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Blackjack #2
Blackjack Wayward
I saved the world and as a reward for my hard work, they sent me back to Shard World, banished from my home, and from the woman I most desire. A woman who betrayed me in the end.
But I made it back once. I built a warp hole generator from the rocks and stones. I'm going to build another one, find a way back somehow...
Because the world hasn't seen the last of me.
But I made it back once. I built a warp hole generator from the rocks and stones. I'm going to build another one, find a way back somehow...
Because the world hasn't seen the last of me.
633 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 25, 2013
48 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 20, 2014
A Generous Rating
The second Blackjack book is as inconsistent as the first. It opens with a Princess of Mars style alien adventure, transitions to a domestic sequence, plays with a fatigue induce delusion, and ends with an extended super-on-normal war arc. The protagonist is a colossaly powerful bully, able to overcome his challenges with blind rage and raw power. There is very little of the tactician and inventor we met in the first novel, just a thug determined to hammer his way to the end of the book. It is clear the author wrote with the same rambling and unfocused style as an unpracticed public speech; there was no solid outline for this book and it suffers with lots of repetition, contradiction, and editing errors. The novel is easily twenty percent longer than it needed to be. The first quarter of the book could have just been two chapters, not ten, especially given how little bearing it has on the rest of the series. There are zero plucky sidekicks; several interresting characters show up, but none are around long enough to be half as interesting as Cool Hand Luke, Mr. Haha,or Apogee were in the previous novel. The aren't even as memorable as Dr. Retcon was, and he had less actual page time than this book gives to characters.
Then there was the editing. Or lack of editing. It was bad, though not unintelligible, and I will leave it at that.
So why did I give it such a high rating? Because it is a surprisingly good examination of a man dealing with both untreated PTSD (caused by the events of the first book) and a midlife crisis brought about by the realization that he is a petty and destructive bully who has only done two good things in his entire life, while managing to harm or ruin the lives of everyone he's met and scores of lives caught by the consequences of his actions. He doesn't deal with either one particularly well, but he is dealing with them while the world is busy trying to destroy the few people our selfish jerk of a "hero" cares about.
It was compelling, despite the many flaws. I stayed up far too late reading this one. Late enough that it squeaked out a fourth star.
Try the sample before you buy this one. It is very different from the predecessor, and not all fans of the first will like the changes.
The second Blackjack book is as inconsistent as the first. It opens with a Princess of Mars style alien adventure, transitions to a domestic sequence, plays with a fatigue induce delusion, and ends with an extended super-on-normal war arc. The protagonist is a colossaly powerful bully, able to overcome his challenges with blind rage and raw power. There is very little of the tactician and inventor we met in the first novel, just a thug determined to hammer his way to the end of the book. It is clear the author wrote with the same rambling and unfocused style as an unpracticed public speech; there was no solid outline for this book and it suffers with lots of repetition, contradiction, and editing errors. The novel is easily twenty percent longer than it needed to be. The first quarter of the book could have just been two chapters, not ten, especially given how little bearing it has on the rest of the series. There are zero plucky sidekicks; several interresting characters show up, but none are around long enough to be half as interesting as Cool Hand Luke, Mr. Haha,or Apogee were in the previous novel. The aren't even as memorable as Dr. Retcon was, and he had less actual page time than this book gives to characters.
Then there was the editing. Or lack of editing. It was bad, though not unintelligible, and I will leave it at that.
So why did I give it such a high rating? Because it is a surprisingly good examination of a man dealing with both untreated PTSD (caused by the events of the first book) and a midlife crisis brought about by the realization that he is a petty and destructive bully who has only done two good things in his entire life, while managing to harm or ruin the lives of everyone he's met and scores of lives caught by the consequences of his actions. He doesn't deal with either one particularly well, but he is dealing with them while the world is busy trying to destroy the few people our selfish jerk of a "hero" cares about.
It was compelling, despite the many flaws. I stayed up far too late reading this one. Late enough that it squeaked out a fourth star.
Try the sample before you buy this one. It is very different from the predecessor, and not all fans of the first will like the changes.
February 20, 2018
BLACKJACK: WAYWARD is the sequel to the very entertaining BLACKJACK: VILLAIN that followed the adventures of a super-smart and super-tough archer who just couldn't put his formidable gifts to productive use. The ending of the previous book had an apocalyptic battle between superheroes and villains with our anti-hero saving the day but at considerable cost.
The sequel opens up with Blackjack seemingly being transported to another world as a way to contain his colossal power only for him to end up becoming a pirate as well as, effectively John Carter of Mars. This part of the story dragged, sadly, due to the fact I was interested in Black Jack's supervillain antics versus his more fantasy-sci fi ones. The twist at the end was very appreciated, though.
What followed after that section of the book (roughly 20%) was very interesting as we saw Black Jack return to an Earth where he's a hated pariah and him hooking up with an undead sorceress who distracts him from his pining for superheroine Apogee. We also get Black Jack's vow of revenge against Zundergub the psychic who murdered his way through so many lives that even supervillains are disgusted against him (particularly ones blamed for his crimes like Black Jack).
I appreciated how the book took the "realistic" view that a criminal who killed a beloved hero and numerous police officers as well as soldiers wasn't forgiven despite helping save the world. In fact, the public generally just denies he's done anything good at all. I was a bit annoyed that Apogee doesn't show up on camera until the very-very end but there's a lot of good in this book.
Black Jack, himself, is a complicated as well as flawed character who is trying to be good but it goes against his natural inclinations. For example, despite the fact he claims to be in love with Apogee, he more or less goes after anything female which crosses his path. He also is fully willing to murder his way through opponents as a pirate but has issues with conquering a nation. He sleeps with other women regularly but expects his partners to be faithful. In short, he's very much the model fo a lower-class lout.
I recommend it for fans of superhero fiction and sci-fi.
9/10
The sequel opens up with Blackjack seemingly being transported to another world as a way to contain his colossal power only for him to end up becoming a pirate as well as, effectively John Carter of Mars. This part of the story dragged, sadly, due to the fact I was interested in Black Jack's supervillain antics versus his more fantasy-sci fi ones. The twist at the end was very appreciated, though.
What followed after that section of the book (roughly 20%) was very interesting as we saw Black Jack return to an Earth where he's a hated pariah and him hooking up with an undead sorceress who distracts him from his pining for superheroine Apogee. We also get Black Jack's vow of revenge against Zundergub the psychic who murdered his way through so many lives that even supervillains are disgusted against him (particularly ones blamed for his crimes like Black Jack).
I appreciated how the book took the "realistic" view that a criminal who killed a beloved hero and numerous police officers as well as soldiers wasn't forgiven despite helping save the world. In fact, the public generally just denies he's done anything good at all. I was a bit annoyed that Apogee doesn't show up on camera until the very-very end but there's a lot of good in this book.
Black Jack, himself, is a complicated as well as flawed character who is trying to be good but it goes against his natural inclinations. For example, despite the fact he claims to be in love with Apogee, he more or less goes after anything female which crosses his path. He also is fully willing to murder his way through opponents as a pirate but has issues with conquering a nation. He sleeps with other women regularly but expects his partners to be faithful. In short, he's very much the model fo a lower-class lout.
I recommend it for fans of superhero fiction and sci-fi.
9/10
February 6, 2017
Much to my surprise, this series actually keeps getting better. This one saw a huge amount of character development for our boy Blackjack, which I greatly appreciated and sincerely hope that the trend continues into Book 3. Meanwhile, I'mma keep barely skimming over the long drawn-out blow-by-blow fight sequences until I get to the meaty story bits.
Also, the ending? Incredible on every level. The last couple of pages, featuring a twist with my favorite character, had me kinda heartsick upon closing the book. I think my exact words were something along the lines of "Ohhhhh shit." That's good stuff, ya'll.
Also, the ending? Incredible on every level. The last couple of pages, featuring a twist with my favorite character, had me kinda heartsick upon closing the book. I think my exact words were something along the lines of "Ohhhhh shit." That's good stuff, ya'll.
September 19, 2021
This book was silly and shallow. The character who was defined by his engineering ability and preparation, who said he was only at peace when tinkering and making contingency plans--who also went out of his way to not kills people--is suddenly a mindless brute smashing walls, killing and killing, and saying that reckless crazy plans are his favorite.
Not only was the change unbelievable, but it made the story a lot less enjoyable. I won't give spoilers, but the plot also had some totally unrealistic parts. I was very disappointed by this book. Oh well. A lot of authors struggle to make the second book as good as the first. They spend years working on the first book and then have to crank out the second in less than a year. Maybe that's what happened here.
Not only was the change unbelievable, but it made the story a lot less enjoyable. I won't give spoilers, but the plot also had some totally unrealistic parts. I was very disappointed by this book. Oh well. A lot of authors struggle to make the second book as good as the first. They spend years working on the first book and then have to crank out the second in less than a year. Maybe that's what happened here.
December 17, 2018
Maybe it's because I'm not a fan of superhero fiction but this series has been a drag for me. Actually, I preferred the first book but pushed myself to finish this one because I've got OCD about finishing books.
I liked some bits on Shard World, his vacation from civilization in Australia and when he almost died at the end (it was quite emotional). Overall, I won't be reading the last book in this series.
I liked some bits on Shard World, his vacation from civilization in Australia and when he almost died at the end (it was quite emotional). Overall, I won't be reading the last book in this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2020
Great Work; Wild & Crazy
Book one intro’d it all. Book two puts it in a blender and hits “frappe”. Lots of truly great moments in the story. More than a few troublesome issues too (especially regarding how [deleted] dense our “hero” is at times). Overall though: great story; a massive page-turner. Speaking of massive, big huge kudos on the word counts in both books so far. Fantastic value.
Absolutely definitely recommended.
Book one intro’d it all. Book two puts it in a blender and hits “frappe”. Lots of truly great moments in the story. More than a few troublesome issues too (especially regarding how [deleted] dense our “hero” is at times). Overall though: great story; a massive page-turner. Speaking of massive, big huge kudos on the word counts in both books so far. Fantastic value.
Absolutely definitely recommended.
March 9, 2017
I enjoyed the story. Just like the first book I get the impression of it being extremely slow in places.. The good thing is the characters have such personality that it compensates for a lot...
January 23, 2020
First book was entertaining. This one I struggled to finish
January 6, 2016
Sigh. I so hoped to give the author the chance to continue with what was a bad book but good story.
He failed. He failed me, he failed himself he failed the book. Just failed. Cussing was a tad less, a TAD, and the story dropped, died, was obliterated, splat , no more dead. So much so I have no qualms with spoiling it for you.
He was sent back to the shard world as a punishment for his crimes where upon he goes on an adventure with pirates and a war campaign with a blood thirsty race of aliens with a splash of Viking thrown in with Romans, only to find out many, many semantics and a third of the book later that he was indeed and in fact actually in a dream coma or "Mind Prison"(how dumb is that) in Utopia designed to keep all the high power villains that are impossible to kill in check with a slight amount of humanity. I mean it's decent to trap someone in a state of eternal dreams that are manipulated to give one their true subconscious desires and fulfilment while they waste away in comatose right? BAM! One third down a long way to go.
We are then woken by DR. Zundergrub (who's neck we should have broken when we had the chance instead of throwing him to the unknown) who has gone insane (or more so than last time) and has put world ending plans in action that are so naughty, that he just has to tell someone. So he skips in to the secret prison to wake up Blackjack who, is not only super strong, but is near indestructible and has an outstanding warrant for your death. Sure, Wakie wakie old friend, I need to gloat though this could go horribly wrong at a moments notice. Right.
Then we spend another third of the book stumbling around saying "Apogee Apogee where are you??! I need to make sure you're safe and Zundergrub doesn't kill you". Apparently the "Mind Prison" removed the fact that in book one he was a cool and collected guy who analysed everything, you know, the guy who was an engineer and made weapons and gadgets...But now he goes into blind rage and kills everything. Seriously, everything. The author likes gore, a lot of gore....so much.
“His daggers pierced my skin, but I’ve been stabbed before. The pain may have been agonizing but was a distant whisper against my burgeoning rage. I roared, more in anger than affliction. Standing straighter and opening my arms wide, he did as I expected, digging the dagger deeper, not realizing what I was about to do until the last second. I swung my arms back, channeling all my teeth-clenching rage into the twin blows. My fists hammered into the sides of his head. His final facial expression was an equal mixture of impending anguish and supplication for mercy, but there wasn’t an ounce of mercy in my soul, and a split second later his head exploded, raining blood, brain and bone.
Something kept his headless body standing – maybe it was how he clenched in the last instant’s realization – but I put my foot on his ooze-dripped chest and thrust him back into Scout, Trooper, and Heavy, who were moving closer with their weapons leveled at me. Heavy was too slow and I took him out with the human missile.
For a moment there, the enemy paused. Some of the weaker villains stood around, probably wondering what they[…]”
Excerpt From: Ben Bequer. “Blackjack Wayward (The Blackjack Series).”
“Die!” I screamed, heaving the scrum back enough to release my left arm. Hurling back, I caught one of the guys holding me, the ferocity of the blow tearing his head from his body. The guy next to him vomited, the warm fluid running down my back, and that grossed out another villain who was holding my midsection. As they both eased back, the front bunch of the mass pressed back at me. I rode the wave, opening my arms and grabbing vomit-boy in a bear hug. He was an ugly guy, rough and tough, with a severe scar that dominated the right side of his face.
“Die,” I said, inches from his face, squeezing his upper body in my arms. His eyes blanched with distress, and he let out a little cough that spittled a dot of vomit onto my face; I flexed my arms tight against my chest. Others punched me from behind and grabbed at me, trying to split me from my target, but no one was going to take him from me. He clawed at my arms as I denied him any air, and just as he was fading out, I heaved with all my might, destroying his chest cavity. His ribs snapped and crackled, now jagged spears impaling his torso. He tried to scream, arching his body back, but managed only to let out a slight whistle as a fine mist of vaporized blood steamed from his mouth.”
Excerpt From: Ben Bequer. “Blackjack Wayward (The Blackjack Series).”
See? Gore. I'm tired now, I don't even want to go on. The only thing I want to say is that in he end Mr. Haha was the mastermind, apparently he thinks Blackjack is his most popular show and he needed to turn him from villain to hero before destroying him. It's always the AI...
He failed. He failed me, he failed himself he failed the book. Just failed. Cussing was a tad less, a TAD, and the story dropped, died, was obliterated, splat , no more dead. So much so I have no qualms with spoiling it for you.
He was sent back to the shard world as a punishment for his crimes where upon he goes on an adventure with pirates and a war campaign with a blood thirsty race of aliens with a splash of Viking thrown in with Romans, only to find out many, many semantics and a third of the book later that he was indeed and in fact actually in a dream coma or "Mind Prison"(how dumb is that) in Utopia designed to keep all the high power villains that are impossible to kill in check with a slight amount of humanity. I mean it's decent to trap someone in a state of eternal dreams that are manipulated to give one their true subconscious desires and fulfilment while they waste away in comatose right? BAM! One third down a long way to go.
We are then woken by DR. Zundergrub (who's neck we should have broken when we had the chance instead of throwing him to the unknown) who has gone insane (or more so than last time) and has put world ending plans in action that are so naughty, that he just has to tell someone. So he skips in to the secret prison to wake up Blackjack who, is not only super strong, but is near indestructible and has an outstanding warrant for your death. Sure, Wakie wakie old friend, I need to gloat though this could go horribly wrong at a moments notice. Right.
Then we spend another third of the book stumbling around saying "Apogee Apogee where are you??! I need to make sure you're safe and Zundergrub doesn't kill you". Apparently the "Mind Prison" removed the fact that in book one he was a cool and collected guy who analysed everything, you know, the guy who was an engineer and made weapons and gadgets...But now he goes into blind rage and kills everything. Seriously, everything. The author likes gore, a lot of gore....so much.
“His daggers pierced my skin, but I’ve been stabbed before. The pain may have been agonizing but was a distant whisper against my burgeoning rage. I roared, more in anger than affliction. Standing straighter and opening my arms wide, he did as I expected, digging the dagger deeper, not realizing what I was about to do until the last second. I swung my arms back, channeling all my teeth-clenching rage into the twin blows. My fists hammered into the sides of his head. His final facial expression was an equal mixture of impending anguish and supplication for mercy, but there wasn’t an ounce of mercy in my soul, and a split second later his head exploded, raining blood, brain and bone.
Something kept his headless body standing – maybe it was how he clenched in the last instant’s realization – but I put my foot on his ooze-dripped chest and thrust him back into Scout, Trooper, and Heavy, who were moving closer with their weapons leveled at me. Heavy was too slow and I took him out with the human missile.
For a moment there, the enemy paused. Some of the weaker villains stood around, probably wondering what they[…]”
Excerpt From: Ben Bequer. “Blackjack Wayward (The Blackjack Series).”
“Die!” I screamed, heaving the scrum back enough to release my left arm. Hurling back, I caught one of the guys holding me, the ferocity of the blow tearing his head from his body. The guy next to him vomited, the warm fluid running down my back, and that grossed out another villain who was holding my midsection. As they both eased back, the front bunch of the mass pressed back at me. I rode the wave, opening my arms and grabbing vomit-boy in a bear hug. He was an ugly guy, rough and tough, with a severe scar that dominated the right side of his face.
“Die,” I said, inches from his face, squeezing his upper body in my arms. His eyes blanched with distress, and he let out a little cough that spittled a dot of vomit onto my face; I flexed my arms tight against my chest. Others punched me from behind and grabbed at me, trying to split me from my target, but no one was going to take him from me. He clawed at my arms as I denied him any air, and just as he was fading out, I heaved with all my might, destroying his chest cavity. His ribs snapped and crackled, now jagged spears impaling his torso. He tried to scream, arching his body back, but managed only to let out a slight whistle as a fine mist of vaporized blood steamed from his mouth.”
Excerpt From: Ben Bequer. “Blackjack Wayward (The Blackjack Series).”
See? Gore. I'm tired now, I don't even want to go on. The only thing I want to say is that in he end Mr. Haha was the mastermind, apparently he thinks Blackjack is his most popular show and he needed to turn him from villain to hero before destroying him. It's always the AI...
October 3, 2013
If you've read the previous book in this series, you quickly realize that there is no danger to the main character in this one. In fact, a pattern emerges whereupon Blackjack is hurt/tired, encounters a foe/group of foes that he states will certainly beat/kill him, and he then proceeds to kill/maim all of them.
Additionally the book could have used an editor to go through it and fix a few things.
Those two problems, as well as how it seems every female character in the book is attracted to Blackjack, and how frequently he is painted as misunderstood and unjustly persecuted made me occasionally feel like I was reading some sort of Mary Sue fan fiction heavily inspired by The Hulk ("Planet Hulk" and "World War Hulk" especially came to mind).
Now, having said all that, please don't take it to mean the book is bad - it's actually fairly decent. I remained engaged in the story, and despite knowing the protagonist was never in any real danger, I kept wanting to see how events would unfold. I'd say the book is "ok", which in the rating system this site uses would be 2 stars. So why did I give it 3? It gets the extra one for value. For $2.99 (as of Aug 2013) you are getting over 600 pages of a fairly decent story, which is incredible bang for your buck these days.
So, as long as you make sure to manage your expectations, this book is for you if you like the super-hero genre, are cost-conscious, and are looking for something to kill time.
Additionally the book could have used an editor to go through it and fix a few things.
Those two problems, as well as how it seems every female character in the book is attracted to Blackjack, and how frequently he is painted as misunderstood and unjustly persecuted made me occasionally feel like I was reading some sort of Mary Sue fan fiction heavily inspired by The Hulk ("Planet Hulk" and "World War Hulk" especially came to mind).
Now, having said all that, please don't take it to mean the book is bad - it's actually fairly decent. I remained engaged in the story, and despite knowing the protagonist was never in any real danger, I kept wanting to see how events would unfold. I'd say the book is "ok", which in the rating system this site uses would be 2 stars. So why did I give it 3? It gets the extra one for value. For $2.99 (as of Aug 2013) you are getting over 600 pages of a fairly decent story, which is incredible bang for your buck these days.
So, as long as you make sure to manage your expectations, this book is for you if you like the super-hero genre, are cost-conscious, and are looking for something to kill time.
May 1, 2013
Blackjack has taken the fall for all the rest of the villains and is now in jail...or is he? And does he have any future at all on earth now he's seen as the worst villain of all? I have to say once I got past the first section of this book I really enjoyed this novel. The first quarter of the book has a rather nasty feel to it but there is a reason for it as you find later in the novel so stick with it if it gets to you. Blackjack has a lot to learn and this installment in the series is about personal character growth for Blackjack and he needs to learn to grow up fast or the whole world might suffer as a result.
This second book in the series does not feature Apogee to large extent but so much was happening that I didn't really mind and I suspect this will be fixed in book three. We meet both old and new supers here and this continues to be one of the better superhero series being written at the moment. Its not perfect though so I'd give this book 4.50 stars if I could but its still a great read and I'll be grabbing book three when it's finally written.
Also, if you scroll past the list of heroes and villains at the end of the book you'll find a preview chapter for book 3. Its nice to know its being written already.
This second book in the series does not feature Apogee to large extent but so much was happening that I didn't really mind and I suspect this will be fixed in book three. We meet both old and new supers here and this continues to be one of the better superhero series being written at the moment. Its not perfect though so I'd give this book 4.50 stars if I could but its still a great read and I'll be grabbing book three when it's finally written.
Also, if you scroll past the list of heroes and villains at the end of the book you'll find a preview chapter for book 3. Its nice to know its being written already.
August 9, 2016
didn't liked it, i practically rushed about a fourth part of the book, dale is not the bad-ass i was promised at the beginning, he is just a stupid pushover, no spine or anything, just going around trying to get people to like him... it sucks, nice ending BTW.
And the whole "i escaped prison once, i can do it again" i call that BS. he got lucky he was part of haha´s masterplan, he did not escape, he got lucky, nothing more, and what does he do with his freedom? he cries, and gets drunk, then he goes with "the good guys" because they were going to tell him were was the girl, but he just stays put on they base, the when one of the scientist on the base get scared of him, he gets crybaby again, and then they send him on a mission, a call the whole thing BS!
And the whole "i escaped prison once, i can do it again" i call that BS. he got lucky he was part of haha´s masterplan, he did not escape, he got lucky, nothing more, and what does he do with his freedom? he cries, and gets drunk, then he goes with "the good guys" because they were going to tell him were was the girl, but he just stays put on they base, the when one of the scientist on the base get scared of him, he gets crybaby again, and then they send him on a mission, a call the whole thing BS!
May 27, 2013
Amazing. The first third of the book nearly lost me, as the whole alien world plot and subsequent adventures didn't make much sense in the world that I knew about the character. I stuck it out and when the turn happened it was worth it. The last two thirds lived up to my expectations and pulled the story back to the level of the earlier story. If you have a chance, this is a Superhero story worth reading.
July 19, 2013
The first 200 pages or so were brutal to get through. All Blackjack does is mope, get angry, kill, boast and have sex. It was getting repetitive and I very nearly lost my patience with this book quite a few times. The humour was in short supply this time around, leaving nothing to compensate for the low tone of this book. If not for the first act, I would have given Wayward 4 stars. I hope the next one is better.
August 18, 2015
This book started out with more of my least favorite part of the first book and didn't seem to have a point. however, in it quickly picks up speed got back to the things that made me like the first one so much. Most of the universe development was done in the first one, so it's able to get down to business without having to have as much explanations of how the world works.
January 16, 2015
The first half of the book was really weird, i had to force read, which I hate to do by the way. the second half was OK, but the battle Royale part had me looking around confused. but I'm ready for the third book
May 30, 2019
The summer pulp-fest continues...
June 22, 2013
Fantastic.
I wondered where it was going in the beginning, but it kept me enthralled throughout.
I wondered where it was going in the beginning, but it kept me enthralled throughout.
July 5, 2013
Awesome sequel
January 1, 2014
This series keeps getting better and trying new things. I'm looking forward to the next one.
February 16, 2014
Awesome ! I want the next book so badly...
March 23, 2014
A good story
I enjoyed the story, but I didn't care for all of the sexual episodes that were strewn about the plot.
I enjoyed the story, but I didn't care for all of the sexual episodes that were strewn about the plot.
August 24, 2014
skip the first 200 pages and thank me later
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews