Strange Survivors is a nonfiction biology field guide to organisms that have their own way of staying alive. Author and biologist Oné R. Pagán has compiled a grouping of creatures that would have their place, in exaggerated form, in any number of horror films. The book is a little scattered and the author does repeat some facts more than once, but it is really interesting nevertheless.

Filled with fascinating facts that are too numerous to mention, Strange Survivors is a great book for those wanting to learn more about biology and evolution in nature's many creatures. For instance, did you know that an electric eel is not an eel, but a knife fish? That is just one of the tidbits of knowledge that readers can find out.

Strange Survivors: How Organisms Attack and Defend in the Game of Life is well narrated by Tony Chiroldes. His delivery of this nonfiction book about organisms that have evolutionarily developed survival methods is quite infectious - that is, it makes the reader want to keep listening. I would definitely recommend the audio format of this book, as the narration makes the book more interesting.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Audio Copy of this book by NetGalley and the publisher. The choice to review this book was entirely my own.

Got about 1/3 of the way through before it was archived. My son and I listened together, thinking it might be similar to An Immense World, which we loved. I think it might have been but the first part was mostly setting the stage with scientific explanations, definitions and arguments for biological evolution. While it was interesting, the tone is much more scientific and less sensational than the book description suggests.

Explore nature’s most unusual survival strategies, from killer snails to electric fish, in this fascinating look at the evolutionary arms race. Discover surprising lessons from nature’s oddities and their potential relevance to human survival.

This book is fun and easy to read, full of information about weird and unexpected creatures. I enjoyed the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for the Audio ARC!

Strange Survivors was a terrific read. I love it when an author is not afraid to own their own idiosyncrasies and incorporate them into their writing in a way that makes the overall experience more human and more enjoyable. This book is fun, quirky, and very educational, all at once. Not to mention brilliantly narrated. I would highly recommend to fans of Mary Roach, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and fans of science writing in general.

Thank you NetGalley, Brilliance Audio and the author for this ALC in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed reading this books. Although I knew about most of the survival strategies as a zoologist by training, I loved the candid tone of the book. It conveyed the information in an easy to understand way that I enjoy in non fiction books. I loved the integration of different disciplines like chemistry, physics, geology to name a few and that it highlights indigenous knowledge as well. 

The narrator Tony Chiroldes really matched the tone really well and I found myself laughing at the inside jokes.  
Stranger survivors is the perfect book for those who want to learn about animals' defense strategies in a chilled and entertaining way.

Thank you to Brilliance Publishing and NetGalley for sending me an audio-ARC of Strange Survivors in exchange for review.

3.75 stars

This was a lovely listen. I haven’t read a science/bio related book likely since I was in school however I do love a nature documentary and that’s what this felt like. It was not complex or overwhelming or hard to understand, the language used and the descriptions given made this so easily digestible. Also, the narrator was fantastic. They made it feel very conversational and paired with the 4th wall breaking writing, it was really fun.

Venomous birds, snail facts, and crossbows — what else could you want?

Thank you again for a delightful read that had a lot of interesting facts!

This book was a delight to listen to. Tony Chiroldes read it well, doing an excellent job conveying the author's enthusiasm for the topic. This would be a great read for children as well as adults.

Thanks to Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing for the audio arc of this title.

A mostly interesting book about how different species have evolved to protect themselves, emphasizing those most deadly. If you bite something and it kills you, it is poisonous; if something bites you and kills you, it is venomous. Mushrooms may be poisonous; snakes may be venomous. This is the most salient information I retained from this audiobook, other than the fact that writers are more entertaining than biologists when presenting non-fiction information. This author tells a lot of "dad jokes" that made my eyes roll.
My thanks to the author, @BrilliancePublishing, @BrillianceAudio, and #NetGalley for an advance copy of #StrangeSurvivors for review purposes. The book will be published Dec. 10, 2024.

As a huge fan of animal books, I was already familiar with the author. In the introduction, Pagán explains how he hopes to sound like someone discussing fascinating details over coffee. Well, he succeeds. The audiobook narration by Tony Chiroldes only helps, since he sounds exactly like your favorite professor. He also nails the sense of humor, and the fascination that the author clearly feels for Mother Nature. The language is clear and approachable and combines science with some anecdotal information to give a complete and rounded view of how evolution has given animals weapons to defend themselves. I read a lot about animals so sometimes other books include much information that I already knew. This is not the case here, every chapter taught me something new. The love and dedication that the author has for his subjects is clear throughout the book, and the way he gushes over Darwin was endearing. Entertaining and informative.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Brilliance Audio.