Europa by Greig Beck

Europa by Greig Beck
Publisher: Severed Press
Genre: Contemporary, Sci-Fi, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Horror
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

The first mission to Europa—Jupiter’s enigmatic moon—has landed, and humanity’s darkest fears are about to awaken.

For years, mankind has speculated that this frozen world harbors a hidden ocean twice the size of all Earth’s oceans combined—an ocean potentially teeming with life.

Driven by this tantalizing mystery, they venture forth to unlock its secrets. But what they discover in the abyssal depths is far beyond anything they could have imagined.

Nearly four hundred million miles from Earth, their search for life has succeeded. But in their triumph, they overlook the most terrifying truth: what they have found is something far older and more horrifying than they ever could have conceived. Something has been trapped in the dark for eons—watching, and waiting, for them.

Now, the crew stands at the threshold of unimaginable terror, realizing too late that Hell, in its purest form, is cold.

For years mankind has speculated that the vast underground oceans on Jupiter’s moon, Europa, might be teeming with all forms of life. When the first Russian spacecraft to land on Europa loses contact, the American’s aren’t too far behind them. Only the life forms they discover are far older than anyone could have guessed, and they’re very, very hungry.

I have always been a massive fan of the various “monsters eat everyone” style of books and I was delighted by this new addition. Greig Beck has been an auto-buy for me for a number of years and while I find a stronger affinity for some of his books than others, this one is right up my alley and was a delight to read.

While there are definite horror themes in the story, I was pleased the action wasn’t too gorey and there was plenty of plot and discovery in amongst the monsters eating everyone in sight. I feel readers who like mystery/horror/monster books should find this story equally enjoyable as those who enjoy Sci-Fi or space exploration. And this is an absolute must for fans of Aliens – there’s quite a strong theme of that through this book as well.

I did find the set up and execution of this plot and the manner in which the story was told a little different and while I personally found it refreshing, I could understand if it wasn’t every reader’s cup of tea. In the beginning at least there is a little jumping around in the timelines and some different characters perspective, but I was pleased it settled down quite early on and the thrill of the discovery and adventures out on Europa quickly had me turning the pages.

A thrilling – and realistically terrifying – space story where the monsters are quite hungry and humans are not even close to top of the food chain; I found this to be an excellent read and a definite keeper for my shelf. Recommended.