Natural Selection is in the form of a 'survival manual' for the planet of Poseidon, for the game Blue Planet.
It is divided into 4 main chapters, which cover wilderness survival; the nature of Poseideon; a field guide of some of the more interesting native creatures; and a short adventure in the depths of the planetary oceans of Poseidon.
The first chapter, the wilderness guide presents information purely related to survial on the planet of Poseidon. Information like how to cross water bodies such as streams and lakes. A survival checklist (like search for other groups, weatehr considerations, etc).
It also covers food and water sources, notes on predators, etc.
In all, this chapter gives a good, solid basic grounding for the knowledge that your character should possess if they are on Poseidon.
A goodly portion of this chapter is devoted to 'in-game' presentations of many of the new creatures presented in the third chapter. These are written from the viewpoint of a team of explorers, and their dealings with the creature in question.
The second chapter, titled 'Savage Planet' gives a brief overview of the taxonomy (or naming system) of the flora and fauna of Poseidon. In all, this information is technically accurate, though to my mind this is information that is of little real use to a player or a Game Master.
This chapter also includes short sections on animal behaviour on Poseidon, as well as the primary reasons for most animal attacks.
A large portion of this chapter is devoted to a detailed look at 'Biomes and Ecozones' - in other words a look at 'settings' such as terrestrial rainforest, tropical savanna, volcanic islands, etc.
This section outlines the flora and fauna typical to each area, including the taxonomy of these plants and animals, as well as the variations in species that can be expected between similar areas.
Lastly, this chapter deals with the oceanography and meteorology of Poseidon. It starts with a basic description of the areas that comprise the ocean floor, currents, and phenomena of the oceans (such as 'explosive sideflows' and 'rapid mineralization effects').
The meteorology section describes the basic systems involved in a weather system, and then the specific differences of the Poseidon model (including the 'Poseidon Nino Effect'). Several specific planetary areas are mentioned, due to the unusual weather patterns that are frequently experienced in those areas.
The third chapter, titled the Field Guide, it the meat of this book. It describes in some detail (including game statistics) 31 creatures, and 6 plant species.
For the most part, each entry is accompanied by an illustration of decent quality and clarity, clearly matching the description of the creature in question.
The creatures presenced range from coral building microscopic creatures to the basilisk - a six legged lizard. Also included are a snail, several different fish, some creepers and crustaceans, a few insects, parasites and even a potato.
The more danagerous creatures have more interesting and often 'dangerous' sounding names such as the grendel, the ninos muerto and the hellbender.
The final chapter is the adventure. Id provides a few hooks to get the Player Characters involved as well as a short introduction to the adventure.
The adventure provides detailed information concerning the area of the adventure (the Tiger Rocks region) and the primary antagonists. This adventure gives fairly detailed instructions, making it a good starter for a campaign set on Poseidon.
In all, Blue Planet: Natural Selection is a good sourcebook for the Blue Planet RPG line, giving GM's and players alike a much better feel for the game setting, as well as providing a much greater array of natural antagonists for the player characters to interact with.
I would recommend this for anyone running the Blue Planet game, and possibly to be considered by any GM planning to run an extended wilderness or oceanographic campaign, irregardless of the game system to be used.
A good book purely for the oceanographic information alone. The artwork is of a good quality and is clear and often surprisingly detailed.
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