A Dystopian Nightmare in the Cold Depths of Space

In the not-so-distant future, a lone space station orbits Jupiter’s frozen moon Europa, its crew tasked with surveying and studying the icy world. When a routine investigation into a metallic blemish on a crew member’s neck leads to her death, Commander Simonson is forced to make a difficult decision: quarantine the station and risk losing contact with Earth, or send out a message and risk spreading an unknown and deadly contagion. Faced with a silent and relentless enemy, Simonson and his crew must race against time to contain the outbreak and prevent it from reaching Earth. But in the vast emptiness of space, can they outrun a foe that sees living, breathing bodies not as hosts but as endless new worlds to conquer?

Lunar Lebensraum is a stunning exploration of humanity’s ambition, isolation, and the hidden horrors that dwell in the deep.

At about 66 pages, this is a very short book, but don’t let that discourage you. The story is packed with creepy dread.

A few days ago I sent out a call out to the void (ahem…Twitter) seeking out truly nihilistic speculative fiction. I hadn’t expected much to come out of it, and the call was in part intended to nudge the algorithm towards my interests. However, some great recommendations did seep out from the darkness, and this was one that turned out to be unexpectedly succinct and yet gut-wrenching.

One of my favorite kinds of dark fantasy is a story where nobody is inherently evil or malicious, and yet everything goes south. This book scratches that itch very well. And it is nihilistic indeed.

‘You’re a goddamn fucking fatalist.’

The premise is well-trodden but unorthodox in its execution. A research team in orbit around Europa accidentally finds themselves making first contact with an alien race that they don’t quite understand. And by the time they manage to get a sense of what they are dealing with… it may be too late. And not just for them.

He’d been an ambitious man once, but misfortune and failure had drained much of that spirit from him,

I liked the characters, their conflicting points of view, and their motivations when faced with an unfathomable, unknowable opponent. Loved the buildup of dread, the realization that no matter how prudent your actions are, all roads lead to doom.

the effect of witnessing Jupiter was to instead stir in him a cold terror. This world was violence on a scale unfathomable.

It is also the first story I have read that is written in a future where a communist regime reigns, and a key character is deeply invested in the underlying ideas. Quite an interesting perspective.

The parallels between Europan and European colonization history made me smile. Also, I don’t know if the author actually intended the choice of silver to be a metaphor for white-washing of the cultures of colonized nations, but if so, it was brilliant in its subtlety.

I’ll also recommend this book to people who feel that omniscient POV is a relic from a bygone era. This story just couldn’t be written without an omniscient perspective, at least not without taking away what makes it so good.

All in all, a cool premise and a fantastic execution. I look forward to exploring the author’s longer series: The Tales of Terror and Torment.

Mysteries need solving. Otherwise, the unknown can destroy you.