Echoes of Olympus Mons

by Eric Malikyte

Once they see you nowhere is safe.

Olympus One colony students Hal Leon and Akio Sato have made history. Their invention, a camera that images dark matter, has had its first successful test; but what it reveals may put human life on Mars in jeopardy.

Hal believes that the strange animalistic silhouettes hidden in the dark matter web prove his theories. The wiry, inhuman forms appear to look to the sky at some invisible threat before they’re wiped away by a wave of nothingness that resets the dark matter web to normal, until it all repeats again—a never-ending cycle.

That is, until something else appears in the dark matter web, and students and colonists alike start dying under mysterious circumstances. Can Hal and Akio figure out what's causing these grisly murders, and does the dark matter camera somehow hold the key to the mystery?

Genres: Science Fiction, Horror

268 pages, ebook

Published April 11, 2019

About the author

Eric Malikyte is a neurodivergent author, illustrator, science communicator, and video editor. He has published works in various genres, including Lovecraftian horror, dark fantasy, and cyberpunk. He has written for YouTube channels such as TopTenz, Geographics, and Biographics. He lives in Richmond, Virginia, with his wife and two cats, where he spends his spare time exploring used bookstores, Irish Pubs, and terrorizing the neighborhood children on Halloween.

Get a free copy of Eric's cosmic horror story, The Stranger: https://BookHip.com/RRLVWXV

Reviews

[Mindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is more of a science fiction story, but there are certainly parts of the story that fall under the horror genre, so I was pleased to discover that it's a nice mix of both. It actually has quite a bit of gore, so perhaps it's more of a horror novel than I originally thought.

I'm going to admit that some of the science fiction parts probably went over my head, but I understood it enough to enjoy the book, and I don't think you need to be a regular science fiction reader to like this book or understand it. I'm sure most of the people who follow me know that I mostly review horror, so I'm basically speaking to those people who may be surprised to find something that's more science fiction than horror in my current reviews.

Hal Leon and Akio Sato are students at a university in the Olympus One colony on Mars. Both students are beyond brilliant, as I'm sure most of the rest of the student body is as well. Hal is the protagonist, and he's a bit of a scofflaw and, let's be honest, a major jerkwad. Hal is so smart that he thinks he should be allowed to do whatever he wants, but on Mars one stupid move could put your life or the lives of your fellow students at risk. Of course Hal ignores that and continually breaks the rules, even after the administration threatens to send him back to Earth.

Hal and Akio are working on something big. A camera that can image dark matter. When Hal views the first images from their invention he sees something strange. An inhuman form is appearing on all the images, and it looks as if something happens to it before it is wiped out completely. Is Hal seeing the extinction of an ancient race that used to live on Mars? And what is the other sinister image that appears over and over again? Something starts killing students soon after Hal views the first images from the camera, and as the deaths continue he starts to realize that they are connected to his camera. It's looking as if Hal and Akio's invention was a massive mistake.

I really enjoyed ECHOES OF OLYMPUS MONS. I was intrigued by the invention and what Hal and Akio would find, but once students started dying, and the mystery started to unravel I was fully invested in the story and had a hard time putting it down. Malikyte sets up a story with a fascinating plot, and then keeps the reading guessing until the very end. This is a science fiction/horror novel that will appeal to fans of both genres. The horror fan in me was pleased with the gore and the body count, but I also started to appreciate the elements of the story that were more science fiction too. I had a lot of fun reading this one and would recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries and/or science fiction that's a bit on the gorier side.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love science fiction horror. Sort of like how I believe cyberpunk is when you mix noir and science fiction, sci-fi horror is what I cut my teeth on. It's been there more or less from the beginning with Frankenstein, was codified with Alien, and is pretty much the basis of a huge chunk of video games. After all, there's almost always a mad scientist behind the latest zombie outbreak. I recently enjoyed Luke Hindmarsh's recent COLD SLEEP, which is zombie outbreak on a cryogenics-based colony ship. So I was eager to get some more in the genre.

Eric Malikyte was also a name I was interested as well due to the fact I was a big fan of his book, EGO TRIP. Indie cyberpunk is another one of my interests and I felt that it managed to capture both the modern zeitgeist as well as that aggressive rebelliousness so many other stories in the genre didn't. So, I decided to give ECHOES OF OLYMPOS MONS a chance.

The premise is that humanity has colonized Mars and society is continuing on much the same way as it always has. Individuals go there to study due to the offered incentives for education and colonization. For Hal Leon, it was a chance to escape his religiously abusive father as well as the general poverty of Earth.

Unfortunately, Hal suffers from terminal arrogance and constantly butts heads with his professors as well as forwards wild theories like the non-localization of consciousness. Hal isn't a religious person, quite the opposite, but carries a lot of ideals influenced by his background. Indeed, his desire to prove "his" theories is driven by a need to disprove his father's beliefs. It reminds me a bit of Prometheus in reverse where Doctor Elizabeth Shaw wanted to prove God's existence via the discovery of the Engineers.

Well, like a modern day Frankenstein, Hal attempts his experiments on his own with the help of his associate, Akio Sato. Hal doesn't quite cue to Akio's real reason for helping him and no sooner do they dig their academic graves then he successfully alienates the last person on two worlds who gives a darn about him. But his experiment works! He's certainly found something living in the dark matter (which has been proven to exist at this point in-universe)! Unfortunately, his experiment has attracted the attention of whatever it is he's discovered.

Mayhem ensues.

Much of this story will be familiar to readers and it's actually the places where it zigs instead of zags that make it good. At one point, after the bodies start piling up, Hal attempts to go to the authorities and explain what is going on. Their reaction? They look at the evidence and immediately try and start formulating a plan to deal with the obviously real problem rather than continue to deny it like lemmings.

The real selling point of the story is the character development that Hal undergoes throughout the story. He doesn't become a hero per se but the realization that he's responsible for so much of this (however inadvertently) as well as the emotional abuse he's heaped on his friends is an interesting arc for a protagonist. Hal's not just a mad scientist, he's someone who was caught up in his own business that he couldn't appreciate how much other people were sacrificing for him.

In conclusion, this is a solid and entertaining horror novel with a pretty good ending. I slightly prefer the original cover art and feel like the new cover spoils the reveal a bit but there's something to be said for advertising what you're all about. I definitely recommend this as a horror novel.

[Myles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book by Eric Malikyte and it will definitely not be the last. Echoes of Olympus Mons combines elements from Lovecraft's From Beyond and John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars to create something very unique which is certainly well worth your time to read. My only complaints are an at times unlikable protagonist and a couple lingering questions that I hope will be answered in a future sequel.

[Eric Lahti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyway, like I said, the sci-fi genre is rife with possibilities for some good horror stories, especially ones that introduce a brand new kind of bad guy. That's why Eric Malikyte's Echoes of Olympus Mons was such a treat. It wasn't just that it was well-written with some suberb character development and a hefty dose of science, it was the fact that he came up with a monster that hasn't been done before. I won't spoil it by telling you, but it's a genuinely unique take on sci-fi horror.

Malikyte keeps you guessing throughout the book. Even though the action is spelled out, he leaves enough wiggle room to make you wonder if what's happening is really happening or not. He paints us solid, real characters who are far from perfect charicatures, and gives us a vision of Mars that shows a red planet that frankly doesn't give a rat's sweet patootie about us.

If you enjoy well-written horror that doesn't go over the top and descend into straight gore - although there is plenty of that - pick up Echoes of Olympus Mons and get ready to spend a few nights with a book you can't put down.

[Leigh Grissom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky (hell, blessed might be a better word) to be on the advance street team for this book.

This is an incredible book. The tension and action grips you by the throat and drags you through every chapter until you're finished. I could not put it down! I'm not going to give anything away because you need to be as stunned and done in by this story as I am. I have other books to review, but I can't do it yet; I'm still in awe of this one!

[Andrei88 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad thought not that good, I can see why this started out as an original story that was supposed to be posted on a site, I think it needed more time in the kitchen then in the oven.

The main character is a donkey and stays that way, we do get reasons for it with an abusive father that was hard core religious person and took everything out on his family so religion bad, of course there is a hot woman that wants him as he is a brilliant wounded soul...actually make that two women. Even when one teacher tries to be reasonable with him about presenting his theories in a different manner our MC insists on being a raging asshole and burn bridges because he is so brilliant and other people just can't see it. He and another character make a camera that would prove his theories, in part done to smack down his father's religious beliefs, and make serious bank for them, it isn't long before bodies start to hit the floor.

There's cliches here that could have been interesting depending on how they are used, sadly here it is what you expect, dreams about his father and discussion about religion and childhood trauma, are the creatures messing with his mind or is it just him? who knows, I expected it to go down this way, to walk the line and it was just what I got. There was an interesting point though I don't know if it's intentional, tied to the creatures and an event on Earth and how it could influence things, it kind of gets confirmed at the end which ehhh, foreshadowing perhaps?

Rather then getting better the character has more of his past explained, abusive father that is a hard core christian, abused his wife who turned to cocaine to deal with the matter, but wait to show how evil he is we find out that he was mexican!!!!! and wanted to be part of New America who was full on racist, hard reformed into a pure land, A CHRISTIAN LAND!!! and built a wall and then started a new world war and splintered into several smaller countries with the rest of the world ignoring them, though now Mexico is gone and parts of it are part of California....Our MC does realize that he got people killed with his experiment and is willing to die to fix things, he does admit that he loved one of the characters and was afraid of ending up like his parents, it was just so cliche. The guy would cry, realize he fucked up and then do it again, staying a raging asshole even while realizing that yeah I messed up, oh well time to amp it up harder because I am right! now he had a martyr complex.

Towards the end we have a scene which is so cliche that I remember writing something similar myself, it's the usual meeting ancient mysterious alien species and how they are so much greater then us, if the writing was better it could have worked, sadly with the current style it was just meh.

There are several problems with the story, bits and pieces that are never explained, a guard that constantly leaves the guy's side when logically there should be switches rather then requiring one guy to stick to him, though how else can the plot happen? the guy leaves the guards side while knowing that he got hurt in the past, no messages to alert the guy or anyone else in security just fuck it we ball!!!! why? phones seem to stop existing here because the plot needs them to not be present to allow things however it doesn't stay that way. At end our boy seems to turn into Rambo, even with the wounds he seemed to escape and fight on, only to escape again, somehow people don't monitor him, he is able to get out of restraints, hack things left and right, fight more before finally achieving his goal....wut? with all the injuries the guy had and kept getting during the last events? that he constantly complained about? all those people and no one was looking over him? he somehow avoided them, no one on the cameras? no alerts?

The book either needed to be cut down or made bigger to better stretch things out and perhaps add some character growth.

[VideoGeemer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A plunge into the abyss - do not miss this one!

This review is based on the print version of the book, which I recommend. Somehow it makes perfect sense out of the little numbered sub-chapters within the actual chapters, whereas the e-version somehow confused me with this.

As stories go, this falls somewhere between Pitch Black and Deep Horizon: the setting, the unseen entities, the individual who justifies and embraces the gruesome. If you’re squeamish about adult themes, steer clear. That said, this is much more than just a horror story, and one which I found to be excellent.

Yes, there is a little roughness around the edges: a couple awkward sentence structures, some incorrect punctuation. Additionally, it comes off a bit heavy-handed in that the couple openly religious characters are utterly insane about it. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying this ride! Like many of the greats, Malikyte’s ideas set him apart. Also, there are moments where the writing really shines, making me want to note the passage for future reference. The banter between Hal and Akio is great, and some of the colorful language makes one stop and consider things about the nature of humanity, but without distracting from the flow. The scenes with the more insane characters would translate wonderfully into film.

Then there is the storytelling itself. On its surface this is a science fiction horror thriller, but what really drew me in were the explorations into metaphysics: ponderings about the nature of consciousness, of quantum nonlocality, of how little we truly know about the underlying fabric of the universe. In fact, the novel could be taken as metaphor, illustrating humanity’s inability to deal with things in appropriately intelligent ways. The lead character may be the only one with obvious layers, but he is very flawed and aware of that fact. At first, you’ll wonder why he’s so reckless, but that starts to become clear later, even as it becomes LESS clear, in brilliantly deliberate fashion. By the end, you, like Hal, are barely holding onto what is real, hoping that nightmares stay where they belong.

The last few chapters didn’t go as I expected, and after some reflection, I feel the ending is perfect. Many novels start off with promise but collapse mid-way; this one does not let down. It kept me in suspense, excited to discover more; the whole of the story was very satisfying.

In short: read this book. Do it meow. New and independent authors need our support, and we need them to continue making these sorts of dark adventures. “Echoes” will get you thinking in ways you might not have expected, but which you will be sure to appreciate long after the story’s conclusion.

[Madoverbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Paranormal meets science fiction Olympus Mons Happens.

Most of the times, I need a certain number of pages, a few chapters before a book can capture my interest but not Echoes of Olympus Mons, I was hooked before I had even finished the second chapter and committed to seeing Hal and Akio through to their adventures, inventions and what comes of them.

The book has everything, a teenager rising above his adverse past, a strong friendship, scientific minds and reasoning, life on another planet and a decent dose of spooky and gruesome mysterious murders to keep the readers flipping the pages.

It gets a little weird when the writer starts talking about non-local consciousness and uses out-of-body experiences to support it and it sure did make me apprehensive but still wanting to know how our writer, Eric Malikyte will connect dark matter and life on Mars to non-local consciousness, I read on and didn’t have to regret it.

Everything is explained with plausible scientific reasoning.

The detailed enough and not a tad too much description of the surroundings, character’s emotions, and experiences make it very easy for the reader to lose themselves in the book and make them feel like they are on Mars themselves standing on the periphery watching the scenes play out.

Though I find Hal’s teeth gritting a little too much and the explanation for dark matter creature’s creation a little weak, the ending was just what I expected and more.

The great ancient halls of Mars’ caves with the green lights felt a little cliched.

Echoes of Olympus Mons starts as a sci-fi, progresses into sci-fi paranormal, takes a turn with murder mysteries and then has a very realistic ending. But I wonder is if Hal’s story will continue? If he will survive? Will the rest of people on Olympus One survive? Only our writer can tell. So, Mr. Writer what do you say, is there still hope for humans on Mars?

[Stuart Aken · Rating 4 out of 5]

It takes imagination and sound scientific knowledge to invent an entirely new form of monstrous antagonist in a science fiction novel, and Eric Malikyte has both in quantity.
This is a book that manages to engage the reader despite the self-imposed social isolation of the main protagonist and narrator. Other characters in the book are initially much easier to empathise with, but, as the story progresses, the reasons behind the narrator’s remote stance becomes clear, engendering sympathy and a degree of empathy for him, too.
The story is steeped in science, some of which I admit was a little beyond my knowledge level. I was nevertheless able to follow events, since the author’s descriptive powers provide enough clues to the quantum physics and mechanics and black matter to allow the average reader to understand enough to get by.
The action is driven by the characters, and there are times when the reader is compelled to join the narrator in his despair at the obstinacy and stupidity of the people he’s desperately trying to save.
There is also a thoughtful and pointed subtext relating to religion, which I found both relevant and well presented.
A well-written story, peopled by credible characters and the most monstrous monsters I’ve come across in a long time (watch out for nightmares!). Set realistically on Mars, a planet I know relatively well from my own writing and research, the book portrays the hunger for recognition and the danger of scientific ambition pursued blindly. There is a lot more than a simple horror story here. Imagination, analogy and interwoven themes of love, loss, ignorance and betrayal lift this novel well above the average level of the genre.
A great and compelling read.
I wrote this review based on an advance reading copy that the author sent me.

[Huckle Buck411 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is similar in theme to H.P. Lovecraft's short horror tale From Beyond but located on Mars and using modern physics' theories about dark matter and quantum entanglement. The setting is a Mars settlement college campus where exceptional students are given the chance to travel to Mars for their studies. The main character is an insufferable young man with personal theories about dark matter that question the location of human consciousness. He consistently rebels against his teachers, who dismiss his theories and, in the process, he alienates most of the other students. A female student is his roommate and only real friend that is willing to work with him to build a camera that he believes will be able to reveal the dark matter of our universe that is invisible to the human eye. Breaking the rules, the two students make off with a shuttle and set up the camera at the top of Olympus Mons. Later when viewing the images from the camera scenes from an ancient Martian past are revealed in which the inhabitants of Mars were annihilated. These are ghostly images that repeat over and over, but then other mantis-like creatures appear that are all too real and the inventor finds by having used the camera the creatures have become connected to him. Soon students and staff begin to be brutally murdered by an enemy they cannot see, and the inventor is faced with the dilemma that he is the one drawing in these creatures and must try and find a way to disentangle his connection to them. It's an interesting premise, but the story is spoiled by the very unlikable nature of the main character. Secrets are revealed toward the end but really add little to the story that ends abruptly without a very satisfying conclusion.

[Alyus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advanced copy because I joined Eric Malikyte's Street team.

Echoes of Olympus Mons is a 268 page science fiction thriller.

The main character Hal is a recovering Catholic who self medicates with Alcohol, and is as arrogant as he is intelligent. The story is told through his point of view on his journey to self actualization. The many vivid surreal scenes kept me turning the pages. This book has lots of re-read value, but left me wanting a little more character development from secondary characters. It was definitely a good read and I recommend it to those who want a thrilling book that will lead them to self analyze. It called to mind some of the same feelings I had when reading Ender's Game. Which is one of my all time favorite Sci-Fi novels. I highly recommend it to those who enjoy books that are similar in nature.

You can get your copy at Amazon on April 11th 2019

[Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hal Leon is a recovering Catholic attending the exclusive school Olympus Mons, which exists on a colonized Mars. Intelligent and cocky, Hal challenges the ideas and restrictions implemented by teachers and staff and trusts no one but his roommate Akio Soto. Together, he and Akio make an incredible discovery about dark matter and life itself. What they uncover is groundbreaking, but they may have opened Pandora's box.
Eric Malikyte writes beautiful, flawed characters and shockingly brutal horror scenes. The book is fast-paced and suspenseful. If you're sensitive to gore, this might not be the book for you, but if you're looking for a spooky science fiction story I highly recommend this debut novel.

[Johann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Olympus One is a colony on Mars.
Hal is is majoring in Quantum Physics and has some pretty out there ideas on how to view dark matter. Aieko is majoring in engineering and has been led down the rabbit hole of Hal's theories.
Together, they invented a camera, and the amazing thing is it actually works. However, there are other things that exist within the dark matter. And these things don't like being filmed.
Great book! Think Lovecraft's story at the Mountains of Madness but on Mars.
A mixture of this within a futuristic cyberpunk universe.
Great stuff!
Got this for free from Astral Plains Press, but this review is all mine.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was pleasantly surprised by this story, it kept me on my toes. The whole world and story were just so interesting. I wanted to find out more about the world, the history. How was it going to end? It all kept me hooked.

Really looking forward to more from the Author.

(Disclaimer: I received a free copy from the Author. Does not affect my review)

[Arclen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first sci-fi read. I wasn’t sure if I would like it since it’s not my typical read and I am not big on sci-fi, but to my surprise I loved it! I could not put it down. I recommend it to everyone whether you’re into sci-fi or not, it’s definitely a great novel.