It’s the year of 2654. This year is no different, and any who wish to join the prestigious Starquest Academy must enter a competition of survival over 3 days and nights.

After being left on a partially explored planet, contestants must use their skills in squads of five, sharing ideas, answers and collaborating to unravel clues to get them to their pick up point in three days time. They have met as they prepared for the travel to the competition, but don’t know who their squad members will be.

It is said, the heir to the Dynasties who own and runs their world is a contestant, but a disguise is sure to be in play. Speculation is rife before the competition, and the rules are the same as the previous decades of races. Work together, get as many of your squad to the finish line and stay alive.

But all the hopeful candidates know there is much more to it than that. Every move and every word is being watched and weighed and analysed. The more you impress the viewers, the more backing you get, which then increases your chances more.  The stakes are high, but no higher than for Amethyst Antares.

Ammy is from a planet fully controlled by the ruling Dynasty. Her planet and its occupants are the most mistrusted humans in their galaxy. After all, it was them who started an age old war, many years before. It’s believed by all that their control is the only way to keep the remaining planets safe.

Mistrusted by all, but determined as all of them put together, Ammy knows everything there is to know about The Surface Trials, and she will use all her skills and knowledge to get a place in the Starquest Academy.

She didn’t expect plants that want to eat you, wasps the size of small cars and a betrayal that seems too big to overcome. Hearing and seeing things that her squad doesn’t, isn’t helping either….

Think Hunger Games but without kids killing off kids to survive. In The Surface Trials, you must work together. This is harder than you think as a squad of five only has limited supplies, including food and first aid. The less in your team, the more food, but the more in your team that reach the finish line before sunset on the third day of survival on a strange planet, the more kudos comes your way.

It is a fine balance, all whilst being watched and listed to the entire time. This is good in some ways, but can go horribly wrong when underestimating the planet you are trying to survive on.

I found The Surface Trials instantly gripping, quickly feeling empathy for main character Ammy, and all the while wondering which of her team mates was the heir to their entire world.

The alien setting was intriguing and well written right up to the last page. The countdown ups the tension as they wonder whether they will make it after all that happens along the way!

Excellent middle grade Sci Fi fiction with Mystery, Friendship, and pulse-pounding pages. 

Author – HM Waugh

Age – 10+

(2025, Allen & Unwin, Action, Adventure, Courage, Sci Fi, Dystopian, Future, Horror, Prejudice, Secret, Planet, Giant Wasps, Squads, Mission, Countdown, Loyalty, Quick thinking, Puzzles, Cooperation, Judged, Fear, Hunger Games, Unknown, Betrayal, Belief, Abandoned, Alien Flora and Fauna, Race, 100 Contestants, Survival)