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Spores
Secrets aren’t the only things that won’t stay buried.
When an earthquake strikes downtown Denver, far from the nearest active fault system, the USGS dispatches Dr. Dayna Raines and an emergency response team to investigate. They discover that the epicenter corresponds to a decommissioned deep injection well once used by the U.S. Army to dispose of chemical weapons, which have eroded the earth and created the unstable cavern system responsible for the seismic activity.
Their mission is to descend into the unknown depths, evaluate the fault zone, and initiate a controlled demolition of the subterranean cavity before another earthquake strikes, causing a mass casualty event. And they’re running out of time.
But military scientists had been experimenting with even deadlier armaments, including a biological organism so lethal that they were forced to bury it two miles down, where no one would ever find it.
Until now.
When an earthquake strikes downtown Denver, far from the nearest active fault system, the USGS dispatches Dr. Dayna Raines and an emergency response team to investigate. They discover that the epicenter corresponds to a decommissioned deep injection well once used by the U.S. Army to dispose of chemical weapons, which have eroded the earth and created the unstable cavern system responsible for the seismic activity.
Their mission is to descend into the unknown depths, evaluate the fault zone, and initiate a controlled demolition of the subterranean cavity before another earthquake strikes, causing a mass casualty event. And they’re running out of time.
But military scientists had been experimenting with even deadlier armaments, including a biological organism so lethal that they were forced to bury it two miles down, where no one would ever find it.
Until now.
280 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 28, 2025
398 people are currently reading
293 people want to read
About the author
Michael McBride
111 books480 followersMichael McBride was born in Colorado and still resides in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. He hates the snow, but loves the Avalanche. He works with medical radiation, yet somehow managed to produce five children, none of whom, miraculously, have tails, third eyes, or other random mutations. He writes fiction that runs the gamut from thriller to horror to science fiction...and loves every minute of it.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
August 2, 2025
5++ stars. Blown away. Review will follow.
January 30, 2026
A Crichton-esque science thriller creature feature that doubles down on science and goofy monsters. Some decades ago, the government disposed of a great quality of toxic chemicals, alongside a fungus-based chemical weapon that turns living things into murder zombies. Now, thanks to fracking (thanks fracking!), a mutated super version of the evil mycology is threatening to burst out of the ground. And so some fungus and earthquake scientists join up some top-secret military guys have to put on space suits and enter a deadly cave down a shaft give miles into the earth. The characters are on the bland side but if you like science, the chemical analysis of toxic waste eating fungi, and spooky caves, then this could be a fun monster movie.
December 16, 2025
Good action adventure
Spores by Michael McBride is a fast pace sci-fi novel perfect for a lunchtime read or when craving a popcorn novel. The characters are solid and the setting is impressive. The author uses science and gives it a twist and stretch, which allows for a smooth flow without the reader thinking "is this even possible?"
Spores by Michael McBride is a fast pace sci-fi novel perfect for a lunchtime read or when craving a popcorn novel. The characters are solid and the setting is impressive. The author uses science and gives it a twist and stretch, which allows for a smooth flow without the reader thinking "is this even possible?"
September 3, 2025
Spores should have been right in my wheelhouse. Subterranean horror with something unknown stalking a group of dwindling characters, most destined to die nastily is totally my jam.
But for a "Sci-Fi Horror Novel", this one is a whole lot of "Sci" and far from enough "Horror", as McBride shows off just how impressive his researching skills are, even if they are the expense of pacing and suspense.
After an initial flurry of establishing action, everything is set up in the present time line until about 70% in. But by that stage, I had grown weary of the proliferation of scientific terms and technical jargon and was having a hard time caring about any of the characters.
So while this was not for me, those who like a more realistic edge to their horror might find a great deal to enjoy in Spores. And I would encourage every such person to give it a read.
2 Inconvenient Claustrophobic Attacks for Spores.
But for a "Sci-Fi Horror Novel", this one is a whole lot of "Sci" and far from enough "Horror", as McBride shows off just how impressive his researching skills are, even if they are the expense of pacing and suspense.
After an initial flurry of establishing action, everything is set up in the present time line until about 70% in. But by that stage, I had grown weary of the proliferation of scientific terms and technical jargon and was having a hard time caring about any of the characters.
So while this was not for me, those who like a more realistic edge to their horror might find a great deal to enjoy in Spores. And I would encourage every such person to give it a read.
2 Inconvenient Claustrophobic Attacks for Spores.
February 17, 2025
Spores is chilling and entertaining
With Spores, author Michael McBride has written his most frightening novel to date. What makes it so terrifying is that it could so easily be true.
McBride has always been a master at combining science and fantasy, fact and fiction, to create realistic thrillers with a supernatural-or sometimes not so supernatural- twist. But Spores goes beyond that, with its focus on real organisms and believable military experiments.
One can very easily believe this was a tell- all rather than imagination.
Entertaining? Yes!
But be prepared for some anxious thoughts after.
Because something similar might be happening at some secret base at this very moment.
With Spores, author Michael McBride has written his most frightening novel to date. What makes it so terrifying is that it could so easily be true.
McBride has always been a master at combining science and fantasy, fact and fiction, to create realistic thrillers with a supernatural-or sometimes not so supernatural- twist. But Spores goes beyond that, with its focus on real organisms and believable military experiments.
One can very easily believe this was a tell- all rather than imagination.
Entertaining? Yes!
But be prepared for some anxious thoughts after.
Because something similar might be happening at some secret base at this very moment.
February 2, 2025
I have read many of McBride’s books and loved them. This has so much cool and interesting information in it. The earthquakes and spores, underground action and creatures. I didn’t really develop a connection to the main character, just not enough about her in the story, so I wasn’t as into it as I can sometimes get, but it had so much to love. Looking forward to the next book, whatever it may be.
August 21, 2025
this was intense and just wow so intense and very real so also terrifying
June 24, 2025
This was a poor-man's version of "The Last of Us", with no Pedro in sight. Stuffed with too much technical science lingo, no real horror and frankly no likeable characters. This was a real bummer. 1 star.
February 3, 2025
Any chemical scientists in the house? You need to be to read this, thanks to the amount of jargon involved. I joke. Kinda. I do like a book I can just fall into without having to look up every other word to see what it means. It just takes me right out of the story. BUT I knew this going in, cause Michael's books can be like this.
It doesn't detract from what is a very good, atmospheric and claustrophobic (!!) read. A bunch of scientists (plus Craig), and some army folks head down into the ground to seek out some strange occurrence. They definitely find more that they initially bargained for (well, maybe not Randall). I found some of Michael's books overly long but this is the perfect length. If this is the first in a series, I'll certainly be looking forward to more.
It doesn't detract from what is a very good, atmospheric and claustrophobic (!!) read. A bunch of scientists (plus Craig), and some army folks head down into the ground to seek out some strange occurrence. They definitely find more that they initially bargained for (well, maybe not Randall). I found some of Michael's books overly long but this is the perfect length. If this is the first in a series, I'll certainly be looking forward to more.
June 18, 2025
A bit slow, but interesting
This was a pretty interesting story in the sense that the idea was interesting, and I enjoyed learning more about fungus and how it can act or evolve. It was just too slow for over 70% of the book. The action, abd eerie aspects don't really come to the forefront of the story until 80%. This could have been more interesting and unsettling if the pacing was better, more of the fungus' ability being showcased in the main story more than just the past and probably could have been shorter.
This was a pretty interesting story in the sense that the idea was interesting, and I enjoyed learning more about fungus and how it can act or evolve. It was just too slow for over 70% of the book. The action, abd eerie aspects don't really come to the forefront of the story until 80%. This could have been more interesting and unsettling if the pacing was better, more of the fungus' ability being showcased in the main story more than just the past and probably could have been shorter.
January 31, 2025
This review was originally published on my website at https://www.michaelpatrickhicks.com/b....
Michael McBride is an author I’ve found to be consistently reliable in producing hard science-based horror fiction. His work dovetails rather nicely with that of authors like Michael Crichton, James Rollins, and the writing duo of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (although both also have a hefty library of solo books, too), not to mention television series like The X-Files and Fringe. I suspect that if you’re a fan of any of these then you’re perfectly primed to dig into just about any one of McBride’s adventures. In fact, if you’re new to McBride, Spores is a terrific jumping-on point as it’s billed as the first in his new The Creature Files series.
McBride wastes no time getting down to business, opening the book with a widescreen cinematic-styled epic disaster that sees an earthquake rip open the tarmac of Denver International Airport. Seismologist Dayna Raines is called to duty by the USGS, along with a small group of chemical, structural, and biomedical engineers. What Raines, her team, and millions of others whose lives are unknowingly jeopardized don’t know is that beneath the airport is a decommissioned deep injection well the U.S. Army had used to dispose of biological and chemical weapons created during World War II. Over the intervening years, these hazardous chemicals have been eating away at the earth beneath Denver and it’s only a matter of time before a massive earthquake is triggered and wipes out the entire city.
Of course, that’s only just the start of it. Soon, their mission to launch a controlled demolition to backfill the subterranean cavity and prevent any further earthquakes is jeopardized by General Jack Randall, an ornery old man with hideous scars that betray a deadly secret from his past. Randall and his team essentially draft Raines and her team, merging their dual purposes of destroying the cavern… and whatever it is that lurks below. Something Randall has encountered before and tried — and failed — top stop once before.
McBride hits that wonderful sweet spot for me, building tension and unfolding the scope of his science-based horrors in slow-burn fashion, while also making the threats scarily plausible. Not to mention frighteningly timely. Hot on the heels of Spores release, Phys.org reported on a work published in the journal Fungal Systematics and Evolution about a newly discovered novel species of fungus found on spiders in multiple cave systems in Ireland that operates similarly to the infamous ‘zombie-ant’ fungus, Ophiocordyceps. I won’t proclaim McBride to be prognosticator just yet, although the origins of Spores goes back roughly twenty years according to his afterword. The man certainly knows his cutting-edge science, though, and has illustrated as much across a large spread of novels.
And Spores is positively brimming with science. McBride spends a lot of time exploring seismology, ground scanning, the use of drones, and, of course, fungus. Spores also acts as a warning reminder of the perils of mankind’s abuse of Mother Nature and the dangers of deep injection wells, drilling, and fracking, not to mention the perils of chemical weapons and biohazards. These latter topics are worrisome enough on their own, but once McBride starts looking at how nature continually responds and adapts to our worst inclinations, well, that’s when things get downright hair-raising. Once the scientists and their military escorts are dropped into the chemical and fungal soup waiting for them at the bottom of the earth, Spores becomes an energetic thrill-ride of freaky subterranean horror.
The best part is, McBride is only just getting started with these Creature Files, and his final chapters tease us with all kind of deadly possibilities of what’s to come. I’m scared of what weird biohorrors he’s cooking up in the lab for us, but also eager to read all about it, and hopefully soon!
Michael McBride is an author I’ve found to be consistently reliable in producing hard science-based horror fiction. His work dovetails rather nicely with that of authors like Michael Crichton, James Rollins, and the writing duo of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (although both also have a hefty library of solo books, too), not to mention television series like The X-Files and Fringe. I suspect that if you’re a fan of any of these then you’re perfectly primed to dig into just about any one of McBride’s adventures. In fact, if you’re new to McBride, Spores is a terrific jumping-on point as it’s billed as the first in his new The Creature Files series.
McBride wastes no time getting down to business, opening the book with a widescreen cinematic-styled epic disaster that sees an earthquake rip open the tarmac of Denver International Airport. Seismologist Dayna Raines is called to duty by the USGS, along with a small group of chemical, structural, and biomedical engineers. What Raines, her team, and millions of others whose lives are unknowingly jeopardized don’t know is that beneath the airport is a decommissioned deep injection well the U.S. Army had used to dispose of biological and chemical weapons created during World War II. Over the intervening years, these hazardous chemicals have been eating away at the earth beneath Denver and it’s only a matter of time before a massive earthquake is triggered and wipes out the entire city.
Of course, that’s only just the start of it. Soon, their mission to launch a controlled demolition to backfill the subterranean cavity and prevent any further earthquakes is jeopardized by General Jack Randall, an ornery old man with hideous scars that betray a deadly secret from his past. Randall and his team essentially draft Raines and her team, merging their dual purposes of destroying the cavern… and whatever it is that lurks below. Something Randall has encountered before and tried — and failed — top stop once before.
McBride hits that wonderful sweet spot for me, building tension and unfolding the scope of his science-based horrors in slow-burn fashion, while also making the threats scarily plausible. Not to mention frighteningly timely. Hot on the heels of Spores release, Phys.org reported on a work published in the journal Fungal Systematics and Evolution about a newly discovered novel species of fungus found on spiders in multiple cave systems in Ireland that operates similarly to the infamous ‘zombie-ant’ fungus, Ophiocordyceps. I won’t proclaim McBride to be prognosticator just yet, although the origins of Spores goes back roughly twenty years according to his afterword. The man certainly knows his cutting-edge science, though, and has illustrated as much across a large spread of novels.
And Spores is positively brimming with science. McBride spends a lot of time exploring seismology, ground scanning, the use of drones, and, of course, fungus. Spores also acts as a warning reminder of the perils of mankind’s abuse of Mother Nature and the dangers of deep injection wells, drilling, and fracking, not to mention the perils of chemical weapons and biohazards. These latter topics are worrisome enough on their own, but once McBride starts looking at how nature continually responds and adapts to our worst inclinations, well, that’s when things get downright hair-raising. Once the scientists and their military escorts are dropped into the chemical and fungal soup waiting for them at the bottom of the earth, Spores becomes an energetic thrill-ride of freaky subterranean horror.
The best part is, McBride is only just getting started with these Creature Files, and his final chapters tease us with all kind of deadly possibilities of what’s to come. I’m scared of what weird biohorrors he’s cooking up in the lab for us, but also eager to read all about it, and hopefully soon!
February 4, 2025
Visceral Horror Thriller Sets Up Horrifying Series. When two different friends release a book with the same sky high general premise within a year of each other - in this case, fungi, with this book and Jeremy Robinson's POINT NEMO - it is always interesting to see how divergent they will be. While Robinson's has some horror-ish elements, it remains more of a pure scifi action thriller. *This* book however is absolutely scifi horror, on the level that will have you squeamish at best and potentially mind-melting at worst. Featuring elements similar to Greig Beck's BENEATH THE DARK ICE and even Lee Child's DIE TRYING, this book manages to combine a deep backstory from decades earlier with hot off the presses current issues of environmental protection in the Western US (and even specifically referencing the Centralia, Pennsylvania coal mine fire that has been burning for over 60 yrs now).
Truly a book horror fans, and particularly fans of multiple types of horror, will love, this one has everything from scenes that will make those suffering claustrophobia lose their minds to several great creature horror elements and scenes that will give creature feature lovers chills in the best possible ways. This book is going to make your heart pound *hard* almost no matter what makes you anxious or or terrified - it truly does have a bit of everything, including even elements of disaster stories.
And then that ending... wow. Blatantly sets up an ongoing series, but that is all that I will reveal about it here.
Truly one of the better books early in the year, and very much recommended.
Truly a book horror fans, and particularly fans of multiple types of horror, will love, this one has everything from scenes that will make those suffering claustrophobia lose their minds to several great creature horror elements and scenes that will give creature feature lovers chills in the best possible ways. This book is going to make your heart pound *hard* almost no matter what makes you anxious or or terrified - it truly does have a bit of everything, including even elements of disaster stories.
And then that ending... wow. Blatantly sets up an ongoing series, but that is all that I will reveal about it here.
Truly one of the better books early in the year, and very much recommended.
April 23, 2025
Spores: A Sci-Fi Horror Novel - believe me, it is!
The premise of 'Spores: A Sci-Fi Horror Novel' is chilling. Even without the word horror in the title, it only takes a few pages to grasp the - well, horror to come. Everything about this book gave me the creeps. If 'things' make your skin crawl, and you plan on reading this book, now would be a good time to turn on some lights. From the title, the reader can deduce this book deals with spores. What you may not know is that spores can reproduce into something else. Yeah, the something else is the problem in author Michael McBride's 'horror novel'. So what could be worse, right? Let's say your job is to get rid of several square miles of sand, the wind is blowing, and you don't have a shovel. Did I mention it's really dark? I hope I didn't give too much away.
I really enjoyed this well-written book and look forward to reading other works by Michael McBride. -Mr.Bill
The premise of 'Spores: A Sci-Fi Horror Novel' is chilling. Even without the word horror in the title, it only takes a few pages to grasp the - well, horror to come. Everything about this book gave me the creeps. If 'things' make your skin crawl, and you plan on reading this book, now would be a good time to turn on some lights. From the title, the reader can deduce this book deals with spores. What you may not know is that spores can reproduce into something else. Yeah, the something else is the problem in author Michael McBride's 'horror novel'. So what could be worse, right? Let's say your job is to get rid of several square miles of sand, the wind is blowing, and you don't have a shovel. Did I mention it's really dark? I hope I didn't give too much away.
I really enjoyed this well-written book and look forward to reading other works by Michael McBride. -Mr.Bill
February 16, 2025
This was a fun read.
The story was great, the action was tense, and the characters were all likable. Best of all, it was very reminiscent of Michael Chrighton, one of my favorite authors and an all time great of sci-fi horror.
Not everything was great though.
The pacing was weird. The beginning dragged on, and the climax was at a weird point.
The big mystery of the story was given away far too soon. The flashback segments should have gone throughout the book to let the reader discover everything alongside the characters.
The word choice left something to be desired in a few points. I believe the phrase "it felt like the world fell out from beneath her" was used at least three times.
All of this being said, I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who likes sci-fi horror. It was far from perfect, but as long as you aren't expecting perfection, you will have a great time.
The story was great, the action was tense, and the characters were all likable. Best of all, it was very reminiscent of Michael Chrighton, one of my favorite authors and an all time great of sci-fi horror.
Not everything was great though.
The pacing was weird. The beginning dragged on, and the climax was at a weird point.
The big mystery of the story was given away far too soon. The flashback segments should have gone throughout the book to let the reader discover everything alongside the characters.
The word choice left something to be desired in a few points. I believe the phrase "it felt like the world fell out from beneath her" was used at least three times.
All of this being said, I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who likes sci-fi horror. It was far from perfect, but as long as you aren't expecting perfection, you will have a great time.
June 1, 2025
Fast paced, exciting and creepy.
Four out of five stars. (4/5)
'Spores by Michael McBride' is a science-fiction horror story with many twists and turns. Quick paced and entertaining until the last page.
When I picked this up I just needed something quick to read between my ARCs but then I couldn't put it down and haven't got them done. I literally read this until bedtime and then woke up and finished it.
There were some heavily repeated phrases and words that really pulled me out of the story, but it was easy to fall back into it. It wasn't anything that ruined the story for me but it's why the book and author didn't get a full five stars from me. I would definitely read another and I recommend this one to anyone who has a love for infectious diseases like I do and maybe people who like caving?
Fantastic read overall. Would read this again.
Four out of five stars. (4/5)
'Spores by Michael McBride' is a science-fiction horror story with many twists and turns. Quick paced and entertaining until the last page.
When I picked this up I just needed something quick to read between my ARCs but then I couldn't put it down and haven't got them done. I literally read this until bedtime and then woke up and finished it.
There were some heavily repeated phrases and words that really pulled me out of the story, but it was easy to fall back into it. It wasn't anything that ruined the story for me but it's why the book and author didn't get a full five stars from me. I would definitely read another and I recommend this one to anyone who has a love for infectious diseases like I do and maybe people who like caving?
Fantastic read overall. Would read this again.
March 21, 2025
Overall good but lots of technobabble
Really good killer spores novel. Dayna is competent for the most part aside for a baffling instance where she wandered off on her own. Randall comes off as a vicious and cold soldier until you learn his backstory and see why he is that way. I was fully expecting some twist ending of Dayna surviving until the end, where it's revealed she was exposed to a different strain of spore that killed her family and has been lying dormant in her until it is exposed to the strain under Denver. But with a good ending that ties the story up, and hints at continued adventures for Dayna, I'm happy with the outcome. The only complaint I have is there is a ton of scientific talk that goes on for a really really long time.
Really good killer spores novel. Dayna is competent for the most part aside for a baffling instance where she wandered off on her own. Randall comes off as a vicious and cold soldier until you learn his backstory and see why he is that way. I was fully expecting some twist ending of Dayna surviving until the end, where it's revealed she was exposed to a different strain of spore that killed her family and has been lying dormant in her until it is exposed to the strain under Denver. But with a good ending that ties the story up, and hints at continued adventures for Dayna, I'm happy with the outcome. The only complaint I have is there is a ton of scientific talk that goes on for a really really long time.
June 19, 2025
This is a well-written, fast-paced thriller which combines sci-fi with a large dose of medical horror. Much like books like The Hot Zone presented a terrifying vision of viruses out of control, this does the same for the nightmare fuel fungus - cordyceps.
There is a fair bit of scientific jargon (technobabble) in the book, which does add to its authenticity, but may put some readers off. I would say that you shouldn't let it stop you from reading this book, as most of the meaning will be obvious from the context,
Most of the science is pretty accurate, and there is a fair bit of finding out - in the FAFO sense. This book may be a one-off, but it could be the start of a series. Thoroughly enjoyable.
There is a fair bit of scientific jargon (technobabble) in the book, which does add to its authenticity, but may put some readers off. I would say that you shouldn't let it stop you from reading this book, as most of the meaning will be obvious from the context,
Most of the science is pretty accurate, and there is a fair bit of finding out - in the FAFO sense. This book may be a one-off, but it could be the start of a series. Thoroughly enjoyable.
July 28, 2025
This was super entertaining and had me hooked.
I appreciate McBride’s treatment of the female characters in this book - they felt like rational humans with logical motivations. I know it’s a central part of her makeup but I found some of Dr Raines’ post-trauma responses a little tedious - I mean, there is the possibility people are going to die and she freezes and we get a flashback. I’m sure she is an extraordinary seismologist, but for a task this important I’m sure they would have checked that the crew did not have any debilitating phobias that would get others killed. I get it, she’s the protagonist, but it was a little frustrating at times.
Other than that, this is a solid story. Craig is obviously my favourite.
I appreciate McBride’s treatment of the female characters in this book - they felt like rational humans with logical motivations. I know it’s a central part of her makeup but I found some of Dr Raines’ post-trauma responses a little tedious - I mean, there is the possibility people are going to die and she freezes and we get a flashback. I’m sure she is an extraordinary seismologist, but for a task this important I’m sure they would have checked that the crew did not have any debilitating phobias that would get others killed. I get it, she’s the protagonist, but it was a little frustrating at times.
Other than that, this is a solid story. Craig is obviously my favourite.
January 30, 2025
An excellent claustrophobic thriller
Spores is a horror/thriller, taking place mostly underground following a major earthquake where no quakes should occur and does major damage to DIA, involving a mutant species of fungus which was bio-engineered in the early days of the American biological weapons program was getting off the ground. The resulting organism has remarkable longevity, so the monsters of the past come back to haunt the team sent in following the quake. The writing is beyond reproach, as I to be expected from McBride. Highly recommended for fans of horror/thrillers, claustrophobic thrillers, or thrillers in general! 5/5 stars!
Spores is a horror/thriller, taking place mostly underground following a major earthquake where no quakes should occur and does major damage to DIA, involving a mutant species of fungus which was bio-engineered in the early days of the American biological weapons program was getting off the ground. The resulting organism has remarkable longevity, so the monsters of the past come back to haunt the team sent in following the quake. The writing is beyond reproach, as I to be expected from McBride. Highly recommended for fans of horror/thrillers, claustrophobic thrillers, or thrillers in general! 5/5 stars!
December 10, 2025
what an awesome book! this is a technothriller through and through its pretty good action, no overlong exposition or anything i loved it! the characters are all scientists with a few military guys none of them too tropey the antagonist is some weird fungal thing plus chemicals its a fresh ish take on the genre i breezed through this because it was so good there Are some deaths but nothing too gory and zero content/triggery stuff unl;ess you're extremely claustrophobic, i'm not but there were a couple of times where i was thankful i wasnt!theres a pretty extensive maybe 100 page spelunking segment but it was neat as they discover the underground ecosystem definitely check this one out!
February 4, 2025
Cinematic thrill ride
Thrills and monsters, a favorite combo. This author is new to me and I am thrilled with how much goodness both -- terrifying and touching -- this author has managed to pack into a cracking good adventure story.
Self-contained but setting up for a series. Looking forward to reading the next one. Fans of "Kokchak, the Night Stalker" or its TV child, "The X-Files," this is the same kind of half spooky-half science
A very engaging writer with a touch for describing mayhem.
Thrills and monsters, a favorite combo. This author is new to me and I am thrilled with how much goodness both -- terrifying and touching -- this author has managed to pack into a cracking good adventure story.
Self-contained but setting up for a series. Looking forward to reading the next one. Fans of "Kokchak, the Night Stalker" or its TV child, "The X-Files," this is the same kind of half spooky-half science
A very engaging writer with a touch for describing mayhem.
July 10, 2025
Весьма средний фантастический роман с очень банальным сюжетом. Снова злобные военные дебилы изобретают кракозябру, с которой предсказуемо не смогли справиться, но она стала совсем кракозяброй и теперь угрожает всему человечеству. Экипаж Бройлера - 747 доблестно терпит крушение над водами Атлантического океана в течение 325 серий, в главных ролях: неунывающий командор, который уже просрал первый шанс справиться с кракозяброй, далее по списку учёные и военные - гибнут одинаково бессмысленно и уныло. Никакого развития персонажей в комплекте. Финал банальный и предсказуемый как смерть.
January 23, 2026
This started a bit slow, and the ENTIRE book was packed full of scientific lingo and terminology, but the last half of the book was low key terrifying. Or high key terrifying. Also, following along with the science the best I could, the science itself was horrifying. I have absolutely no idea if the species in this book are real, and if they could potentially have the same effects or anything close, but what a horrifying concept? Anyway, that lent a very real aspect to this horror that I really enjoyed.
February 28, 2025
4….just because I kept reading
This was a journey. It took me longer to read because I had to keep looking stuff up. I understand the need for authenticity but it seems to me the story could have been written with a more gentle focus on the technicalities. It was an engaging story as were the characters but again nothing exciting began to happen until very late in the book. I realize there is always a back story but a whole half a book? Be ready for a lot of coffee!
This was a journey. It took me longer to read because I had to keep looking stuff up. I understand the need for authenticity but it seems to me the story could have been written with a more gentle focus on the technicalities. It was an engaging story as were the characters but again nothing exciting began to happen until very late in the book. I realize there is always a back story but a whole half a book? Be ready for a lot of coffee!
March 3, 2025
Fantastic!
McBride bursts from the depths of horror imagination and touches, ever so convincingly, on the reality of what could happen in the real world by real people. Rocky Mountain Arsenal is real. What the public knows about it is frightening enough. What McBride writes in this book is nightmarish and so close to the possibility of real life, that it's not hard to imagine the "what if". Intense, scary and exceptionally written.
McBride bursts from the depths of horror imagination and touches, ever so convincingly, on the reality of what could happen in the real world by real people. Rocky Mountain Arsenal is real. What the public knows about it is frightening enough. What McBride writes in this book is nightmarish and so close to the possibility of real life, that it's not hard to imagine the "what if". Intense, scary and exceptionally written.
March 6, 2025
3.5★ rounding up - this was a great sci fi thriller with my favorite kind of zombie outbreak….fungi 🍄 overall this flowed very well, with a compelling (if rather large) cast of characters and an interesting history. it was pretty predictable, but the rabbits and especially the reanimated scientists/soldiers were creepy as hell! a solid read, though I picked it up hoping for futuristic sci fi rather than contemporary.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 8, 2025
Spooky to think it might be possible
Just like the last of us and the zombie fungi that took over their world, this book spooked me. The main reason is because it is a very possibility and with the way scientists are nowadays? I am sure it is bound to happen. Nonetheless the book had be interested and kept me on edge, won’t lie a lot of the scientific names for stuff threw me for a loop but thanks to kindle features I survived it lol. Absolutely recommend 8.5/10 🍄🟫
Just like the last of us and the zombie fungi that took over their world, this book spooked me. The main reason is because it is a very possibility and with the way scientists are nowadays? I am sure it is bound to happen. Nonetheless the book had be interested and kept me on edge, won’t lie a lot of the scientific names for stuff threw me for a loop but thanks to kindle features I survived it lol. Absolutely recommend 8.5/10 🍄🟫
January 4, 2026
The writing was a bit clunky at the beginning but once the story started to unfold it evened out. The story became steadily more tense and reached a satisfying peak at the end. Definitely includes body horror and animal (rabbit) mutilation. But the animal mutilation is brief. So steer clear if you have a sensitive stomach. It also had a lot of science heavy language so I had to reread some parts to fully grasp what was going on.
Overall- fun, easy horror book!
Overall- fun, easy horror book!
February 7, 2025
Great environmental terror. fast pace on the seat of your pants adventure. An earthquake opens a chemical disposal site and a team of experts have to try and fix the problem. that shouldn't have been there in the first place. Great character development.
with some terror twists you know are coming but when. Recommended.
with some terror twists you know are coming but when. Recommended.
March 9, 2025
When an earthquake in Denver reveals a long held secret, Dr. Dayna Raines and a team of scientists are sent in to investigate. The military are also on site, trying to protect a deep dark secret. When the mysterious Randall takes charge, a race beneath the surface begins to protect the secret and save an even greater disaster.
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