Actual Rating 3.5

Toby is a human sending his consciousness on a crucial yet standard mission - he has to inhabit his clone on a far off spaceship long enough to repair it before returning his consciousness to Earth. But instead he wakes up in a prison, and finds himself among alien consciousnesses who are also trapped. How were they all captured, and will escape be possible before they're separated from their bodies forever?

This short science fiction read was surprisingly enjoyable. With it being so short, we jump straight into the action and there's very little time spent on fleshing out things. It did take a minute to become situated with what was going on with how it starts, but thankfully the author didn't get bogged down in technical details.

However, the characters were decently written and engaging, and the worldbuilding included was strong enough to support the plot and make for an interesting setting. I would have loved for the aliens to be less human-like, as this would have added more to the spacey-feel of the work. Some of the protagonist's logic/reasoning was really straightforward to the point of feeling too simplistic, but this was a short story, so I imagine the author was trying to keep things to a minimum.

If you're looking for a light sci-fi short story that's an easy read and pretty enjoyable, then this one is worth checking out. My thanks to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first time I’m reading something from Timothy Zahn, but I decided to give this short story a try and I really enjoyed this short read that I listened to during a short morning walk. The story involves an engineer, Toby, getting stuck in an interstellar ramp while astral projecting across the galaxy as a way to extend their reach beyond Earth. There, he meets with a group of bird like species from across the galaxy who are also trapped and have to work together to escape. The science was for the most part understandable, but some of it did fly over my head, but I got the basic version enough to understand what was going on. There was plenty of creativity to solve the problems presented. Toby was a likable character, and I enjoyed the bird creatures, as well as the beings that trapped them there. Overall, the story displays how humanity is capable of good in the universe through cultural exchange and can help other species. The ending was fitting, but took me a bit to somewhat understand. Highly recommend.

I'm sorry to say this oen didn't grip and I couldn't tell you what it was all about, apart from body travelling and transferring consciences. Might be just me, so feel free to pick it up and check for your self, esp if you're a big sci-fi fan.

Narrated by Greg D. Barnett
Presented by Brilliance Publishing

This was too short!

I rather enjoyed this, actually! I liked all of the aliens immediately, and the setting was great.

I actually had no idea this was a short story (sometimes I don't pay attention to those details when I request things on NetGalley) so when it ended I was waiting for it to move on to the next part of the story! There was definitely enough here to build a series out of.

The narration was brilliant, differentiating all the characters, enunciating clearly and keeping the pace nice and even. A very enjoyable listen.

An excellent short story, and as my first experience of Zahn it certainly whet the appetite!

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

This was a fun read! I've yet to read a Zahn story that I didn't enjoy, and this did not disappoint. The technology mentioned was interesting, the puzzle solving was fun, the narrator's voice and narration style matched the book, and I enjoyed the way he tied all the ends together to create a satisfying conclusion. My one complaint is that it's so short that I felt like I didn't really have time to truly get to know the characters, but I knew this would be a short story going in.

Mr. Zahn, if you're reading this, can you make this idea into a full-length novel? You'd have at least one happy reader.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Whether he’s playing in the Star Wars universe or creating completely original works like Trap Line, Timothy Zahn just knows how to weave a story and pull readers in. That being said, Trap Line does suffer from the one issue that often occurs to me when I read short stories. I want more. This story begs to be expanded into a full novel or series. Taking place in a world where Earth has created a way to travel the stars by sending their consciousness across the vast reaches of space and into replicants is in itself fascinating. But this short story barely touches on the possibilities of what could be. Instead this short story focuses on, Toby (one of Earth’s explores), who has his consciousness caught in a trap while his consciousness is traveling to his current mission. Stuck with other aliens, he must find a way to escape. This story actually kind of felt like an episode of The Twilightzone. But as I said, I really wanted to know more. More about Earth’s use of this technology, more about the aliens Toby encounters and the war they are in the middle of, and even more about the family that runs the ‘jail’ Toby found himself trapped in. Greg D. Barnett does an excellent job narrating this short story (barely longer than an hour) and can be easily enjoyed in a single sitting. It’s a highly enjoyable tale that will leave you wanting more. I’d like to thank Brilliance Publishing | Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review an audio ARC of Trap Line.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R35T6XJGFS80LR/ref=pe_123899240_1043597390_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Trap Line is a short sci fi story about an engineer who is astral projecting when he encounters a new race of aliens and becomes stuck with them.

Trap Line might be better enjoyed by people looking for very niche science fiction. I read my fair share of sci fi but I struggle a bit when it is not accessible and easy to follow so I wouldn’t recommend if you’re dabbling in the genre. I also prefer character driven fiction and this had almost no exploration of the main character. The author is clearly very inventive and I think the overall concept is clever and imaginative.

As humanity is expanding with a technology that allows one to project their consciousness into a clone somewhere else in the galaxy, Tobey's consciousness gets caught in a trap and he has to find a way to escape with the other "astrals" stuck with him.
As a big Star Wars fan (especially of the books) I am familiar with Timothy Zahn's work and love what he can do. It was fun to see this world for a little bit. It felt like getting to play around with a sci-fi idea and have fun.
For me, it was a perfect science fiction listen. I work outside and listen to audiobooks often hiking the trails at the park where I work, coming in at around an hour it, was like listening to a Twilight Zone of black mirror episode (though one with a happy ending). While I love long epic stories, sometimes it's fun to just have a classic ridiculous space adventure with a plucky human saving the day.

Trap Line is a short story by American author Timothy Zahn. The audio version is narrated by Greg D. Barnett. Engineer Toby Collier is sending his astral to meld with a replicate on the Pathmaker on Ganymede to diagnose a transmitter problem and effect a repair: fairly routine. But something goes amiss and his astral is caught in a trap room with ten bird-like aliens he soon learns are Hyfisks.

The trap facility is run by a family of insectoid beings: father, mother and daughter, whose pet ursk (resembling a cat/iguana) can see and hear captured aliens and alerts them to new arrivals. Escape is prevented by the deep chasm that surrounds the captives. With no prospect of rescue, Toby decides to find a way out before his earth-based team remove his body’s life support.

In making an escape plan with the Hyfisks that involves riding the cat/iguana and improvising precision tools, Toby discovers a problem that challenges the insectoid family. Can he formulate a win-win-win solution? A very enjoyable sci-fi take on astral travel.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories/ Brilliance Publishing.

While his conscious travels through space, Toby gets snagged in an alien trap line. Can he work with the other trapped alien spectors to free them all? This is a low stakes, well paced short story with a lizard cat, and if you're expecting anything more you may be disappointed. You'll certainly need to suspend any disbelief in the science (it's quite lucky that all the aliens speak the same language and come from similar societies, and don't try to understand the physics), but as a fun, quick read I thought it was enjoyable. I've never read anything by the author before and would certainly try something else as he writes in a very clear and accessible way.

Thank you to Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Timothy Zahn es un escritor conocido principalmente por sus aportaciones al universo Star Wars y otras novelizaciones de diversos mundos cinematográficos, pero también tiene producción “propia”, por llamarla de alguna manera.


Trap Line es una novela corta con mucho aire a ciencia ficción clásica, desde un protagonista caracterizado por ser ingeniero a un buenismo que nos retrotrae a la edad dorada del género. Pero Zahn sabe que el público actual no está dispuesto a aguantar soflamas científicas, así que simplifica hasta el extremo la parte más tecnológica del primer contacto, de una forma tan radical que parece que estemos ante una novela de fantasía en vez de ciencia ficción. Al menos hay aliens y nos ofrece una historia de primer contacto simplificada y agradable, pero que pasa sin pena ni gloria, quizá por esa falta de complicación. Es posible que la longitud de la obra tampoco ofreciera al autor más oportunidades de explayarse.

Los aliens son demasiado humanos, no hay problemas de comunicación, todos parecen entenderse en el mismo marco de referencia a pesar de ser especies que nunca antes habían entrado en contacto… Es un poco frustrante si lo que buscas es algo de ciencia ficción no digo ya desafiante, sino algo verosímil.

El audiolibro lo narra Greg D. Barnett, que lleva a cabo un trabajo correcto, aunque quizá demasiado frío. El material de partida invitaba a la exaltación de las buenas relaciones para instaurar buenos comienzos, pero ese entusiasmo no se ve reflejado en su tono o en su locución.

Creo que Trap Line pasará desapercibida dentro del maremágnum de novedades editoriales que inundan nuestras librerías.

'Trap Line' is a short sci-fi story by the master of the genre Timothy Zahn.

The story is entertaining and keeps things thrilling till the very last twist. It is also well paced, considering that this is just a short story.

In addition, the narrator did a good job with the audiobook.

I've been listening to a lot of Amazon / Audible Originals lately. I like the format of short story / novella and that Audible has many of them for free. This one I got through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Does it count as a review if I just list the things that annoyed me? Here they are:
1) The narrator. He breathes in at the end of each sentence. Audibly. The pacing of each sentence is off - very fast and staccato words, followed by a too long pause.
2) The aliens. They are exactly like humans. There is an 'iguana cat' which is just a cat, with the word iguana in front of the name. He is a pet cat. He chases toy mice. The aliens worry about money. Yes, Timothy Zahn had a chance to create a different world, and instead he presumed that capitalism and war are the things that motivate people.
3) Similar to point 2 - the sexism and genders. The father does the science, the mother is (literally) in the kitchen doing the worrying.
4) The idea that humans could work out who the 'good guys' and 'bad guys' are in an alien war is absurd, and goes again to the point that the aliens in this story are exactly like us.
5) The ending. I can't complain about this without spoilers, but it was very unsatisfying.

If ever there was an opposite of hard sci fi, this would be it. Unfortunately, not in a good way. I felt like I was listening to an 8th grade English assignment to write a story with an uplifting message. Everything is oversimplified, the worldbuilding is illogical, and once again we have a great white savior plot (or in this case, the great human savior) that provides the tired message that humanity is superior to aliens due to some inherent creativity or though creation process. Don't let the ponderously heavy messages hit you on your way out.

Story: Toby is an astronaut whose job it is to transfer his astral form into a clone in a far off location of space where it would be unsafe otherwise for humans. But something goes wrong on a routine mission and he finds his astral form captured by an alien family just trying to make ends meet by capturing other aliens. There he meets another race of bird-like creatures similarly trapped. Turns out they astral project into machines the way he projects into biology - could they work together to get out of the prison without hurting the alien family whose income is provided by capturing aliens for the evil Overmasters to study?

First, this is a short story and goes very fast. So there is no lengthy set up - just Toby getting captured immediately. Then, because he is a chipper, friendly, and optimistic kind of guy, he talks to the bird aliens and refuses to give up trying to escape (they already gave up). We get POVs from the alien family father and little daughter as well as the bird-like aliens who all talk like nuclear 50s family type of humans. Of course, the alien family is worried they aren't capturing enough astral souls and so money is tight and they might have to move (and disappoint his little daughter and her pet 'cat'). It's a Norman Rockwell painting in space and is ridiculous.

Honestly, the whole thing was ludicrous. The bird aliens understand EVERYTHING about the situation despite never having seen the family aliens before, everyone trusts the other, out hero wants to help out the family aliens despite them imprisoning/killing every creature they capture, and the deus ex machina of abilities for this astral projection is stupefying. Basically, we have aliens who are human but with a costume.

The narrator did a fine job with what he had. Such as it was. The ending was silly and pat. Reviewed from an advance audio copy provided by the publisher.

3/5 ⭐️

It’s fine, admittedly I’m not a huge fan of Novellas and short stories not connected to long series because it doesn’t give me the time to become attached to anything. That said, the plot is surprisingly interesting and I never imagined an iguana cat before now.

Trap Line: A Short Story by Timothy Zahn is a great cozy fantasy. Toby, an engineer, gets abducted by an alien race, intending to sell him for profit. With the help of another imprisoned alien group, he is determined to escape.

I had the good fortune to read and listen to the eARC and ALC simultaneously. The story was amazing, and the narration provided by Greg D. Barnett, provided a unique, distinctive voices to all of the characters and an engaging delivery.

Thank you, Brilliance Publishing | Amazon Original Stories, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 5 stars
Audio Release Date: Mar 25 2025
Print Pub Date: Mar 25 2025

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# brilliancepublishing
@ brilliancepublishing
#TrapLine
#TimothyZhan
#YarisBookNook
#netgalley

3 stars for a short story with a lizard-cat.
I was in love with this premise and pulled in by the idea of a lizard-cat. What can I say? A cat of any sort is a good addition to most stories. With that said, 2/3 stars I'm giving this book is for the cat because for me the delivery of the story was flat. Being stuck out of body is a concept that's been explored throughout a lot of mediums and I think in this case could've been explored more thoroughly with the other prisoners Toby wakes up locked in with. I know short stories don't go that deep but this story didn't leave me wanting more - it left me feeling as there wasn't much there.

The narration was also a bit dry and monotone for my tastes.

This was my first piece of fiction by Timothy Zahn and will not be the last. This was a fun short story that had the feel of classic sci-fi. In the far future humanity is beginning to travel the stars via a sort of astral projection to cross the far distances of space, but on one of these trips Toby ends up entrapped by a family of aliens and their pet iguana-cat. I don't want to spoil any more given how short it is, but there's some really interesting world building and I hope we see future works set in this universe. It also had some interesting takes on first contact, even if not entirely unique. The character of Toby seemed well fleshed out. The ending seemed a little unrealistic to me but if I wanted otherwise I probably shouldn't be reading fiction.

Narration by Greg D Barnett was phenomenal, he did a great job of providing unique voices for the characters. Recording quality was also top notch. I will be keeping an eye out for other works by him in the future as well.

An interesting take on space travel
Trap Line is a very interesting short story concerning long distance space travel and what can happen when interference by an outside force happens. Aliens, technology, a little esotericism, and sprinkled with a bit of diplomacy.
While the short story is well written, the audio file received contained issues while played on my system.
If you like SciFi short stories that have depth, different takes on travel, interesting characters, and a good look at interspecies diplomacy, then pick this up and take a read.

Note - the drop from 5 stars is due to the audio file having issues.

Humanity has figured out how to travel across space, moving their consciousness from their own bodies to clones on ships. When Toby attempts to travel to his clone to repair a ship, instead he is caught in a trap meant for other aliens using the same means of travel. He must work with the other aliens to find a way out.

This was a very quick read that managed to convey a lot of story involving space travel and first contact with aliens. I really enjoyed the problem solving aspect of it.