"A finely tuned science fiction shocker..."

• ASIN: ‎ B0BWBT1KR1
• Publisher: ‎ JB Writes Stuff; 2nd edition (March 30, 2023)
• Publication date: ‎ March 30, 2023
• Language: ‎ English
• Print length: ‎ 337 pages
• Genre: Space Opera Science Fiction

The BookViral Review:

A gratifyingly graphic page-turner with depth, intrigue and nail-biting shocks, Williams leads his readers on an unforgettable journey into the heart of evil with Bon Voyage.

If a science fiction shocker is to be convincing it has to feel utterly plausible but far too many releases in the genre prove disappointing and it’s for the former reason that Williams’ novel stands out. Many releases in the sci-fi genre and elsewhere, are all pay-off and no buildup but Williams gets the balance just right. He has a fine eye for the pressures and poignancies of his characters which combined with his ability to craft an intricate action-orientated narrative rapidly draws his readers in.

At its most fundamental level, “Bon Voyage” is a novel about things that can jump out of the dark and kill you with oozing alien tentacles hitting all the right sci-fi horror notes but one of the key strengths of “Bon Voyage” is its pacing with Williams allowing quiet moments to punctuate the action.

Williams then uses a tricky device to keep the “alien spores” fresh throughout by evolving the nature and appearance of the creatures created by them, so we never know quite what they are going to look like or how far they have turned. The spoors don’t play by any known rules of appearance or behaviour and they are quick to become an amorphous menace, terrorizing the crew of The Hook Line with the spectre of their morphing evil. 

With The Hook Line’s tough-talking crew members, Williams doesn’t simply give us characters where dialogue is reduced to terse statements telegraphing the plot. He wants us to know them and when they fall he wants us to feel their loss.

Central to Williams’ characters is his protagonist Ethan Rifts. He hates space and this allows Williams to neatly avoid trite tropes to create an original character whilst instilling him with more engaging qualities than readers typically expect from a protagonist in the genre.

A finely tuned science fiction shocker with cleverly orchestrated twists Bon Voyage is highly recommended.