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Sentient: A Novel by Michael Nayak
The Blurb On The Back:
Sunrise has come to Antarctica. Summer means that McMurdo Station on the continent’s coast becomes a small town: researchers and scientist drawn to the last unexplored continent.
The terrifying events which saw a horrendous parasite-born plague of rage and death lay waste to the South Pole research base the previous long winter are months past and hundreds of miles away. But there are people, and governments, who still need answers. And there are secrets to be kept.
If the plague were to reach McMurdo it could reach the world. But surely, no living being could make the journey from the Pole?
SENTIENT casts a terrifying new light on the dark and bloody events of SYMBIOTE and promises a new world of horror.
It’s 2 August 2028, a month after the events in SYMBIOTE.
Mariana Egan is an investigative journalist with the Chicago Tribune. When she hears that the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station has been off-line since 27 June she knows that there’s a story there. Although her Pentagon sources have no information for her, she had a contact at the Chinese Antarctic station Dome-A, which she knows has been incommunicado since May and has seen a top secret encrypted communication suggesting that there is some kind of infectious disease outbreak there. With the USA and China fighting the Pacific war, her editor is concerned that Egan needs evidence that there’s something going on and gives Mariana permission to head on out there to see what she can dig up.
Lieutenant-Colonel Jiuyin Mei of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (Mariana’s Chinese contact) is also en route to Dome-A, where his sister Lingling was a glaciologist doing research. Due to arrive on 30 September, his official mission is to find out why they went on-line and, in particular, whether the Americans are responsible, but unofficially, he wants to know if his sister is still alive and, if not, take revenge.
Dr Rajan “Raj" Chariya can give Mariana and Jiuyin the answers they’re looking for. He, Siri, Greg and Keyeon remain at South Pole Station together with Jonah and Bethany, who they have kept locked up ever since they tried to kill them during the viral outbreak that claimed the lives of everyone else. They know that the CIA created the virus and they know that the CIA will come to clear it up as soon as the winter is over, which means leaving no survivors. But Raj, Siri and Keyeon have information about the virus that give them an advantage over the CIA and they’ve had time to formulate a plan.
Dr Richard Mason, the man who sent Raj to South Pole Station, has put together a team to clean up the mess. But he has competition in the form of rival scientist Dr Jon Kim who is keen to take over the study of the virus and make it his own and who has been assigned to the team. Mason’s CIA career rests on getting to McMurdo Station and from there, flying to South Pole Station to perform a death defying drop in the freezing temperatures and discover whatever information he can to save his position.
Winston Pele is Station Manager at McMurdo Station; Anne Pabon is his deputy and Special US Deputy Marshall. When they get word that a task force led by Jackie Colson is coming to check up on South Pole Station, they know that something isn’t right. But with the winter over, they’re gearing up for the new arrivals to the station, they have other things to worry about, including the sudden arrival of a skeletal looking man with severe frostbite who has - against all odds - apparently survived a long walk across the Antarctic ice …
The second in Michael Nayak’s ICE PLAGUE WAR SERIES sees the virus evolve as it seeks to beak out into the wider world while Raj and the other survivors try to stop it. There’s plenty of action here and I liked the development of the various factions, including the backdrop of the US/China war, which offers depth. There are again too many characters here, which means that many deaths lack impact, but the cliffhanger ending means I want to read on.
I had criticisms of the first book in Nayak’s SF/horror series (SYMBIOTE), but it had some interesting ideas and I particularly liked the viral organism that strives to take over the humans, which is sinister and creepy, which I wanted to read more about.
In this book Nayak expands out his near world future where China and the US are caught in a stalemate war and we see some action from the Chinese side, although not quite enough here for me as Nayak seems to be holding back on developing it further until the next book. There’s also a lot more here from the CIA side and particularly more character development on the part of Dr Richard Mason, who initiated the current situation and is now desperate to take control of it again. I liked that as it puts more flesh on the bones of the world building and Kayak does well in drawing out the rivalries and competition between the various CIA characters.
The development of the relationship between Raj and the other South Pole survivors is less successful. In part this is because the telepathic angle that held a lot of promise in the first book is really little more than a plot device here but it also goes to the lack of development of the South Pole survivors beyond broad brushstrokes. Nayak gives Keyeon more of a backstory here, but then doesn’t have him do very much (again, this seems to be something more for the next book) but the other characters don’t get that and I have to say that the romance between Siri and Raj is wholly unconvincing, mainly because Siri is little more than a manic pixie dream girl.
The way in which Nayak shows the virus and how it’s developed is genuinely chilling and does give the book a much needed edge. When the inevitable outbreak does happen, Nayak has some tricks up his sleeve to keep the tension going and avoid it from being samey, which I won’t spoil other than to say that you’ll never look at a penguin the same way again. I also like the fact that Nayak’s actual experience of living in Antarctica does come through in the little details about this harsh environment, which all lend the novel an authentic feel.
My big issue with the book though is that the cast of characters simply remains too big so that when the deaths happen, they don’t carry the impact that they should have. Added to this is the fact that there’s an element of contrivance to how some events play out (again, no spoilers, but this is most notable in the attacks on McMurdo Station and the role that a near by station run by New Zealanders has to play in the same), including the set up for the next book.
My criticisms aside, even though the structure of the book is such that you already know that the virus escapes Antarctica, there is nevertheless a lot of fun to be had in learning how that happens and I look forward to seeing where it goes next.
The Verdict:
The second in Michael Nayak’s ICE PLAGUE WAR SERIES sees the virus evolve as it seeks to beak out into the wider world while Raj and the other survivors try to stop it. There’s plenty of action here and I liked the development of the various factions, including the backdrop of the US/China war, which offers depth. There are again too many characters here, which means that many deaths lack impact, but the cliffhanger ending means I want to read on.
SYMBIOTE: A NOVEL will be released in the United Kingdom on 24 February 2026. Thanks to Angry Robot for the review copy of this book.
Sunrise has come to Antarctica. Summer means that McMurdo Station on the continent’s coast becomes a small town: researchers and scientist drawn to the last unexplored continent.
The terrifying events which saw a horrendous parasite-born plague of rage and death lay waste to the South Pole research base the previous long winter are months past and hundreds of miles away. But there are people, and governments, who still need answers. And there are secrets to be kept.
If the plague were to reach McMurdo it could reach the world. But surely, no living being could make the journey from the Pole?
SENTIENT casts a terrifying new light on the dark and bloody events of SYMBIOTE and promises a new world of horror.
It’s 2 August 2028, a month after the events in SYMBIOTE.
Mariana Egan is an investigative journalist with the Chicago Tribune. When she hears that the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station has been off-line since 27 June she knows that there’s a story there. Although her Pentagon sources have no information for her, she had a contact at the Chinese Antarctic station Dome-A, which she knows has been incommunicado since May and has seen a top secret encrypted communication suggesting that there is some kind of infectious disease outbreak there. With the USA and China fighting the Pacific war, her editor is concerned that Egan needs evidence that there’s something going on and gives Mariana permission to head on out there to see what she can dig up.
Lieutenant-Colonel Jiuyin Mei of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (Mariana’s Chinese contact) is also en route to Dome-A, where his sister Lingling was a glaciologist doing research. Due to arrive on 30 September, his official mission is to find out why they went on-line and, in particular, whether the Americans are responsible, but unofficially, he wants to know if his sister is still alive and, if not, take revenge.
Dr Rajan “Raj" Chariya can give Mariana and Jiuyin the answers they’re looking for. He, Siri, Greg and Keyeon remain at South Pole Station together with Jonah and Bethany, who they have kept locked up ever since they tried to kill them during the viral outbreak that claimed the lives of everyone else. They know that the CIA created the virus and they know that the CIA will come to clear it up as soon as the winter is over, which means leaving no survivors. But Raj, Siri and Keyeon have information about the virus that give them an advantage over the CIA and they’ve had time to formulate a plan.
Dr Richard Mason, the man who sent Raj to South Pole Station, has put together a team to clean up the mess. But he has competition in the form of rival scientist Dr Jon Kim who is keen to take over the study of the virus and make it his own and who has been assigned to the team. Mason’s CIA career rests on getting to McMurdo Station and from there, flying to South Pole Station to perform a death defying drop in the freezing temperatures and discover whatever information he can to save his position.
Winston Pele is Station Manager at McMurdo Station; Anne Pabon is his deputy and Special US Deputy Marshall. When they get word that a task force led by Jackie Colson is coming to check up on South Pole Station, they know that something isn’t right. But with the winter over, they’re gearing up for the new arrivals to the station, they have other things to worry about, including the sudden arrival of a skeletal looking man with severe frostbite who has - against all odds - apparently survived a long walk across the Antarctic ice …
The second in Michael Nayak’s ICE PLAGUE WAR SERIES sees the virus evolve as it seeks to beak out into the wider world while Raj and the other survivors try to stop it. There’s plenty of action here and I liked the development of the various factions, including the backdrop of the US/China war, which offers depth. There are again too many characters here, which means that many deaths lack impact, but the cliffhanger ending means I want to read on.
I had criticisms of the first book in Nayak’s SF/horror series (SYMBIOTE), but it had some interesting ideas and I particularly liked the viral organism that strives to take over the humans, which is sinister and creepy, which I wanted to read more about.
In this book Nayak expands out his near world future where China and the US are caught in a stalemate war and we see some action from the Chinese side, although not quite enough here for me as Nayak seems to be holding back on developing it further until the next book. There’s also a lot more here from the CIA side and particularly more character development on the part of Dr Richard Mason, who initiated the current situation and is now desperate to take control of it again. I liked that as it puts more flesh on the bones of the world building and Kayak does well in drawing out the rivalries and competition between the various CIA characters.
The development of the relationship between Raj and the other South Pole survivors is less successful. In part this is because the telepathic angle that held a lot of promise in the first book is really little more than a plot device here but it also goes to the lack of development of the South Pole survivors beyond broad brushstrokes. Nayak gives Keyeon more of a backstory here, but then doesn’t have him do very much (again, this seems to be something more for the next book) but the other characters don’t get that and I have to say that the romance between Siri and Raj is wholly unconvincing, mainly because Siri is little more than a manic pixie dream girl.
The way in which Nayak shows the virus and how it’s developed is genuinely chilling and does give the book a much needed edge. When the inevitable outbreak does happen, Nayak has some tricks up his sleeve to keep the tension going and avoid it from being samey, which I won’t spoil other than to say that you’ll never look at a penguin the same way again. I also like the fact that Nayak’s actual experience of living in Antarctica does come through in the little details about this harsh environment, which all lend the novel an authentic feel.
My big issue with the book though is that the cast of characters simply remains too big so that when the deaths happen, they don’t carry the impact that they should have. Added to this is the fact that there’s an element of contrivance to how some events play out (again, no spoilers, but this is most notable in the attacks on McMurdo Station and the role that a near by station run by New Zealanders has to play in the same), including the set up for the next book.
My criticisms aside, even though the structure of the book is such that you already know that the virus escapes Antarctica, there is nevertheless a lot of fun to be had in learning how that happens and I look forward to seeing where it goes next.
The Verdict:
The second in Michael Nayak’s ICE PLAGUE WAR SERIES sees the virus evolve as it seeks to beak out into the wider world while Raj and the other survivors try to stop it. There’s plenty of action here and I liked the development of the various factions, including the backdrop of the US/China war, which offers depth. There are again too many characters here, which means that many deaths lack impact, but the cliffhanger ending means I want to read on.
SYMBIOTE: A NOVEL will be released in the United Kingdom on 24 February 2026. Thanks to Angry Robot for the review copy of this book.