A Question of Navigation

by Kevin Hearne

[EBookObsessed]

This is a short story and therefore a short review.

Clint and his friend Derek are hiking through the park when they come upon two little girls...who aren't actually little girls. The first clue would be when the one in the unicorn shirt jumped on Clint's friend and began to eat him.

It seems that Aliens have received the messages that we keep sending into space.  These particular ones were tasked with finding a new planet since their sun will soon explode. They weren't planning to head our way but since we have so thoughtfully invited them, they were happy to take a look at our lovely blue orb. After having a thorough look around the neighborhood, they have decided that Earth is the perfect spot to relocate. Usually, their biggest problem is what to do with the indigenous lifeforms already on the planet. But, bonus, it turns out we are quite tasty and nothing like chicken.  So Earth will become a brand new all you can eat buffet.

The aliens have already loaded 50,000 humans for the long trip home. Of course, they don't realize that the first few weeks will involve the slaughtering and prepping of all their tasty bits for snacks for the aliens on the trek to their home world. So far, they are quietly passive in their pens.

Clint and a few others scientists who have been set aside and have all been given a special shirt which reads, Do Not Eat, are being tasked with something else. But they also know that once they complete their assigned tasks, there will be no reason for them to keep the t-shirt on this little unplanned vacation.   Clint and his new friends will need to figure out how to stop the ship from reaching its destination before the news hits about the more than 7 billion tasty morsels available for take out and just waiting in the Milky Way.

This idea was originally a very short story which Kevin Hearne wrote, and I don't remember for what originally, but he posted a link once on his newsletter and it was release in the audiobook First Dangle, which was a bunch of short stories from the Iron Druid Chronicles world and which ended with the story of Emily the little girl who was a space alien checking out this planet and its tasty offerings.

This was an interesting novella which mostly presents how the human race will pull together, regardless of race or gender, when they need to fight an outside force and the sacrifices that people would be willing to make when it is necessary to protect those they love.  Stated plainly, even if they can outwit the aliens and take over the spaceship, who on the ship would know how to pilot a spaceship nor is there any GPS app to help steer them home. So these humans know that there is no happy ending for them except to not become lunch. In fact, the aliens only have enough food to feed the humans for a few weeks at best since their plan was to begin butchering and prepping them for the freezers for their own meals.   Again, even if they take the ship, they have very little time in order to figure out steering and navigation before the foods runs out for the 50,000 human aboard.

While I found the story entertaining and enjoyed the battled between the humans and aliens, this really couldn't have been more than the short story that it was. Kevin would have padded it and drawn out some of the scenes but overall, this isn't something that is going to equate to a long novel or a series.

Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.