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Expeditionary Force #4
Black Ops
16 hours and 44 minutes
The elite crew of the pirate ship UNS Flying Dutchman had a simple mission: determining whether the Thuranin are sending another starship to Earth. Along the way, they became sidetracked by securing a future for the UNEF troops on the planet Paradise. When asked whether Earth was now safe, their ancient alien AI responded 'Not so much'... now they have to deal with the consequences.
The elite crew of the pirate ship UNS Flying Dutchman had a simple mission: determining whether the Thuranin are sending another starship to Earth. Along the way, they became sidetracked by securing a future for the UNEF troops on the planet Paradise. When asked whether Earth was now safe, their ancient alien AI responded 'Not so much'... now they have to deal with the consequences.
17 pages, Audible Audio
First published May 24, 2017
1957 people are currently reading
1865 people want to read
About the author
Craig Alanson
42 books4,241 followersIf you want to stay up to date on releases, receive promotion alerts and speak to me directly, please join my Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/Craig.Alanso...
My Bio:
Craig Alanson used to create financial reports for a large IT services company. Writing fiction at nights and on weekends, he finally independently published three novels on Amazon. Within 6 months of his first ebook release, he was able to quit his day job and pursue a full-time writing career.
The breakout success of Columbus Day (Expeditionary Force, Book 1) reached new heights when Podium Audio released it in audio format, narrated by Audie Award Winner R.C. Bray. The Columbus Day audiobook was a huge hit, and a finalist for an Audie Award as Audiobook of the Year.
The ExForce series, as it is known to fans, has gone on to 10 books/audiobooks, many of which have hit the NYT best-seller list, with a 11th book releasing June 2021 and 14 books planned.
Craig has also published a spin-off series, ExForce: Mavericks; an ExForce audio drama, Homefront; a fantasy trilogy, Ascendent; and a young adult space opera, Aces. Craig lives in Virginia with his wife, who loves him even though he perpetually refuses to clean the garage.
https://www.facebook.com/Craig.Alanso...
My Bio:
Craig Alanson used to create financial reports for a large IT services company. Writing fiction at nights and on weekends, he finally independently published three novels on Amazon. Within 6 months of his first ebook release, he was able to quit his day job and pursue a full-time writing career.
The breakout success of Columbus Day (Expeditionary Force, Book 1) reached new heights when Podium Audio released it in audio format, narrated by Audie Award Winner R.C. Bray. The Columbus Day audiobook was a huge hit, and a finalist for an Audie Award as Audiobook of the Year.
The ExForce series, as it is known to fans, has gone on to 10 books/audiobooks, many of which have hit the NYT best-seller list, with a 11th book releasing June 2021 and 14 books planned.
Craig has also published a spin-off series, ExForce: Mavericks; an ExForce audio drama, Homefront; a fantasy trilogy, Ascendent; and a young adult space opera, Aces. Craig lives in Virginia with his wife, who loves him even though he perpetually refuses to clean the garage.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 464 reviews
May 10, 2019
Black Ops by Craig Alanson is book four in the amazing and humorous space series. The dangers, slick maneuvers, schemes, and great dialogue make this lots of fun!
Joe and Skippy make it over the top especially when you have R.C. Bray performing the narration! The book is great but I can't even think about reading this book, I have to LISTEN to it! Bray makes it so fun! I giggled and laugh out loud with every book so far! Can't wait to start the next one!
Joe and Skippy make it over the top especially when you have R.C. Bray performing the narration! The book is great but I can't even think about reading this book, I have to LISTEN to it! Bray makes it so fun! I giggled and laugh out loud with every book so far! Can't wait to start the next one!
October 1, 2025
I like this series a lot. Even though I'm mostly here for the characters and their great interactions, the plot is still just as solid interesting, and full of action as the previous books.
April 27, 2018
Book 4 is filled with lots of action and plenty of snarky humor. The series though is feeling like a song where each verse has different lyrics but the chorus is the same. R. C. Bray once again is outstanding with his narration.
The Flying Dutchman and its Merry Band Pirates are faced what seems to be impossible task. They managed to destroy an alien ship bound for Earth (in Book 3). Now Skippy picks up alien communications there are plans to try to send another ship to Earth. This time though getting a ship for the Kristang to make the long trip involves negotiations with the enemies of the Kristang, the Ruhar. Once again, Skippy can manipulate the technical aspects of the problem but lacks the ability of creative thought possessed by the "hairless monkeys." Here's an excerpt of the "awesomeness of Skippy" messing with Kristang communications.
His call to personnel headquarters was intercepted by me, and now he is getting increasingly angry talking to a Kristang bureaucrat named ‘Bob’.”
“That’s not a Kristang name, Skippy.”
“Yeah, yeah, Ok, so I named the guy Bahb-bis-Tal Podandra, but it does sound like ‘Bob’ if you shorten it. Anyway, this fictional ‘Bob’ is telling the duty officer that if he objects, he needs to complete a form and submit it to the personnel office; the issue will be reviewed at the next meeting in three days. And, yes! Bureaucracy triumphs again!
The writing style, while still fun and entertaining, is getting rather repetitive. There is not much in the way of character development. Also, there are parts of the story that get very detailed relating to space physics and alien politics.
Alas, I am hopelessly hooked into this series and will be picking up the next book. Black Ops ended with a fairly significant cliff hanger.
The Flying Dutchman and its Merry Band Pirates are faced what seems to be impossible task. They managed to destroy an alien ship bound for Earth (in Book 3). Now Skippy picks up alien communications there are plans to try to send another ship to Earth. This time though getting a ship for the Kristang to make the long trip involves negotiations with the enemies of the Kristang, the Ruhar. Once again, Skippy can manipulate the technical aspects of the problem but lacks the ability of creative thought possessed by the "hairless monkeys." Here's an excerpt of the "awesomeness of Skippy" messing with Kristang communications.
His call to personnel headquarters was intercepted by me, and now he is getting increasingly angry talking to a Kristang bureaucrat named ‘Bob’.”
“That’s not a Kristang name, Skippy.”
“Yeah, yeah, Ok, so I named the guy Bahb-bis-Tal Podandra, but it does sound like ‘Bob’ if you shorten it. Anyway, this fictional ‘Bob’ is telling the duty officer that if he objects, he needs to complete a form and submit it to the personnel office; the issue will be reviewed at the next meeting in three days. And, yes! Bureaucracy triumphs again!
The writing style, while still fun and entertaining, is getting rather repetitive. There is not much in the way of character development. Also, there are parts of the story that get very detailed relating to space physics and alien politics.
Alas, I am hopelessly hooked into this series and will be picking up the next book. Black Ops ended with a fairly significant cliff hanger.
December 21, 2025
Joe and Skippy for the win!
With this book I've come to realize that my favourite thing about the Merry Band of Pirates is Joe and Skippy's relationship. Seriously, 90% of my highlights are either Joe or Skippy or both showing appreciation and support for each other. I love books and I read oh so many of them, yet, I can honestly say it's rare for me to find examples of pure unapologetic friendship like these two have. It's awesome.
Back to the book, we see Joe having to come up with a BlackOps plan to stop the Kristang from reaching Earth. It's action filled with twists and turns at every corner. One of my non Joe and Skippy appreciation highligts goes like this:
- "Sometimes I wonder why the Merry Band of Pirates even bothers to create a Plan A" - Said Chocula
- Because that gives us a basis for a Plan B?
By now, anyone reading the series knows what to expect, and this book delivers, so it's great.
With this book I've come to realize that my favourite thing about the Merry Band of Pirates is Joe and Skippy's relationship. Seriously, 90% of my highlights are either Joe or Skippy or both showing appreciation and support for each other. I love books and I read oh so many of them, yet, I can honestly say it's rare for me to find examples of pure unapologetic friendship like these two have. It's awesome.
Back to the book, we see Joe having to come up with a BlackOps plan to stop the Kristang from reaching Earth. It's action filled with twists and turns at every corner. One of my non Joe and Skippy appreciation highligts goes like this:
- "Sometimes I wonder why the Merry Band of Pirates even bothers to create a Plan A" - Said Chocula
- Because that gives us a basis for a Plan B?
By now, anyone reading the series knows what to expect, and this book delivers, so it's great.
May 28, 2017
The author continues to raise the stakes, and ends with yet another cliffhanger! Don't really have much to add other than it continues the story, but I liked the story a lot, so that's a good thing.
Seriously considered giving it 4 stars because of the pervasive typos though. The author seriously needs to invest in better copy-editing.
Seriously considered giving it 4 stars because of the pervasive typos though. The author seriously needs to invest in better copy-editing.
May 31, 2018
The series started out promising, but by the end of Book 4, I just wanted it to be over. In my opinion there is very little character development from book to book. Additionally, the plot seems to not have a well thought out progression. Instead, the "Merry Band of Pirates" continues to skate by due only to the "awesomeness" of the friendly artificial intelligence ("Skippy") the lead character found in Book 1. Skippy seems to have a knack for being able to hack into any computer system, anywhere, even when he is not even connected to it. Of course, in a data-driven space-age society this means he can effectively shield the humans he is helping from discovery, making them near-invincible even when their technology is no match for their foes. At the end of the day, I got tired of Skippy's long, child-like rants, and his awesomeness got to the point where it was completely unbelievable and laughable. This is unfortunate, since the premise of the book was very promising!
July 10, 2017
The best sci-first series ever.
This series deserves five stars, but the kindle editors made so many errors that disrupted the flow that I had to give it four stars.
Even so, each book in the series is remarkably engrossing. A small band of humans cross the universe and struggle to save Earth from highly advanced alien civilizations. The characters are incredibly believable including one of the funniest side kicks ever imagined. Plus, description of military life is most realistic.
After reading the first book, I had to get them all. I wish they were available in hard cover so I could send them to my friends.
This series deserves five stars, but the kindle editors made so many errors that disrupted the flow that I had to give it four stars.
Even so, each book in the series is remarkably engrossing. A small band of humans cross the universe and struggle to save Earth from highly advanced alien civilizations. The characters are incredibly believable including one of the funniest side kicks ever imagined. Plus, description of military life is most realistic.
After reading the first book, I had to get them all. I wish they were available in hard cover so I could send them to my friends.
May 12, 2021
2.75. Hated the cliff-hanger ending. There are still some funny moments that might make me continue to book 5. R. C. Bray in fine form.
June 28, 2023
What a series! Just when I feel it's getting a bit repetitive here come the plot twists to mix it up again getting Joe & Skippy into more trouble. Enjoyed book 4 immensely.
August 11, 2017
Fun Book but Bad Edit
I enjoyed this fourth installment, but it read more like a first or second draft than a finished product. I enjoyed the action-packed plot, characters and the storyline, but there were tons of unnecessary repetitions and tons of grammatical errors. Things like 'that' replacing 'than', missing contractions, missing plurals, etc. I am no proofreader but there were so many instances that it started to distract me, and that's hard to do.
4.5 stars downgraded to 3.5 stars for the reasons stated above.
I enjoyed this fourth installment, but it read more like a first or second draft than a finished product. I enjoyed the action-packed plot, characters and the storyline, but there were tons of unnecessary repetitions and tons of grammatical errors. Things like 'that' replacing 'than', missing contractions, missing plurals, etc. I am no proofreader but there were so many instances that it started to distract me, and that's hard to do.
4.5 stars downgraded to 3.5 stars for the reasons stated above.
May 18, 2020
Even though this is the 4th book in a series, the story just keeps getting better! I find myself stopping what I am doing just to listen. Skippy is still honestly the best part about this book and I wonder if he is getting a big soft spot for these monkeys because there was a lot less bickering with Joe than normal.
As always, R.C. Bray makes this book amazing. I will listen to anything he narrates.
As always, R.C. Bray makes this book amazing. I will listen to anything he narrates.
November 10, 2023
Idealny przykład serii, którą zaczęłam z ogromną niechęcią, a obecnie włączam rzadko, żeby celebrować każdy tom, bo bawię się świetnie i nie chcę, żeby to się zbyt szybko skończyło! Poza tym ten tom zakrzywił mi czasoprzestrzeń, bo nie wiem, kiedy minęły te wszystkie godziny! Zaczynałam z uśmiechem, wracając do starych kumpli (Joe i Skippy idealnie trafiają w mój humor), mrugnęłam i pyk już zbliżałam się do końca. Więcej takich historii poproszę!
Fakt, że przy każdym tomie marudzę, że jest przegadany, bo są takie momenty, kiedy akcja siada, ale kompletnie mi to nie przeszkadza, bo żyję dla słownych przepychanek. Do tego lektor jest świetnie dobrany i słychać, że czytanie tej książki sprawia mu ogrom radości ♡. I tak, po czterech tomach wciąż nie lubię scifi, ale świetnie się bawię.
Fakt, że przy każdym tomie marudzę, że jest przegadany, bo są takie momenty, kiedy akcja siada, ale kompletnie mi to nie przeszkadza, bo żyję dla słownych przepychanek. Do tego lektor jest świetnie dobrany i słychać, że czytanie tej książki sprawia mu ogrom radości ♡. I tak, po czterech tomach wciąż nie lubię scifi, ale świetnie się bawię.
March 31, 2023
The audiobooks are so much fun! So glad i discovered these.
November 4, 2025
Audible version
Anthropomorphism and Americanisation.
Still enjoying Skippy’s antics, the double-act one-liners get repetitive, but there are enough nuggets of humour to make it worthwhile, in no small part due to RC Bray’s excellent timing.
The story and narrative are properly paced, logical and believable with quite impressive world (galaxy) building.
Gripe #1 The aliens are a LOT like humans. They smile at each other when responding to humour and shrug shoulders when uncertain - even when communicating with their own kind. They live in cities that are laid out and constructed like any metropolis (or more specifically an American metropolis – see later) back home on Earth.
Gripe #2 There’s an underlying American patriot vibe where the USA are clearly the main event. Other nationalities herein are very superficial, usually stereotypical, and frequently use words or phrases only Americans use. They are unimportant and neglected, until it’s time to rotate a new batch of foreigners into a chapter for a bit of multi-cultural banter before the action begins. The lack of research into non-American culture is disappointing.
There’s a British SAS officer who typifies this. When he swears, he says ‘bugger,’ his tipple is a Gin and Tonic, he says ‘elevator’, instead of ‘lift’ and jokes about eating ‘tea and crumpets’ …only bizarrely he calls it crumpets and tea. Oh, and his fellow Englishman, is a pilot, from the RAF…named Windsor.
As for the red-shirted Indians, Chinese and French, well they don’t say much...
Despite the gripes, I will still continue to follow Admiral Skippy and his crew of spacefaring monkeys for the awesomeness that is hopefully still to come.
Anthropomorphism and Americanisation.
Still enjoying Skippy’s antics, the double-act one-liners get repetitive, but there are enough nuggets of humour to make it worthwhile, in no small part due to RC Bray’s excellent timing.
The story and narrative are properly paced, logical and believable with quite impressive world (galaxy) building.
Gripe #1 The aliens are a LOT like humans. They smile at each other when responding to humour and shrug shoulders when uncertain - even when communicating with their own kind. They live in cities that are laid out and constructed like any metropolis (or more specifically an American metropolis – see later) back home on Earth.
Gripe #2 There’s an underlying American patriot vibe where the USA are clearly the main event. Other nationalities herein are very superficial, usually stereotypical, and frequently use words or phrases only Americans use. They are unimportant and neglected, until it’s time to rotate a new batch of foreigners into a chapter for a bit of multi-cultural banter before the action begins. The lack of research into non-American culture is disappointing.
There’s a British SAS officer who typifies this. When he swears, he says ‘bugger,’ his tipple is a Gin and Tonic, he says ‘elevator’, instead of ‘lift’ and jokes about eating ‘tea and crumpets’ …only bizarrely he calls it crumpets and tea. Oh, and his fellow Englishman, is a pilot, from the RAF…named Windsor.
As for the red-shirted Indians, Chinese and French, well they don’t say much...
Despite the gripes, I will still continue to follow Admiral Skippy and his crew of spacefaring monkeys for the awesomeness that is hopefully still to come.
April 13, 2018
Series running out of juice?
Skippy losing his mojo, Joe going in a downward spiral, and a horrible cliff hanger. Ugh.
Feels kind of written into a corner. If the ship is constantly wearing out / wearing down, and there is no way to get a new ship, and then the ship is practically destroyed and rebuilt from scrounged ancient spare parts, eventually the credibility of an ongoing space exploration / space combat drama is lost.
In great series, you increasingly grow more attached to the main characters. In this series, it seems like Skippy goes from funny to repetitive and boring, and Joe can't carry things. And Desai, Chotek, and Chang get more development, but its so late in the series that its hard to suddenly care about characters suddenly being more involved.
Skippy losing his mojo, Joe going in a downward spiral, and a horrible cliff hanger. Ugh.
Feels kind of written into a corner. If the ship is constantly wearing out / wearing down, and there is no way to get a new ship, and then the ship is practically destroyed and rebuilt from scrounged ancient spare parts, eventually the credibility of an ongoing space exploration / space combat drama is lost.
In great series, you increasingly grow more attached to the main characters. In this series, it seems like Skippy goes from funny to repetitive and boring, and Joe can't carry things. And Desai, Chotek, and Chang get more development, but its so late in the series that its hard to suddenly care about characters suddenly being more involved.
June 28, 2023
June 2023
Just as good as the first time.
June 2020
This book deserves 5 stars for the humor alone.
The series continues with all the usual impossible plans, Joe and Skippy banter, some edge-of-your-seat suspenseful moments, and true uncertainty at the end. What I loved here is that any author has the freedom to kill off characters, and I was really, really hoping none of my favorites would die. The situations were dire, the ops were touchy situations and still everyone came out ok. Sort of.
I don't know how anyone could enjoy these books more without the narration of RC Bray. He is a genius.
Just as good as the first time.
June 2020
This book deserves 5 stars for the humor alone.
The series continues with all the usual impossible plans, Joe and Skippy banter, some edge-of-your-seat suspenseful moments, and true uncertainty at the end. What I loved here is that any author has the freedom to kill off characters, and I was really, really hoping none of my favorites would die. The situations were dire, the ops were touchy situations and still everyone came out ok. Sort of.
I don't know how anyone could enjoy these books more without the narration of RC Bray. He is a genius.
July 18, 2017
Serious cliffhanger edge
I've read all of the ExFor books. I loved everyone of them. I could tell three fourths of the way through this book that there would be another book, much less there would be a cliffhanger ending to this book. I feel like I just watched the season finale of my favorite show, and now I have to wait until the next season comes out. And, you can bet I'll be waiting with bated breath for the next book to come out. If you like space sci-fi, or just military stories, you'll love this series of books. Long live Colonel Joe and the Merry Band of Pirates.
I've read all of the ExFor books. I loved everyone of them. I could tell three fourths of the way through this book that there would be another book, much less there would be a cliffhanger ending to this book. I feel like I just watched the season finale of my favorite show, and now I have to wait until the next season comes out. And, you can bet I'll be waiting with bated breath for the next book to come out. If you like space sci-fi, or just military stories, you'll love this series of books. Long live Colonel Joe and the Merry Band of Pirates.
December 6, 2017
Rtc because I'm in a reviewing slump and this book was a disappointment.
May 15, 2018
All reviews in one place: Night Mode Reading
Merry band of pirates is of on a mission to make sure Earth is safe and sounds. All they really need to do is get information on who could be threatening them, and sabotage the living heck out of it. Since with Skippy’s help they were training to fight aliens, fight like aliens, and fly alien ships too, the whole crew is pretty confident that they can pull this off. And if not, well, they have to try anyway.
But bad news don’t end with the “evil alien race wants to eradicate Earth because you’re annoying creatures“. Skippy went into the AI shell of the dead one they found, expecting to figure out why and how they were made, and maybe – what killed the AI. What he found was no happy news at all. Apparently, the race who made them, haven’t made them all sentient. Some became so with time. Fearing that others would go rogue too, they made and possibly inserted it into every AI a worm that’d destroy it if it went rogue. So did the AI Skippy found was rogue? Or was it the worm itself that misbehaved? That question likely bothers Joe Bishop more than any other, for mid sentence Skippy the Magnificent simply went silent, leaving the Merry Band of Pirates to fend for themselves in far away space.
This was so funny at times, I was crying. Other times it was very intense and kept me on the edge. And then sometimes it was so intense, and so funny at the same time… Anyway, 5 out of 5 for this one.
Merry band of pirates is of on a mission to make sure Earth is safe and sounds. All they really need to do is get information on who could be threatening them, and sabotage the living heck out of it. Since with Skippy’s help they were training to fight aliens, fight like aliens, and fly alien ships too, the whole crew is pretty confident that they can pull this off. And if not, well, they have to try anyway.
But bad news don’t end with the “evil alien race wants to eradicate Earth because you’re annoying creatures“. Skippy went into the AI shell of the dead one they found, expecting to figure out why and how they were made, and maybe – what killed the AI. What he found was no happy news at all. Apparently, the race who made them, haven’t made them all sentient. Some became so with time. Fearing that others would go rogue too, they made and possibly inserted it into every AI a worm that’d destroy it if it went rogue. So did the AI Skippy found was rogue? Or was it the worm itself that misbehaved? That question likely bothers Joe Bishop more than any other, for mid sentence Skippy the Magnificent simply went silent, leaving the Merry Band of Pirates to fend for themselves in far away space.
This was so funny at times, I was crying. Other times it was very intense and kept me on the edge. And then sometimes it was so intense, and so funny at the same time… Anyway, 5 out of 5 for this one.
March 18, 2025
Audiobook
January 11, 2020
January 11, 2020
This book didn’t improve with time. But it didn’t get worse either. Most of it felt like filler. Having read this in the correct order this time, I didn’t notice the repetitiveness as much. But the plot here is weak and it’s a lot of build up to get to a new story arc. I feel Books 3 & 4 could have been consolidated and we could have skipped a lot of this book.
What I did notice this time around was that when Joe was rambling on a tangent, I too was multitasking because the dude just goes on. I really feel for Skippy in this regard.
But nitpicking aside, it’s still fun. Not every episode of a favorite tv series will be 5 stars but you still like the show. So is the case with this series. I can whine about the little stuff, but overall it still entertains me. On to Book 5.
June 30, 2018
I'm not sure if Alanson was coasting or didn't really have the story fleshed out well enough, but he relied way too much with repetitive filler. "Trust the Awesome" and "Skippy the Magnificent" worked in the first three books because the snark offered comic relief and not used as often. But the first two-thirds of this book felt like instead of focusing on plot, the dialogue consisted of a constant stream of unimaginative put-downs by Skippy. Snark is only funny if wisely used. Otherwise, it because tedious and a signal of great insecurity, which doesn't endear anyone but rather makes them even more unlikeable. For an all-knowing AI, his inability to come up with some new material is tiring.
But, I really liked the ending. At some point, this expedition feels a bit like the show, "Suits". You're just waiting for them to get caught, and the longer they don't get caught, the more ridiculous the scenarios feel. But here is where Alanson works for me. I don't care how ridiculous it gets, it's fun. I also really liked the introduction of Nagatha. It was a fun play on words, but also, she served as a balance to Skippy. She disappeared for a long while and I thought this was a missed opportunity by Alanson. But she eventually resurfaces, much to my relief. Also, she's worth just hearing RC Bray do a terrible Julia Child/Mrs. Doubtfire impression.
So it ended on a high note and I'm looking forward to book #5. (It's a fun side-by-side read to Scalzi's Old Man's War/The Human Division series. The compare and contrast is interesting in both story, plot, and writing.)
This book didn’t improve with time. But it didn’t get worse either. Most of it felt like filler. Having read this in the correct order this time, I didn’t notice the repetitiveness as much. But the plot here is weak and it’s a lot of build up to get to a new story arc. I feel Books 3 & 4 could have been consolidated and we could have skipped a lot of this book.
What I did notice this time around was that when Joe was rambling on a tangent, I too was multitasking because the dude just goes on. I really feel for Skippy in this regard.
But nitpicking aside, it’s still fun. Not every episode of a favorite tv series will be 5 stars but you still like the show. So is the case with this series. I can whine about the little stuff, but overall it still entertains me. On to Book 5.
June 30, 2018
I'm not sure if Alanson was coasting or didn't really have the story fleshed out well enough, but he relied way too much with repetitive filler. "Trust the Awesome" and "Skippy the Magnificent" worked in the first three books because the snark offered comic relief and not used as often. But the first two-thirds of this book felt like instead of focusing on plot, the dialogue consisted of a constant stream of unimaginative put-downs by Skippy. Snark is only funny if wisely used. Otherwise, it because tedious and a signal of great insecurity, which doesn't endear anyone but rather makes them even more unlikeable. For an all-knowing AI, his inability to come up with some new material is tiring.
But, I really liked the ending. At some point, this expedition feels a bit like the show, "Suits". You're just waiting for them to get caught, and the longer they don't get caught, the more ridiculous the scenarios feel. But here is where Alanson works for me. I don't care how ridiculous it gets, it's fun. I also really liked the introduction of Nagatha. It was a fun play on words, but also, she served as a balance to Skippy. She disappeared for a long while and I thought this was a missed opportunity by Alanson. But she eventually resurfaces, much to my relief. Also, she's worth just hearing RC Bray do a terrible Julia Child/Mrs. Doubtfire impression.
So it ended on a high note and I'm looking forward to book #5. (It's a fun side-by-side read to Scalzi's Old Man's War/The Human Division series. The compare and contrast is interesting in both story, plot, and writing.)
July 21, 2019
This, again, was a lot of fun.
Great humor, as always. Also as always it was a bit repetitive and badly edited. I got used to the latter by now and the former was at least not as bad as in the second book.
Because of the fantastic ground mission in the last third of the book this was on course to become my favourite in the series. But then the ending kinda ruined it for me. Of course I knew it would end on a cliffhanger. But this was just too much.
I still like those two dumbasses, though.
Well, I think he will again do something stupid, very soon. And I guess it will be fun.
Great humor, as always. Also as always it was a bit repetitive and badly edited. I got used to the latter by now and the former was at least not as bad as in the second book.
Because of the fantastic ground mission in the last third of the book this was on course to become my favourite in the series. But then the ending kinda ruined it for me. Of course I knew it would end on a cliffhanger. But this was just too much.
I still like those two dumbasses, though.
Come on, Joe. Somebody did something stupid, and what are the odds that it wasn't you?
Well, I think he will again do something stupid, very soon. And I guess it will be fun.
July 5, 2019
I really liked the first two books in the series. Funny, excellent narrator, just the right pace of world building. Great if you like an against-all-odds like of story which still has a sense of humour. It's quite refreshing to read sci-fi where the author doesn't bash religion or spirituality. Great to listen to on long drives.
My only complaint is that by the 4th book I got tired of the author's style and he starts recycling jokes and dialogue. Again, it's hilarious the first couple books, just not the 4th one.
My only complaint is that by the 4th book I got tired of the author's style and he starts recycling jokes and dialogue. Again, it's hilarious the first couple books, just not the 4th one.
April 28, 2023
Richly Complex, yet also Skin Deep
Black Ops continues Craig Alanson's literary upward trend, this time taking the multiple narrative POVs first introduced in its predecessor Paradise and rounding out the reader's knowledge of the crew of the UNS Flying Dutchman. We grow attached to more of the crew as they execute detailed and complex military operations, all the while basking in the distinctive comedic charm of Skippy the AI. Unfortunately, the worldbuilding remains rather stiled. This is a series that puts the emphasis on military sci-fi.
The crew of the UNS Flying Dutchman gets a new narrators, which helps address the plot armor that protects Bishop and Skippy. They are also part of the core crew, alone in the galaxy without easy resupply, so the reader grows meaningfully attached whereas previous narrators felt more disposable. And while Skippy is still often the solution to everything, there's a variety of human skill on display as the crew executes some truly high stakes black-ops missions.
Those missions are tremendously detailed, planned with something like game theory as the strategic elements are analyzed over and over. This level of realism elevates the military credentials of these novels, even though as a reader, I started to forget all the problems solved to arrive at the cast's final plan. I appreciate the detail but find myself unable to recall it all.
Meanwhile, the galactic background isn't anywhere near as deep. Yes, the Kristang society has been explored in great detail, but in a sense, the inter-clan politics are very human. Other species remain superficial; you can describe them with a few pithy adjectives (short green-skinned cyborgs, gambling insects) and then realize that's all you know. This has been a consistent complaint of mine: the author only describes a new location when human operations focus on that spot. The novel then quickly moves into the tactical situation, and never truly builds a picture of the alien society or world.
Black Ops is the best novel in the Expeditionary Force series: a great blend of complex military strategy and tactics combined with distinctive humor in the form of Skippy and Bishop. After a brief absence, returning to this series was like putting on a pair of well-worn jeans: instantly comfortable, familiar, and totally unsurprising.
Recommended.
Black Ops continues Craig Alanson's literary upward trend, this time taking the multiple narrative POVs first introduced in its predecessor Paradise and rounding out the reader's knowledge of the crew of the UNS Flying Dutchman. We grow attached to more of the crew as they execute detailed and complex military operations, all the while basking in the distinctive comedic charm of Skippy the AI. Unfortunately, the worldbuilding remains rather stiled. This is a series that puts the emphasis on military sci-fi.
The crew of the UNS Flying Dutchman gets a new narrators, which helps address the plot armor that protects Bishop and Skippy. They are also part of the core crew, alone in the galaxy without easy resupply, so the reader grows meaningfully attached whereas previous narrators felt more disposable. And while Skippy is still often the solution to everything, there's a variety of human skill on display as the crew executes some truly high stakes black-ops missions.
Those missions are tremendously detailed, planned with something like game theory as the strategic elements are analyzed over and over. This level of realism elevates the military credentials of these novels, even though as a reader, I started to forget all the problems solved to arrive at the cast's final plan. I appreciate the detail but find myself unable to recall it all.
Meanwhile, the galactic background isn't anywhere near as deep. Yes, the Kristang society has been explored in great detail, but in a sense, the inter-clan politics are very human. Other species remain superficial; you can describe them with a few pithy adjectives (short green-skinned cyborgs, gambling insects) and then realize that's all you know. This has been a consistent complaint of mine: the author only describes a new location when human operations focus on that spot. The novel then quickly moves into the tactical situation, and never truly builds a picture of the alien society or world.
Black Ops is the best novel in the Expeditionary Force series: a great blend of complex military strategy and tactics combined with distinctive humor in the form of Skippy and Bishop. After a brief absence, returning to this series was like putting on a pair of well-worn jeans: instantly comfortable, familiar, and totally unsurprising.
Recommended.
November 15, 2017
My husband listened to this series first and then suggested it to me. The main reason I went along with it because R.C. Bray was the narrator; I love him! Needless to say, this has been a very enjoyable series overall. When I got this story, book 4, it didn't seem to hold my attention as much as the first 3.5 stories did (also read book 3.5). But, I listened to the whole story and, of course, am curious to know what Joe wanted Hagatha to do at the end of book 4.
Questions/Comments:
Skippy's supposed to be smart and the majority of the time seems to pick up on sarcasm and jokes, yet he didn't when everyone was laughing at his giant bobble-head hat or when he does karaoke?
When Skippy first went on vacation and Joe had to go into a dropship in case Skippy's can blew up, why did no one try to stop him? While he's not the top dog on the pirate ship, he is the second-in-command technically.
Looking back on book 3.5, I know those short stories are usually supposed to be stand-alone. That wasn't the case with this story though. It left a lot of unanswered questions, which weren't answered or were the characters in that story ever brought up in book 4.
Questions/Comments:
Skippy's supposed to be smart and the majority of the time seems to pick up on sarcasm and jokes, yet he didn't when everyone was laughing at his giant bobble-head hat or when he does karaoke?
When Skippy first went on vacation and Joe had to go into a dropship in case Skippy's can blew up, why did no one try to stop him? While he's not the top dog on the pirate ship, he is the second-in-command technically.
Looking back on book 3.5, I know those short stories are usually supposed to be stand-alone. That wasn't the case with this story though. It left a lot of unanswered questions, which weren't answered or were the characters in that story ever brought up in book 4.
November 19, 2017
These books are so much fun! Skippy the Magnificent and the merry band of pirates are out to save the world again. Their adventures are exciting, fun and makes me just want more and more!
I sure hope the next book is going to be just as good (or even better). But, as Skippy would say it: "Trust the awesomeness."
I sure hope the next book is going to be just as good (or even better). But, as Skippy would say it: "Trust the awesomeness."
March 28, 2018
After a brief sojourn away from our favourite beer can, Spec Ops plunges the series back to its action packed, light hearted, military SciFi, space adventure roots with aplomb. Skippy & Joe face one challenge after another with humour and guile.
This time, however, the shadows are growing long. Skippy’s mysterious past continues to be unpicked as a worm challenges his awesomeness and highlights just how dependent our plucky pirates are on his flawed omnipotence. And as the triumphs build, so does the jeopardy, ultimately leading to a conclusion that leaves our crew standing on the edge of a very exposed precipice.
Much as everyone loves the sugar occasionally you need the spice and Spec Ops offers both. Ultimately the mix remains fundamentally fun and enjoyable.
This time, however, the shadows are growing long. Skippy’s mysterious past continues to be unpicked as a worm challenges his awesomeness and highlights just how dependent our plucky pirates are on his flawed omnipotence. And as the triumphs build, so does the jeopardy, ultimately leading to a conclusion that leaves our crew standing on the edge of a very exposed precipice.
Much as everyone loves the sugar occasionally you need the spice and Spec Ops offers both. Ultimately the mix remains fundamentally fun and enjoyable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2024
This keeps on getting better and better
To be honest I'm trying to read this book and it's very hard, this is five stars because I listen to it on audible. R C Ray makes reading this an experience. It's wonderful and funny and creative and very military base. However I am enjoying the ride, I bet you am gonna spend all my money to buy all the books so I can see how it ends.
To be honest I'm trying to read this book and it's very hard, this is five stars because I listen to it on audible. R C Ray makes reading this an experience. It's wonderful and funny and creative and very military base. However I am enjoying the ride, I bet you am gonna spend all my money to buy all the books so I can see how it ends.
February 19, 2020
Series is really going downhill overall. What started with some really neat ideas has stagnated. The ending was absolutely the laziest cliff hanger I have ever come across. Only reason I gave it 3 stars is listening to the Audio book, and R.C. Bray's narration is what is saving it.
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