Space Trap

by Juanita Coulson

Planet NE 592 wasn't due for Secondary Survey for another ten years. So why, Ken wondered, were they heading there now? Then on his screen he saw the disembodied face of a girl with jewel-like skin and felt, rather that heard, her plea: "Go Back." But they couldn't go back. Against their will, they were drawn into a crash landing on NE 592. They were trapped - with no means of escape. And NE 592 was not the uninhabited planet they had been led to believe it was!

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

191 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1976

About the author

Juanita Ruth Coulson (née Wellons) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer most well known for her Children of the Stars books, published from 1981 to 1989. (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juanita...)

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is just something Endeavor press (and its imprints) does, finds random old/older books, slaps a new cover on them and releases them in eform. Whether they deserve a second go around or not. The results are never above and often below average, but as far as mild entertainment goes, it usually does the trick. Space Trap originally published in 1976 and certainly reads it as in kinda silly. Essentially this book was meant to be (and it was at the time) one of those cute tiny paperbacks with ridiculous cheesy covers and equally cheese descriptions, promising adventure and romance among the stars and Venture press tried to revamp it into something resembling a serious scifi about first contact. Which, of course, is misadvertising at best. Sure, there's first contact as two space surveymen crash land onto a planet with telepathic teleporting natives who aren't too friendly save for the convenient and adorable local version of Sacagawea. But the story is much too lite to be taken seriously, in fact that's what it is, scifi lite, so if you're into that sort of thing, this is for you. Personally, cute isn't a descriptor I'm after in science fiction, so this was just a kinda sort barely fun diversion. The last 5th of this already slender volume is a preview, so this turned out to be a very quick read if not a particularly stimulating one.

[Jon Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as a scanned paperback copy on the Internet Archive. Ahhhh... time to jump in the WABAC machine and set the controls for 1976, the year this entry in the Laser Books series was published. So what have we got here? The book is set in some unspecified future year when mankind has become an interstellar species. Many planets have been colonized, and the search is on to identify new habitable worlds. The stalwart men of the Galactic Survey lead the way. We meet two of the hardy Surveymen as they set out on a new mission. One is a grizzled veteran, the other is his still-wet-behind-the-ears apprentice. Their mission begins in secrecy as the senior surveyman sets course for a planet outside their jurisdiction. As they approach, the apprentice has a telepathic encounter with a beautiful, exotic alien female. She attempts to warn off the Earth ship, but in the next instant the ship is siezed by a gravity field that brings it crashing down on the planet. The surveymen barely survive the landing, only to be captured by a group of telepathic aliens called the M'Nae who are attempting to set up a colony. It turns out there is also an illegal Earth colony on the planet, established by a renegade Surveyman. War is about to break out between the two groups. Can the surveymen act as emissaries between the groups and prevent an interstellar war? Like most of the Laser Books, the writing is pretty dated and the plot simplistic, but it's a quick read at 180 pages and not entirely unenjoyable. Three out of five stars.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Juanita Coulson has been involved with both science fiction writing and fandom for decades. She had been fan guest of honor at a Worldcon a few years before she wrote this book. It was not one of her best works, but it was a fun space adventure.
On a mysterious detour from their supposed trip plan, an exploration vessel finds itself drawn down into a crash landing on a supposedly uninhabited planet. The problem is that it also shouldn't have had the hazard which caused the crash. The resulting discovery of odd technology and not one but TWO unknown colonies on the planet leads to a very odd story.
I had trouble with the actions and apparent reasoning of the members of both colonies, which were clearly set at odds by the author, but the overall story reminded me of the kind of science fiction that would have appeared in older SF magazines. That matches the other Laser books that I've read.
The small bit of Kelly Freas artwork on the cover was nice, especially since it includes a good portrait of one of the characters from the story.

[James Dick · Rating 1 out of 5]

A misogynistic colonizer's wet dream. This novel is a throwback to the very worst stories produced in science fiction, and I'm shocked and appalled that a woman--let alone the authoress of the endlessly inventive and fiercely intelligent Unto the Last Generation--could pen it.

[SciFiOne · Rating 4 out of 5]

1985 grade B-

[Venture Press · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is published by Venture Press.

[Jess Thomason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good sci fi book!

[Hattas Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oddychová scifi s telepatmi.