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Metal Boxes #1

Metal Boxes

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Listening Length: 12 hours and 2 minutes

Coming of age can be hard for anyone. But for Blackmon Perry Stone it is life threatening. At 15, he barely manages to graduate from the empire's cadet training by a talent for unusual problem solving. He has trouble settling into navy life, but life becomes harder when he uncovers a ring of thieves aboard the huge ship. Life becomes difficult when they killed him.

Stone is ejected into hyperspace in an escape pod without hyperspace engines. Fully expecting to die, he reconfigures the sub-light engine to escape the inescapable. To his surprise it works, but only well enough to do little more than crash on an uncharted planet. It will surprise him if he can make the engine work again, but not as much as it will surprise everyone else if he can come back from the dead.

13 pages, Audible Audio

First published September 20, 2013

118 people are currently reading
295 people want to read

About the author

Alan Black

22 books312 followers
Author of
sci/fi
Christian/Historical Fiction
Action/Humor
Western

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5 stars
586 (39%)
4 stars
549 (36%)
3 stars
244 (16%)
2 stars
81 (5%)
1 star
36 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
Profile Image for Dianne.
6,815 reviews634 followers
September 4, 2016
TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO ENTER! Alan Black now writes Fantasy & he is celebrating with a Great Giveaway that is 100% Real!!
http://tometender.blogspot.com/2016/08/alan-blacks-quest-for-white-wind-blast.html
Click on Banner to Enter - August 15 - September 5 - INTL Where allowed unless otherwise stated!


There is always an element of surprise to Alan Black’s style of writing, which is why his work always ranks high with me. Metal Boxes is no different, from the title that begs the question, “Huh?” to the last page, in spite of conflicts and deadly danger, Mr. Black keeps it light, fast and fun while taking his readers on another trip into deep space!

Get ready to follow Stone, a teen who is one part Richie Rich, one part MacGyver and one part the most unlikely and unprepared hero the Empire will likely ever see. Everyone has their little comfort zone, their area of expertise and Stone has the experience of working for and listening to the wisdom of his grandfather, the head of the largest and most powerful corporation in the galaxy, a fact that he has tried to keep secret. From discovering the theft of government property to befriending Marines, this Navy midshipman manages to entangle himself in one dilemma after another, including being “murdered” by being ejected into hyperspace in an ill-equipped ship.

His triumphant return is only half the shock of seeing the walking dead when his two new loyal pets come along with him.
Once again, Stone fumbles his way along, steps into trouble so deep, he can’t scrape his shoes clean and comes out shining like a pot of gold! Fast-paced adventure in the middle of outer space, get ready to believe in the unbelievable by letting go of reality and enjoying the single-minded focus of this author as we go to the stars and beyond, find strange new planets and watch one young man being to come into his own before our very eyes! It’s okay to scratch your head; the hows and whys are the most entertaining part of this creative space opera! Don’t question it, just strap in and enjoy the fantasy!

If you haven’t experienced Alan Black’s creative side, you are missing out on worlds that scream to be entered and enjoyed at face value! Unlikely heroes, unlikely alliances, unlikely events that DO happen! Alan Black writes what he would like to read and his efforts pay off, once again with reading that will span age groups and defies pigeon holing. This author is passionate about his craft and it shows in his versatility as he changes voices for each of his tales.

Publication Date: September 20, 2013
Publisher: Alan Black
ISBN-13: 9781482774320
Genre: Science Fiction | Adventure | Space Opera
Print Length: 359 pages
Available from: Amazon Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

Profile Image for Eric Lewis.
1 review
May 16, 2014
This was a fun book. It was an easy read with not so common plot lines. I like how the hero used humor and smarts to get out of each situation rather than the typical SciFi solutions. The book wasn't gory, the language pretty clean, and no sex that I can remember. It was the storytelling that kept your attention.
Profile Image for CS.
39 reviews2 followers
February 20, 2024
Adam Black has made me re-think using my single use time travel assassination attempt on Hitler.

I've never seen a book get progressively worse the closer to the end you get at the rate this one did. It was exponential. I thought the book had a novel concept at the start, but the plot gets dull and predictable quickly, and the characters become less and less.. human? I don't even know what they were to be honest. It was like reading a book where every character was Data from Star Trek, trying so hard to be human, and not having any idea how to use contractions (there isn't a single contraction in this book, its insane). Unlike Data however, all of the characters fail in every attempt at humanity, and I hate them all.

If I had to summarize this book it would be this: Secretly the richest 16 year old in space graduates navy school to become a midshipman, who subsequently emasculates a group of marines 5 times his size and rank, singlehandedly uncovers a shipwide conspiracy, gets ejected into space into a shuttle pod, uses a fart as inspiration to invent a whole new hyperdrive technology to escape (despite being admittedly THE WORST at math), discovers a whole new planet which will make him even richer, picks up two herbivore dragon scorpion things that love him for some reason, gets back to the ship, finagles himself into its captaincy, takes the ship into war, invents a whole new way to defeat the unstoppable enemy, is a hero, gets the girl. All throughout he is an insufferable turd.

If all of that sounds HIGHLY UNLIKELY and UNBELIEVABLY STUPID, then you would be right. It is a miracle I both finished and survived this travesty. I can't believe this story has 740 ratings at 4.1 / 5 stars.

MINUS FIVE STARS.
Profile Image for Catherine.
716 reviews
January 17, 2022
I took a while to get into this book, nearly giving up altogether.
I never really liked the main character - he was an odd mix of innocence, stupidity and genius level intelligence. He was the lowliest of the lowest officers in the Navy, yet was the second in line to the richest family in the universe, which gave him an amazing back-up when he needed it. Oh, and although he'd never had anything to do with animals, he managed to imprint upon, tame and raise two alien (and usefully fierce looking) dinosaur-like creatures!
Within the story, there was a mystery of someone who was stealing materials from the Navy, but that was sorted out almost behind the scenes. There was a war going on (barely mentioned for most of the book), which sounded like the Emperor's forces had begun, and there was a battle - which was won single-handedly by the main character! Plus it seemed to all come together and finish way too easily.
My verdict is that it's an odd story which I don't know that I'd recommend.
Profile Image for Aaron.
837 reviews31 followers
March 31, 2014
Gave up, about 56% of the way through. It was just TOO BAD, the book. There were some interesting story elements, which is why I stuck it out for so long, but the writing, the SPELLING, the flat characters, the utterly manufactured plot points, the unbelievability -- it all just got to be too much.
Profile Image for Jon Norimann.
524 reviews11 followers
December 1, 2018
Juvenile is a good one word review of Metal Boxes. It feels like an attempt by a 12 year old to write space opera. The story is predictable and cliche driven and offers nothing new. Black's use of science is fantasy like and the hero constantly goes back and forth from being a a genius to a clown. It all feels very unlikely and artificial. How anyone can give this book four or five stars is beyond me and I suspect all those of being fake accounts to drive up certain books average ratings.

Metal Boxes really only deserves one star but as I generally like space opera I just find it in me to add a second star.
Profile Image for Bill Tillman.
1,672 reviews82 followers
September 18, 2015
Metal Boxes

It has been a long time since I have read a S/F tale and this one was a light hearted mid-grade. Stone is a great prime character, and the fiascos provide a nice original touch.
Profile Image for Daniel Lewis.
480 reviews3 followers
February 15, 2022
Every once in a while I just want a space comedy. This was a good one, not quite a great one. Good story, glad I read it but cant say I will yearn to read it again.
Profile Image for Wanda binz.
824 reviews6 followers
August 29, 2018
Great series

This is a great first book in this series. I am reading it for the 3 rd time and it is as good as the first time.
Profile Image for Kurt Springs.
Author 4 books90 followers
May 30, 2016
This review was done originally published on Kurt's Frontier.

Synopsis:

At 15-years-old, Midshipman Blackmon Perry Stone has graduated from the empire’s cadet training academy. It hasn’t been smooth sailing. While he has a knack for finding unusual ways of solving problems, this often puts him at odds with his superiors. Assigned to a military warehouse vessel, Mr. Midshipman Stone makes some unusual friends, but deadly enemies when he discovers military supplies being stolen. Stone and a friend are dumped into an escape pod and jettisoned into hyperspace. The pod only has sub-light engines. He is able to reconfigure the engines to escape hyperspace, which is supposed to be impossible. All he has to do now is perform the impossible again and get back to civilized space to confront his attackers.

Review:

Metal Boxes starts off a bit slow but quickly becomes hard to put down. Mr. Midshipman Stone is a young man who is hard to pigeon hole. He is smart, though he isn’t good at math, and he is good a solving problems, though usually not by the book and in ways that startle and irritate his superiors, especially when they want him to fail. What’s worse, he is a naval officer who often associates with marines. However, those who seem the most irritated are those who have something to hide.

Alan Black does a wonderful job with the technical aspects of hyperspace, but often falls into the trap of describing instead of showing. Many explanations are presented as exposition when dialogue might have been a better choice. However, Metal Boxes is still a page turner.
Profile Image for Cloak88.
1,052 reviews19 followers
December 11, 2016
pulpy sci-fy adventure

15 year old Cadet 'Stone' just barely graduated from the academy, with only two notable skills. Solving problems in a unusual way and getting in trouble for those unusual ways. Now assigned to a massive warehouse ship, things don't exactly get better. Especially when he accidentally uncovers a smuggling ring...

Metal Boxes is one of those novel you read with a half-smile on your face the entire time. It's pulpy, adventurous, weird and at times adorable. Stone is one of those kids who want to do good, and indeed 'do good' but kind of make a mess of it at the same time. If that is a writing style you enjoy you will enjoy this novel to its fullest.
1,363 reviews9 followers
March 12, 2014
I liked the story and wish I could see Jay and Peebee play. The ending was too sudden but I still want a sequel !!!!
Profile Image for Dave.
68 reviews
April 26, 2014
I enjoyed the characters and the story!! Enjoy!!!
922 reviews18 followers
September 13, 2018
This book tells a ridiculous story but the story moves along and so it was fun. Personally I don't think this story can be spoiled, all the plot twists can be seen from a mile off. So I'm not going to worry about spoilers here, read on at your own risk.

The MC enlists in the space navy, does poorly but miraculously gets requested for a post on a massive resupply vessel. Along the way he makes friends with several marines and commander and uncovers evidence of theft. The thieves track the MC to a meeting with his commander friend and take advantage of their isolated meeting place to drug and kidnap both of them and throw them in an escape pod. Since they are in hyper-space at the time the pod is expected by everyone to be lost forever. However the 15 year old midshipman makes a scientific break through that has eluded the thousand of professionals that work on hyper-space matters and safely lands the pod on an uninhabited earth-like planet. There MC is present at the birth of a couple of dragon like creatures that imprint on him. So, when the MC and the commander leave the planet they take "PB" and "J" with them.

The intrepid group miraculously comes out of hyper-space at a space station where the MC's aunt and uncle are docked and the military investigator is a friend of his parent. The investigator decides that to solve the theft and attempted murder cases he needs to isolate and secure the ship. However, since there is no telling who is involved on the ship the investigator determines to make the 15 year old midshipman captain. Along the way the MC proves a more effective investigator than the professional, highly accomplished investigators who accompany him.

Once the MC becomes captain he must decide whether to take the ship to isolation, like the investigator wants, or continue with the mission since there is a war on and the next stop is to resupply front-line troops who will likely die otherwise. MC goes to the front where, using his video game knowledge, he wins an unwinnable battle.

Bottom line: I never would have imagined I could enjoy a book this stupid but there is an aspect of fun to the author's writing. This is the first book in a series and I certain won't spend money these books but if my library has book 2 I might give it a listen.
383 reviews
May 7, 2019
This book was exactly what I wanted to read. A better way to put it may be that, for me, it was a perfect book. As with all books, there were likely things that some people would not like, but I found everything great. The characters were extremely likable, and the situations they got into were really interesting. I didn't like the main character's background too much, but the character was likable enough and acted in a way that made me not care at all about his background other than for what advantages I hoped it may provide him. Something about this book reminded me of the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series of books, possibly the tone and setting. Both have many trading ships and a large space military. I felt like this book could have taken place in the same universe and been the sort of story you would have gotten from those books if the character in those had not gone the trading route, while in this book the main character could have followed the path of the character in other series if he had stayed with what he was doing and not joined the navy. I am guessing that not a lot of people will have read both series, but I would recommend fans of either series check out the series they haven't read. I think they will love both. I highly recommend this book to any scifi fans. The book may involve a space military, but I should mention that it is not one of those violence and battle heavy books. This book is more about the main character trying to navigate his life while he deals with any hurdles that he comes across. I loved this book and hope that others will too. My hat is off to Alan Black for writing such a terrific book. I wish him all the best with his future writing endeavors.
Profile Image for Tony Hinde.
2,153 reviews78 followers
December 24, 2018
I enjoyed almost every moment of this book. The protagonist, midshipman Stone, walks the line between being a Mary Sue and a doofus. If he has any special ability it is luck and the willingness to try anything in a tight spot.

My only complaint is regarding the tone of the book. All of the dialogue and inner-monologue is relentlessly upbeat. At no point, even when facing certain death, does Stone suffer a moment's despair. The novel was so notably mono-tonal that I was sometimes pulled out of the story.

Mind you, I've immediately started reading the next book in the series. I think that says it all.
Profile Image for Tyson.
26 reviews
July 7, 2019
Good news first: the ending is fine, and not just because it is (finally) the end of a masturbatory young man pursued by older women fantasy. Bad news: the remainder of the book details (exhaustingly) the life and times and erections of a just-turned-sixteen year old midshipman in what must be the multiverse's trashiest and most incompetent navy.

The language used in the dialogue caroms from amazingly stilted to crass within the same conversation, and no one knows how to use a contraction.

Oh, and the protagonist is 16 and from what it sounds like his love interest is at least twice that. So that's gross.
5 reviews2 followers
July 17, 2019
Definitely a young adult novel. The premise is great and starts out ok but it quickly becomes clear that there is little depth to the characters and the plot is not detailed. The protagonist feels like a goody two shoes and seems to always come out on top. I would have preferred some more conflict with more detail in the plot and backstory on the main characters. Not a bad story but definitely for younger readers who are not looking for a more expansive plot and interesting characters.
1 review
April 20, 2022
An excellent read

This has been the 3rd re-read and it still retains its sparkle. Alan Black spins an enjoyable yarn with enough complexity to ensure characters are fleshed out and interesting, yet simple enough to make for a digestible plot line. There is no profanity I can remember which, whilst a bit unrealistic, is welcome and doesn’t detract from the story. Like other Alan Black books this is an easy, entertaining read that I could read again next year.
Profile Image for Lady Bocwyrm.
37 reviews2 followers
October 23, 2025
This is my g0-to audiobook when I don't know what to read. Metal Boxes has a large audience appeal -- whether you like space operas, military fiction, witty dialogue, exploration and adventure, political intrigue, dragons, and yes, even a romance. It's hard to write a concise review because there's just so much going on (almost too much), but I highly recommend grabbing the first in this series! My one complaint is I need more by this author.
791 reviews7 followers
November 22, 2016
A rocky start

I enjoyed this by the end of the book. Some of the middle was slow rough reading. Meeting the MC's family made me think of Beverly Hillbillies in space. A decent book that I trudged through to get to the higher rated ones.
23 reviews
January 2, 2022
Space Navy

If you like space action and a bit of murder mystery throughout your story this is for you. I really liked this novel and and going to read the next book in this series now just loved it.
6 reviews
February 22, 2024
great read! excellent fun!

Love coming back to read again. The whole series is excellent.

It’s well done and holds your attention. You will definitely want to stay up to keep reading!
831 reviews10 followers
November 27, 2016
Exciting debut to the series.

Alan Black has written a exciting debut to the series. I've read a lot of midshipmen series and this is the best.
6 reviews1 follower
March 22, 2018
Could not finish the book, I gave up after two thirds when I realised the main character had no coherence and the story was boring me even if it had interesting premises.
Profile Image for Youssef.
259 reviews7 followers
August 20, 2025
Stupid. It started okay but cringy then got suddenly stupid, then stupider and stupider and stupider.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews

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