The Scarab Mission (2) (The Billion Worlds)

Across the Billion Worlds, a scarab is a salvager of derelict or obsolete habitats. As part of Yanai’s crew, they were the scarab crew with the winning bid to salvage Safdaghar, an abandoned habitat. As the only human on the team, Solana joins Atmin, a corvid, Pera, a dino, and Utsuro, a cyborg, as they scavenge the Safdaghar. The biologicals hunt for valued items to increase their profits from this job. Even when a gang of pirates cannot sway the crew from their goal, a dark lurking threat just might.

The Scarab Mission is the second book in James L. Cambias’ The Billion Worlds novels. Though the two tales are loosely connected, The Scarab Mission is an exciting stand-alone novel. Cambias ties together a fun sci-fi fantasy with much darker horror undertones. Cambias uses the themes of genetic modification and mind control to exploit the fear of the loss of free will. Combining these fears along with a shadowy threat, Cambias scares up a space opera that is hard to put down. Those looking for a thrilling and chilling far-future adventure should join the mission.