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| Posted By : Braksis - 3/31/2007 11:35 PM | |
The Style is Clear, the Characters well Defined, and the Story Engrossing.
Book Review - Stuart Clark's Project U.L.F.
Review by: Daniel Eskridge, Galactium
Project U.L.F., by first time novelist Stuart Clark, tells the tale of Wyatt Dorren and his team of interplanetary animal trappers as they strive to escape a dangerous untamed planet on which they have been purposely marooned. Project U.L.F. is a special division of Chicago's Interplanetary Zoological Park. Its goal is to find new animals on uncharted worlds and to bring them back to the zoo. It's such a dangerous job that its members are recruited from the ranks of dangerous criminals.
Wyatt Dorren was once such a criminal, but at the beginning of the novel has risen through the ranks to become the division head of Project ULF. He is so popular that the IZP Director Douglass Mannheim has decided that Dorren is a threat. He concocts a plot to send Wyatt and a team of under equipped misfits to a highly dangerous world with inadequate means of return. Through an unfortunate series of events, Kate Frere, a starry eyed recent college graduate, finds herself along for the ride. What follows is a pretty straight forward man versus nature story as Wyatt's team must overcome their internal strife while they struggle to survive and escape back to earth.
For a first novel, Project U.L.F is quite good. The style is clear, the characters well defined, and the story engrossing. As far as science fiction goes, it definitely favors fiction over science, with the focus on action and drama rather than speculation and technology. This story could easily have taken place in the early 20th century Amazon jungle rather than an alien world. In fact, I felt a little like I was reading a Pulp era science fiction novel written in the vein of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World. Though I wouldn't really classify it as a YA novel, with only slight adult language and one adult themed scene this novel would be safe for teens.
The villain's motives are a tad weak. Also, one of the subplots that bothered me involves Wyatt's criminal past. It is mentioned prominently in the story, but in the end has no real effect on the plot, except as the basis for some of Wyatt's emotional responses. I would like to have seen it more tied to the plot, say perhaps a victim from Wyatt's past playing a hand in the plot against him. Otherwise, I don't think that the novel would have suffered if that thread had been trimmed down significantly. But, those are minor points. Overall, I enjoyed this novel and recommend it to anyone looking for a good story of survival and adventure.
Clifford B. Bowyer
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| Posted By : Braksis - 3/31/2007 11:36 PM | Excellent Sci-Fi Thriller that offers a ride reminiscent of Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park
Book Review - Stuart Clark's Project U.L.F.
Review by: Scott Shaffer, SF Signal Review
REVIEW: Project U.L.F. by Stuart Clark
REVIEW SUMMARY: Excellent sci-fi thriller that offers a ride reminiscent of Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park
MY RATING: 3.5 stars
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: An ex-con turned animal hunter is thrust onto a very dangerous planet and forced to rally his rag-tag team of misfits into a fight for their very lives.
MY REVIEW
PROS: Very well written action sequences, overall pacing is excellent
CONS: Some characters are openly stereotypical, dream element heavy-handed
BOTTOM LINE: Well worth the time if you enjoy a bit of thrill along with your pulpy science fiction.
Humanity's first reach into the stars has some very practical side-effects. While most people won't get the chance to visit other planets, they are interested in the life that is found there and it is natural to assume today's zoos will want to fill that need. Wyatt Dorren is an ex-con with a new lease on life thanks to a work-release program that has put him on an animal hunting crew with Chicago's interplanetary zoo. He traps animals on newly discovered planets and brings them back for exhibition in the zoo. Wyatt is good at his job and rapidly rises through the ranks ultimately attracting the attention of the zoo Director - who sees him as a threat. To deal with this, Wyatt is secretly sent on a mission to planet only just discovered - one that completely eliminated any traces of the initial survey team.
This one-way trip involves a group of people all intended to be lost - close friends of Wyatt, ineffective junior employees, the elder trapper about to draw a huge pension, and another work-release felon whose violent behavior is proving impossible to manage. But in addition to this group, the cover-up involving the secret destination also traps a student out on a planetary survey sponsored by her school. Thanks to this and a few other helpful accidents, Wyatt discovers the true situation and has to drag his team across the dangerous ground on a trek for their survival.
Clark manages to spin this tale into a very fun and compelling read. The plot moves along sharply - and that is what impressed me the most. There are some side-elements that might have been better eliminated (Wyatt has dreams that foreshadow trouble but end up meaning little) but overall the book moves quickly. There is political intrigue involving blackmail of a General, the confrontations between Wyatt and the Director, and of course the troubles on the planet itself. The team suffers setbacks, but none of them felt contrived or designed to stall the plot or pad the book. The trek across the planet has a great sense of foreboding - especially when the reader knows more than the characters and sees that they are about to walk into trouble. Finally, I really liked the fact that at the end of the day, the planet has no sense of evil or morality to it - that is instead left for the humans. The alien creatures that go about their lives in the harsh environment are neither good nor bad - they are just surviving.
The science fiction is pretty well done, especially the parts involving the ecology of the alien planet. The ideas on alien life forms are just Earth-like enough to make the threats they pose seem real. Imagine finding a planet like Earth's in the grip of the dinosaurs, for example. From carnivorous plants to emerging sentient frog-men and to the truly dangerous beasts on the planet they all felt realistic and believable.
Some of the characters are a bit stereotypical (the ex-con, the kid, etc.) although I give Clark some credit for admitting to it in the book. At one point Wyatt, under the delusion that his team was assembled for media value, points out how each of them fits a specific role. Hey, at least he was honest about it. And while some characters change a little due to the experience, most of them aren't that deep to begin with and aren't candidates for growth. It is a thriller, after all, and not exactly Hyperion. I didn't mind that the characters are somewhat weak - this is a plot-driven story that is ultimately very good at what it was meant to be.
All told - I was glad I read the book and had a good time reading it. It is a great bit of pulp fiction that delivers a fast-paced, exciting read.
Clifford B. Bowyer
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| Posted By : Braksis - 3/31/2007 11:36 PM | Entertains, thrills, and leaves you at the edge of your seat!
Book Review - Stuart Clark's Project U.L.F.
Review by: Jennifer Andrew, Book Pleasures
This exciting science fiction novel is about a trapper named Wyatt Dorren. Shrouded by a rocky past, he finds himself in charge of leading a crack-pot team to a seemingly abandoned planet. He believes the trip is a routine excursion to bring back alien lifeforms for the city zoo. Trained in hunting and trapping creatures of unknown planets, no amount of training could prepare some of these specialists for what they were up against. When Wyatt realizes the type of people included in his team, he begins to question the realism of the expedition. As he discovers the true nature of his quest, he comes in contact with new species that threatens their lives. Stuck on unfamiliar territory, Wyatt must convince the team to work together to get back home or be stranded on a dangerous planet forever.
Set in Chicago where hover vehicles abound, Project U.L.F. brings to its pages what Alien and Predator brought to the silver screen. Stuart Clark fabricates the Central American Jungle into a foreign, futuristic setting and places his characters in a manner that entertains, thrills and leaves you at the edge of your seat. The author keeps the momentum of the story by immersing the characters from one encounter to the next, until the reader does not know where he or she is going to end up. Stuart Clark does not waste the reader’s time with too much dialogue but fits in just enough to distinguish the characters and move the story along.
The main character, Wyatt Dorren, is in charge of the whole U.L.F. Acquirement Department at the IZP but he gets a rude awakening when he finds out the real purpose of his involvement. He has to learn that he cannot continue his life as a loner but must trust in others around him while leading the group to safety. Kate Frere, a young biologist, is believed to have been on a standard mission to retrieve specimens but finds herself involved in an unexpected situation. Her role in the story seems to compliment Wyatt since they are forced to work out their differences to survive. With a collection of memorable outcasts, conflict arises that almost tears the team apart.
Captivating from the first page, Project U.L.F. is a story that is not bogged down by technical literature, but filled with terminology suited for the genre. Science fiction fans will find it easy to read and unable to put the novel down until you reach its entirety.
Clifford B. Bowyer
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| Posted By : Braksis - 3/31/2007 11:37 PM | Guaranteed Non-Stop, Heart-Pounding Thriller
Book Review - Stuart Clark's Project U.L.F.
Review by: Angela Schuch, SciFi Chick
Stuart Clark kindly offered an advanced copy of his new book, Project U.L.F., for me to review.
Books like this simply validate my love of science fiction. Not only are his characters realistic and interesting, but the storyline is extremely engaging. From the time I first sat down to read, straight through to the end, I was captivated.
Wyatt Dorren heads Project U.L.F. (Unidentified Life Form) for the Interplanetary Zoological Park. In the past, he has been a trapper, visiting various planets and collecting different species of extraterrestrial life to bring back to the zoo. So, when he is offered to lead another mission of the same, which he thinks will be good for promoting the zoo, he agrees. But, unbeknownst to Wyatt, the Douglas Mannheim has other plans for this “routine” mission. The disreputable Mannheim is the manager of the zoo, and feels threatened by Wyatt. So, he assembles a special team for Wyatt and sends them on a one-way trip to a planet from which no one has returned.
Mannheim isn’t the only one with an ulterior motive. And the planet is much more dangerous than anyone imagines. With deadly creatures around every corner, not everyone will survive this nightmare.
Comparable to tense, science fiction movies such as Alien and Pitch Black, Project U.L.F. is a guaranteed non-stop, heart-pounding thriller. At the end of each chapter, I felt like I could finally exhale in relief. Cleverly written from different points of view (and sometimes of the aliens themselves), only added to the suspense. Clark’s vivid depiction of the deadly planet and imaginative creatures brought the book to life. I’ll be looking forward to more works from this new author.
Project U.L.F. will be available February 28th from Amazon, and is now available for preorder. It’s also available now direct from Silver Leaf Books.
Clifford B. Bowyer
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| Posted By : Braksis - 3/31/2007 11:38 PM | Clark Offers the Reader an Exciting Story
Book Review - Stuart Clark's Project U.L.F.
Review by: Mel Jacob, SF Revu
Stuart Clark's debut novel Project U.L.F. throws his hero Wyatt Dorren into a hush-hush mission to capture new life forms from a planet beyond the edge of inhabited space. However, neither Wyatt nor his crew know they are not expected to return.
Wyatt has worked his way up from an ex-criminal and Unidentified Life Forms (U.L.F.) team member to an executive position for the Interplanetary Zoological Park (I.Z.P.) Head of the U.L.F. Department, he manages the expeditions sent to newly discovered worlds to capture new specimens for the Park. His boss, the head of the I.Z.P, asks him to lead a secret mission to acquire new animals for an anniversary celebration of the Park. Surprised, Wyatt at first says no. He hasn't done field work for several years, but he finally agrees.
Added to the crew at the last minute, Kate Frere expects to participate in a routine mission to a known planet. When the man who arranged her assignment learns the ship's real destination, he strives to find a means to enable her and his friend Wyatt a chance for survival. Unable to prevent the survey ship's launch only minutes away, he hides a ship locator beacon aboard.
The ship's destination beyond charted space has already claimed two ships and their crews. The planet has been declared off-limits. No reports indicate what killed the crew of the first ship or that of the rescue vessel sent to help.
Kate, a recent graduate, finds herself marooned with the U.L.F. team with no apparent escape and must fight along with them to survive in a hostile environment. Adding to her problems, one troublesome team member has plans for her.
Wyatt's initial puzzlement over the mission and the crew assigned turns to horror when he discovers they have neither the supplies nor sufficient power to leave the planet. Finding the ship beacon gives a brief ray of hope, but the other two ships lie more 1500 miles away and their ship hasn't enough power to make it that far. Surrounded by difficult terrain and hostile predators, they lose one team member.
Dwindling supplies force them to consider desperate measures. Hoping the other ships hold supplies and may have power to at least signal for help, Wyatt calculates they might get to within seventy or so miles of one of the ships. In a desperate gamble, they take off.
A crash landing in a swamp causes injuries to one team member and exposes them to hungry creatures hiding in the area. Last to leave the sinking vessel, Wyatt swims for his life. Once ashore, they still must locate one of the ships. Food and shelter become urgent needs.
When they reach the first of the ships, it is 40 feet off the ground in a huge tree. They find a dead crew. Getting the ship down intact poses more challenges. They do it, but in the process damage the hyperdrive they must have to return home.
Clark offers the reader an exciting story told from the point-of-view of different characters. Some may argue with various story aspects, especially the romance, but the strange creatures he describes and the conflicts among the team members keep the pages turning. He also introduces an intelligent alien who befriends a team member and helps them get the spares they need to fix one ship.
For some unexplained reason, Clark shifts between measurement systems sometimes using miles, feet, and yards, and other times using kilometers. He has a number of characters smoking cigarettes in the far distant future, which dates the story somewhat. One would think other vices might predominate by then. In any event, with this novel behind him, others are sure to follow.
Clifford B. Bowyer
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