THE ICE KEPT IT SECRET FOR A THOUSAND YEARS. NOW, THE ICE IS KEEPING THEM IN.
On Norway's Jostedalsbreen glacier, an energy signature that shouldn't exist has started pulsing beneath the ice.
Captain Kate Vance is sent in to secure the dig, where Dr. Martin Calder swears he's found a Viking longship, impossibly intact after ten centuries.
But Vikings didn't build ships with a power source.
A reckless act triggers an ancient beacon. A catastrophic storm slams into the mountain, killing every signal and sealing the base behind a wall of ice and snow at sixty below. But the storm is just the cage. The real threat is already inside.
They call them Hunters — armored cyborgs that move through the crawlspaces between the walls, mimicking the voices of the dying to draw the living out. They aren't hunting for sport. They're harvesting. And Vance is starting to work out the terrifying truth of what that makes Earth.
With her people dead or dying, her ammunition running out and no way off the mountain, Vance is left with one impossible choice. To save what's left of her team, she has to go deep into an alien ship buried in the ice. There is only one weapon that can kill them. It whispers in her mind. It doesn't use ammunition — it uses her. And the only question is how much of herself she has left to spend.
And deep under the glacier, the engines are warming up.
The translation on the longship's hull was never a name. It was a warning: When the sky turns white, the Hunt begins.
Fallow is the explosive first book in a new military science fiction series. Fans of The Thing, Aliens, and the Frontlines series will find themselves right at home in the ice.
A fun military sci-fi debut.
"Fallow" is a book that wears its influences on its sleeve. If you're at all familiar with the pillars of speculative fiction that were embedded into popular culture throughout the 1970s, 80s, and 90s via things like the "Alien" and "Predator" film franchises and "Stargate," you're going to recognize a lot of the themes and ideas present within it. Case in point, John Carpenter's "The Thing" is directly referenced early on as two of its main characters arrive at the remote Norwegian archeological research site where the bulk of the story takes place. That's not to say "Fallow" doesn't bring anything new or distinguishing to the table at various points throughout its duration but I believe it's fair to say that experienced science-fiction readers are likely to find much of it more than a little familiar. Fortunately, its more well-worn tropes and concepts are generally well done, with prose I found satisfying and engaging for the most part.
That said, there were some noteworthy instances of, what I'd call, excessive repetition of certain elements, at times in very close proximity to one another, that I found somewhat distracting and detrimental to the overall flow and pacing of the story. There were also a few minor incongruities that eagle-eyed readers may spot that might similarly threaten their immersion in the tale. Finally, it's worth noting that there are many instances of very convenient or largely implausible occurrences, particularly as things ramp up near the end that sticklers for realism and "authenticity" may take issue with.
Still, for me "Fallow" was ultimately a solid and worthwhile reading experience, especially with it being the author's first novel. I therefore wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to those new to the genre, or fans of military sci-fi that oozes with nostalgia while delivering enough deviations to keep things interesting.