And Drift Away: Mission 16

Mirth & Mayhem #16

by J.S. Morin

A comedian takes his final bow, and a wizard knows when it's time to disappear.

They had an unlikely friendship from the start. One was a mighty wizard, fallen from grace. The other, a never-was comedian who made his living through cons and scams.

What held them together was a bond of trust; a drive to roam the stars; and the curious ties of found family.

We all knew it wouldn't last, but we never knew why.

Brad's enlistment in Earth Navy removed the nail holding the rickety Ramsey clan and their adopted wizard together.

This is how it all falls apart.

And Drift Away is the sixteenth mission of Black Mirth & Mayhem. It follows a mismatched duo of itinerant comedian and outlaw wizard as they roam the galaxy trying to eke out a living and stay ahead of the consequences of their actions. Black Mirth & Mayhem looks back at an earlier era in the Black Ocean universe, and returning readers will get to see how some of their favorite characters came to be. Fans of morally gray heroes and slick talking conmen will love this series.

Grab your copy before someone else does.

Chuck and Mort may part ways, but they leave an indelible mark. Most notably on the boy who will start going by Carl Ramsey, buy a starship, and start a crew of his own. You can read more of Bradley Carlin "Blackjack" Ramsey's adventures aboard the starship Mobius in Black Galaxy Outlaws.

Genres: Science Fiction

192 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 5, 2023

About the author

I am a creator of worlds and a destroyer of words. As a fantasy writer, my works range from traditional epics to futuristic fantasy with starships. I have worked as an unpaid Little League pitcher, a cashier, a student library aide, a factory grunt, a cubicle drone, and an engineer--there is some overlap in the last two.

Through it all, though, I was always a storyteller. Eventually I started writing books based on the stray stories in my head, and people kept telling me to write more of them. Now, that's all I do for a living.

I enjoy strategy, worldbuilding, and the fantasy author's privilege to make up words. I am a gamer, a joker, and a thinker of sideways thoughts. But I don't dance, can't sing, and my best artistic efforts fall short of your average notebook doodle. When you read my books, you are seeing me at my best.

My ultimate goal is to be both clever and right at the same time. I have it on good authority that I have yet to achieve it.

Reviews

[Kelly Peasgood · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting series of vignettes to outline the years between Brad leaving the 'Radio City', becoming Carl, and getting the 'Mobius'.

We see the deteriorating relationships between the Ramsey parents and their remaining children, and well as Chuck finally snapping and booting Mort from his life.

Chuck's inability to see how his actions adversely affect those around him--how his refusal to understand that his own petty wants and desires aren't shared by others--continues to make him an unsympathetic character. Becky, similarly caught in her own delusions of still being an irresponsible teenager despite nearing 50, continues to live in an unrealistic world, losing the tenuous connection to her daughters in her self-absorbed state.

Michelle and Rhiannon grow into teenagers who, like Brad and Jamie before them, have had enough of Chuck and Becky, and escape to a life finally of their own choosing.

And Brad, ever watchful over the family he tries to save, has made a new family in his loyal Squadron mates, becoming the Carl we know from the original series, and bringing Mort back into the fold of Ramsey life, ready to start his own adventures.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Frank Carver · Rating 4 out of 5]

The end of an era

Throughout the 16 books of the Mirth and Mayhem series, we have followed the Ramsey family through all the highs and lows of an itinerant life. We got to know Chuck, Becky, Brad, Michelle, and Rhiannon and Mort, who seemed as much like part of the family as any of the blood relations. We watched the “littles” grow up to be independent people in their own right, and we watched Chuck do everything he could, in his own broken way, to look after them all.

In this last book, we finally see (through a series of vignettes) the family drifting apart as one by one the children, and even Mort, leave the Radio City to take up new lives..In the end it’s just Chuck and Becky left and they head into their own kind of retirement.

I have really enjoyed this series from start to finish, and now I feel all nostalgic and want to go and re-read the Black Ocean:Galaxy Outlaws series which follows Brad (now calling himself Carl) through his adventures aboard his new ship Moebius.

[Brett Wickersham · Rating 5 out of 5]

With this being the last book in the Mirth and Mayhem series, there was a lot to tie up. The entire series was leading us to the characters and stories we already knew from the Galaxy Outlaws series, but how did they come to be the people we are familiar with. With this book, now we know. Set with the war raging in the background, this installment gives little vignettes, showing us the characters we have come to know in this series aging before our eyes. The book covers a 5 year gap, so there are times that the jump from one slice of life to the next is a bit jarring, but with each move you see the known character emerging. This was a rather satisfying end to the series, that had me wanting to go and revisit the previous series to mee with my "old friends" once more.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Faith Hakimian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fitting ending. After all the... dysfunction surrounding anything and everything Chuck and Becky touched, seeing the natural fallout was, while still incredibly depressing, also cathartic. If the last few books have been frustrating you on that front, this is a solid ending with a ton of good closure.

As far as story goes, there wasn't an overarching plot like in a lot of the books. More, a series of vignettes, almost to the point where it felt like a long epilogue. That being said, it worked. Very glad I read it.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Schvenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

And so ends the Black Ocean story of the Ramses family. From what I can tell, the next set of stories in this universe deal with an entirely new set of characters, but only a few of the books are out, at this point. This was a suitable end and like the last book, was a tidy wrap up of the family's tales.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the meandering path this series took between the various book plot, I liked how it finally concluded with this last book.