Review: Expect the Unexpected
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 21, 2014
When a small crew from Project EviroQuest accidentally crash-lands on Planet K24B, they decide to make the most of their stay. A secondary unit is slated to arrive in six months, bringing with it additional crew and supplies. Until then, the nine scientists and explorers set out to learn as much as they can about the plant and animal life on their new, temporary home.One of just 143 planets within reach of Earth (at least given humankind’s current technological know-how), K24B is much like our own planet, with “an atmosphere almost identical to Earth.” But the animals dwelling within K24B’s plains, rainforests, deserts, and seas are as varied as they are unusual: Feathered cetaceans. Giant, human-sized spiders. Transparent snakes. Tiny green antelope. Birds as big as Pteranodons.And zoologist Donna Rivera gets to discover, observe, and catalog them all! Alongside her mentor Regina Gilliam, to boot! Talk about living the dream.Donna’s dream quickly turns into a nightmare, however, when the local fauna starts picking the crew members off in ones and twos and threes. Soon Donna and engineer Everett Jordan are the only crew members left. Can they manage to stay alive until the reinforcements arrive?But nothing is as it seems in this short story by Linda Hull.A MATTER OF SURVIVAL is a quick, entertaining read that might be veer toward the fun-but-forgettable – if not for the unexpected ending. Normally I’m not a huge fan of this particular brand of plot twist, but it’s downright delicious here.A matter of survival, indeed.