Deathtrap

Publisher's Summary

The human soldiers stranded on the planet Paradise have been recruited into an alien legion to do the dirty jobs that the high-tech species won't do. Their first mission is to kick the enemy off a backwater planet no one cares about. It's a simple assignment, except everyone has a hidden agenda, and the planet could become a deathtrap.

©2019 Craig Alanson (P)2019 Blue Heron Audio

Jates may be as funny as Skippy!

I did say 'may be', Skippy is still the best. But, Jates does have some great lines, go Mavericks! Another great story.

14 of 14 people found this review helpful

Love this universe Mr.Alanson created

I am straight up addicted to the Expeditionary Force series. I've been hooked from the start.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

What a great spinoff!

Craig Alanson proves in this book that you don't necessarily have to have a shiny beer can to cause some really crazy "stuff" to happen to an unsuspecting universe at the hands of some really devious humans! I am so happy I bought this! With Craig Alanson writing and R.C. Bray narrating, what could possibly go wrong?

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

RC Bray... Good

there was so much more laughter in this book...
I don't like to write reviews but Skippy told me too..

so here you go... you shiny beer can...

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Excellent spinoff series

I was worried that this spinoff might suffer from not having Skippy around for comic relief. But it’s great. The plot moves rapidly and it’s even more engaging than many of the expeditionary force books. It probably helps if you’ve read the expeditionary force books, however, since there isn’t much character development in this book. It’s good if you know the characters involved.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Great new direction for the Ex. Force!

Having listened to all the Ex. Force books, this branch of the series is off to a great start. While I miss Skippy, Nert is provides some comic relief and the interaction between the different species is pretty entertaining. Nice twist at the end!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Great Book with a Great Narrator

I really recommend The Expeditionary Force and The Expeditionary Force Mavericks. The story flows well and R C Bray is excellent at creating realistic characters through voice inflection and a great understanding of how the characters fit into the plot.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Excellent Addition

Deathtrap is very much a perfect addition and compliment to the Expeditionary Force universe. The characters are in-depth and lovable from the start. You will see familiar faces, new ones, and an exploring of different cultures in the EF universe. I hope to see more from this series!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A phenomenal Adventure.

this entire Series has been a godsend. Witty and remarkable. Never failing to amuse and surprise.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Another Winner

I have become a fan of this writer and love the narrator. The combined story writer’s abilities and inflection of the narrative keep you interested and in anticipation mode. This continued story of the humans and the interactions with various aliens is a story of daring, imagination, stupidity and wonder! I recommend any lover of Dune, Star Trek, Star Wars or Firefly to start your new love of SF with his books. I support the Beer Can!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Alanson really stepped up

You might have thought the ExForce series was getting a little stale, but this book completely revives the universe Alanson has created. This book has a lot of original humour and interesting plot points which unveil a much broader, underlying story. This is accompanied by fresh views on existing characters from all species.

I would highly recommend continuing with this series as I can see this series expanding to more than just books, and it would be a shame to miss the full ride.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

The Mavericks Have The Stage!

The Mavericks, of course, evolved out of Alanson's most excellent 'Expeditionary Force" series and for the most part, have been considered by some to be something of a sideshow getting in the way of the main act in the form of Joe, Skippy and the Merry Band of Pirates. But you know, Alanson has created this wonderful universe with its own intriguingly mysterious history and populated it with an absolute panoply of weird and wonderful alien races. Their zany cultures, especially the Guraptha (I'm sure I've spelled that wrong) with their fabulous gambling habits, their politics, their sheer imperfections and their seemingly infinite variety mean there is more than enough space out there for the Mavericks and the Pirates to explore. It would be a real waste to only base one series in amongst all that lot.

It's also definitely a good move to split this series off into one in its own right. Understandably some were put off when the original series departed from the Joe and Skippy show to concentrate on the Mavericks so now people have a choice. Being me I choose both. The only cautionary note that I would sound is that if you are coming to all this fresh it would be much better to start with the Expeditionary Force series as you will miss so much of the background and some of the nuances of this might pass you by otherwise. And to be fair, if you don't like that series, you likely won't like this one either.

What you get with both is lots of action, lots of Alanson's trademark humour and of course bravura performances from the one and only RC Bray. I have written so many good things about that man and his narration in so many different reviews that I am almost dreaming of the day when he gives a bad performance so that I can slate him for it. In truth it remains but a dream because once again he is simply excellent.

Quite how Alanson manages to turn out books of this length quite so freqently and to this high standard is difficult to imagine. It is clear from his entertaining author's note at the end that he loves what he is doing and is prepared to put in the hard yards to be successful. All I can say is more power to his mighty writer's elbow!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Jates is the man (OK, lizard... Whatever)!

This book was, in a way, Craig's "do or die" for the series. People like ExForce because of the Asshole Supreme, 1st class, and there were more than a few complaints about a portion of the Book 6 of the ExForce being "Skippy-less". However...

Main characters from the "Mavericks" (Book 6 of ExForce main series) are all there, and some of them evolved into pure gold. The plot is great, believable and has just the right ratio of build-up vs. action. Deathtrap hits big, hits hard and, most importantly, hits funny! With all due respect to the beer can, but I think this was actually the funniest book Craig has ever written (and anyone who read ExForce books knows they are funny as well as engaging).

Don't miss out on this one just because there's no Skippy. Relax, buy, and trust the awesomeness - Craig's writing and R.C. Bray's narrating awesomeness!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Excellent spin-off

Yet another great offering from Craig Alanson, read as ever with clarity and precision by RC Bray.
Despite the lack of skippy this story had me entertained for two days. The Verdkriss Sergen Jates (spelled as I hear it and probably wrongly) brings the main comedy to this book which as with the rest of the ex force books had me laughing out loud more than once.
Highly recommended,
Keep up the good work Craig.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Epic!

A great side story, can’t wait for it to go further and hopefully fully cross over to the main series!

Best expeditionary best I’ve had.

Really liked it. Bored with Skippy and quite happy to have a story without him for a change.

Simply awsome

I can't get enough of this series. The action and humor are perfectly combined.
The only downside is that there isn't a new one every week....

a wonderful shake up for the ex force universe

after so long with Joe and Skippy, this is a brilliant change of scenery in the ex force universe

outstanding

once again Craig Alanson and RC bray knock it out of the park.

fantastic start to a new series which i truly believe will go from strength to strength.

100% recommended

Shock and awesome!

I have never applauded an audiobook before!
A fantastic story in the Skippyverse, it's quite possible that it is one of those rare occasions where the spin-off could be greater or at least as good as the original