A ticking time bomb of a novel with an explosive, propulsive second half.

Sentient, Michael Nayak’s sequel to Symbiote, the Antarctic-based contagion thriller is an unputdownable, tightly crafted, survival thriller that expands the world and ups the stakes while delivering an implacable, constantly evolving enemy amidst the backdrop of a Pacific Rim war between the US and China. I am thankful to Angry Robot, Caroline Lambe and Kai Misquitta for my copy.

Symbiote was an exciting cat and mouse thriller that revealed the nature of this insidious parasitic microbe in a small scientific outpost in Antarctica and obviously claimed many victims. While the book was pretty much unputdownable from around 20%, the start of the book was kind of rough (as detailed in my review of Symbiote). Sentient is a far more polished and refined book that doesn’t spend a lot of time on some of the juvenile high school shenanigans of its predecessor and directly jumps into the setup and the escalations. The scope of the broader simmering war between US and China (The Pacific Rim War) firmly trains its spotlight on the Antarctic and the extremophile even as interested parties from both sides and a group of survivors try to navigate differing objectives – Objectives that run into the implacable irresistible will of the microbe to survive, spread and evolve from a simple symbiote to a sentient species.

“There’s something strangely beautiful about the landscape, blending into the pale sky, as white and brittle as a skin of ice. So much nothing. So much space”

Sentient shifts its focus to the larger McMurdo station in the Antarctic, preparing for its annual summer intake of scientists, researchers, and support personnel, topped with CIA agents who want to get down to the bottom of what happened earlier in the year while harboring other nefarious objectives. The initial 10% is all about setting that stage and the stakes generating fantastic momentum and thrill. It also helps that there are competing priorities even among the CIA researchers on board the mission. While this setup means we take some time to encounter our survivors from the last book, the wait is worth it. Not to forget the narrative trope of the Symbiote hiding in plain sight, even as everyone else is only concerned about the survivors, the coverup and what it means for the stalemate of the Pacific Rim War.

“The darkness of South Pole was the ultimate microcosm of human angst. Isolated from the world, so many sweet flavors of anguish lingered in the hallways. Hardened veterans who thought they understood loneliness found a new depth to drown in”

What the book nails really well is evoking the foreboding dread of Antarctica’s atmosphere despite the arrival of summer. The first half of the book simmers with tension, but the existential dread of Antarctica brings the main character energy. I loved reading about the race to the South Pole and how tough things were then. I also have a lot of fondness for Ice Station Zebra by Alistair Maclean and the journey the lead has to take across the ice when the situation gets rather desperate. The moodiness and the feeling of claustrophobic madness that Dan Simmons’ (RIP) Terror invokes is a reason to classify it among the best ice/snow-based horror, and Sentient draws influence from all of that (in my mind) to build up the atmosphere. Given that the author has actually spent time there, brings that sense of credibility to these portions of the book, and that, if nothing else, is a major reason to pick this book.

“You’re sitting on a ticking time bomb that’s going to go off. It’s just a matter of time”

The story, of course, is of the Symbiote and the contagion spread, but the true crux of the story genuinely lies in how humans can colossally screw things up, even when operating with the best of intentions. In this case, where you have the worst of intentions from some, the situation gets really messed up, and the ticking time-bomb that has kept on ticking finally finds its release at the halfway stage. After that, it is a pure survival game with a side of preventing the Symbiote from spreading further. The pace is blistering and non-stop while the author packs in a few surprises, including a fantastic example of Chekov’s Gun, given the environment surrounding the station. While this isn’t necessarily a character-driven book, there are moments that allow for some interesting conversations around survival and the stakes at play.

“You know what denotes sentient intelligence? The ability to be sneaky. The desire for revenge”

The real MVP of the story is the Symbiote. The human characters are kind of given a bit of a short shrift, given the thriller nature of the book, but the extremophile microbe and its evolution ramp up the dread in a chilling, thrilling fashion. It is an implacable, ruthless, relentless foe that is only concerned with survival, and some of the means that it takes to survive are diabolically clever, and in one particular grisly sequence, chillingly “cute” as well (You will know when you read what the Symbiote weaponizes in its fight against the humans). The human characters, barring a few, don’t have as compelling a character as the Symbiote. The survivors of the previous book definitely are interesting, as is the CIA lead who comes in to handle the situation. A reporter who stows away to be on scene is an interesting wildcard, while the CIA architect of this program and his professional rivalry keep things interesting, but the star of the show is the microbe and its route to sentience (or not).

“Men like Jonny Kim had invented the nuclear bomb and sarin gas. Men whose need to know is so overpowering that they don’t care who gets wasted in the process”

Sentient is a thrilling, chilling, fast-paced contagion thriller that owes a lot of its uniqueness in this genre to the setting. The coldness of Antarctica, coupled with the icy relentlessness of the Symbiote, makes this a compelling read. While characters are made just interesting enough for us to root for them, the execution of the story and some of the unexpected twists during the course of the book make this a superior book to its predecessor. The spectre of the broader war between the US and China and the willingness of the countries to go to any lengths to win, coupled with the ruthless ambition and drive of people in charge, lends further heft to the overall story. I can’t wait to see where this book goes next, as well as what the title of the next book will be (calling dibs on the book being titled Survivor)

Rating – 4 Ice Stations on 5

Sentient is available now from Angry Robot, you can order your copy on Bookshop.org