Trapped

When I started reading The Prometheus Project: Trapped by Douglas E. Richards, I was brought back to a world of childhood reading, where I would go to the children’s section of my local library, find a book with an interesting cover, or by an author I liked or had heard about, check it out, read it, and then return it.

Most of these books had protagonists that were a similar age as I was when I read them. Sometimes, there were siblings, so the book would appeal to boys and girls alike. Nevertheless, the language was understandable to a young reader, and the story itself was not too challenging.

Trapped is one such similar book, and were it published when I was a child, I would have most likely read it then. However, this book was show more written much later than the ones on which I was raised, and it features a world in which the amazing technological advances, the likes of which you may have seen in Tom Swift, have actually come true, forcing the author of contemporary children’s fiction, speculative fiction moreso, to push the envelope on amazing, new, nonexistent technologies.

In Trapped, our duo of protagonists, Ryan and Regan Resnick, discover that their parents are scientists working on a Top Secret project. This project, they discover, is the investigation of an alien city placed several miles underground. The city is larger on the inside than on the outside, and has several other strange features about it. But when the group of scientists is suddenly attacked by ferocious-looking alien insects, Ryan and Regan escape, only to learn about some of the stranger features of the city.

When I first started reading this book, it took me a few chapters to adapt to a writing style I haven’t seen in at least a decade, if not longer; but once I adapted, I breezed right through. In the end, it was readable and enjoyable.

I recommend Richards’ book to any young reader who likes science fiction, or an older reader who likes books targeted towards a younger audience. show less

Note: This review features mild plot spoilers - read at your own risk.

This is the start of a young adult science fiction series that in many way harkens back to the classic Tom Swift novels and similar young adult tales of scientific derring-do by teenage protagonists. Ryan and Regan Resnick are siblings who discover that their parents are scientists working on a secret government project to explore an alien city filled with advanced technology that has been discovered deep underground. The children prove their worth to the team, saving the adults from several mishaps and creatively discovering several of the city's secrets on their own.

Characterization is thin at best, but in some ways that's typical of this subgenre. The plot is show more simple and the reading easy. The puzzles are unraveled realistically using logic and reason, and a young adult might even pick up a bit of scientific knowledge along the way (painlessly, I might add), so that's very well done.

Having said that, as an adult, the book was a little bland for me, and I suspect that children (I hesitate to suggest an age range, knowing nothing about the little beasts myself) would enjoy it more than I did. The premise has real promise and I look forward to seeing where the author takes us from here. Recommended for young adults interested in science fiction.

Review copyright 2010 J. Andrew Byers show less

While I may be a little old for this book, I did find it enjoyable. It's definitely geared towards middle schoolers, but still remained interesting, mostly through the setting that the kids stumble upon. The sci-fi aspects of the story were creative and very strong. It's a relatively standard story in the beginning, two kids who are bored in a new podunk town are looking for something to do and stumble upon ore than they expected. A few parts called on me to stretch my ability to suspend my belief, mostly through the characters and their interactions with one another, but I doubt that young readers would have a problem with it and it didn't retract from the story. Definitely a good book for its target audience and still enjoyable for show more someone older. show less

In this, the first book of the "Prometheus Project" series, we get to meet two extraordinary children who epitomize the kind of kid every adult wanted to be, and every kid I know is still trying to be. Brother and sister duo Ryan and Regan Resnick are bright, humorous, adventurous and brave. When their parents abruptly move them from everyone and everything they've ever know in San Diego, California to the remote, quiet and unbearably boring town of Brewster, Pennsylvania, Ryan and Regan think their lives can't get much worse. That is until they accidentally overhear a strange conversation between their parents that sets off a most remarkable chain of events; events that change not only all their lives but the fate and lives of the rest show more of humanity as well. Swept up in an increasingly strange mystery where every answer only seems to pose dozens of new questions, the kids must use their quick wits and teamwork to survive the dangerous alien environment in which they find themselves "Trapped". show less

Douglas E RIchards has written an exciting science fiction novel for upper-grade school and middle school kids. It's filled with clues for solving, interesting science trivia and adventure to imagine. It's nice to see a book that is not specifically aimed at boys or girls but will be interesting to both., Also nice to read a book where young people get to have a good adventure even though their parents are not dead or evil. Now that I have finished it, I'm going to give it to my kid's school library so more kids can get involved in the story. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment.

A wonderful children's novel about two intelligent, adventurous kids who have to explore a secret underground alien city in order to save their mother. Perfect novel that elementary to middle school kids won't be able to put down and will make them want to read more.

“The Prometheus Project: Trapped” by Douglas E. Richards is geared toward middle graders. Obviously, at 32, I’m a little outside that age group, but as a mom of two I think that I can ‘read like a child’ (if that makes sense).

In “Trapped” Ryan and Regan Resnick are forced by their parents to move to Brewster, PA, ‘the middle of nowhere’ according to the children. After 6 weeks of boredom the kids are ready for adventure and boy do they find it! I don’t want to give away too much, but these kids get into (and cleverly out of) some trouble. The great thing (in my opinion) is the science back in science fiction.

You can read the rest of this review and all my other reviews at:
http://kylee-p.blogspot.com
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