ARC Review: Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda

Pitch Dark
Author: Courtney Alameda
Publication: Feiwel & Friends (February 20, 2018)

Description: From Courtney Alameda, the author of Shutter, this thrilling, sci-fi horror and space adventure will be sure to stay with readers long after the last pages.

Lost to time, Tuck Morgan and his crew have slept in stasis aboard the USS John Muir for centuries. Their ship harbors a chunk of Earth, which unbeknownst to them, is the last hope for the failing human race.

Laura Cruz is a shipraider searching the galaxy for the history that was scattered to the stars. Once her family locates the John Muir and its precious cargo, they are certain human civilization is saved.
When Tuck's and Laura’s worlds collide―literally―the two teens must outwit their enemies, evade brutal monsters that kill with sound, and work together to save the John Muir . . . and the whole human race.

My Thoughts: PITCH DARK was an action-packed science fiction adventure.

Tuck wakes up from stasis to find that almost 400 years have passed since he entered stasis. He also learns that most of the people who traveled on the John Muir with him did not come out of stasis including his mother. He also learns that some of those who came out of stasis mutated into monsters who kill with sound, although the teeth, tentacles, and claws are formidable enough. Tuck and the survivors are stranded in a ship with no way to communicate with anyone outside. The ship is failing and the monsters are multiplying.

Tuck has almost given up hope and is determined not to get close to anyone on the ship since he has lost so many. He also feels that he must be a disappointment to his mother who was the architect of the class of ships Tuck wakes up on.

Laura Cruz is a traveler on the Conquistador, her family's ship. She is an apprentice archaeologist. The ship's mission is to search for ships like the John Muir which might hold the key to humanity's survival. Humanity is is danger of extinction in part because of the way humans misused the Earth but also because Eco-terrorists are pushing humanity toward extinction because they don't think humanity deserves to continue. They hope to find Earth soil with its various enzymes and microbes to save the soil from their colonies which are worn out.

Laura has secretly had a subjugator implanted in her which makes it so that she has to follow the commands of the members of the Smithsons, the rival family that implanted it. One of the family is her former boyfriend. The subjugator also prevents her from telling anyone about it. She is a great computer hacker and decides to see if she can hack into her mother's captain's chair to override the subjugator. While she is busy hacking, another hacker takes over the ship and crashes it into Tuck's ship leaving Laura with the blame. It also leaves Laura separated from her family and forced to travel through the John Muir to reunite with her family.

Laura and Tuck meet up in the dark and most dangerous part of the John Muir because Tuck needs to get to a spot to reboot the computers and get power back to his ship. Together the two face all sorts of the monsters on their journey.

Once the power is back, they have to deal with the problems caused by the Pitch Black terrorists and the Smithsons who wants to bring down the Cruz family. Luckily, Laura has been contacted by a secret presence who can save the day if only she can get to the Bridge which happens to be the area most infested with the mutated monsters. Of course, neither the terrorists or the Smithsons want her to succeed.

I thought the world building was great. The ships were fascinating as was the political situation. The characters were well developed and interesting people. I recommend this one to anyone who likes science fiction.

Favorite Quote:

"I'd be a heroine, and no," I say, with an emphatic shake of my head. "This isn't about me, but about all the people hoping and praying for a miracle back home --"

"And why's it my responsibility to save them?" he asks. "My world's been gone for a helluva long time, Laura. I'm not sure it's worth fighting for a new one."

"Don't you understand?" I say, stepping forward and grabbing him by the shirtfront. His eyes widen. "This isn't about what you want, or what I want. It's about what millions of people need to survive. They don't deserve death just because you and I are afraid of what's out there" -- I gesture toward the panic room door. "The John Muir might be my people's last chance. Our people's last chance."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Macmillan. You can buy your copy here.