Rating: 
Summary: It sparkles
Review: "Trapped" will likely ensnare you for a few happy hours. An Arthurian fantasy overlaid with wild speculations about the possibilities of nanotech, and with a cast of characters who are affiliated with what resembles a third-rate British boarding school, James Alan Gardner's book takes a look at a future in which 'old tech' no longer works (electricity is a museumpiece; lightbulbs are made by hand), and the Earth is under the supervision of the 'League of Peoples' and their enforcers 'The Spark Lords.'
The party--led by the narrator, Philemon--goes off on a quest to solve a murder mystery (as much out of boredom with their lives as any sense of duty), and runs into a buzz saw.Sometimes touching, often funny, and with sparkling prose, Mr. Gardner provides a surprise turn in just about every chapter--and you'll very likely keep turning the pages eagerly. A fine effort
Rating: 
Summary: A quest
Review: Continuing the series of books in the universe of the League of Peoples, "Trapped" centers on a group of friends living on a post-apocalyptic Earth, which is under the control of the temperamental Spark Lords. Phil and his fellow teachers at a third-rate private school find themselves involved in a quest to save one of their students from a powerful entity whose intentions are unknown, but it certainly can't be good, what with all the dead bodies in its wake. All is not what it seems with the Spark Lords, because they have knowledge of this entity but they won't share, but then, Phil and his friends aren't what they seem either. Gardner's vibrant style is here, but it comes out muted. And as the book progresses, the plot feels more and more contrived. I like how elements of sword-and-sorcery fantasy were blended with science fiction, and Gardner's sense of humor is always great, but overall "Trapped" isn't as great as his other books. Still worth reading, but just don't expect much.
Rating:
Summary: Better writing than previous novles, but with some flaws.
Review: I've read all of the League of People series by James Alan Gardner and I have to admit that this one is certainly the best written, clearest, and most detailed. I was most impressed by the fact that Mr. Gardner finally figured out that to emphasize something, he doesn't have to repeat it three three three times. Instead, the novel is full of excellent descriptions of a post-technology era, where horse-drawn carriages are pulled on 500 year old highways with giant potholes and the main way of communication is mail by land.
However, there are flaws in this novel. I think the primary flaw is the desperate need for tying this novel into the League of People plot. It would really make a better book to create a whole new universe explaining the agency to protect earth to be controlled by SOME extraterrestials, but not necessarily the League of People. Sure, the plot twists were great, however, throughout the whole book I felt they were unnecessary. Also, on a personal note, I would've preferred much more (or even some) space travel, but between the aliens and the magic, I can't complain too much.
I don't want to spoil too much for the reader, but the basic premise for the story is a quest that the characters take in order to save a highly powerful psychic able to perform tasks from telekinesis to mind-reading. They embark on a journey: a fighter, a cleric, a mage, a thief, and a rich guy. Sounds a bit too much like a Dungeons and Dragons campaign? Maybe. But the result is worth reading. The technology Mr. Gardner puts in the novel mixes very well with the late Middle Ages feel of the everyday life of the characters. The aliens, as always, are very well-developed, with their quirks and features barely or not at all understood by humans. There is suspense and mystery and a great cosmic puzzle to be solved. Fans of Mr. Gardner will be delighted, and those new to his writing, since the novel is very detached from the others, will become addicted.
Rating:
Summary: Better writing than previous novles, but with some flaws.
Review: I've read all of the League of People series by James Alan Gardner and I have to admit that this one is certainly the best written, clearest, and most detailed. I was most impressed by the fact that Mr. Gardner finally figured out that to emphasize something, he doesn't have to repeat it three three three times. Instead, the novel is full of excellent descriptions of a post-technology era, where horse-drawn carriages are pulled on 500 year old highways with giant potholes and the main way of communication is mail by land.
However, there are flaws in this novel. I think the primary flaw is the desperate need for tying this novel into the League of People plot. It would really make a better book to create a whole new universe explaining the agency to protect earth to be controlled by SOME extraterrestials, but not necessarily the League of People. Sure, the plot twists were great, however, throughout the whole book I felt they were unnecessary. Also, on a personal note, I would've preferred much more (or even some) space travel, but between the aliens and the magic, I can't complain too much.
I don't want to spoil too much for the reader, but the basic premise for the story is a quest that the characters take in order to save a highly powerful psychic able to perform tasks from telekinesis to mind-reading. They embark on a journey: a fighter, a cleric, a mage, a thief, and a rich guy. Sounds a bit too much like a Dungeons and Dragons campaign? Maybe. But the result is worth reading. The technology Mr. Gardner puts in the novel mixes very well with the late Middle Ages feel of the everyday life of the characters. The aliens, as always, are very well-developed, with their quirks and features barely or not at all understood by humans. There is suspense and mystery and a great cosmic puzzle to be solved. Fans of Mr. Gardner will be delighted, and those new to his writing, since the novel is very detached from the others, will become addicted.
Rating: 
Summary: witty, cutting-edge science fiction adventure
Review: Imagine a world without computers, cars, airplanes or manufacturing. This is not a place in Earth's past but in its future. Four centuries ago, civilization collapsed forcing the League of Peoples to send in the Spark lords, a policing agency of the League to make sure the planet is salvageable. People use horses and sails as the main means of transportation and for light, kerosene lamps are used. When the Spark Lords arrived, they used genetic engineering to make one person in every thousand psionic. Phil Abu Dhubhai, a teacher at Feliss University learns from his psychic friend that he and four others are going on a quest. An alien who can assume any disguise has made off with Sebastian the most powerful psionic student the world has ever known. Phil and company must stop the evil alien from letting loose an evil entity upon the earth with Sebastian's mind fogged up. TRAPPED is a witty, cutting-edge science fiction adventure novel satirizing "Arthurian" novels. This novel could have easily have taken place in the middle ages as in the year 2457. The high tech touches that are interspersed through the story line are used to remind readers that earth has reverted to pre-industrial revolution times although the inhabitants know what they have lost and don't seem to miss it. James Alan Gardner is a talent who comes along very rarely. This reviewer is going to find and read his backlist. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: witty, cutting-edge science fiction adventure
Review: Imagine a world without computers, cars, airplanes or manufacturing. This is not a place in Earth's past but in its future. Four centuries ago, civilization collapsed forcing the League of Peoples to send in the Spark lords, a policing agency of the League to make sure the planet is salvageable. People use horses and sails as the main means of transportation and for light, kerosene lamps are used. When the Spark Lords arrived, they used genetic engineering to make one person in every thousand psionic. Phil Abu Dhubhai, a teacher at Feliss University learns from his psychic friend that he and four others are going on a quest. An alien who can assume any disguise has made off with Sebastian the most powerful psionic student the world has ever known. Phil and company must stop the evil alien from letting loose an evil entity upon the earth with Sebastian's mind fogged up. TRAPPED is a witty, cutting-edge science fiction adventure novel satirizing "Arthurian" novels. This novel could have easily have taken place in the middle ages as in the year 2457. The high tech touches that are interspersed through the story line are used to remind readers that earth has reverted to pre-industrial revolution times although the inhabitants know what they have lost and don't seem to miss it. James Alan Gardner is a talent who comes along very rarely. This reviewer is going to find and read his backlist. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Not My Father's SF
Review: James Alan Gardener has become one of my favorite Fantasy authors. Engaging characters, cool aliens, interesting situations, and knowing plots kept me 100% into this one. Though there are no explorers in this one, there is a lot of fun in this book.
Rating:
Summary: School Teachers Save the World...
Review: James Gardner's stories postulate a universe in which humans are far, far behind the technological levels of the other alien species of the darn near omnipotent League of Peoples. For the first time in his universe, he takes us to Earth where, for unexplained reasons, humanity mostly has reverted to an early-1800's level of technology. Except that nanotechnology has made sorcery and psionics possible, and there are something called Spark Lords who have technology that is very nearly magic. And it turns out there are other aliens who are fighting battles on Earth. And one race of these aliens is Truly Evil; homicidal, ..., shape-shifting and disgusting. And let me caution you that Gardner apparently doesn't like cottage cheese, and you probably won't, either, after your read this book. The plot involves a handful of private school teachers who stumble into this morass when one of their students dies messily at the hand of the bad guy or guys. Naturally, most of them die in the course of the novel; naturally, the survivors save the day. Gardner has been rightly accused of indulging in silly science, and that tendency is full flower in "Trapped." As an enjoyable yarn, this story, like many of Gardner's books, is okay. But if you bring any critical thinking to the plot or the characters, the whole thing falls apart like a soggy tissue. A galaxy-spanning, transcendent hive mind that enjoys ...? Humans, aware of technology, who are stuck in a horse-and-buggy culture? Shape-shifting cellule organisms? There are also massive inconsistencies with the earlier books. Readers of Gardner's earlier novels know the League of Peoples has some pretty strong ideas about homicide; if, as Harriet Klausner has suggested in an earlier review, the Spark Lords are from another world, they sure better not ever try to leave Earth. . . Despite the silly science and the plot holes, this is a pleasant read. But buy the paperback, not the hardback, and keep your expectations - and your incredulity - firmly in check.
Rating:
Summary: The Fishy Quest
Review: Trapped is another novel set in the League of Peoples universe. Although an Explorer is a minor character, this novel is unrelated to the other Explorer stories. This story takes place on an Earth that has been embargoed by the League and seeded with nanotech to emulate magic and psionics. Some people are endowed with telepathy, telekinesis, precognosis, envoking fire, and other powers, but most only have a single talent. The most powerful of these talented people are the Spark Lords. The novel tells of a quest to find the murderer of Rosalind, a student at Feliss Academy. Her killer is a Lucifer, a unit of a hive mind species, who can shapechange and has impersonated Rosalind so as to elope with her lover, Sebastian Shores, who is himself a multi-talented sorcerer. Philemon Abu Dhubhai and his friends are teachers at FA, a somewhat elite finishing school for those with a touch of sorcerous talent, and all are feeling a bit underachieved. The quest gives them a reason to go out and fulfill themselves. Along the way they are joined by Phil's lover and friend, Gretchen Kinnderboom, who fancies herself as a sorceress. The FA group aren't the only people interested in the murder; Dreamsinger, a Sorcery-Lord of Spark, is also investigating a strange occurence and joins the group for a while. Elizabeth Tzekich, head of the Ring of Knives criminal gang and mother of the murdered girl, is discovered to be in the vicinity and, upon being notified of the death, is most eager to follow the murderer. Phil and his friends discover that the Lucifer has already killed another Spark Lord and apparently has a different nature than other Lucifers. As they follow Dreamsinger and the Tzekich party, they discover death, deception and, possibly, deliverance. This story takes some suspension of disbelief, since it is basically a fantasy with a scientific premise. Like other crossover stories, it has to do some fancy smoke blowing to establish the groundrules, but it succeeds fairly well in bypassing the critical faculties and engaging the sense of wonder. Like his previous works, the novel displays Gardner's innovation and characterization within a fairly plebian plot. It isn't War and Peace, but it is interesting. I enjoyed it and the previous Gardner novels.
Rating:
Summary: The Fishy Quest
Review: Trapped is another novel set in the League of Peoples universe. Although an Explorer is a minor character, this novel is unrelated to the other Explorer stories. This story takes place on an Earth that has been embargoed by the League and seeded with nanotech to emulate magic and psionics. Some people are endowed with telepathy, telekinesis, precognosis, envoking fire, and other powers, but most only have a single talent. The most powerful of these talented people are the Spark Lords. The novel tells of a quest to find the murderer of Rosalind, a student at Feliss Academy. Her killer is a Lucifer, a unit of a hive mind species, who can shapechange and has impersonated Rosalind so as to elope with her lover, Sebastian Shores, who is himself a multi-talented sorcerer. Philemon Abu Dhubhai and his friends are teachers at FA, a somewhat elite finishing school for those with a touch of sorcerous talent, and all are feeling a bit underachieved. The quest gives them a reason to go out and fulfill themselves. Along the way they are joined by Phil's lover and friend, Gretchen Kinnderboom, who fancies herself as a sorceress. The FA group aren't the only people interested in the murder; Dreamsinger, a Sorcery-Lord of Spark, is also investigating a strange occurence and joins the group for a while. Elizabeth Tzekich, head of the Ring of Knives criminal gang and mother of the murdered girl, is discovered to be in the vicinity and, upon being notified of the death, is most eager to follow the murderer. Phil and his friends discover that the Lucifer has already killed another Spark Lord and apparently has a different nature than other Lucifers. As they follow Dreamsinger and the Tzekich party, they discover death, deception and, possibly, deliverance. This story takes some suspension of disbelief, since it is basically a fantasy with a scientific premise. Like other crossover stories, it has to do some fancy smoke blowing to establish the groundrules, but it succeeds fairly well in bypassing the critical faculties and engaging the sense of wonder. Like his previous works, the novel displays Gardner's innovation and characterization within a fairly plebian plot. It isn't War and Peace, but it is interesting. I enjoyed it and the previous Gardner novels.
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