Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Blending genres with wild abandon, this rollicking space adventure from video game developer Truelove (after the interactive novel Blood Moon) is narrated by sentient 24th-century space shuttle supercomputer Demeter. While it takes some time to adjust to the robotic banter between Demeter and the medical AI onboard, Steward, it's easy to get wrapped up in the supernatural shenanigans happening on the ship as something methodically kills Demeter's human passengers, wreaking havoc on her missions. At first the culprit appears straightforward--it's Dracula--but soon, many other classic monsters are drawn into the picture, including werewolves, mummies, fishlike aliens, and Frankenstein's creature. Demeter's computer logic becomes a welcome counterpoint to this B-movie extravaganza as Truelove packs in the drama and thrill of near misses, close encounters, and even a couple slow-burning love stories. Meanwhile, Truelove's obvious expertise in tech and coding comes through in the voice of her utterly believable AI narrator. The result is pure entertainment. (Jun.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Something is very wrong aboard the spaceship Demeter. She wakes up, goes into her deceleration for port, and figures out that her crew and passengers are all dead. Dracula has killed the crew and passengers and erased the ship's logs on his way out, but no one believes Demeter. As each of Demeter's successive trips between Earth and Alpha Centauri B results in yet another monster invasion and yet another near-total loss of life, her programming gets scrambled, her AI gets sliced, and her conviction that something is terribly wrong heightens, even as her owner continues to cover up her status as a ghost ship. It all builds to a climax in which the novel's many monsters return to Demeter for one final attempt at destroying the real villain. VERDICT Truelove's (Crying Wolf) wild combination of pulp horror and classic sci-fi takes the best of both and makes something incredible out of "The Captain's Log" chapter from Bram Stoker's Dracula. Readers who enjoy SF horror, such as Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes and The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown, will find this a delightfully creepy treat.--Marlene Harris
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