**Review originally published in SCREAM Magazine**

Imagine suddenly being struck immobile, unable to move or speak. Your brain and bodily functions are still active, but you’re trapped inside a body that has become like a stone prison. Hopefully, you didn’t freeze somewhere dangerous. Hopefully, you didn’t shut down away from others. Your very existence now depends on whether someone will find you and care for you.

This terrifying scenario is at the heart of Stephanie Ellis’s speculative sci-fi thriller Paused. A mysterious epidemic is quickly spreading across the globe. People are freezing without warning, hospitals are filling up, and chaos is spreading. No one knows what’s happening or who the disease will strike down next. It’s up to Dr. Alex and his research team to find a cure before it’s too late. But, the clock is quickly winding down, and each day, each hour, brings humanity one step closer to total shutdown.

The novella is reminiscent of science thrillers like those of Michael Crichton, with its rapid pacing, intentional focus on characters, and a conflict that examines both global devastation and individual panic. The author shows how this mysterious plague affects all people, and I appreciate that the POV changes some throughout the story. Some of the best chapters are the ones told from the perspective of the afflicted, as we see first hand how they become helplessly trapped in their own skin. It’s harrowing and quite disturbing, especially when their untimely inaction leads to their own death or the deaths of others. Imagine all the worst ways to die and not being able to do anything about it…chilling stuff.

The writing is fast-paced and urgent. You really feel the tension and fear of the scientists as they race against the clock, and the suspense continues to ratchet up as more and more people fall prey to the invisible enemy. I love the concept and the characters, but my biggest issue is that there’s not enough here. The pace, ironically, almost moves too quickly. There’s a lot tossed at the reader, but not all of it is fully fleshed out. I want more scenes of disaster, more insight into the malady, more trips out of the lab and into the real world, longer moments of character development, and so on. In short, I want Ellis to turn this into a full novel.

Thankfully, this is more than just another pandemic story. It serves as a thoughtful commentary on the various ways a society can break down. From individuals’ and governmental responses to research scientists and conspiracy theorists, Ellis has provided a full picture of how society can descend into chaos. An enigmatic disease that seemingly strikes at random is a terrifying force to reckon with, and you’ll be rooting alongside the scientists as they test every possible alternative to find the explanation. Despite the few qualms I have, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Paused by Stephanie Ellis.