Traitors in Space by Tim Collins + Steven Wood

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✦ BLURB ✦

Catch the aliens before they catch you in this exciting extraterrestrial choose-your-own-adventure featuring illustrated puzzles perfect for fans of the Among Us game.

Imagine you are a brilliant young scientist who has been chosen for a research mission to a distant planet. On your way back to Earth, you are woken early from cryosleep by the ship’s computer. It has detected an alien lifeform, but you don’t see any sign of one.

You look at your fellow crewmates and wonder if one of them has been taken over by an alien intelligence. Can you work out who can be trusted and who the aliens are before they take over your mind too?

Approximately twenty illustrated puzzle missions are woven into the narrative at key turning points for full immersion in the story. Featuring over forty-five potential endings, gripping plot twists, and atmospheric illustrations, this alien adventure is truly out of this world.

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Puzzles, paranoia, and a whole lot of paths to failure — or survival.

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🛰️ Pre-Reading Thoughts

When I was younger, I couldn’t get enough of Choose Your Own Adventure books — I loved the idea that I could mess up and try again, with new twists waiting around every corner. So when I spotted Traitors in Space, a sci-fi gamebook with puzzles woven into the story? I was in.

The setup also had big Among Us energy — a crewmember might have been taken over by an alien, and it’s up to you to figure it out before your brain becomes interstellar soup. Basically, this book was built in a lab to appeal to me.

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👽 Post-Reading

As I thought...
It fully delivered on the promise of branching storylines and puzzle-infused tension. The structure is satisfyingly complex — no lazy "go left or go right" here. Each choice actually changes your experience, and there’s real narrative weight behind them. I enjoyed backtracking through different outcomes to see how things could go much worse (or occasionally, better).

It surprised me by...
...how clever the puzzles are! Some are classic visual logic puzzles, others require attention to detail in both the illustrations and the text. They're perfectly placed too — just when you're confident you’ve sussed things out, a puzzle drops in to shake you up. The art style adds a cinematic quality, and there are genuine moments of suspense that had me second-guessing everything.

Also? The book doesn't pull punches. You can get possessed. You can doom the entire ship. This isn’t a coddling ride — it expects you to pay attention, and I loved that.

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✦ RECOMMENDATIONS ✦

Escape Room Puzzles by Dr. Gareth Moore — If you love visual challenges that make your brain itch, this one’s for you.

The Maze of Bones (39 Clues) by Rick Riordan et al. — Another series that blends puzzles and fast-paced choices.

Among Us — The vibes are immaculate. If you enjoy accusing your friends of alien possession, this book is your solo-player version.

The Thing (1982) — For older readers or film buffs, the creeping dread and hidden imposter energy are a direct match.

✦ MUSIC PAIRING ✦

Because sometimes, the heart of a story plays out like a song.

🎵 Featured Song:
“Spaceman” – The Killers
Playful, slightly unhinged, and perfect for running down dark corridors while second-guessing everyone around you.

🎶 Vibe Album:
Tron: Legacy – Daft Punk
Sleek, synthetic, and emotionally tense. These tracks mirror the cool polish of the ship’s corridors with the lurking dread underneath. “The Game Has Changed” hits especially well during high-stakes decisions.

🎧 Artist Recommendation:
Muse — their catalogue is full of the exact kind of paranoia-tinged, dystopian anxiety that suits the tone of this book. Try “Uprising,” “The 2nd Law: Isolated System,” or “Supermassive Black Hole.”

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✧ VIBE CHECK ✧

🎨 Colour palette: Gunmetal grey, chartreuse alien slime, warning-light red

🎬 Soundtrack: That atmospheric hum of a ship running on emergency power, punctuated by sudden alarms
🌬️ Season: Winter — cold, unrelenting, and quietly dangerous
💭 Mood: Suspicion, with a side of claustrophobia

🧴 Scent: Sterile surfaces, ozone crackle, and the faint funk of something… wrong in the vents

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★ TAROT CARD PULLED ★

The Wheel of Fortune – from the Light Seer’s Tarot
This card captures the chaotic magic of Traitors in Space beautifully. Every choice is a spin of the wheel - sometimes you hit the jackpot, sometimes the ship explodes. Sometimes the you who survives isn’t quite you anymore.

In the Light Seer’s deck, the Wheel is dynamic and fluid, showing the flow of time, fate, and unexpected change - just like how one decision can send your path spiralling into unexpected territory. It’s a reminder that luck, timing, and a little courage all play a part in shaping your story… and sometimes, you just have to keep turning the page.

Traitors in Space publishes on the 26th August, 2025. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.