#Horror for Libraries Giveaway #91: One of Becky's Favorite Space Horror Titles Back in Print

Today, I have a new edition of one of my favorite space horror titles-- ever! You cannot miss this one. Details below, but first, how to enter: 

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see giveaway 90. Our winner was Verónica from Robbins [MA] Library. 

The Hematophages by Steve Kozeniewski ranks right up there with The Luminous Dead by Starling and just ahead of Dead Silence by Barnes as my favorite space horror of this century. This is high praise I know, but  I am not exaggerating. It is fantastic!

Read my review here.

A new edition has just been released that not only contains the novel, but also has the prequel novella Skinwrapper [my review of that is here]

I asked the author to send me a paperback just so I could give it away to one of you. This is a finished copy that you can add to your collections, but I highly suggest ALL of you check out all of Kozeniewski's work here.

I want to make sure you know about this book and the author.

I also LOVED his original haunted house tale [co written with Wile E. Young] The Perfectly Fine House. I reviewed it for Library Journal [June 2020], but in case you missed it, here is my draft review.

Enter today to win this copy, and go to Amazon and order this book and others by Kozeniewski to add to your collection. 

Remember if you enter once you are entered going forward and NEXT WEEK I will have 2 copies of one of the hottest releases of summer. It comes out 8/2/22. I already gave it a star. And I have a Hard Cover and an ARC. I will have news on why the ARC is unique [info from the author himself]. So get in NOW!

Finally, if you want more space horror recs, click here.

Reviews Index Update

Here is a list of the reviews I have recently added to the Horror Review Index:

• Davidson, Andy.  The Boatman's Daughter 
• Wendig, Chuck. Wanderers
• Starling, Caitlin. The Luminous Dead
• Kozeniewski, Stephen.  Skinwrapper
• Buxton, Kira Jane.  Hollow Kingdom 
• Hamill, Shaun.  A Cosmology of Monsters 
• O'Meara, Mallory. The Lady from the Black Lagoon
• Moulton, Rachel Eve.  Tinfoil Butterfly
• Chambers, James. On the Night Border: Stories

31 Days of Horror: Day 18-- What I'm Reading: Skinwrapper by Stephen Kozeniewski

Today I have a review of the new prequel to one of my all time favorite space horror books, Hematophages. It's Skinwrapper by Stephen Kozeniewski. From the back cover copy via Goodreads:

A single word strikes fear into the hearts of even the most experienced starship crews… 
Aboard the freighter Blue Whale, a young girl’s day begins like any other: texting her friends while her parents bicker about breakfast. Then, with a loud, sickening pop, their domestic tranquility is shattered.  

A single word goes out over the emergency warning system…  

The galaxy’s shipping lanes are plagued by a gang of vicious pirates. Suffering from all manner of terminal diseases, they require zero gravity to live. They also need a constant influx of fresh blood and organs, so their victims also become their unwilling donors. The band is so ruthless, so violent, that its very name has become a synonym for terror.  

A single word that chills the blood, even in the utter cold of space…  

The little girl finds herself alone, lost, and trapped aboard the vessel she called home, praying it won’t also become her tomb. She is about to learn there is nothing in the universe worse than being hunted by a SKINWRAPPER.  

This prequel novella shoves you screaming back into the world of “space horror masterpiece” (Daily Dead) THE HEMATOPHAGES.

Appeal: This is a space horror novella that you can enjoy with out without having read Hematophages as it deals with secondary characters and plots from the main novel. [I am being vague on purpose.] But fans of the novel will love the chance to learn more about the Skinwrappers and even meet a

The writing is solid as usual from Kozeniewski. He might write pulpy and fun horror novels, but that doesn't mean he isn't a good writer. The opening scene is a good example of his skill. We meet our teen narrator, immediately. She is a normal teen who lives on a space ship with her two moms, having a normal day when bam...a bolt comes lose from the window of their apartment pod and well... let's just say it is the beginning of the end. It sets up the dread and anxiety even before we meet the Skinwrappers.

Like all good SF, the world building is well done here. It has to be for the story to work. Kozeniewski adds all of the details we need to understand what life is like in this world of space living without sacrificing the story. And this one is mostly about the story. While Hematophages was a nice mix of character development and action, Skinwrapper is storyline driven. That is not to say the protagonist is not well developed, she is. But she's the only one we get to know. 

The action comes from our protagonist trying to survive. So there is anxiety, fear and dread even before we see the Skinwrappers. And it is intensified along the way both because our protagonist is young, sheltered, and doesn't really know what to do in an actual emergency, doesn't really know what Skinwrappers are, just that they are evil, and because things around her start going from bad to worse [gravity shut off, dead bodies, and more]. And that is before the claustrophobic scenes in the final third of the story, when she is hiding in a cryogenic box.

But, there is also tons of humor [just like in Hematophages]. From our protagonist fighting with the voice in her head to the droplets of pee floating in the box with her as she hides, there is a sense of humor here that shines through the action and terror.

Finally, the ending is perfect for people who read the novel AND it is definitely going to make people want to read the novel. 

I inhaled this novella on a plane ride and smiled as I read the last line. 

Three Words That Describe This Book: dark humor, strong world building, terrifying

Readalikes: Space horror is really making a comeback these days. Here is a list of 14 space horror options from a recent Book Riot list. Any of those will make a good readalike. But also, go read Hematophages. I mean I don't know why you didn't listen to me 2 years ago when I told you to read it, but now you have no excuse. Go read it.