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The Blackest Sea
"The Bourne Identity" meets "The Thing" in this fast paced scifi horror thriller.
Darius Miller is a man with a complicated past. One he has to relearn as is he yanked from the abyss of hyper-sleep and thrust into a world of biological horrors and betrayal.
Disoriented, fatigued, his memories trapped behind a tapestry of amnesia caused by cryo-suspension, Darius has to fight to survive in the halls of the ship he is supposed to be captaining—the Regis-VII— all while piecing together who he is and who he can trust.
Slowly, by degrees, his past, and his mission directive, come to him. A distinguished captain of the United Martian Navy. An inter-planetary war between Mars and Earth fueled by xenophobia and catastrophically declining birth rates. A man charged with leading the last vestiges of the human race on a hail-mary trip to investigate a mysterious signal originating from a promising exoplanet at the very edges of the solar system.
There’s one problem something has gone catastrophically wrong aboard the Regis-VII. Most of his crew are dead. The surviving shipmates he encounters are not who they seem. Not only does Darius have to figure who he can trust, he also has to survive while evading an unwanted passenger capable of producing nightmares beyond his wildest dreams.
Darius Miller is a man with a complicated past. One he has to relearn as is he yanked from the abyss of hyper-sleep and thrust into a world of biological horrors and betrayal.
Disoriented, fatigued, his memories trapped behind a tapestry of amnesia caused by cryo-suspension, Darius has to fight to survive in the halls of the ship he is supposed to be captaining—the Regis-VII— all while piecing together who he is and who he can trust.
Slowly, by degrees, his past, and his mission directive, come to him. A distinguished captain of the United Martian Navy. An inter-planetary war between Mars and Earth fueled by xenophobia and catastrophically declining birth rates. A man charged with leading the last vestiges of the human race on a hail-mary trip to investigate a mysterious signal originating from a promising exoplanet at the very edges of the solar system.
There’s one problem something has gone catastrophically wrong aboard the Regis-VII. Most of his crew are dead. The surviving shipmates he encounters are not who they seem. Not only does Darius have to figure who he can trust, he also has to survive while evading an unwanted passenger capable of producing nightmares beyond his wildest dreams.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 15, 2026
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Review of advance copy received from Author
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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It’s normal to be nervous, to feel trepidation, when an author whose previous works you’ve enjoyed, someone who has yet to deliver a solid read, branches out into areas they have hitherto written about. There’s always that nagging voice of doubt at the back of your brain “what if it doesn’t measure up. What if it’s a deep dive that turns into a neck snapping belly flop?!”. To listen to these whispers of doubt, to give into these twisting waves in our gut, deprives us of experiencing something new, of allowing that author we’ve come respect, to blow our expectations out of the back of our skulls. Speculative Fiction provides the opportunity, and the means. While I love and cherish, the accepted “genres” known as Horror and Science Fiction, it’s important to remember that they are each merely faces, masques of that larger literary concept of Speculative Fiction. It’s through this gateway that an author like Richard Beauchamp, whom till recently, had delivered Weird Tales rooted firmly in The Ozarks and the realm of the Mississippi River, to unleash the power of his imagination and impact of his prose, on a places and time periods beyond Terra Firma.
The Blackest Sea is a tale set in the fading twilight of Humanity. As a species we seem to be on the edge, circling the the great abyss of oblivion. Yet even then there’s a mad thrashing, a last gasp towards survival, or at the least to leave a footprint, on the galactic landscape. The self proclaimed greatest animal of earth, after successfully traversing the expanse between worlds, has been brought low, humbled by the stark realities of cosmos, beyond the confines of their, now sundered, pale blue dot. Wherever groups of our species have migrated to, bundled with their strengths are always their faults. Some of those faults persist to present day, and in the far future of Richard’s novel, they continue to linger.
Back in February I read Richard’s most recent book Our Lord, The Worm. As is the case with his other books, that one lingered in my gray matter for spell. Both that work and this one examined our capacity for self preservation, and self destruction. Blackest Sea, has the author pushing beyond the simple confines of self examination, as a species. Instead we are directed to imagine what forms complex intelligence might take, when not bound by the rules of earth bound evolution. Is it restricted to the confines of an individual, does it have to be human? Can the faults that we accept to be deeply human, like addiction, hubris, cruelty and arrogance, arise in other forms of life?
There is a certain quality to this book that I immediately latched onto. The moment we are introduced to Darius Miller, I couldn’t help but see this like a survival-horror FPS game, specifically DOOM for PC. Richard’s novel, in its entirety is rendered with that video game sensibility, that both locks you in and drives you forward, with Darius Miller, as he probes the mystery of what has become of his ship and his crew. Beyond Doom, I found myself finding connections, to Half-Life. Films like John Carpenter’s The Thing, Alien, Pandorum and The 1992 Dark Horse Comic VIRUS, by Chuck Pfarrer and Howard Cobb. As readers we draw connections, to other things we have read, listened to, or watched. Sometimes this is by design, as with the authors own live the classic DOOM game, and other times it’s just our own minds finding things that resonate in harmony with a given story.
The Blackest Sea, in this readers opinion, marks both a departure, and an evolution of Richard Beauchamp’s writing. He has managed to take the heart and spirit with which he writes tales of Missouri, of the Ozarks, and transport it to someplace. If you haven’t read any of his books, this is a clear sign to do so. His craft is going places. I know in my gut that they will remain, rooted deep in his home soil. But The Blackest Sea makes it clear, he has stories still to come, that will take readers past his and our own realms of comfort. Transporting us all into unknown realms, that only Speculative Fiction can deliver.
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It’s normal to be nervous, to feel trepidation, when an author whose previous works you’ve enjoyed, someone who has yet to deliver a solid read, branches out into areas they have hitherto written about. There’s always that nagging voice of doubt at the back of your brain “what if it doesn’t measure up. What if it’s a deep dive that turns into a neck snapping belly flop?!”. To listen to these whispers of doubt, to give into these twisting waves in our gut, deprives us of experiencing something new, of allowing that author we’ve come respect, to blow our expectations out of the back of our skulls. Speculative Fiction provides the opportunity, and the means. While I love and cherish, the accepted “genres” known as Horror and Science Fiction, it’s important to remember that they are each merely faces, masques of that larger literary concept of Speculative Fiction. It’s through this gateway that an author like Richard Beauchamp, whom till recently, had delivered Weird Tales rooted firmly in The Ozarks and the realm of the Mississippi River, to unleash the power of his imagination and impact of his prose, on a places and time periods beyond Terra Firma.
The Blackest Sea is a tale set in the fading twilight of Humanity. As a species we seem to be on the edge, circling the the great abyss of oblivion. Yet even then there’s a mad thrashing, a last gasp towards survival, or at the least to leave a footprint, on the galactic landscape. The self proclaimed greatest animal of earth, after successfully traversing the expanse between worlds, has been brought low, humbled by the stark realities of cosmos, beyond the confines of their, now sundered, pale blue dot. Wherever groups of our species have migrated to, bundled with their strengths are always their faults. Some of those faults persist to present day, and in the far future of Richard’s novel, they continue to linger.
Back in February I read Richard’s most recent book Our Lord, The Worm. As is the case with his other books, that one lingered in my gray matter for spell. Both that work and this one examined our capacity for self preservation, and self destruction. Blackest Sea, has the author pushing beyond the simple confines of self examination, as a species. Instead we are directed to imagine what forms complex intelligence might take, when not bound by the rules of earth bound evolution. Is it restricted to the confines of an individual, does it have to be human? Can the faults that we accept to be deeply human, like addiction, hubris, cruelty and arrogance, arise in other forms of life?
There is a certain quality to this book that I immediately latched onto. The moment we are introduced to Darius Miller, I couldn’t help but see this like a survival-horror FPS game, specifically DOOM for PC. Richard’s novel, in its entirety is rendered with that video game sensibility, that both locks you in and drives you forward, with Darius Miller, as he probes the mystery of what has become of his ship and his crew. Beyond Doom, I found myself finding connections, to Half-Life. Films like John Carpenter’s The Thing, Alien, Pandorum and The 1992 Dark Horse Comic VIRUS, by Chuck Pfarrer and Howard Cobb. As readers we draw connections, to other things we have read, listened to, or watched. Sometimes this is by design, as with the authors own live the classic DOOM game, and other times it’s just our own minds finding things that resonate in harmony with a given story.
The Blackest Sea, in this readers opinion, marks both a departure, and an evolution of Richard Beauchamp’s writing. He has managed to take the heart and spirit with which he writes tales of Missouri, of the Ozarks, and transport it to someplace. If you haven’t read any of his books, this is a clear sign to do so. His craft is going places. I know in my gut that they will remain, rooted deep in his home soil. But The Blackest Sea makes it clear, he has stories still to come, that will take readers past his and our own realms of comfort. Transporting us all into unknown realms, that only Speculative Fiction can deliver.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This is a hard science fiction story, with a good dose of body horror, plenty of covert action, and several high stakes conflicts - so no wonder it's being marketed as Jason Bourne meets The Thing! Indeed, the book wastes no time introducing the main event that will propel the story forward: a mysterious collision or attack derailing a Martian spaceship from its mission of reaching an exoplanet in Alpha Centauri - a planet that promises to deliver a much needed solution to humanity's problems back in the Solar system. The ship's captain gets awoken from deep cryosleep only to discover that handling the mess involves facing a different kind of threat than anything he'd been prepared for - an alien biological monstrosity is taking over his ship - and he has to do it practically on his own, as most of his crew is already dead. The tale soon develops into a dark and claustrophobic blend of survival- and cosmic horror, parsed through familiar science fictional themes. Sounds awesome, right?
Well, there are complications. (No spoilers) First of all, the captain suffers from partial amnesia (this is the nod to the Jason Bourne film), thankfully though he's slowly recovering his memories. Second, he's not really all alone: a female engineer, with some preposterous claims of her own, stands by his side. And third, and this is a major wrench in the plans, the ship's human-machine hybrid, a super-intelligent biomechanical humanoid tasked with keeping things up to standard during the voyage, is being hacked by the alien entity! The difficulties just doubled (perhaps even tripled lol).
Now, to be honest, although I liked the premise and really dug the ending, I had a lot of trouble with the execution. The story is way too much detailed for an action sci fi thriller; I found most of the descriptions unnecessarily burdened with tiny bits of information which may be interesting on their own, but in the context of the tale they really messed up with the pacing. I found myself often stopping and wondering why I needed to know so much about the ship, the weapons, the hybrid, even about the alien entities themselves - I wanted mystery, fleshed-out characters, and fast-paced suspense, but I was getting a slow burn with minimally drawn characters instead. Don't get me wrong: all hard SF fans will appreciate this kind of thing, and I myself enjoy this sort of detail, but it needs to be an integral part of the story. I didn't get that.
Overall, however, there's a lot to like in the book. In fact, it's hard to believe this is Beauchamp's first SF novel: the plotting shows incredible thoughfulness and knowledgeability, highlighting Beauchamp's perfect grasp of the genre; the conflict resolutions are always satisfying and compelling; and that epilogue gave me chills!
Well, there are complications. (No spoilers) First of all, the captain suffers from partial amnesia (this is the nod to the Jason Bourne film), thankfully though he's slowly recovering his memories. Second, he's not really all alone: a female engineer, with some preposterous claims of her own, stands by his side. And third, and this is a major wrench in the plans, the ship's human-machine hybrid, a super-intelligent biomechanical humanoid tasked with keeping things up to standard during the voyage, is being hacked by the alien entity! The difficulties just doubled (perhaps even tripled lol).
Now, to be honest, although I liked the premise and really dug the ending, I had a lot of trouble with the execution. The story is way too much detailed for an action sci fi thriller; I found most of the descriptions unnecessarily burdened with tiny bits of information which may be interesting on their own, but in the context of the tale they really messed up with the pacing. I found myself often stopping and wondering why I needed to know so much about the ship, the weapons, the hybrid, even about the alien entities themselves - I wanted mystery, fleshed-out characters, and fast-paced suspense, but I was getting a slow burn with minimally drawn characters instead. Don't get me wrong: all hard SF fans will appreciate this kind of thing, and I myself enjoy this sort of detail, but it needs to be an integral part of the story. I didn't get that.
Overall, however, there's a lot to like in the book. In fact, it's hard to believe this is Beauchamp's first SF novel: the plotting shows incredible thoughfulness and knowledgeability, highlighting Beauchamp's perfect grasp of the genre; the conflict resolutions are always satisfying and compelling; and that epilogue gave me chills!
May 25, 2026
This was a fun little romp into the scifi genre.
The book opens with a bioengeneered man, who's been tasked with keeping his crew alive who are all in cryosleep. We get a little peek at the horror that is to come, before the story jumps ahead to a member of the crew waking up with amnesia. As the book speeds along, we learn more backstory just as the main character, Darius, makes these same discoveries.
I think a lot of us who read or watch scifi have probably come across a story that opens like this. And it isn't a terrible way to go about leading the reader along. Because while everything might be a little confusing at first, it quickly starts to click into place in a satisfying way. I never felt frustrated with too much suspense, as can sometimes be the case.
For me, the best parts of this book are also some of the things that weakened it. For one, all of the side characters are much more interesting than the main protagonist, Darius. And there are some very interesting characters, including the main antagonist, but Darius is so so bland as well.
Second, something that sets this story apart from other similar books was that you get to see things from the bioengeneered man, Zakiya's, perspective. I really liked the inclusion of this character, but the issue was that his scenes weren't sprinkled throughout the story. The book started from his perspective, then it went to Darius for a large chunk, then it went back in time without warning of how far back, into Zakiya's perspective for a large chunk, then it shifted back to Darius in the present.
It was hard for me to really know how much time had changed without being told in the beginning of the chapters, instead it was just titled with the character at the top of the chapter. I found this a bit jolting and hard to follow at times. And it felt somewhat repetitive with such large chunks spent on the same characters doing the same things. Even though this book had a quick pace, this storytelling choice made it drag a little.
All that being said, I still enjoyed this book. The body horror is pretty gruesome and well written. I don't think it ever gets over the top where you lose the story. I won't get into it too much with spoilers, but the main horror in this is the biggest thing that creeps me out within the genre. But I never wanted to stop reading these parts.
It felt a bit like a low budget film (not in a bad way) with a small cast of characters, and a movie monster slithering with the best of them. If the blurb peaks your interest, definitely give this one a go.
The book opens with a bioengeneered man, who's been tasked with keeping his crew alive who are all in cryosleep. We get a little peek at the horror that is to come, before the story jumps ahead to a member of the crew waking up with amnesia. As the book speeds along, we learn more backstory just as the main character, Darius, makes these same discoveries.
I think a lot of us who read or watch scifi have probably come across a story that opens like this. And it isn't a terrible way to go about leading the reader along. Because while everything might be a little confusing at first, it quickly starts to click into place in a satisfying way. I never felt frustrated with too much suspense, as can sometimes be the case.
For me, the best parts of this book are also some of the things that weakened it. For one, all of the side characters are much more interesting than the main protagonist, Darius. And there are some very interesting characters, including the main antagonist, but Darius is so so bland as well.
Second, something that sets this story apart from other similar books was that you get to see things from the bioengeneered man, Zakiya's, perspective. I really liked the inclusion of this character, but the issue was that his scenes weren't sprinkled throughout the story. The book started from his perspective, then it went to Darius for a large chunk, then it went back in time without warning of how far back, into Zakiya's perspective for a large chunk, then it shifted back to Darius in the present.
It was hard for me to really know how much time had changed without being told in the beginning of the chapters, instead it was just titled with the character at the top of the chapter. I found this a bit jolting and hard to follow at times. And it felt somewhat repetitive with such large chunks spent on the same characters doing the same things. Even though this book had a quick pace, this storytelling choice made it drag a little.
All that being said, I still enjoyed this book. The body horror is pretty gruesome and well written. I don't think it ever gets over the top where you lose the story. I won't get into it too much with spoilers, but the main horror in this is the biggest thing that creeps me out within the genre. But I never wanted to stop reading these parts.
It felt a bit like a low budget film (not in a bad way) with a small cast of characters, and a movie monster slithering with the best of them. If the blurb peaks your interest, definitely give this one a go.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Strong 3.5*
Darius Miller, ship captain aboard the Regis-VII, wakes to find himself prematurely pulled out of hyper-sleep. Struck with temporary amnesia, he has to re-learn his mission parameters, why he's been waken now, who his teammates are, and - crucially - which of them he can trust. He quickly realises something has gone wrong during his unconsciousness, and is left to try and discover what it is as well as who, or what, is responsible.
I've been a big fan of Beauchamp's work, usually sat in the Ozarks up to this point, and I was intrigued to see how he'd tackle a story in futuristic deep space. The answer, it turns out, is by leaning into pretty hard sci-fi, along with his more expected horror themes. If you like the technical idea behind these missions, and want to know how the ship and weapons aboard it work, this is one for you. There's a lot of detail here, but don't get me wrong, this is an action-horror book at it's heart, and despite being a relatively short 200 pages or so, there's plenty of both within.
The usual genre touchstones apply here. There's elements of Aliens, of The Thing, maybe a little Sunshine, but The Blackest Sea also immediately felt like there was some Cronenberg influence present. There's a lot of body horror here, a lot of it stemming from post-humanism and bio-mechanical engineering, but there's just as much that comes from reproduction. I'll spare the specifics to avoid spoilers, but there are quite a few grotesque and wince-inducing moments around creation, or the becoming of something new. The combination of an almost Lovecraftian terror alongside characters that wouldn't feel out of place toting assault rifles in Alien's USCMC.
Ultimately, I enjoyed the book a lot but found myself wanting more. Perhaps fleshing out more character background, adding some more set pieces, more ship exploration would end up hurting the book - it's more a sprint than a marathon, with flashbacks, action sequences and revelations coming thick and fast - but I couldn't help but want to live in this world a little more. It's not a genre I see a lot of these days, though, so if you crave terror from the far-flung reaches of our universe, The Blackest Sea will no doubt be near the top of your TBR - and rightfully so.
Darius Miller, ship captain aboard the Regis-VII, wakes to find himself prematurely pulled out of hyper-sleep. Struck with temporary amnesia, he has to re-learn his mission parameters, why he's been waken now, who his teammates are, and - crucially - which of them he can trust. He quickly realises something has gone wrong during his unconsciousness, and is left to try and discover what it is as well as who, or what, is responsible.
I've been a big fan of Beauchamp's work, usually sat in the Ozarks up to this point, and I was intrigued to see how he'd tackle a story in futuristic deep space. The answer, it turns out, is by leaning into pretty hard sci-fi, along with his more expected horror themes. If you like the technical idea behind these missions, and want to know how the ship and weapons aboard it work, this is one for you. There's a lot of detail here, but don't get me wrong, this is an action-horror book at it's heart, and despite being a relatively short 200 pages or so, there's plenty of both within.
The usual genre touchstones apply here. There's elements of Aliens, of The Thing, maybe a little Sunshine, but The Blackest Sea also immediately felt like there was some Cronenberg influence present. There's a lot of body horror here, a lot of it stemming from post-humanism and bio-mechanical engineering, but there's just as much that comes from reproduction. I'll spare the specifics to avoid spoilers, but there are quite a few grotesque and wince-inducing moments around creation, or the becoming of something new. The combination of an almost Lovecraftian terror alongside characters that wouldn't feel out of place toting assault rifles in Alien's USCMC.
Ultimately, I enjoyed the book a lot but found myself wanting more. Perhaps fleshing out more character background, adding some more set pieces, more ship exploration would end up hurting the book - it's more a sprint than a marathon, with flashbacks, action sequences and revelations coming thick and fast - but I couldn't help but want to live in this world a little more. It's not a genre I see a lot of these days, though, so if you crave terror from the far-flung reaches of our universe, The Blackest Sea will no doubt be near the top of your TBR - and rightfully so.
May 21, 2026
First, let me preface by saying that I go in mostly blind regardless of how much hype a book has. I try not to read the blurbs because I want to have no expectations going in, I don't want to know what the hell's going on to like chapters 3-5. I like unraveling the story like it's a puzzle made of strings and knots. That all being said, I thought this book was going to be about sirens or something on a boat… It wasn't and thank the good book gods for that.
The setting is more of a never-ending blackness above, so it's kinda like a sea. A sea of horror if you're anything like me and think space is just completely terrifying because what's even up there?? Anyway, this tale delves into the ending of humanity but it's so much more than that. It's like if the aliens were all like Ash (the droid) in Alien and thought us humans as a pitiless species that matter not in the scheme of things, they have a directive and we best just stay the hell outta the way. There's more than aliens and bots though, there are cosmic horrors of all sorts. And the dude that is supposed to be taking charge is about to awaken in a cryro-chamber and he is suffering all sorts of crap from that.
If you want a fast paced, hold on for your life, things are getting way out of hand and there's not a thing you can do but hope that this frozen guy can save it all… this is the book for you. In all seriousness, this was epic and horrifying. Everything I've come to expect from Richard Beauchamp.
I received (that words always hard to spell) an advance review copy of this book for free and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.
The setting is more of a never-ending blackness above, so it's kinda like a sea. A sea of horror if you're anything like me and think space is just completely terrifying because what's even up there?? Anyway, this tale delves into the ending of humanity but it's so much more than that. It's like if the aliens were all like Ash (the droid) in Alien and thought us humans as a pitiless species that matter not in the scheme of things, they have a directive and we best just stay the hell outta the way. There's more than aliens and bots though, there are cosmic horrors of all sorts. And the dude that is supposed to be taking charge is about to awaken in a cryro-chamber and he is suffering all sorts of crap from that.
If you want a fast paced, hold on for your life, things are getting way out of hand and there's not a thing you can do but hope that this frozen guy can save it all… this is the book for you. In all seriousness, this was epic and horrifying. Everything I've come to expect from Richard Beauchamp.
I received (that words always hard to spell) an advance review copy of this book for free and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy
A man is pulled from hyper-sleep to a ship of horrors. Blending fantastic cosmic and cyber horror with the familiar xenophobic and forced-production horror of the real world, this book pushes the arguments of group survival to disgusting limits. I recieved a copy of this book via BookSirens, thank you to them and Richard Beauchamp.
The book alternates between the perspectives of the woken man and the robot assigned to take care of the passengers in hyper-sleep. This parallel narrative was interesting, dissecting both the unfolding events and how they came to be at the same time. However, I felt this lead to the various horrors being underwhelming. Not unpredictable, but flipping back and forth became distracting and a little confusing to keep track of the timeline.
I also thought the characters were rather pliant about their situation. While there’s limited time for character exploration between surviving phallic/yonic creatures, I would have liked more exploration of their feelings around being essentially breeding stock. There’s a couple of conversations between the two human characters that mostly amount to being unhappy about leaving their families, but given the frequent visceral breeding-as-horror imagery I felt the human side of that horror was missing.
Overall: 3.5/5, I enjoyed the read but felt like it fell short of its own points at times.
Enjoyed: vivid imagery, interesting depiction of cult mentality and recruitment
Didn’t enjoy: choppy pacing, some awkard dialogue.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Did you love Project Hail Mary, but wish that instead of a quirky, loveable alien, Rocky were an amorphous parasitic extraterrestrial race hellbent on absorbing the knowledge of all living things (yeah, me too)Toss in a humanoid robot with serious sentience envy and you have the makings of an absolute disaster in space!
It is no secret that I am a HUGE fan of Richard Beauchamp's hillbilly horror catalogue, so I entered his first sci-fi novel with both optimism and trepidation.
Suffice to say, RB's penchant for gooey body horror, home-cooked characters, and requirement of a thesaurus translates well to this genre as well (but who's really surprised?)
The Blackest Seas is a great mashup of Ex Machina, The Thing & a dash of DOOM-level alien obliteration. The pacing is brisk, dropping is right into our MC's disorienting awakening from hyper sleep.
From the first page you can tell that Beauchamp is having a blast writing within this "new to him" genre, and there is so much room to explore within this world. We have government conspiracy, human evolution to inhabit Mars, and even some in-depth analysis of alien procreation practices...
If you consider yourself a Beauchamp fan, fear not this new lane. It's as good as you anticipated.
If you're new to our resident Hillbilly Clive Barker, I urge you to start here and then immediately pickup a copy of Thrall (my personal favorite novel of his)
It is no secret that I am a HUGE fan of Richard Beauchamp's hillbilly horror catalogue, so I entered his first sci-fi novel with both optimism and trepidation.
Suffice to say, RB's penchant for gooey body horror, home-cooked characters, and requirement of a thesaurus translates well to this genre as well (but who's really surprised?)
The Blackest Seas is a great mashup of Ex Machina, The Thing & a dash of DOOM-level alien obliteration. The pacing is brisk, dropping is right into our MC's disorienting awakening from hyper sleep.
From the first page you can tell that Beauchamp is having a blast writing within this "new to him" genre, and there is so much room to explore within this world. We have government conspiracy, human evolution to inhabit Mars, and even some in-depth analysis of alien procreation practices...
If you consider yourself a Beauchamp fan, fear not this new lane. It's as good as you anticipated.
If you're new to our resident Hillbilly Clive Barker, I urge you to start here and then immediately pickup a copy of Thrall (my personal favorite novel of his)
May 23, 2026
A man wakes up with no memory of who he is. Alarms are blaring, the ship is failing, and an enhanced android-human hybrid is telling him he needs to get to the bridge because he’s the captain. It’s a pretty explosive start, and if you’ve watched a fair few sci‑fi films, you’ll definitely spot echoes of Pandorum, Alien, and The Thing. Still, the book manages to put its own spin on things. Which did tickle my pickle.
What brought my rating down was the writing. It just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The lead character, even with memory loss, felt oddly weak and passive. Basic emotions and instincts should still be there, but he often came across as so feeble that I struggled to care about his safety.
The creatures (if you can call them that) start as fascinating, horrifying amalgamations of flesh. But instead of becoming scarier, they drift into “how gross can we make this” territory. I’ve always believed the unknown is the scariest thing. Spending an entire page detailing how a creature has squashed itself together doesn’t build fear; it just adds shock value.
As Arnie said, if it bleeds, we can kill it. Not "look at that tooth-filled vagina on its face".
Overall, it’s enjoyable and I’d recommend it to any sci‑fi horror fan. But sometimes less really is more. A full page describing a monster doesn’t make it more threatening it just fills space.
What brought my rating down was the writing. It just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The lead character, even with memory loss, felt oddly weak and passive. Basic emotions and instincts should still be there, but he often came across as so feeble that I struggled to care about his safety.
The creatures (if you can call them that) start as fascinating, horrifying amalgamations of flesh. But instead of becoming scarier, they drift into “how gross can we make this” territory. I’ve always believed the unknown is the scariest thing. Spending an entire page detailing how a creature has squashed itself together doesn’t build fear; it just adds shock value.
As Arnie said, if it bleeds, we can kill it. Not "look at that tooth-filled vagina on its face".
Overall, it’s enjoyable and I’d recommend it to any sci‑fi horror fan. But sometimes less really is more. A full page describing a monster doesn’t make it more threatening it just fills space.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Fun read. Beauchamp has been in my periphery for a bit so I was stoked to read this. Space horror is always a vibe so I’m glad I grabbed this one as introduction to the author. The Blackest Sea follows a space ship that has left our home solar system looking for a new home, due to poor Earth conditions, declining birth rates…usual spiel. While the human crew is in cryosleep the ship is breached by a small projectile with lethal implications. Zakiya, a sort of enhanced human-robot hybrid, is compromised by what the projectile contains and the book rapidly shifts up. It’s absolutely a fast paced read.
It’s set in the late 23rd century but Beauchamp does an excellent job at keeping you grounded within the story despite the massive humanity leaps. I loved his visions of Martian colonies and the splinters within society even on space colonies. I’m not into the harder sci fi stuff (never my strongest subject 😅) but the only time my eyes glazed over a bit was discussing weaponry.
I liked the characters, even Zakiya with his quirks. Darius and Layla make a solid married couple despite it being a union made out of mandate over love. Learning about the entity was fun and definitely made for a compulsive read. I definitely look forward to reading more from Beauchamp in the future.
It’s set in the late 23rd century but Beauchamp does an excellent job at keeping you grounded within the story despite the massive humanity leaps. I loved his visions of Martian colonies and the splinters within society even on space colonies. I’m not into the harder sci fi stuff (never my strongest subject 😅) but the only time my eyes glazed over a bit was discussing weaponry.
I liked the characters, even Zakiya with his quirks. Darius and Layla make a solid married couple despite it being a union made out of mandate over love. Learning about the entity was fun and definitely made for a compulsive read. I definitely look forward to reading more from Beauchamp in the future.
May 27, 2026
Being a huge fan of sci-fi horror as I am, I eagerly jumped at the opportunity to read this one and I'm glad I did. It's a brilliant piece of work, a sci-fi horror that hits from several different angles.
The story itself is full of mystery. It starts off from the perspective of a bio-mechanical humanoid which is doing its rounds to make sure the ship that is on a mission critical to human survival is in top shape when something hits the ship.
After that, we follow the POV of the captain Darius Miller who awakens from cryosleep with amnesia to see dried bloodstains and ship damage all around him. From there, the journey switches between the bio-mechanical humanoid and Darius while the reader is taken on a ride through a tension filled and sometimes philosophic story of parasitic alien invasion and the battle to stay alive.
I have to say this is one of my favourite stories I've read this year. The chapters with Darius are action heavy as he races against the clock to save the ship from the alien parasite that infests it and almost certain destruction as it spirals toward a nearby planet. Those from the bio-mechanical humanoid POV are slower, as it tries to contend with the parasite that is taking over its programming while it hunts down Darius and the other human that is alive on the ship, his wife.
Some might say the slower sections bog the story down too much but I found it as captivating as the rest of the chapters. It helps that it also felt like a survival horror video game in the vein of Dead Space which is right up my alley. If that's your jam too, I suspect you'll love this.
The Blackest Sea is a well written intelligent survival space horror that hits all the high notes and comes highly recommended for those craving some sci-fi horror.
The story itself is full of mystery. It starts off from the perspective of a bio-mechanical humanoid which is doing its rounds to make sure the ship that is on a mission critical to human survival is in top shape when something hits the ship.
After that, we follow the POV of the captain Darius Miller who awakens from cryosleep with amnesia to see dried bloodstains and ship damage all around him. From there, the journey switches between the bio-mechanical humanoid and Darius while the reader is taken on a ride through a tension filled and sometimes philosophic story of parasitic alien invasion and the battle to stay alive.
I have to say this is one of my favourite stories I've read this year. The chapters with Darius are action heavy as he races against the clock to save the ship from the alien parasite that infests it and almost certain destruction as it spirals toward a nearby planet. Those from the bio-mechanical humanoid POV are slower, as it tries to contend with the parasite that is taking over its programming while it hunts down Darius and the other human that is alive on the ship, his wife.
Some might say the slower sections bog the story down too much but I found it as captivating as the rest of the chapters. It helps that it also felt like a survival horror video game in the vein of Dead Space which is right up my alley. If that's your jam too, I suspect you'll love this.
The Blackest Sea is a well written intelligent survival space horror that hits all the high notes and comes highly recommended for those craving some sci-fi horror.
May 24, 2026
**Review of advance copy.**
First of all, this book as a whole would translate absolutely amazingly into a very enjoyable movie - and I say that very confidently.
Reading through each scene brought immaculate imagery with clear visuals. Action-packed in that very sense of always being on edge, not entirely knowing what is yet to lurk around the next corner.
There's a great deal of world-building within this one, and even despite some terms initially coming off as "what kind of hi-tech terms am I reading", they are then very easily absorbed and understood; the lay of the universe this takes place in too.
The cast of characters are all enjoyable in their very own ways, and it truly is difficult to explain it all without giving any spoilers.
Very much put me in mind of a mix between "The Thing" and "Alien". It holds that classic feel of sci-fi horror whilst holding its weight as its own rightful story, and ultimately it was a treat to read. So much so that I put off sleeping just to read a little bit more!
Additionally, I have to give props for the ending. I'll definitely be looking into more of this author's works!
4.25* official review rating.
First of all, this book as a whole would translate absolutely amazingly into a very enjoyable movie - and I say that very confidently.
Reading through each scene brought immaculate imagery with clear visuals. Action-packed in that very sense of always being on edge, not entirely knowing what is yet to lurk around the next corner.
There's a great deal of world-building within this one, and even despite some terms initially coming off as "what kind of hi-tech terms am I reading", they are then very easily absorbed and understood; the lay of the universe this takes place in too.
The cast of characters are all enjoyable in their very own ways, and it truly is difficult to explain it all without giving any spoilers.
Very much put me in mind of a mix between "The Thing" and "Alien". It holds that classic feel of sci-fi horror whilst holding its weight as its own rightful story, and ultimately it was a treat to read. So much so that I put off sleeping just to read a little bit more!
Additionally, I have to give props for the ending. I'll definitely be looking into more of this author's works!
4.25* official review rating.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Disclaimer: I received a free ARC copy from the author in exchange for a review and am writing the review voluntarily, and quite happily I might add! REVIEW BELOW
What a dark, twisted, journey through space we just had! Space horror is my favorite genre, and this book did not disappoint! We follow a crew member with amnesia after being pulled out of cryo as he tries to figure out wtf is taking place on this ship - the crew member, nor the reader, is really sure of what's going on.
This book is a delicious blend of evolutionary science, questioning 'life's' place in the universe, and the ever-present human desire for the survival of our selves, our species, and our place at the top of all of the food chains.
The gore and graphic imagery was placed at just the right moments to keep the creep factor fully lit, and further explores the nature of curiosity for all beings. I absolutely loved this book, and would 10/10 recommend to fellow horror fans.
What a dark, twisted, journey through space we just had! Space horror is my favorite genre, and this book did not disappoint! We follow a crew member with amnesia after being pulled out of cryo as he tries to figure out wtf is taking place on this ship - the crew member, nor the reader, is really sure of what's going on.
This book is a delicious blend of evolutionary science, questioning 'life's' place in the universe, and the ever-present human desire for the survival of our selves, our species, and our place at the top of all of the food chains.
The gore and graphic imagery was placed at just the right moments to keep the creep factor fully lit, and further explores the nature of curiosity for all beings. I absolutely loved this book, and would 10/10 recommend to fellow horror fans.
Review of advance copy
This was a very solid sci-fi/horror novel. The concepts were great, and although not 100% original(this is hard to achieve in this genre), there were some very unique and intriguing things I haven’t read before. The science worked out well and was plausible, which is always great. The concepts and the threat were intriguing, as well as the presentation of the different beings and their thoughts, lack of thoughts or hardline computation and mixing of some of these attributes. My least favorite thing was the main characters themselves; it’s not that I disliked them, but due to the pace of the book, you really didn’t get to know them well. This wasn’t a negative, merely an observation, perhaps it was on purpose to lend to the story itself and not 100% surrounding only the main characters.
This was a strong 3.5 stars, very close to 4 for me.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy
See, this is why I refuse to fly interstellar under cryo…
When you wake, you invariably find yourself in an unpleasant situation. Seriously, either someone has woken too early, or there is an imminent collision detected, or you have amnesia. Or all three. Dammit, I hate when that happens.
The Blackest Sea (smashing good title) gets off to a full-throttle start. The commanding officer, Darius, is thrown into a hellish situation, and the stakes couldn't be higher. His crew is in serious jeopardy, and with only his sassy first officer/wife (maybe?) to aid him, he has to confront a nightmare entity that seems determined to ruin my sleep.
Author Richard Beauchamp's writing is quite good for this genre; body horror, sci fi, thriller. The Blackest Sea is a ride that doesn't let up until you're ready to space yourself. Great book.
When you wake, you invariably find yourself in an unpleasant situation. Seriously, either someone has woken too early, or there is an imminent collision detected, or you have amnesia. Or all three. Dammit, I hate when that happens.
The Blackest Sea (smashing good title) gets off to a full-throttle start. The commanding officer, Darius, is thrown into a hellish situation, and the stakes couldn't be higher. His crew is in serious jeopardy, and with only his sassy first officer/wife (maybe?) to aid him, he has to confront a nightmare entity that seems determined to ruin my sleep.
Author Richard Beauchamp's writing is quite good for this genre; body horror, sci fi, thriller. The Blackest Sea is a ride that doesn't let up until you're ready to space yourself. Great book.
May 21, 2026
I thought that this story was going to be a repetition of something that we have already seen. The Alien franchise comes to mind. However, I was genuinely surprised. Some of the tropes will seem familiar to people but it creates its own world with the characters and a great sense of psychological horror, which is also my favorite kind off horror, apart from liminal space horror. I wish that the pacing would be a bit faster in the middle of the story. Other than that, I recommend.
Review of advance copy received from Author
The Blackest Sea is the alien sci-fi horror novel we've all been waiting for. It will get in your head--and your body--and not let go from the very first sentence. Get ready for a journey not only through space, but through the human existence. When you finish, you won't be the same.
Review of advance copy
I finished this book but it was a little hard for me to get through. The premise of the story is amazing and really made me want to keep reading. But I did lose interest a few times.
Characters are well developed, but I need the story to speed up.
Characters are well developed, but I need the story to speed up.
Review of advance copy received from Indie Reviewers
I really enjoyed this book. The story moves at a fast pace and keeps building tension. Definitely recommended.
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May 12, 2026Excellent book
Review of advance copy
Thanks to Booksirens for letting me read this book in advance. Just the cover and the title are appealing, but I didn’t realize how much in I was for a treat.
I’m gonna state the obvious: this is Alien vs. The thing and a bit of Even Horizon. I wasn’t sure about the structure at the beginning but in the end I think it helps the book. The only thing that didn’t convince me was the amount of explaining and technical language in some parts. I don’t think that much information was needed but it’s only my opinion. Apart from that, glorious gory scenes and the main characters (especially the woman) feel real, despite the difference environments. The use of partial memory loss at the beginning could have been tricky, but it turned out really well.
Such a fun read!
I’m gonna state the obvious: this is Alien vs. The thing and a bit of Even Horizon. I wasn’t sure about the structure at the beginning but in the end I think it helps the book. The only thing that didn’t convince me was the amount of explaining and technical language in some parts. I don’t think that much information was needed but it’s only my opinion. Apart from that, glorious gory scenes and the main characters (especially the woman) feel real, despite the difference environments. The use of partial memory loss at the beginning could have been tricky, but it turned out really well.
Such a fun read!
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