Exiles - Mason Coile

EXILES

MASON COILE

*****

You can read my previous review of William by Mason Coile here.

2030. The human crew sent to prepare the first colony on Mars arrives to find the new base half-destroyed and the three robots sent ahead to set it up in disarray.

In the four years since they arrived, the machines have formed alliances, chosen their own names and picked up some disturbing beliefs. Each robot must be interrogated. But one of them is missing.

As the astronauts close in on the truth, it dawns on them that in this barren, hostile landscape -where even the machines have nightmares - none of them is safe.

MY REVIEW

*****

I enjoyed William, which I read as part of my spooky season reads of 2024, so I was excited to start Exiles, also by Mason Coile.

When colonists arrive at their Martian Citadel after a long journey, they are surprised to find the doors locked and one of their helper robots missing. Can they find out what has been happening and continue their mission?

I love standalone sci-fi and horror and the blurb of this book really gripped my attention. We find ourselves in narrator Gold’s head, who has signed up for a one-way mission to Mars with Engineer Kang and Mission Leader Blake. It’s hard to write standalone sci-fi but the small cast of characters really helped the reader to lean into their relationships and the world building around it. The setting of the Citadel on the surface of Mars was really well done, and I felt like I could picture everything clearly.

The creepy atmosphere is present from the beginning, from Gold getting woken up in the pod, through to the empty Citadel and even out on the surface of the planet chasing shadows. The robot characters are also well constructed and interesting, with Coile leaning into the AI aspect much the same as he did with William. I enjoyed the progression of the story (without giving away any spoilers), and the journey that Gold’s character goes on, with her backstory being drip-fed to us slowly. The ending was unusual and I think it may divide readers - there is a certain amount of suspension of disbelief needed throughout, but at the end of the day it’s a sci-fi horror story, so I feel like asking this of its readers is fine!

Overall, Exiles is a great creepy sci-fi story – perfect for fans of both genres. Thank you to NetGalley & John Murray Press – Baskerville for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

LINKS TO BUY

Amazon UK

Waterstones