The Surface Trials

It’s reductive to say The Surface Trials is like The Hunger Games with competitive empathy instead of murders, but I just said it so let me justify it. Outside of the fact that yes, The Surface Trials is about a wildly popular annual televised event in which children are forced to compete against each other in dangerous situations, the two books are really nothing alike.

First, the kids in The Surface Trials are actually volunteers. The application process is long and involved, especially if you come from an exploited mining planet with a history of producing Mindbreakers – individuals with a dangerous, illegal mental mutation that allows them to read and manipulate emotions. Secondly, the prize for winning isn’t just a slightly more luxurious (and traumatised) life. The winners of The Surface Trials are granted entry into Starquest Academy, an exclusive institution dedicated to training future Planeticians. Finally, as the name suggests, the danger doesn’t come from other contestants. The real threat comes from the surface: the partially explored planets where the kids find themselves, navigating treacherous landscapes with their survival and teamwork skills to reach the pick-up point in time. Elimination can be triggered by medical emergencies or poor teamwork, and occurs when a shuttle arrives to whisk them back to the main ship.

The Surface Trials is exactly what I want in a science-fiction book. Like the best works of Arthur C. Clarke or Becky Chambers, it leaves you excited for what could be out there in our galaxy and our future. I can’t recommend it enough. For ages 10+.