The Hive (Xpress Yourself Publishing © 2009)
Review by G.L. Giles
Story by Chris Berman

www.xpressyourselfpublishing.org

Move over Borg from Star Trek, there’s a new technologically superior alien race with a hive mind who are also collectively hell-bent on taking over the Earth. But these insectoid aliens don’t even look as human as the Borg, so that makes them even more terrifying. They are more like giant killer ants; the kind that destroy everything in their path. The alien hive soldiers are described as having “deadly razor sharp jaws [that] ripped twenty Marines [humans] to bloody shreds” (p. 286). Another well-described and quite horrific scene includes “the hapless humanoids…being sliced to pieces by Hive soldiers and in some cases thrown still alive into a sea of squirming, seething Hive larvae that were feeding upon them” (p. 266). Though billed as Science Fiction on the back cover, I really think well-drawn horrific scenes like the one above make it a cross-genre horror read as well. For that matter, suspense and political intrigue can also be added to the mix. The author has an extensive background in astronomy and is a spaceflight enthusiast, and the fact that he’s familiar with the space programs in both America and Russia is readily apparent. His novel is filled with a more willing suspension of disbelief because his fictional world is based on some scientific facts.

The novel is set in the near-future: 2019 to be exact. However, the alien Hive has been spying on Earthlings since 1908 which should send a shiver up the spine, for humans have only three years to stop them when they’re made aware of the problem in the 21st century. By chance, a probe from Earth crosses paths with one of the alien devices, so it’s a big heads up for all humanity to come together, regardless of previous countries’ hostilities towards one another, as a united human race that could possibly be facing extinction. This novel is peppered with underlying messages, like one for global unity, as mentioned before, and one for less media interference (when it comes to worldwide crisisses). However, you’re not browbeaten by the morality, and there’s a nice romantic subplot woven into the storyline as well. Definitely worth picking up a copy, as it has a unique plot that’s slow-building, but never boring, and quite well-developed. I give it an 8 out of 10.

It’s available in paperback and e-book formats. Go to www.drowned-sorrow.com or www.llumina.com for more information.