... 'They’ll never believe you’re not under my control. They’ll think I contaminated you. Maybe they’ll think I laid eggs in you. Or that I’ll burst out of your chest. Or other gross things. They’ll— '
“Shut up,” Riley ordered, chilled by the utter belief and gnawing horror in McClane’s voice. No surrender. [loc 4558]
Bone Rider opens onboard an alien spaceship, which subsequently crash-lands in Texas. This is because System Six, a self-aware symbiotic armour system, does not want to be scrapped. It's not his [sic] fault that his bond with his host is imperfect. Fleeing the US military, System Six encounters Riley Cooper, also on the run after discovering that his boyfriend is actually a hit-man for the Russian mob.
System Six is nothing if not adaptable. Riley makes ... well, not an excellent host, but an interesting one, and he exposes his new friend to Earth culture, including a Die Hard marathon: System Six adopts the name McClane, and the two (in one body) flee the growing number of parties interested in capturing or killing one or both of them.
Meanwhile, Misha will stop at nothing to get Riley back. And the US Government will stop at nothing to retrieve the alien technology that Riley's hosting. Riley, on the other hand, is becoming quite enamoured of his armour, which turns out to have some surprising talents.
This was immense fun, though there are some significant flaws: far too many viewpoint characters; canon-typical violence where 'canon' is the Die Hard school of Hollywood thriller, i.e. really bloodthirsty; an ending that seems somewhat facile; some unresolved tensions and issues. On the other hand, it's surprisingly strong on female characters for a gay romance -- I especially liked Misha's sister -- and the protagonists are credible, rounded individuals. It's also a very funny novel, and I really wish I'd read it before I saw Venom ...
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