Book Review 133 // Chance Encounter by Paul Kupperberg

I felt like I needed a refresher from the Horus Heresy after weeks novel (left a bad taste in my mouth). With this in mind, I treated myself to a $10 kindle Alien book titled: Aliens: Bug Hunt (Amazon Link). Filled with 18 short stories, I felt at 56 cents a story I couldn't go wrong.

The first is called Chance Encounter and is by Paul Kupperberg.

A bit of a classic story arc. The USCSS Typhoon is forced to land on a previously uncharted planet for repairs. They are surprised to find a living biosphere here with low gravity. There are even these weird floating jellyfish that get originally called "Floaters". It is at this stage that the two main characters: London and Warrant Officer Gilmore, discover their first Xenomorph. Which they call a "Leaper". Of course, once reports are filed with Weyland-Yutani, the company demands that the team investigates further and gather samples. Worst yet for the team is when the term "at any cost" is used, causing me some stress, as I know what they mean is: the crew is expendable if a sample can be caught.

It is at this point that the tension goes through the roof. As these un-trained space travelers arm themselves and then head off into the forest in search of Leapers. Of course, our ragtag team is soon ambushed by multiple Leapers. London is captured before being dragged away to a nearby nest. Whilst his future is uncertain, the rest of the team fights off the Leapers, clearing a path out to the somewhat safety of the ship. Forced to leave London behind, the team fights to secure the ship but soon finds themselves besieged by the aliens. As things look most bleak, we discover London still alive in the nest. Rigging his last oxygen tank, London creates an explosion, setting fire to the main nest. With the hive fully alight, the Leapers stop their attack on the ship, before rushing back to rescue their burning nest. During this confusion, the team recovers London and flees the planet. They believe they are empty-handed but safe. Unknown to the rest of the crew though, London had recovered an Egg from the hive, and now dreams of the "bonus money" he will get as he stores the egg in his locker.

Now, of course, this is an Alien story so it needs a twist at the end. But I won't spoil it for you, it is a great classic ending mind.

As always, thanks for checking in and I hope you enjoyed my review?

Instagram: Adventures with Peps

Tik Tok: Adventures with Peps

Youtube: Adventures with Peps

Ko-fi: Adventures with Peps