Exiles
Exiles by Mason Coile (pseudonym of the late Andrew Pyper) drops us in the deep end by outlining the harsh realities of space travel that usually get skimmed over (which, tbh, is fine with me, but that’s because blood is about the only bodily fluid or excretion that doesn’t gross me out. I know. That level of TMI is probably on par with what I’m getting from the first pages of Exiles).
Like his earlier novel William, Exiles makes us question how we use technology as well as deeper philosophical questions like, what makes us human?
In Exiles, three crew - two men, Blake and Kang, and one woman, who also serves as our narrator, Gold, are the first humans being sent to Mars to finalize preparations for colonists. Three robots have been sent ahead of them to build the base and ready it for their arrival.
The dread starts immediately, and the crew wants to turn around and go home when they are forced to make an early emergency landing because the base has stopped communicating. With Mission Control’s simple, “you must continue,” they are reminded that their mission was meant to be one-way, and danger to their lives does not make the cut for an extraordinary circumstance which would change that.
The tension only increases post-landing as they discover the damage to the base and the state of the robots - who have changed their own names from Robots 1, 2, and 3 to Shay, Wes, and Alex. The crew notices that Shay and Wes have developed very human ways of speaking to and addressing them and each other, Alex is missing - either the perpetrator of or the victim of the one who damaged and continues to attack the base. As they question the robots, they find the answers just lead to more questions, and time is running out as they and the base continue to be under attack.
Exiles by Mason Coile is a short, fast-paced, psychological sci-fi horror novel that asks big questions for you to ponder while you’re holding your breath in anticipation. I recommend not picking it up until you’re ready to dedicate a few hours because you won’t want to put it down.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin/Putnam for the advance copy for my honest review. Pub date 9/16/25
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