frustrating qualities that detract from what would otherwise be a fantastic read. 

The story follows multiple people across multiple locations and points in time as they discover and try to fight against an alien threat. One of the book’s most interesting qualities is how it handles switching between these different POVs. Generally speaking, each new POV doesn’t know about the alien and lacks the information the previous character (or group of characters) learned, unless the previous group manages to relay it across space. But the alien has shut down or delayed most communication, giving the reader a sense of lingering dread that follows them across POV shifts. 

One of the story’s biggest problems, however, is character voice consistency. Something that I found refreshing within the first few chapters was that the “main character” (at the time, I didn’t know we’d have POV shifts and time-skips) struck me as being similar to Ellen Ripley from Ridley Scott’s Alien. Without spoiling the exciting twists and turns, she sees what’s happening and makes responsible, logical decisions in scenarios where you’d typically see someone make a poor decision for the sake of moving the plot forward. But then, without much setup, she makes a very irrational decision that runs counter to everything she’s said and done up until that point in the story, and the results are predictably disastrous.  

Coates tries to explain this inconsistency as a human flaw: the character makes an emotional decision because she’s fatigued and distraught by this alien event. Unfortunately, the story’s prose doesn’t make this very believable. This isn’t the last time this sort of inconsistency will show itself, with much more capable and knowledgeable characters overlooking details or making decisions which, given their background and knowledge, they shouldn’t have overlooked or made. These details are glaringly obvious to the reader, but rather than serve as dramatic irony, these oversights instead make otherwise competent characters seem extremely incompetent. 

Coates’ prose is more than serviceable. You likely won’t find any unique phrases or descriptions that really jump out at you or stay in your mind long after you’ve read. But what we’re given allows for a fast-paced story that doesn’t lack in detail, nor leave any unintentional ambiguity.  

Surprisingly, the non-linear narrative doesn’t “reset” the sense of dread or anticipation for the reader, as we learn more and more about the alien by piecing together the details learned by each character. Due to life circumstances, I had to step away from the book for several weeks – however, when I returned, I immediately caught on and didn’t feel as though I’d missed a single beat. I was very excited to realize this, as I’d fully expected to need to restart due to having forgotten too many important. 

Whether intentional or not, PARASITE is a great read for readers who have limited time or like to read in short bursts. It’s a quick read, and although it has one or two glaring editing errors (some characters are referenced as being in the incorrect place at one point), it will still scratch that sci-fi horror/thriller itch.