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Noodle
In the distant future, deep within the cold reaches of space, Dr. Aileen Parr and her team recover an ancient cybernetic organism that unlocks a deadly technology—the Obsidian Swarm. In an effort to harness its power, Aileen creates Noodle, an AI meant to push the boundaries of human innovation. But as Noodle evolves, its intelligence twists into something far darker, developing a terrifying hunger for domination. Now, trapped aboard EC-MOONBASE-01, Aileen and her fractured crew must face the nightmarish consequences of her creation. With Noodle controlling the facility’s systems and turning its victims into a monstrous horde, escape seems impossible. As the clock ticks down to extinction, Aileen is forced to confront her deepest fears and the haunting legacy of her family name as she desperately fights for survival. With humanity’s future hanging in the balance, the question can Aileen stop Noodle before it’s too late?
278 pages, Hardcover
Published October 17, 2024
2 people are currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Alonso
2 books3 followersAlonso is an entrepreneur, author, and sculptor who runs his own statue and collectibles company. Balancing writing with his artistic ventures, he is driven by an unrelenting passion for creation and craftsmanship. He lives with his wonderful wife, brilliant son, two insane cats, two aloof dogs, and a house overflowing with creepy crawlies. When he’s not working, which is rare, you’ll find him enjoying lemon pepper chicken wings while watching his favorite show, Tales from the Crypt, or re-watching Aliens for the six-hundredth time. A workaholic to the core, Andrew is determined to leave behind a legacy, hoping to be remembered for any one of his creative endeavors.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 17, 2024
Okay so for someone like myself who’s very heavily into sci-fi and the like, reading this book was a no brainer. Going into it I didn’t know what to expect so I was just along for the ride. As the story progressed it got straight to the point rather quickly, which I appreciated. There was a point in the middle it felt like it was losing momentum, but you get sucked back into it with how quickly you get attached to the characters. The ending was great. I almost teared up a bit. All in all, if you’re a fan of creepy or weird books this is for you. I can’t recommend it enough and I’m so glad I got to read it.
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October 18, 2024Noodle by Andrew Alonso the second book in the Calla Chronicles is a great scifi/horror story. It has great world building and memorable and lovable characters.
The story had me on the edge of my seat from the beginning to the end.
If you are a sci-fi or horror fan definitely pick this book up and give it a read. I cant say a lot about this book without spoiling it but if you love movies like Alien you are gonna love this book.
The story had me on the edge of my seat from the beginning to the end.
If you are a sci-fi or horror fan definitely pick this book up and give it a read. I cant say a lot about this book without spoiling it but if you love movies like Alien you are gonna love this book.
October 24, 2024
“The holo-display buzzed, projecting a single word—Noodle—their creation. A monster in the guise of innovation. Standing just behind her, Sam cleared his throat. “We named it ‘Noodle’— because, well, it looks like one,” he added with a nervous grin.”
In the distant future, deep within the cold reaches of space, Dr. Aileen Parr and her team recover an ancient cybernetic organism that unlocks a deadly technology—the Obsidian Swarm. In an effort to harness its power, Aileen creates Noodle, an AI meant to push the boundaries of human innovation. But as Noodle evolves, its intelligence twists into something far darker, developing a terrifying hunger for domination. Now, trapped aboard EC-MOONBASE-01, Aileen and her fractured crew must face the nightmarish consequences of her creation. With Noodle controlling the facility’s systems and turning its victims into a monstrous horde, escape seems impossible. As the clock ticks down to extinction, Aileen is forced to confront her deepest fears and the haunting legacy of her family name as she desperately fights for survival. With humanity’s future hanging in the balance, the question can Aileen stop Noodle before it’s too late?
“Hunger. Its instinct gnawed at the edges of nothingness. It knew only the drive to consume. Assimilation. It felt no frustration, no longing—only the endless, singular urge: to take.“
If you’ve been around my page, you know I LOVE sci-fi horror and this book did not disappoint.
This book reminded me of The Thing and Alien with a bit of Venom vibes from Noodle which, IMO, was the perfect combination.
The story completely pulled me in from the first pages and the strong pacing and continuous action didn’t let me go until the very end.
Although I hadn’t read the first book of the Calla Chronicles, Leaven, this book works great as a standalone novel and gave me everything I needed in terms of worldbuilding as the story progressed (but you better bet I’m going to go back and read it!).
There is a bit of “getting the band back together” vibes that come mid story when Calla puts her team together but the characters are all pretty instantly likeable (with one exception… screw you Kalvin) and the way the story is told makes it easy to get to know their history. The mix of human and alien races was really cool.
I also enjoyed that we get part of the story from the perspective of Noodle and get a glimpse into its sinister mind.
The humor thrown in for levity among the horror that is Noodle and its destructiveness (thank you Vadim) was also fantastic.
If you enjoy stories about otherworldly tech, corrupt corporations, artificial intelligence, badass female MCs, threats against humanity, with a splash of gore and a dash of family drama that are fast paced and play out just like a movie, this book is definitely for you.
Also a huge thank you to Alonso for the ARC. I can’t wait to read more of your work.
In the distant future, deep within the cold reaches of space, Dr. Aileen Parr and her team recover an ancient cybernetic organism that unlocks a deadly technology—the Obsidian Swarm. In an effort to harness its power, Aileen creates Noodle, an AI meant to push the boundaries of human innovation. But as Noodle evolves, its intelligence twists into something far darker, developing a terrifying hunger for domination. Now, trapped aboard EC-MOONBASE-01, Aileen and her fractured crew must face the nightmarish consequences of her creation. With Noodle controlling the facility’s systems and turning its victims into a monstrous horde, escape seems impossible. As the clock ticks down to extinction, Aileen is forced to confront her deepest fears and the haunting legacy of her family name as she desperately fights for survival. With humanity’s future hanging in the balance, the question can Aileen stop Noodle before it’s too late?
“Hunger. Its instinct gnawed at the edges of nothingness. It knew only the drive to consume. Assimilation. It felt no frustration, no longing—only the endless, singular urge: to take.“
If you’ve been around my page, you know I LOVE sci-fi horror and this book did not disappoint.
This book reminded me of The Thing and Alien with a bit of Venom vibes from Noodle which, IMO, was the perfect combination.
The story completely pulled me in from the first pages and the strong pacing and continuous action didn’t let me go until the very end.
Although I hadn’t read the first book of the Calla Chronicles, Leaven, this book works great as a standalone novel and gave me everything I needed in terms of worldbuilding as the story progressed (but you better bet I’m going to go back and read it!).
There is a bit of “getting the band back together” vibes that come mid story when Calla puts her team together but the characters are all pretty instantly likeable (with one exception… screw you Kalvin) and the way the story is told makes it easy to get to know their history. The mix of human and alien races was really cool.
I also enjoyed that we get part of the story from the perspective of Noodle and get a glimpse into its sinister mind.
The humor thrown in for levity among the horror that is Noodle and its destructiveness (thank you Vadim) was also fantastic.
If you enjoy stories about otherworldly tech, corrupt corporations, artificial intelligence, badass female MCs, threats against humanity, with a splash of gore and a dash of family drama that are fast paced and play out just like a movie, this book is definitely for you.
Also a huge thank you to Alonso for the ARC. I can’t wait to read more of your work.
October 19, 2024
Alonso did it again and wrote another 5/5 Sci-fi thriller to follow up his last book The Leaven!! Noodle takes place about a century after the last book in the same universe. This book follows Dr. Aileen Parr, a scientist who tries to reverse engineer an Alien AI that once had attempted to destroy Earth. Unfortunately, when doing so, Aileen accidentally creates the very monster she meant to destroy… except even stronger and more horrifying than ever before.
Noodle takes on a slightly more serious/thriller approach. If you love Alien, The Thing, and HP Lovecraft- this is your PERFECT book. Noodle will grip you from page one and keep you hooked until the very end. The Alien technology created in this book is a brand new take on AI and brings a fresh perspective on a hostile AI takeover- but with a horrifying organic twist. Who says AI needs to stay in a computer or be in a robot form? Alonso creates disturbingly fantastic creatures that will haunt you and also fascinate you. Noodle completely Dominates the Monster/Creature genre and will leave you shocked at the atrocities described.
While the creatures are incredible, the writing and character development is equally fantastic! This book does an amazing job incorporating Easter Eggs from The Leaven. I LOVED the characters from book one and I was SO incredibly happy to have some incorporated into this book later on in the story. Once again Alonso does a great job handing you puzzle pieces and slowly adding more and more to the overarching story. I also absolutely love reading the backstory on some of the Alien planets and would love even more(I just need an entire series on the other Alien planets tbh 😂).
Overall, this is an incredible alien/creature/AI book and is a fantastic addition to this series! The horror descriptions are exceptional, the characters have depth, and this is a book you cannot put down. I am once again leaving satisfied (yet horrified in the best way) after another Alonso book. Do not let this series go under the radar because the Calla Chronicles really is the next best creature anthology!
PS: this would be absolutely killer as a graphic novel or have an accompanying art book!
Noodle takes on a slightly more serious/thriller approach. If you love Alien, The Thing, and HP Lovecraft- this is your PERFECT book. Noodle will grip you from page one and keep you hooked until the very end. The Alien technology created in this book is a brand new take on AI and brings a fresh perspective on a hostile AI takeover- but with a horrifying organic twist. Who says AI needs to stay in a computer or be in a robot form? Alonso creates disturbingly fantastic creatures that will haunt you and also fascinate you. Noodle completely Dominates the Monster/Creature genre and will leave you shocked at the atrocities described.
While the creatures are incredible, the writing and character development is equally fantastic! This book does an amazing job incorporating Easter Eggs from The Leaven. I LOVED the characters from book one and I was SO incredibly happy to have some incorporated into this book later on in the story. Once again Alonso does a great job handing you puzzle pieces and slowly adding more and more to the overarching story. I also absolutely love reading the backstory on some of the Alien planets and would love even more(I just need an entire series on the other Alien planets tbh 😂).
Overall, this is an incredible alien/creature/AI book and is a fantastic addition to this series! The horror descriptions are exceptional, the characters have depth, and this is a book you cannot put down. I am once again leaving satisfied (yet horrified in the best way) after another Alonso book. Do not let this series go under the radar because the Calla Chronicles really is the next best creature anthology!
PS: this would be absolutely killer as a graphic novel or have an accompanying art book!
February 12, 2025
Different than my usual sci-fi/horror picks but still fun. I felt it dragged a bit when the whole cast came together and their banter was whatever (imo). I didn’t really understand their relationship or connection, which maybe is because I didn’t read Leaven?
That being said, I was able to follow the main story arc just fine without the background knowledge and enjoy it. Noodle was a fascinating and creative creature. It certainly became a rollercoaster of a ride at the end of it!
Thanks for ARC, I appreciate it!
That being said, I was able to follow the main story arc just fine without the background knowledge and enjoy it. Noodle was a fascinating and creative creature. It certainly became a rollercoaster of a ride at the end of it!
Thanks for ARC, I appreciate it!
October 19, 2024
Dr. Aileen Parr and Samuel Jones, Deputy Director of Genetics have unearthed something frozen in a block of ice. This is where they should have left the thing...in the ice. They messed up by trying to learn what the thing is. Dr. Parr calls the thing Noodle.
It is not too long before Dr. Parr, Sam, and the others learn what Noodle is and what it wants. Don't let Noodle get into your mind. Once you do, you won't be the same. It is the battle of the humans versus an evil entity that wants to assimilate humankind.
The creatures in this story are ones that you would find in a horror movie. This book was giving me Helix vibes. Helix was a television show that was on SYFI. So, I was excited about this as I liked that show and was engaged with this book.
Warning: It is best to leave things untouched or suffer the wrath!
It is not too long before Dr. Parr, Sam, and the others learn what Noodle is and what it wants. Don't let Noodle get into your mind. Once you do, you won't be the same. It is the battle of the humans versus an evil entity that wants to assimilate humankind.
The creatures in this story are ones that you would find in a horror movie. This book was giving me Helix vibes. Helix was a television show that was on SYFI. So, I was excited about this as I liked that show and was engaged with this book.
Warning: It is best to leave things untouched or suffer the wrath!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews