Title: Ambush Predators – a Post-Apocalyptic Urban Fantasy Short Story
Author: Marina Ermakova
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: September 30, 2020
Genres: Science Fiction
Length: 18 pages
Source: I received a free copy from the author.
Rating: 3 Stars
Blurb:
Mythical carnivores that prey on humans…and the researchers who study them.
New graduate student Jordan begins her first field expedition to study Italy’s legendary animals, under the supervision of her mentor Gabriela. But being on the frontlines of discovery with these mysterious, dangerous animals comes with risks. Will Jordan learn to survive the local Roman monsters? Or will she join the countless others who’ve lost their lives to this unexplained legendary infestation?
This short story is set in the world of Terrestrial Magic.
Review:
Content warning: snakes. I will be not discussing them in my review.
Would you risk your life to uncover the truth behind ancient myths?
Jordan was intelligent, but she also struck me as someone who was pretty young and naive. The juxtaposition between her academic knowledge and what appeared to be limited practical experience in the field made her a fascinating narrator for this tale. She only seemed to know a little more about her assignment than the reader did, and there were plenty of things she found just as surprising as I did while I was following alongside her on her expedition.
I know this story is part of a series and definitely wouldn’t expect all of my questions about this world to be answered in it. With that being said, I would have liked to see more conflict resolution in the final third of it. The beginning and middle were filled with exciting scenes that were never quite wrapped up by the last sentence. This abrupt ending actually reduced my interest in reading more because I wasn’t sure if this was something that would continue happening in all of the instalments of the series, and I’m not a big fan of cliffhangers.
The world building was handled well. I learned exactly the right amount of information about Dr. Sanchez’s work and how Jordan was assisting her in learning more about these unusual creatures. They basically only had ancient myths and a few spotty reports from locals to go on when it came to understanding the physiology, behaviour, and possible weak spots of the animals they were trying to find, and that was assuming all of their sources were actually accurate. It was interesting to see them try to piece all of these things together.
Anyone who loves mythology might enjoy Ambush Predators.