Trapped

Star Wars: Rebel Force #5

by Alex Wheeler

All new stories featuring classic Star Wars characters

Old secrets make new trouble for our heroes as they try to track down their latest enemy.

Book Details: Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1/1/2010 Pages: 176 Reading Level: Age 8 and Up

Genres: Star Wars, Science Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Juvenile, Space, Adventure

176 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Graff Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Wars: Legends: Rebel Force 05 Trapped by Alex Wheeler (Robin Wasserman)

challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense

Fast-paced

Plot or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75 Stars

This is series is doing a very good job of referencing things from the movies...and incorporating the storylines from the novels into one narrative.

This is a Extended Universe / Legends story, but even still...it is fun to see these characters come in contact with Luke, Han, Princess Leia and even Darth Vader, and these interactions are fairly true to the original character's motivations.

X-7 is a fairly evil character. At first you think of him as being a "mustache twirling villain", but as the story progressed...you saw depth of character. More complicated than at first glance.

Ferus Olin is also another character that is fighting his past. Is he doing enough? or is he a coward and one who is not putting himself out there...to train and protect those who may possibly be the ones that may change the tide of Evil, and save the Rebellion.

Lastly, I love the banter between the characters of Han and Luke. The wise and tainted smuggler, and the brash ignorant "moisture farmer" from Tatooine. Or Han and Leia, your "worshipfulness." Love it.

Okay, now I am going to pickup, Star Wars: Legends: Rebel Force 06 UprisingL

[Melenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable quick read

[Scott Rhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imperial assassin X-7 is beginning to have flashbacks of a life when he wasn’t an Imperial assassin, just a kid who had a family. He has been brain-washed to be an emotionless killing machine without a name or a past, and these new emotions are really messing with his programming.

Alex Wheeler’s fifth book in his Star Wars Rebel Force series, “Trapped”, is a little bit of Robert Ludlum’s “The Bourne Identity” and a bit of Robert Cormier’s “I Am the Cheese” set in the SWEU.

Ferus Olin, the Jedi who had committed himself to guarding Princess Leia, is back. He has taken Luke and Div to an undisclosed location, where he hopes to convince Div of a secret plan to root out X-7 and use the assassin for the Rebel Alliance.

Lots of emotional revelations in this one, as Ferus struggles with wanting to tell Luke and Leia who their father really is despite knowing that the knowledge could have dangerous repercussions for them. Meanwhile, Div is forced to deal with a past he wants to forget, and X-7 is forced to confront a past that he desperately wants to remember.

This is an excellent series, one that any Star Wars fan of any age will enjoy, despite its target demographic.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

X-7 begins to suffer flashbacks to a forgotten childhood, where an old betrayal weighs heavily on his conscience.

As the story progresses into its penultimate adventure, there is a sense of the plot tightening and focussing more closely on the relationships between the characters.

[Ash Mustard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this series

[Bailey Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.7) Starts out slow, but picks up the pace half-way through. It really goes deep into the struggle of the antagonist and I was really impressed by the end of the book. It was done extremely well.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rebel Force is a funny series. When it's about Luke, Han, and Leia having adventures, that's usually when it's at it's worst. I think the characters are well written, but the adventures and action are usually not.

But I think where the series shines is when it becomes the sequel to the Last of the Jedi. This book has the returning characters and tells us what happened to the others that hadn't returned. It's not exactly pleasant and I have to say, I really like that. They existed in a point in time where life would be miserable and they couldn't exactly get that perfect happy ending, and that's cool to see. I'm glad the characters aren't treated with reverence and allowed to have a more realistic outcome.

As for the characters, the main trio is the same as usual, and it's gotten pretty repetitive. You can't change them too much in this time period without contradicting Empire Strikes Back, so they're still pretty shallow. Assassin X-7 still isn't really to interesting. His main personality trait is a lack of one, but it was fun not knowing what he was going to decide on.

The best characters however are Div and Fess. They're foils to Luke and Obi Wan and I think that's a fantastic angle. Div, like Anakin, had too much pressure on him about his fate, and at too young an age, by Fess. It's just like what Obi Wan did to Anakin and did not repeat with Luke. Div also knew what the Jedi were really like and it's made him cynical. He's what Luke could've become. The relationship between him and Fess are the highlight and I enjoyed how they used their shared backstory to influence X-7.

Overall the parts of this book that were good were great. The parts that weren't (which there's more of) is pretty mediocre. Not as terrible as the last two books, this one is a solid 3 stars.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of the characters and different plot lines came together in this book and I loved seeing what would happen! The reader gets to discover more about certain characters which was very exciting I really liked the way Div and X-7's stories got intertwined and that Mr. Wheeler never told the reader if X-7 was Div's brother or not. It made it very real but also tragic. I'm such a sucker for this kind of story line!

The connection to the movies and other EU books was still great. The only issue I had was that Han mentioned knowing (gettin on the bad side!) a Chiss when he is listing off a group of aliens. Han shouldn't really know about the Chiss or have met any of them before though. In "Heir to the Empire" everyone doesn't know that much about Thrawn or where he came from if I remember correctly.

Other then that, I loved everything about "Trapped" and can't wait to read the last book!

[Ursula Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Emotional Homecoming for Some

This was an emotional chapter of this action packed series. X-7 begins to have an emotional breakdown and Lune Dividian must face his past. Luke, Han, Leia and the rebels must destroy an Imperial garrison. The fate of several characters who have appeared in other series (including Jedi Apprentice, Jedi Quest and Last of the Jedi) come to a conclusion. Emotional and heartbreaking, this book has several twists and turns that took things in a different direction. This was my favorite book of the series so far. Despite all that has been lost, hope still lives for more than one character. On to the final book in the series.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm of two minds about this one. I really liked how the Rebels dealt with X-7 - it was twisty and interesting and morally questionable. I also felt rather bad for him. But I also didn't like how much of this book was The Div and Ferus Show, given that Luke and co are supposed to be the stars of this series (it was the main selling point for me - and I imagine the main selling point for most readers).

[S.J. Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

An antagonist's story meets a fitting conclusion, and two old friends venture out into the galaxy once more.

I like how elements of various characters' pasts contribute to a bittersweet narrative about finding one's way back, even if one was never there to begin with...if that makes sense.

Wheeler manages to make me feel empathy for the baddies and goodies alike.

[Gary Varga · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Rebel Force action.

This book had a rather more serious feel. Think The Empire Strikes Back verses A New Hope.

As the penultimate chapter (book) in the series, things are concluding and being wrapped up. And it certainly felt that way.

I missed the fun that was exchanged for the more solemn aspects but I also enjoyed the darker side to the tale.

[Guillermo Valladolid · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was pretty entertaining and confusing sometimes but I got it at the end it was mostly about X-7 who was killed and the bad guys base was destroyed.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still a good series, even if Trapped wasn’t my favorite. A bit confusing and few too many diverging storylines.

Though, I am excited to see how Wheeler wraps this one up.

[Richard Denton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really am not liking how miserable the lives of the Last of the Jedi characters have become. Hopefully part 6 ends on a happier note.

[Jared · Rating 3 out of 5]

Star Wars Legends Project #233

Background: Trapped was written by Alex Wheeler and published in January of 2010. It is the fifth in the 6-book Rebel Force series, following Firefight (my review). Wheeler wrote the whole series and has no other Star Wars credits, though this is probably a pen name for another Star Wars author (see my review of book 2).

Trapped takes place a few weeks after the Battle of Yavin, picking up where book 4 left off. The main characters are Han, Luke, and Leia, along with Ferus Olin and Lune Divinian, plus the Imperial assassin X-7. The story takes place mostly on Belazura.

Summary: As X-7's repeated failure to kill Luke Skywalker and complete his mission cause his mental programming to fracture, he struggles to uncover an identity he thought he no longer cared about. Meanwhile, Ferus reunites with Lune, an old friend he thought was gone forever, and finds that spiritually he may indeed be lost. If they can resolve the trauma in their past, they may yet be able to play a vital role in keeping Luke Skywalker on his path to saving the galaxy.

Review: Book 5 of 6 and Wheeler finally decided to stop screwing around and do something with this story, tying in dramatic and emotional echos from the previous series. I can't decide if it's just too little too late, or too much too rushed. Probably a little of both.

Learning about what happened to Lune after we last saw at the end of Last of the Jedi, the tragedies he suffered, and the fates of other characters around him, is satisfying and gripping. His scenes with Ferus finally tie together some of the last threads that have been woven throughout nearly 50 books going back to the Jedi Apprentice series. I just wish it were in service of something better than this, and I don't understand why it was clumsily shoehorned in here instead of being the focus of the entire series.

Somehow it all ends up being about X-7 again, easily the least interesting character in this series and one of the all-time least interesting Star Wars villains. Even Rokur Gepta is more entertaining, albeit much much stupider. There are flashes of the beginning of something good here, and I think if this arc had begun in book 2 and ended here, instead of effectively beginning and ending in book 5, I might have a very different opinion. There are some things to like in this book, but in the end it just feels like a missed opportunity, and I'm not sure I understand where it's going from here.

C

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the things that has bugged me for much of the Expanded Universe is how much of the story revolves around Luke and the rest of the Skywalkers. We have an entire galaxy of different races, some of whom are sensitive to the Force, but somehow every important story revolves around this small handful of people. It winds up making that galaxy very small, and it bothers me.

In Trapped, X-7 begins to question his identity and his mission, and of course that ties in with the Skywalkers. Not only does Ferus Olin circle back into the story (whose first brush with the Skywalkers was when Anakin was still a Padawan), but now we find that a mysterious contact is actually Lune Divinian, who was a key player in The Last of the Jedi. So, we still have everyone orbiting the Skywalker sun, and man, does it get old.

The story is better than Firefight, since Wheeler doesn't try to cheat the story, but he's still not getting the characters right. These books are readable, but they don't add much to the larger story, even if you are one who's more interested in the Skywalker saga.

[Darryl Dobbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoilers, which is why this review is written for the Fifth book, encompassing the first five books.


This is an enjoyable series featuring Luke, Han, Chewie, Leia and the Droids. Luke is being hunted by the Empire out of revenge for destroying the Death Star (but first they have to find out who the pilot was). One of the Imperial leaders sends an assassin (X-7) to first dig up the identity of the pilot, and then to kill him. X-7 is a highly trained, emotionless assassin. This was a good read even before the re-introduction of Ferus. But when Ferus Olin joins the team (now 23 years older, so late 40s), I’m ecstatic.

When last we saw Ferus, he was sent to Alderaan to watch over Leia. It turned out that he was forced to join the council and grow fat while fitting in as a greedy politician and adviser. She grew up not respecting him and never did find out his true identity.

It took several books for X-7’s true identity and evil intentions to be revealed, and he escapes without completing his mission (he escaped both the Rebels and his Imperial master). He hired a group of mercenaries to take Luke down, but the best mercenary is a Force-sensitive in his early 30s named Div. It turns out that Div is Lune Divinian – the Force-sensitive child who was shot off the asteroid before it was destroyed (along with several Jedi) 20 years earlier.

Just a great set of books and a must-read for anyone following key plotpoints of the SW series. It’s also an easy read – each book is less than 200 pages.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find these books although short, a great read. I think they add a different dimension to Luke, Han, Leia and other EU characters. Here we see the heroic trio at the very start of the Rebellion. Luke figuring out the Force and himself as a Jedi, Leia trying to navigate through the feelings of her home being destroyed while still being the strong face of the Alliance. Han trying to figure out why he is still sticking around and what keeps drawing him back to the rebel's cause. All the while Ferius, who had left the Temple still being a Palawan comes back (Read Jedi Quest series and Last Jedi series before reading these books cause there are characters from those two series who show up in this series) and is hooked once more with Leia and introduced to Luke. I think they are thrilling reads,even though they are short.

[Miss Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is really just dealing with X-7, his identity crisis, and poking into Div's past as a force-sensitive child prodigy who had a bunch of Jedi die to save him and then his whole family was killed by the Empire, etc. The Rebels plant information that X-7 was really Div's half-brother Trever (and honestly we never know one way or the other if this was the case or not) and so Div has to pretend to be his brother and show him photos of the family and all.

The best moment in the book was when X-7 was dying and demands to know that they were really brothers. That he did matter to someone and despite having no desire to aid X-7, Div takes pity on him. One of the better moments in an often stale series.

[Jaime K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ferus is awesome in this and I like that Div is the one to help Luke while Ferus leads the investigation on X-7.

But this really was a throwback to Watson's series and while I overall enjoyed the characters (except X-7...see next bit) there wasn't much about the Big Three. This fell flat. As I read it went form 4 stars to 3 and as I write this I'm thinking it was a 2.5, though not low enough for a 2-star.

As for X-7, do we know if he's Trevor? It's up in the air. I like that it was actually a story concocted by Div & Ferus but just like the characters, I'm not certain if that story's actually false. If it is Trevor, then the series really just went downhill.

Additionally, Han mentions Chiss. Do they even know what Chiss are at this time? I'm so bloody confused.

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good story. This series has really picked up since it's beginning and I'm quite eager to see how it ends. I still have trouble believing that the rebels have stayed on Yavin 4 this long. It just doesn't seem like the rebels methods to stick to a base when the Empire knows where it's at.

There's only one book left in this series, but it will be a while before I get to it. I just got Tarkin from the library and timothy Zahn's Allegiance takes place before the 6th book. I expect Tarkin to be a nice break away from Yavin 4, not that this series takes place solely on that planet. They do not.

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was sort of dumb really. So they kidnapped Div, one of the people hired to kill Luke. The gang trusts him for some odd stupid reason. It is not like they should have after trusting X-7/Talon. It was just dumb that they would do that after what they went through. Of course the whole gang goes on another mission (really?) finding danger and betrayals from people.

Just blah.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

very dark. felt it was a little twisted for a kid's book....a couple of really good lines that I think fit with the classic series we all know and love. there was even times when I felt a snap of something that I didn't realize....

[Victor Orozco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. Luke and the rest make it a priority to stop the assassins that have tried to kill him early in this series. The enemy commander knows only of his own ambition and jealousy of Darth Vader who tells him to back off in his attempt to kill Luke, for obvious reasons. C+

[Amy Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lune Divinian, the piloted hired by X-7 to take out Luke, is kidnapped from Rebel custody, prompting Luke to chase after him. An encounter with an old ally, and a plot to lure in X-7.

Enjoyable fifth of the six book arc, a bit more psychological than the others.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slightly above average story in the series. Ferus Olin returns in this one, and the X-7 plot arc is resolved.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still pretty enjoyable. An average Star Wars story for kids.

[Youssef-charbel Akl · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book 's ending was a
little surprising and in the
middle of the story it was
very attractive

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was a little too heavy on new characters and not enough of big three.