COVER REVEAL: Symbiote by Michael Nayak | Angry Robot

Mini-Blurb

Contagion meets The Walking Dead in this new sci-fi thriller where a biological threat ravages scientists and military personnel on the South Pole.

Blurb

As World War III rages, the scientists in Antarctica are thankful for the isolation – until a group of Chinese scientists arrive at the American research base. In their truck is a dead body, the first murder in Antarctica. The potential for a geopolitical firestorm is great, and, with no clear jurisdiction, the Americans don’t know what to do. But they soon realize the Chinese scientists have brought far more with them than the body…

Within seventy-two hours, thirteen others lie dead in the snow, murdered in acts of madness and superhuman strength.

An extremophile parasite from the truck, triggered by severe cold, is spreading by touch. It is learning from them. Evolving. It triggers violent tendencies in the winter crew, and, more insidiously, the beginnings of a strange symbiotic telepathy.

Exhausted by suspicion and fear, with rescue impossible for months, the desperate crewmembers turn on each other. A small group of survivors try to resist the siren call of the growing hive mind and stay alive long enough to solve the mystery of the symbiotic microbe’s origins. But the symbiote is more than a disease – it is a biological weapon that can change the balance of power in a time of war.

The survivors cannot let anyone infected make it to the summer season, when planes will arrive to take them – and potentially the symbiote – back to civilization.

Note from the Author

“What I love about the cover are the roots… they go deep under the ice, spreading far beneath the surface. So much that the eye doesn’t see! That’s a great analogy for Symbiote, which is a story set amidst a close-knit crew isolated by a long, dark winter at the South Pole. In such close proximity… but so much happening beneath the surface that isn’t seen, until it’s too late. But roots are also what tie us together, and give us grounding from which we can grow together. I love this cover because it’s a preview of what lies within… a story about survival, finding roots that grow us closer as human beings, while fighting insidious roots that can break the ice apart.” 

About the Author

Michael Nayak was born in Los Angeles and now lives in Washington, DC. By day, he is Doctor/Major Nayak, working for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). He is a USAF Test Pilot School graduate, Rotary National Award for Space Achievement recipient, and has 1,000+ hours of flight time in 40+ aircraft including the F-16, T-38, EA500 and BE-76. His real-world experience in the science and intelligence communities adds next-level authentic details and a touch of hyper-realism to his work.

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