Waking on an alien spaceship, Trixie finds herself confused and not feeling like herself, while Berry is trapped in a force field. While trying to free him, they find out that the device holding him can also change his DNA. Once free, they gather Berry’s clothes and start to investigate the strange organic ship. They find lots of insectoid workers maintaining the ship and, shortly after, a vast hall containing a swirling dust and several larger creatures that appear to be in charge. Deciding to escape, they head in the direction they think their crashed ship will be and after a few hours they find it. The ship is intact, but slowly being drawn in and if they do not hurry, they will be unable to escape. Realising that the dust is volatile and spread through the ship, they start to cannibalise explosives from the ship. Once ready, they set out to try and sabotage the ship and make their escape, knowing the odds are stacked against them.

This is a wonderful sci-fi story, following the desperate actions of two trapped survivors and their encounters with a new alien species. Starting the plot off, after they have been captured works well, as it concentrates the story on their survival and not a larger back story. Yes, some of what they are up to is revealed, at the right time for the story, but it gives reason to their actions. Just dealing with the two characters keeps the story suspenseful and choosing to see things from Trixie’s viewpoint means the author has a ready way to learn and understand what is happening, instead of knowing it all in advance from Berry. The writing manages to engage, keeping the pace slow when they are looking around cautiously, and ratcheting up the tension when it is needed. The characters are not superheroes, and make as many good decisions as bad in their short journey, all the while reacting to what little they know of their new surroundings.

The formatting for the book is fine, as is the editing and grammar. I didn’t spot any obvious spelling mistakes. At the back is the Author’s note for the story, and the reason behind it, which also makes for interesting reading, as well as several other books by the same author.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and read it through a couple of times, to makes sure I hadn’t missed anything and see how it all tied together. Definitely, one for hard sci-fi fans, but should be good for everyone to read.