At the Edge

Metal Boxes #4

by Alan Black

Ensign Stone’s goals were to make his way in the empire’s navy, make his family proud of him, and make love to his fiancée. No matter which way he turned, someone was conspiring against him. Disgraced and humiliated, he is court-martialed, discharged, and abandoned.

Accepting what he thinks is a lowly busy-work position on a beat up old family business space freighter travelling At the Edge of human space, he hopes to earn back the trust and respect he lost. The Empire’s political powers and his family have different goals. Stone faces humanity’s enemies in a do-or-die operation.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Military Fiction, Aliens, Military Science Fiction

347 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 30, 2016

About the author

Author of
sci/fi
Christian/Historical Fiction
Action/Humor
Western

Reviews

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stone has gone from a bumbling young man who seemed to always end up on his feet, no matter what to a much more mature and “kind of” worldly man who has seen more, accomplished more and experienced more than men three times his age. Through it all, he has kept his honor, looked on the bright side and given his all in everything he does, including being “Momma” to two large and powerful drascos. When life threw him lemons, he made lemonade. When he fell in love, he fell hard and fast. Imagine his heartbreaking shame at being court-martialed in a universally public forum, decrying him as a man who scoffed at the rules and did what suited him. But did he fight the humiliation? No, he took his punishment with public dignity, because someone was out to get him, something was going on that was more powerful than he. But who and why?

With his tail between his legs, Stone takes command of a family freighter, determined to do the job that is expected of him. What he discovers is not the rusty metal box he expected, but a vessel filled with old comrades, military warriors and a state of the art machine on a deadly secret mission that could be entrusted only to him. It’s do or die time and with his friends and drascos by his side, Stone will face the deadliest foes ever to darken the skies of outerspace as he attempts to stop their evil spread of death and destruction.

Alan Black has raised young Blackmon Stone before our very eyes and this time out in Metal Boxes – At the Edge we will further witness the fine man he has become! Still filled with humorous moments, thoughtful moments and moments of intense action and tension, Mr. Black is at the helm of another fabulous science fiction tale filled with the magnetic charm of his characters and the settings he places them in! Brilliant dialogue, clever characters of every ilk, watch the love between species at work, the hatred of warring factions and the undeniable honor that fills the soul of Stone! Speaking of Stone, has he changed even more than we realize? Leave it to Alan Black to create a tale that begs to be read, remembered and enjoyed until that very last word! If you haven’t read the Metal Boxes series, you have no idea what real science fiction adventure can be!

Publisher: CreateSpace (September 30, 2016)
Publication Date: September 30, 2016
ISBN: 1535576375
Genre: Science Fiction - Space Opera
Print Length: 336 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

[Nate Thern · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series - Metal Boxes, Trapped Outside, Rusty Hinges and At the Edge (this book) - is good popcorn YA sci-fi. And it is solidly YA, despite little mention of that fact. In fact, compared to The Hunger Games this is pretty happy-go-lucky stuff. When read with the right mindset it's extremely enjoyable; just don't expect scientific explanations, character development, or an especially logical universe. This multitude of literary sins is all exculpated by the pacing and the fun story. Basically, my thoughts while reading were something like this:

"That explanation holds together like a wet tissue; but the last chapter was really fun, so I'm going to keep reading."

"Once again, Stone's Marine Corps friends behaved like ridiculous caricatures; but it made for a fun battle scene and I want to keep reading."

"How is it that, several years into a war of annihilation, a teenage ensign was the first military person to think of that no-brainer? Not that I care, because the story is fun and I can't stop reading"

[Tony Hinde · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed when no one took a less murderous approach to the Hyrocanians after learning the true cause of their behavior. It took five minutes to find a solution for affected humans, but nothing was done for the "enemy."

Also, Stone's cousin constantly acted like a spoiled child, even getting one of her party killed at one point, but he didn't even mention it to her, much less confront the issue.

I'm worried that the lack of moral direction detracts from the heroism that the author is going for.

[scott jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun series

Thank you Mr black for this series. I am 52 and have read thousands of books in my 40 plus years of reading. This is one of my favorite series and this is the third time I have read it. Fun simple easy read. Mr black i would expand on the characters and write other books.

[Kristoffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great. I hope that another book in the series is written. This book kind of wrapped up one major story line, but it did leave plenty of potential for future stories. It has been several years since this was written though, so I am not too optimistic about a new book happening. I recommend this book and the whole series regardless of whether more books come out in the series.

[Vleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this military space opera series. Initially I wondered if it was YA but now I'm not so sure. Lots of action and fun aliens + worlds. No explicit romance but there was so much going on, I didn't miss it.

[Frank Fulmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dad gum good book

I really like this book second half not the first first half I was aggravated enough to slap his lips off for being so chicken s***and annoying. He supposedly grown by now but he acted like a 15-year-old. The second half more than made up for it good story

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straight updownstre science fiction

Total science fiction and nothing else there. Great story line easy to follow with a few technical details to follow with the story.

[Nanna Sally Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent continuation of the Blackman Perry Stone story.

I hope another installment comes along

[x x x · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally Love eins

Unfriendly humans, friendly piglets, superior virus/ons, and a casual Emperor contrasts well with the determination needed. Good luck not finishing it.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 Stars

[Marshall Clowers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very, very pleased

Blackman Stone: arrested and tried for various crimes against the empire, just for doing his best to stay alive? Given the regulations and burocracy, it's pretty easy to do... It has occurred to some of the higher-ups that somewhere, humanity has been aiding the enemy. And Stone is sent out to find out the how and why of it.

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know the author wanted to set up a particular story in this book, but the way he did this wasn’t very good. In fact I found the start of this book so stupid as to be beyond belief. Had I not already invested so much of my time in reading the other three books in this series I would have just given up.
My solution was to just ignore the first dozen or so chapters and hope the story would improve when Stone reached the Platinum Pebble. Unfortunately we then got Beffie-pie and her entourage, you would have to be ‘brain dead’ to take this lot with you on any sort of mission.

I’m afraid the rest of the story wasn’t much better, to be honest it was a bit boring until about three quarters of the way through the book. However, from then on there was a lot more action and I finally began to enjoy the story.

[Serge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much as I enjoyed all four "Metal Boxes" books, I was often hard to read due to numerous grammar and punctuation errors. I've mentioned before that the author managed to spell "hangar" correctly (for some reason, most of his SF writing colleagues never achieve that), but... "compliment" instead of "complement," "prosperous" instead of "phosphorus"; missing commas, commas where there shouldn't be any... Perhaps, after working for more than a quarter of a century in publishing, I can't help but noticing that crap, and most of readers just skip over it, but shouldn't the author at least try to make his books a bit better?

[Nicholas Kropp II · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow start but finished well

The first few chapters are a bit slow, but once the real story gets moving its the usual action packed series of progressively catastrophic events. The events of this book take a big step toward deepening the universe of the upcoming stories and address the issues of the military command structure that has been over played over the course of the prior books. Overall a solid addition to the series and an enjoyable light read for sci fi fans.

[Darrin L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent Continuation of the Series

Author does a great job of moving the story forward. Old and new characters add great depth to the story and continue to show good depth. My only complaint is that there was not enough Drascos in the story.
I look forward to the next book in the series.

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is official

This guy writes a good story. It is fun to read and experience these books. Alan Black is one of the best story tellers I have read. I almost like him almost as much as my favorite author...John Dalmas

[Wanda binz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

This another great book in this series. The story just keep you wanting more. Truly exciting story action packed. Like I said keeps you wanting more. To the author keep writing these great books and I'll keep reading them.

[Shane Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great edition to the series.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the series. I look forward to the next book. I think the latest revelation on who might be the true enemy was a fresh take.

[Angela Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great third book

Stone is in deep again as his family and friend rally around him. Can he beat a force sent from god? Find out in this page turner.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

entertaining.... It's a great pace and story for a weekend retreat. I love the characters and how can you not love P & J. Thank you for another saga in "Trey" Stone's adventures.

[Duncan Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series

Miles Vorkosigan move over a new child of an empire is trying to be heard. Great story telling an flow from book 1 onwards. Black get back writing need more.

[Mark Zodda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but probably the weakest of the four books in the series. If a fifth book is published I plan to read it.

[Jesse Deleon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will there be more?

Will there be more only Alan Black can say . Hopefully the answer will be yes. The left it open.

[Sittingduck · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Norma Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent again!

I have thoroughly enjoyed this whole series. The characters are fully drawn, not a flat one in the bunch. The premise is engaging, surprises are well thought out, and not predictable. Love it!