Spread me

Gailey (Just Like Home) sets this sleek, sexy thriller in a six-person research station in space. Kinsey, the head scientist and researcher, stumbles across the discovery of a lifetime in the desert surrounding their base: proof of life on another planet. Her scientific curiosity has her breaking protocol to bring the sample into the base, where, to the eventual doom of her team, it proves to be an extraterrestrial virus--and far more alive than Kinsey first thought. Isolation and fear of contamination lead to paranoia, compounded by a sandstorm that traps the team inside. The plot becomes a struggle to root out the infected from the healthy, all while Kinsey experiences an exhilarating sexual fixation with the alien virus. Gailey's genre-aware prose sprinkles nods to The Thing and other sci-fi classics in humorous asides while still maintaining the tension and anxiety of being marooned and helpless. The small cast is skillfully drawn, with wonderfully distinct characters and complicated interpersonal dynamics. The creeping terror of things not being what they seem and people not being who they say they are keeps the suspense simmering. It's a fun, modern take on first encounter horror. (Sept.)

This sci-fi body horror may remind the genre's fans of a classic alien horror film. At an isolated research station in a vast desert, team leader Kinsey enjoys a break from civilization until a specimen harboring a truly extraordinary lifeform is brought in. Once inside, the creature begins to influence the crew, including Kinsey. As the lifeform seeks hosts to inhabit, Kinsey tries to resist temptation. John Carpenter's The Thing is mentioned explicitly in this story, perhaps to highlight the obvious similarities, and while this story shares several elements with the film (isolated station, alien lifeform, bleak tone), Gailey (Just Like Home) takes a more transgressive, erotic approach. Instead of focusing on fanged maws and insect-like legs, Gailey creates mutations that are softer, with orifices and prehensile, probing tongues. Sands's husky whisper of a voice only heightens the provocative overtones as Kinsey and the creature try to understand each other. VERDICT Less of a retelling of The Thing and more of a homage, this story features vivid descriptions that crawl beneath the skin. It's a desert journey sure to heat up sci-fi fans who also enjoy transgressive authors such as Hailey Piper.--James Gardner