The Rodek Less Traveled

Black Ocean #4.6

by J.S. Morin

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Fiction, Audiobook, Aliens, Short Stories

20 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2015

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

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another backgrounder for how Mobius crewmember, the alien Rode, makes his way onto the ship. These are so quick and harmless, it's hard to review them individually. It's like I'm reviewing individual chapters of a book rather than a fleshed out story. Background into the characters is nice, if somewhat forgettable because Morin doesn't devote the time to develop them. Instead, he barrels along, gets crewmember X onto the Mobius annnnd......scene.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captain Carl Ramsey, his wife Tanny and wizard Mort are dealing with the theft of their ship by their recently hired tech. This is where Roddy, the laaku mechanic comes in. He's roped in to becoming their mechanic and helping get the Mobius back. I love these shorts that fill in some of the blanks on how the crew ended up together.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

And now we've picked up Rode.

[Frank Carver · Rating 5 out of 5]

At last we find out how multidextrous engineer Roddy joined the Mobius crew

In between the main books in J S Morin’s Black Ocean series he often releases short books which help to keep existing readers interested, tempt new ones, and fill in gaps or add bits of backstory. This book is even shorter than many of these, at around 6500 words and tells about how Carl Ramsey and the team recruited Rodek, a laaku guitarist, as ship’s engineer. Some of these short fill-in books require you to have read up to a certain point in the series, but this is not one of those. It’s a prequel to the first book “Salvage Trouble”, so anyone who has read any of the Black Ocean series should have no trouble recognizing the characters and the setting.

As usual, Carl and the crew are in a spot of trouble. This time it is because they seem to have “lost” their ship, the Mobius. In most cases when a starship is stolen, you never see it again. There are just so many places to go in a wide galaxy. Luckily for Carl, the thief of his ship can’t leave the planet (or at least its local area of space) as their ship has no stardrive. With a powerful wizard aboard there’s usually no need for one. This means that the team needs to scour this planet to find the ship before the thief can get a startdrive fitted and head off-world.

I really enjoyed this short book. It was a gentle and fun way to introduce a new character and fitted in very well with the other books in the series.

[davidgonzalezsr · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Slightly Sarcastic But Ultimately Honest Book Rating System:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 Stars): This book achieved legendary status in my personal library. I will likely reread it until the pages fall out (or my e-reader spontaneously combusts). Consider this my enthusiastic endorsement – you should probably read it unless you actively dislike joy.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 Stars): A truly excellent read! I enjoyed it immensely and would heartily recommend it to fellow bookworms. You might even catch me subtly pushing it into their hands.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 Stars): Yep, it was a book I read. I turned the pages, absorbed the words, and emerged...unchanged. It was a pleasant enough journey, like a scenic detour that you wouldn't necessarily take again, but didn't regret.
⭐️⭐️ (2 Stars): This book existed. I finished it. That's about the highest praise I can offer. If you're looking for something truly captivating, maybe keep scrolling. This one's more of an "it filled the silence" kind of experience.
⭐️ (1 Star): Oh dear. This book and I did not get along. It was a literary tumbleweed in the vast desert of good books. Consider this a strong "do not recommend," unless you're conducting research on what not to do in storytelling.

Disclaimer: My enjoyment of the narrator is based on my listening speed. I only leave 5 stars for books I've read/listened to or will read/listen to multiple times. If you like this review please consider giving it a Helpful Vote below.

[Dale Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you make your life by traveling planet to planet through the BLACK OCEAN as a "facilitator" of goods (read con-man...and some would say criminal...here), your most critical need is your crew and your ship. So, when one of those disappears it becomes all hands on deck...well...except for that "hand" who allowed the ship to be disappeared in the first place. Ever industrious though, Carl Ramsay, the captain and owner of the good ship Mobius stumbles upon a gambling, drinking, engineer who could be critical to the whole rescue mission. And with a hurried negotiation, the crew expands by one more with a character who will become an integral member of the team going forward...oh...and help get his ship back.

Jeff Morin has spun so much fun and amazing adventure into his BLACK OCEAN trilogy of series but, perhaps one of the most fun moments are the quick and dirty eBook only short stories (in the case of the original OUTLAW series he calls them STOWAWAYS) that give the much craved and wondered about back stories and history to all things adrift in the BLACK OCEAN.

Morin can write!!! And when he does, it's always exciting and fun.

More to come...!!!

[Neznem (Trent) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This very short story is okay. I'm glad we have more insight into the early crewing of the Mobius, but there is so little to this story, similar to Mort's, that I really want more now and this barely scratched the surface to me. Still fun to read, just don't expect a lot of meat.

[Derek Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rode addition to the story...very quick and pretty straightforward really.

[Roo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief but fun

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another short story about the crew's beginnings. This time telling how Rode enlists with Carl on the Mobius.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick story about Rode joining the crew.

[Adam K · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a short story detailing how Roddy joined the crew of the Mobius. Less interesting than the one about Mort, but still some okay background. Not much really happens, though.

[Scott Wozniak · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was less creative. I was a little disappointed there wasn't more to this one. I still don't feel like I know Roddy that well.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10 (Great)