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Kidnapped
Kidnapped
It's a late winter night when Patricia Risden heads home in her car, on a road she's driven many times before. She doesn't have a care in the world, that is, until a man appears from nowhere, right in front of her. The next thing she knows is being a prisoner of the unscrupulous Alliance Commander Travis 152; an intimidating man who demands information and complete cooperation. Travis soon realizes his mistake; Tricia doesn't know anything, and is incapable of even getting a glass of water from the ship's computer. Infamous for being a ruthless executioner, conditioned since childhood to feel nothing besides fear and pain, he still deems her harmless, and finds enough pity for the lost young woman to let her out of the cell; a decision that will change both their lives forever.
268 pages, Paperback
First published April 27, 2010
10 people are currently reading
199 people want to read
About the author
Maria Hammarblad
28 books89 followersBorn in Sweden in the early 1970's, Maria showed a large interest for books early in her life. Even before she was able to read or write, she made her mom staple papers together that she drew suns in, and proudly declared them to be the "Sun Book." They were all about the sun. This fascination with books and writing lasted through her teens, but as an adult, her career veered off towards desktop publishing and technical literature.
Even on this winding road through very different employers, she managed to always incorporate writing in her work, making a living by making user manuals and documentations for computer systems. Not until the year 2000 did she find what would be her professional home at SSAB Swedish Steel, where she worked with logistics for the better part of a decade.
During 2008 she felt that it was time for a change, and she promptly enrolled in college and relocated to Florida in November that year. This change of lifestyle gave her the peace of mind and time she needed to pursue her interest in writing fiction, and this far it has resulted in three published novels; "Kidnapped," "Touch of the Goddess," and "Undercover," and several more are on the way.
Even on this winding road through very different employers, she managed to always incorporate writing in her work, making a living by making user manuals and documentations for computer systems. Not until the year 2000 did she find what would be her professional home at SSAB Swedish Steel, where she worked with logistics for the better part of a decade.
During 2008 she felt that it was time for a change, and she promptly enrolled in college and relocated to Florida in November that year. This change of lifestyle gave her the peace of mind and time she needed to pursue her interest in writing fiction, and this far it has resulted in three published novels; "Kidnapped," "Touch of the Goddess," and "Undercover," and several more are on the way.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 20, 2010
I'm a science fiction buff, and I always appreciate some new ideas. Too many books go around the same subject in slightly different ways, and it grows boring quickly. Also, too many books have as many pages describing technology and environment as the story itself. This author avoids falling into both traps.
I enjoy the story and the way the hero is both scary, scarred, and sexy. He's the kind of guy you'd want to see on TV! On the matter of sexy, I had expected the book to be a little less PG 13. An explicit sex scene might have been in order after mentioning that the hero was taught to do it to establish authority. I'm just saying...
Apart from that, the book has some interesting ideas on humanity and our development. The author does a good job with telling the story, it's easy to follow. I've heard rumors on Amazon that there might be a prequel coming up. If it's true, I can't wait to see it.
I enjoy the story and the way the hero is both scary, scarred, and sexy. He's the kind of guy you'd want to see on TV! On the matter of sexy, I had expected the book to be a little less PG 13. An explicit sex scene might have been in order after mentioning that the hero was taught to do it to establish authority. I'm just saying...
Apart from that, the book has some interesting ideas on humanity and our development. The author does a good job with telling the story, it's easy to follow. I've heard rumors on Amazon that there might be a prequel coming up. If it's true, I can't wait to see it.
July 2, 2012
Originally posted at Reading Reality
Did you ever think that it might be fun if Scotty "beamed you up"?
I certainly did.
But that's not quite the way it works out for Patricia Risden in Kidnapped by Maria Hammarblad. Oh, Tricia gets "beamed up" all right. And imprisoned. Because the world of the Alliance is a lot colder and bleaker than the Federation.
And Alliance Commander Travis isn't like anyone on the Enterprise. Unless you're thinking of the Mirror universe Enterprise. The one where the universe went very, very wrong.
But Travis isn't quite that evil, although the Alliance that he serves is. Travis has just, well, misplaced his humanity. Tricia helps him find it again. All because he made a mistake. Two mistakes.
Travis' first mistake was picking Tricia up in the first place. Travis was chasing a known revolutionary. Said revolutionary made a temporary stop on Earth. Very temporary, but just long enough to appear in front of Tricia's car and cause her to have an accident.
Travis thought the revolutionary (his name is William) and Tricia knew each other. Travis whisked Tricia away when he couldn't get to William.
Once Tricia was aboard his ship, he realized that Tricia was exactly what she appeared to be, a harmless Earth woman with no technological expertise whatsoever, and no knowledge of the Alliance or the Revolution against it.
But it was too late. Travis had already notified his Commander that he was bringing in a prisoner. Since she is harmless, he decides to give her the run of the ship.
That's his second mistake. Tricia is harmless in any technical sense. But she is also bright, curious and dependent on him. Yes, she has more than a touch of Stockholm Syndrome. She sees him as a man, and not the murdering monster the rest of the Alliance sees.
Because Commander Travis is a murdering monster. He is an assassin and a butcher for the Alliance. He's been programmed to be since he was a child. The last time he disobeyed, the Supreme Commander cut off his arm and replaced it with a mechanical one.
Tricia knows none of this. All she sees is her only possible way home. Her only companion. She falls in love with him.
Travis is a man under all his programming. Harmless Tricia finds the chink in his Alliance conditioning. And Travis re-programs all of his unswerving loyalty from serving the Alliance--to saving, and loving, the woman he kidnapped from Earth.
If they can both manage to survive everything the entire Alliance, and the Revolution, throw at them.
Escape Rating B-: The story gets off to a slow start. Travis is not a sympathetic character in the beginning, and Tricia definitely has more than a touch of Stockholm Syndrome. She goes from being scared of her kidnapper to falling in love with him.
It's what happens after that that makes the story interesting. Travis has been so conditioned to serve the Alliance that he shouldn't respond to Tricia at all. Instead, he falls too. But he can't quite get rid of the Alliance conditioning, so he finds a way around it. His solution was pretty neat.
The Alliance Supreme Commander was just a bit too cartoon-villainess for my taste. The whole manipulative vampy-spacesuit sex-goddess thing just didn't work for me. But the family-vibe of the Revolutionary ship did. Reminded me a bit of Firefly, which is never a bad thing.
Did you ever think that it might be fun if Scotty "beamed you up"?
I certainly did.
But that's not quite the way it works out for Patricia Risden in Kidnapped by Maria Hammarblad. Oh, Tricia gets "beamed up" all right. And imprisoned. Because the world of the Alliance is a lot colder and bleaker than the Federation.
And Alliance Commander Travis isn't like anyone on the Enterprise. Unless you're thinking of the Mirror universe Enterprise. The one where the universe went very, very wrong.
But Travis isn't quite that evil, although the Alliance that he serves is. Travis has just, well, misplaced his humanity. Tricia helps him find it again. All because he made a mistake. Two mistakes.
Travis' first mistake was picking Tricia up in the first place. Travis was chasing a known revolutionary. Said revolutionary made a temporary stop on Earth. Very temporary, but just long enough to appear in front of Tricia's car and cause her to have an accident.
Travis thought the revolutionary (his name is William) and Tricia knew each other. Travis whisked Tricia away when he couldn't get to William.
Once Tricia was aboard his ship, he realized that Tricia was exactly what she appeared to be, a harmless Earth woman with no technological expertise whatsoever, and no knowledge of the Alliance or the Revolution against it.
But it was too late. Travis had already notified his Commander that he was bringing in a prisoner. Since she is harmless, he decides to give her the run of the ship.
That's his second mistake. Tricia is harmless in any technical sense. But she is also bright, curious and dependent on him. Yes, she has more than a touch of Stockholm Syndrome. She sees him as a man, and not the murdering monster the rest of the Alliance sees.
Because Commander Travis is a murdering monster. He is an assassin and a butcher for the Alliance. He's been programmed to be since he was a child. The last time he disobeyed, the Supreme Commander cut off his arm and replaced it with a mechanical one.
Tricia knows none of this. All she sees is her only possible way home. Her only companion. She falls in love with him.
Travis is a man under all his programming. Harmless Tricia finds the chink in his Alliance conditioning. And Travis re-programs all of his unswerving loyalty from serving the Alliance--to saving, and loving, the woman he kidnapped from Earth.
If they can both manage to survive everything the entire Alliance, and the Revolution, throw at them.
Escape Rating B-: The story gets off to a slow start. Travis is not a sympathetic character in the beginning, and Tricia definitely has more than a touch of Stockholm Syndrome. She goes from being scared of her kidnapper to falling in love with him.
It's what happens after that that makes the story interesting. Travis has been so conditioned to serve the Alliance that he shouldn't respond to Tricia at all. Instead, he falls too. But he can't quite get rid of the Alliance conditioning, so he finds a way around it. His solution was pretty neat.
The Alliance Supreme Commander was just a bit too cartoon-villainess for my taste. The whole manipulative vampy-spacesuit sex-goddess thing just didn't work for me. But the family-vibe of the Revolutionary ship did. Reminded me a bit of Firefly, which is never a bad thing.
June 4, 2012
My Review:
I love a good sci fi adventure romance and this was definitely a good one. It started out a bit like the headlines from one of the checkout rags in the grocery store. A woman driving down a dark deserted road and almost hits a man. The next thing she knows, she's waking up imprisoned aboard a space ship. It seems the man that Patricia almost hit was part of a Rebel group trying to outrun Travis, an Alliance Commander. Travis thinks that because he saw Patricia with William (the Rebel) that she was aiding him in some way. Patricia, of course, is completely clueless. The last thing she remembers is wrecking her car.
I loved this book. Travis is a very unlikely hero. The Alliance raises their soldiers from toddlers and every human aspect of them is programmed, brainwashed, and tortured out of them. They feel no fear, no compassion, very little pain, no real human emotion at all. They kill at will and pretty much indiscriminately. Their entire mission is to do the dirty work for the Alliance and Travis is known throughout the galaxy as one of the most brutal.
For some reason, when he captures Patricia, something about her raises some kernel of human emotion within him. He sees her as harmless so he lets her out of her cell and she quickly starts affecting him. His character is one that had a very slow evolution throughout the book and I love how the author worked that transformation very slowly. It really worked and made him such a wonderfully lovable character even though he has this horrible violent past.
Patricia is just one of those people that everyone loves. She makes friends wherever she goes, even though she's completely out of her element. Because Travis is completely devoted to her (eventually) he is also making connections....something he's NEVER had his entire life...ties to people.
This book covers a long period of time and I loved every moment of it. It's an adventure the entire way and I never knew which way the story was going to go next. I just know that I loved riding along with Patricia and Travis. They were great characters and had a fabulous story. Their journey across the galaxy is filled with brushes with many friends and enemies.
I definitely recommend this story if you love a good sci-fi adventure tied into a fabulous romance!
I love a good sci fi adventure romance and this was definitely a good one. It started out a bit like the headlines from one of the checkout rags in the grocery store. A woman driving down a dark deserted road and almost hits a man. The next thing she knows, she's waking up imprisoned aboard a space ship. It seems the man that Patricia almost hit was part of a Rebel group trying to outrun Travis, an Alliance Commander. Travis thinks that because he saw Patricia with William (the Rebel) that she was aiding him in some way. Patricia, of course, is completely clueless. The last thing she remembers is wrecking her car.
I loved this book. Travis is a very unlikely hero. The Alliance raises their soldiers from toddlers and every human aspect of them is programmed, brainwashed, and tortured out of them. They feel no fear, no compassion, very little pain, no real human emotion at all. They kill at will and pretty much indiscriminately. Their entire mission is to do the dirty work for the Alliance and Travis is known throughout the galaxy as one of the most brutal.
For some reason, when he captures Patricia, something about her raises some kernel of human emotion within him. He sees her as harmless so he lets her out of her cell and she quickly starts affecting him. His character is one that had a very slow evolution throughout the book and I love how the author worked that transformation very slowly. It really worked and made him such a wonderfully lovable character even though he has this horrible violent past.
Patricia is just one of those people that everyone loves. She makes friends wherever she goes, even though she's completely out of her element. Because Travis is completely devoted to her (eventually) he is also making connections....something he's NEVER had his entire life...ties to people.
This book covers a long period of time and I loved every moment of it. It's an adventure the entire way and I never knew which way the story was going to go next. I just know that I loved riding along with Patricia and Travis. They were great characters and had a fabulous story. Their journey across the galaxy is filled with brushes with many friends and enemies.
I definitely recommend this story if you love a good sci-fi adventure tied into a fabulous romance!
July 11, 2010
Patricia Risden in in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she almost collides with a man who appears from nowhere in the middle of the road. Her car slides off the road and flips on the roof, and she is rendered unconscious by the impact. When she wakes up again, she is on a spacship, taken aboard by the Alliance Commander Travis 152.
He soon realizes that he has made a mistake, and he has to figure out what to do with her. As he says later in the book, "Tricia has the technical abilities of a stuffed toy," and since he deems her harmless, he lets her roam around the ship. Two people alone on a spaceship can only lead to one thing, and as Travis finds himself more and more intrigued with the young woman in his company, his lifelong allegiance to his employer, the faceless Alliance, is replaced with loyalty to her. Once they get together he is faced with a new problem; trying to find a way to get back to the relative safety on Earth.
Many science fiction writers tend to fill their books with long descriptions of complicated technical concepts. This author happily skips over the details of how the spaceship works, and focuses on the story instead. It makes for an easy read even for people normally not interested in this category of books. The story is easy to access, maybe a little slow in the beginning, but it picks up speed quickly. It's cute and romantic, and at times quite dramatic.
As cute as parts of it are with heroine curled up in heroes lap and so on, romance isn't what will make this author famous. It's the bad guys and her willingness to write about things that make you flinch. I'm very fond of the Supreme Commander, Veronica, who takes an electric knife and saws someone's arm off to set an example. Perfectly wicked little details like that pulls the book up and places it a notch above the rest.
He soon realizes that he has made a mistake, and he has to figure out what to do with her. As he says later in the book, "Tricia has the technical abilities of a stuffed toy," and since he deems her harmless, he lets her roam around the ship. Two people alone on a spaceship can only lead to one thing, and as Travis finds himself more and more intrigued with the young woman in his company, his lifelong allegiance to his employer, the faceless Alliance, is replaced with loyalty to her. Once they get together he is faced with a new problem; trying to find a way to get back to the relative safety on Earth.
Many science fiction writers tend to fill their books with long descriptions of complicated technical concepts. This author happily skips over the details of how the spaceship works, and focuses on the story instead. It makes for an easy read even for people normally not interested in this category of books. The story is easy to access, maybe a little slow in the beginning, but it picks up speed quickly. It's cute and romantic, and at times quite dramatic.
As cute as parts of it are with heroine curled up in heroes lap and so on, romance isn't what will make this author famous. It's the bad guys and her willingness to write about things that make you flinch. I'm very fond of the Supreme Commander, Veronica, who takes an electric knife and saws someone's arm off to set an example. Perfectly wicked little details like that pulls the book up and places it a notch above the rest.
October 14, 2010
I was so excited to win this on goodreads that I started reading it as soon as I got it. It looked really interesting in the description about it. I love anything with romance, so I thought despite the scifi aspect of it that I normally save for the movie screen, why not?? I'm normally not into the whole outer space thing in the books that I like to read, but this was quite good. I really liked the romance aspect of the book & how the charecters developed. Maria Hammarblad is a very talanted author that I will definitely be looking for other books to read in the future.
On a personal note thanks for the the wonderful book & the nice note Maria, you are awesome~! ;-)
On a personal note thanks for the the wonderful book & the nice note Maria, you are awesome~! ;-)
September 30, 2010
I won this book on one of the first reads giveaways. I have to admit the first chapter confused me as to what I had signed up for -- but as the character development began I started to really care about the characters and wonder what would happen to them and how things would turn out. The auther did a great job at using creativity to keep me interested and wanting more.
October 29, 2010
A sci-fi person I am not! BUT, I enjoyed this book from the moment I got it, right to the end! Will recommend this book to everyone to read and will convince other non sci-fi readers to read it. Well written and I am looking forward to reading other books by Maria Hammarblad.... I am now a fan!
August 12, 2014
Patricia is one of those characters readers can't help falling in love with!
Read full review in the 2012 July/August issue of InD’tale Magazine.
Read full review in the 2012 July/August issue of InD’tale Magazine.
Read
June 12, 20124.5 out of 5
For a full review see InD'Tale Magazine July/August issue.
http://www.indtale.com/reviews/kidnapped
For a full review see InD'Tale Magazine July/August issue.
http://www.indtale.com/reviews/kidnapped
January 10, 2016
I really, really, really loved it. But then I didn't really like the ending. I, mean, it was *okay* I guess. I was entertained! Good worldbuilding and character development. Super cool dynamics!
April 19, 2021
DNF @ 27%
The utter lack of practicality in this just made my head hurt.
Her captor suddenly turning all nice was so fake. The entire economics of the world did not make sense.
The utter lack of practicality in this just made my head hurt.
Her captor suddenly turning all nice was so fake. The entire economics of the world did not make sense.
June 19, 2012
Patricia Risden in in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she almost collides with a man who appears from nowhere in the middle of the road. Her car slides off the road and flips on the roof, and she is rendered unconscious by the impact. When she wakes up again, she is on a spacship, taken aboard by the Alliance Commander Travis 152.
He soon realizes that he has made a mistake, and he has to figure out what to do with her. As he says later in the book, "Tricia has the technical abilities of a stuffed toy," and since he deems her harmless, he lets her roam around the ship. Two people alone on a spaceship can only lead to one thing, and as Travis finds himself more and more intrigued with the young woman in his company, his lifelong allegiance to his employer, the faceless Alliance, is replaced with loyalty to her. Once they get together he is faced with a new problem. Trying to find a way to get back to the relative safety on Earth.
Many science fiction writers tend to fill their books with long descriptions of complicated technical concepts. This author happily skips over the details of how the spaceship works and focuses on the story instead. It makes for an easy read even for people normally not interested in this category of books. The story is easy to access, maybe a little slow in the beginning, but it picks up speed quickly. It's cute and romantic, and at times quite dramatic.
He soon realizes that he has made a mistake, and he has to figure out what to do with her. As he says later in the book, "Tricia has the technical abilities of a stuffed toy," and since he deems her harmless, he lets her roam around the ship. Two people alone on a spaceship can only lead to one thing, and as Travis finds himself more and more intrigued with the young woman in his company, his lifelong allegiance to his employer, the faceless Alliance, is replaced with loyalty to her. Once they get together he is faced with a new problem. Trying to find a way to get back to the relative safety on Earth.
Many science fiction writers tend to fill their books with long descriptions of complicated technical concepts. This author happily skips over the details of how the spaceship works and focuses on the story instead. It makes for an easy read even for people normally not interested in this category of books. The story is easy to access, maybe a little slow in the beginning, but it picks up speed quickly. It's cute and romantic, and at times quite dramatic.
July 24, 2014
The ONLY bit I didn't really like was here was this guy willing to do anything for her and she was just helpless/useless, at times. He just did something HUGE and she can't even give him a shot of antibiotics. Really? After what he just did he shouldn't have to give himself a shot. He's suffering through hours of surgery, without pain meds, and she wants to go wondering the hours to avoid the sight. Really? Hold his good hand. Stroke his hair. Something!!!
October 24, 2014
Half-way thru I had to stop. I couldn't continue on because it's so not my cup of tea. It's science fiction/romance which is a genre I'm not a fan of. The whole different planets, universe, space ships, etc., not what I'm into. I can watch it as a movie, but not read it. So in the end I can't comment if the book was bad or good.
May 31, 2011
Great sci-fi adventure! I'm not really into sci-fi but loved the character depth in this book. Maria Hammarblad is a gifted writer and if you love outerspace, romance and action you will love this book, it has it all! :)
July 22, 2012
DNF - omg, this was horrible. I couldn't finish it. So lame.
I was expecting something completely BETTER.
I was expecting something completely BETTER.
October 7, 2025
5112018
June 12, 2014
I can't decide if I liked this or not.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews