Starfall Muta

by Alan David

Horrors from the deep…

The shuttlecraft detached from Probe 2 when Muta orbit was reached, carrying Commander Theron Clark and three crew members down to the mysterious surface of the planet. But trouble struck them before they reached the ground, enveloping them in a seemingly endless, horror-filled nightmare.

From that moment on, they were alone with the inhospitable planet and its terrible inhabitants.

The crew must make a quick decision. Armed with their survival kits, they venture out into the unknown.

But they are not the only humans who have been stranded here…

Will Commander Clark find Vern, his missing brother? As their parents await news at home, the search is on. The odds are stacked against them, but anyone disobeying orders learns the hard way that there is no easy way out…

Survival on the cruel and unfamiliar planet is a challenge that none of the humans are prepared for. A host of vicious mutants awaits this hapless crew, hiding in the dark before they strike.

But Commander Clark will not surrender. He will fight.

They are stranded. There is no hope. Will they ever make it home?

Starfall Muta is a gripping, terrifying sci fi novel from Alan David. It was previously published under the pseudonym Graham Garner.

Alan David is one of many pseudonyms used by the prolific author Donald S Rowland. His works have spanned three decades, ranging from science fiction to romance, westerns to military fiction. His various names have been attributed to hundreds of titles.

Venture Press is a science fiction and fantasy imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK’s leading independent digital publisher. We are committed to the discovery and rediscovery of immensely talented authors in the SFF genre, and continue to push boundaries in search of great literature. Join us as we venture across universes and unknown landscapes – past, present and future.

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155 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 28, 2016

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read an Alan David’s space adventure before and found it abysmal. Normally I wouldn’t pick up a book by an author whose introduction was so inauspicious, but there was a bunch of his freebies on my Kindle and I was in a mood for a quick and mindless fun and this actually…surprisingly did the trick. Maybe that other one was a one off, maybe I just had sufficiently low expectations going in this time, but entertain it did. In a way of a cheesy old science fiction movie or tv show. You know, the low budget schlocky, but peculiarly charming kind. The basic story is…well, it’s pretty basic. A team of space adventurers crash land on an unknown planet, planet Muta that is, and have to deal with a variety of aliens living there (ranging in temperaments from mild to violent, homicidal and cannibalistic), while trying to get off the planet and go back to Earth. The aliens were fun, the most fun actually. The plot was pretty much what you’d expect. The pacing was speedy. This seemed like one of those books that takes nearly as long to write as it does to read and indeed the author was very prolific in a variety of genres. Over 500 books or something. Crazy numbers. So you can’t expect literary volumes. More like this fun light wham bam thank you m’am in space sort of thing. Utterly forgettable silliness with aliens. Entertained sufficiently to pass an evening, very quick read.

[chucklesthescot · Rating 3 out of 5]

A landing craft goes down to the surface of Muta, seeking what happened to a previous mission who never returned. The answer comes when they watch their mother ship blown up and are pursued on Muta by hostile locals. Rescue comes from the friendly Avics, a birdman race who rescued the survivors of a previous mission, keeping them safe from three hostile races on the planet. In order to steal a starship and escape Muta, the survivors will need to evade these deadly enemies. The main enemy are the technologically advanced Brutans but there are also the giant Ogrins to worry about and a cannibal tribe that live in the marshes. Clark helps the Avics defeat the Ogrins in battle with their advanced weapons but will it be enough to defend them against the Brutans?

I found the story itself interesting with the range of different enemies to deal with and their Avic allies. It did get a little repetitive in places though with a lot of going back and forth sneaking through the jungle and evading the enemies to check something out and then sneaking back the same way, making a new plan and then repeating the process. It did slow down a bit in the middle as well for me. Clark himself was a bit annoying. He seems to think a lot about Magenta in the early part of the story but as soon as they meet Ralip, he doesn't give her another thought. I was also frustrated a lot by the idiotic behaviour of Mallory. It was a decent enough space adventure with interesting alien life forms but it just lacked a little something to really grab me. I'm not really sure what was lacking but I did find it an interesting story to read. Would I read more by the author? I guess that would depend on the plot.