Hello everyone! How are you all doing? I hope you are just continuing to thrive, regardless of the circumstances. I’m working my way steadily through my horror novels before the end of the month and have two more novellas alongside three full-length novels for anyone in the mood for horror. After that, my TBR will lighten up, content-wise, but I’ll still be delving into the macabre. This is my second cosmic horror read I’m bringing to you, so let’s get into it.

Trigger Warning: Body Horror, Gore, Scenes involving surgery, Some harsh language, Some sexual content

Alto is a communications specialist onboard the M.G. Yellowjacket. Their shift goes from interesting after having an intimate encounter with a fellow crewmate to a nightmarish experience. They find that their crew has seemingly vanished. Strange creatures made of brains are taking over the ship, being controlled by a sinister entity calling itself the Messenger. Riddled with anxiety and too underqualified to be dealing with this, Alto has no choice but to face these gruesome intruders who can invade a person’s mind and create horrors beyond human comprehension.

My first note about this book (and a positive one) is that this is the first novel I have read with a non-binary character as the main character. Alto is a unique yet relatable protagonist who I was rooting for the whole time. Hailey Piper certainly has an interesting way of portraying intense emotions and I mean that in the best way. There is no denying that this is certainly a gruesome novel but it is unlike anything I have read before. Cosmic horror is a very tricky genre but Piper maneuvers it masterfully. I would love to read more cosmic horror novels in the future and, if you are looking for somewhere to start (and have a strong stomach), then I would definitely recommend giving this novella your deserved attention.