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Wyatt Dorren may be an ex-con, but since his placement as a trapper for Project Unidentified Life Form, he's made himself into a respectable member of society. Project U.L.F. uses teams of trappers to travel the galaxy and capture new life forms to display at the Interplanetary Zoological Park. His stellar job performance has deemed him a candidate for a pretigious position at the zoo. However, someone threatened by his advancement wishes to eliminate the competition.

Wyatt is deployed on what he believes to be a routine U.L.F. mission. By the time he begins to uncover a setup, it's too late: he and his crew are stranded on an uncharted planet out of range of passing ships. The more he learns of his unlikely teammates, the more evident their intended demise becomes. Abandoning the mission he was originally charged with, he undertakes the task of delivering his crew to safety while unimaginable threats await.

Project U.L.F. is classic science fiction from a fresh new voice. Stuart Clark's debut novel propels the reader into a future not incredibly unlike the present, save for the prevalence of alien life forms. The characters even relish in a bit of nostalgia with a Stars Wars reference to Han Solo. With realistic creatures just alien enough to be intimidating, the reader feels the threat the adventurers face on a moment to moment basis.

Clark's narrative is smooth, uncluttered and edited well. It seems silly to have to mention the editing quality, but with current inconsistent publishing standards, it is rare to find a book with minimal errors. Project U.L.F. reflects positively on both Clark and Silver Leaf Books. The story keeps the reader focused with few lulls in the action. The ending lacks closure, but this is something that can be easily remedied in the future and the possibility of a sequel appears evident in the final paragraphs. Stuart Clark is likely to become a familiar name in science fiction.

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