What do you think?
Rate this book
Astral Prime #3
Shielded Sun: Mission 3
Most energy shields keep weapons out. This one traps everything inside.
With rival factions in orbit around Shadow Planet, the obvious threat was one another. When the defenses of an ancient alien outpost activate, trapping everyone in the star system, it becomes clear that there was more to worry about beneath the planet’s surface than in orbit around it.
As Hiroko plays peacemaker to three rival fleets, Cedric and Kane lead an effort to shut down the power source keeping the system-wide energy field operational.
Shielded Sun is the third book in the Black Astral Prime series. It hearkens back to location-based space sci-fi classics like Babylon 5 and Star Deep Space Nine. Astral Prime builds on the rich Black Ocean universe, introducing a colorful cast of characters for new and returning readers alike.
Come along for the ride as a minor outpost in the middle of nowhere becomes a key point of interstellar conflict.
With rival factions in orbit around Shadow Planet, the obvious threat was one another. When the defenses of an ancient alien outpost activate, trapping everyone in the star system, it becomes clear that there was more to worry about beneath the planet’s surface than in orbit around it.
As Hiroko plays peacemaker to three rival fleets, Cedric and Kane lead an effort to shut down the power source keeping the system-wide energy field operational.
Shielded Sun is the third book in the Black Astral Prime series. It hearkens back to location-based space sci-fi classics like Babylon 5 and Star Deep Space Nine. Astral Prime builds on the rich Black Ocean universe, introducing a colorful cast of characters for new and returning readers alike.
Come along for the ride as a minor outpost in the middle of nowhere becomes a key point of interstellar conflict.
162 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 13, 2018
7 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
J.S. Morin
193 books616 followersI 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 10, 2018
This series is continuing to deliver. I'm even starting to not completely dislike Kane. This story did not so much resolve their problems as set the stage for what should be an interesting finale. Many more details about the crew are revealed, so we are starting to get a good feel for who they all are.
The black ocean universe is well constructed and the writing is quite entertaining. Any fans of the black ocean universe will certainly want to read this one as well.
The black ocean universe is well constructed and the writing is quite entertaining. Any fans of the black ocean universe will certainly want to read this one as well.
July 24, 2018
My review of Mission 2, Wizard Zero, was on the poor side, due to my opinion of it being boring and lagging in the beginning.
Mission 3, Shielded Sun, could not be more different. I was so engaged I read it in a day. I could not put it down. I took my Kindle everywhere I went just in case I could get in a paragraph or two.
The action built slowly like gas fumes building up in a room getting ready to explode. I hung on every word.
Tensions built between the 3 warships in orbit around the space station while being stuck behind the alien shield. Director Hiroko, who was not in her right mind, did an admirable job in keeping them from blowing each other and, in effect, the space station to bits. Everyone, noticed her sinking into madness especially Cedric The Brown. Who, I'm pleased to say had a much bigger role in this episode.
I'm always giddy when wizardly attitudes and powers come into play. Espesically, when they are well to be respected. Cedric thinks his father Modecai was tens times powerful than he is but Cedric is certainly no slouch and we'll on his way to becoming an extremely powerful wizard in his own right.
With surprise truths coming out about all the employees of the station (this was one episode where I truly did not hate chief engineer Kane) this is a very eye opening episode. One that Hiroko may need to think long and hard about. And, most importantly, will she lose her station's wizard now that he has been outed to Earth Navy? Will they seem him a hero and forget his transgressions? Will Hiroko fight for him? Or will he go on the run again? Will he ever catch up with the crew of the Mobius again? One can only wait and wonder til the next episode. And, I've got it lined up and waiting in the wings!
I thank J.S Morin and M.A Larkin for the advanced readers copy. I accepted it in return for an honest, unbiased review. These opinions are truly my own.
Mission 3, Shielded Sun, could not be more different. I was so engaged I read it in a day. I could not put it down. I took my Kindle everywhere I went just in case I could get in a paragraph or two.
The action built slowly like gas fumes building up in a room getting ready to explode. I hung on every word.
Tensions built between the 3 warships in orbit around the space station while being stuck behind the alien shield. Director Hiroko, who was not in her right mind, did an admirable job in keeping them from blowing each other and, in effect, the space station to bits. Everyone, noticed her sinking into madness especially Cedric The Brown. Who, I'm pleased to say had a much bigger role in this episode.
I'm always giddy when wizardly attitudes and powers come into play. Espesically, when they are well to be respected. Cedric thinks his father Modecai was tens times powerful than he is but Cedric is certainly no slouch and we'll on his way to becoming an extremely powerful wizard in his own right.
With surprise truths coming out about all the employees of the station (this was one episode where I truly did not hate chief engineer Kane) this is a very eye opening episode. One that Hiroko may need to think long and hard about. And, most importantly, will she lose her station's wizard now that he has been outed to Earth Navy? Will they seem him a hero and forget his transgressions? Will Hiroko fight for him? Or will he go on the run again? Will he ever catch up with the crew of the Mobius again? One can only wait and wonder til the next episode. And, I've got it lined up and waiting in the wings!
I thank J.S Morin and M.A Larkin for the advanced readers copy. I accepted it in return for an honest, unbiased review. These opinions are truly my own.
December 27, 2023
As always, listening to the excellent audio of this book. Another good space opera in the continuing saga of the races investigating the Shadow Planet.
July 26, 2018
I’m really having a ton of fun with J.S. Morin and M.A. Larkin’s grand space opera series,
Black Ocean: Astral Prime, and that fun most definitely continues in its “Mission 3”, Shielded Sun. I’m not going to summarize this book as the publisher’s blurb does a perfectly good job of that without giving away any spoilers. Instead I will simply note that this is scifi on the grand scale, in its cast of characters, it fantastic universe building and its overarching story arc. Pure adrenaline. Pure fun. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises - the book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, it is easy to highly recommend. I’m definitely looking forward to the fourth book in this series.
Black Ocean: Astral Prime, and that fun most definitely continues in its “Mission 3”, Shielded Sun. I’m not going to summarize this book as the publisher’s blurb does a perfectly good job of that without giving away any spoilers. Instead I will simply note that this is scifi on the grand scale, in its cast of characters, it fantastic universe building and its overarching story arc. Pure adrenaline. Pure fun. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises - the book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, it is easy to highly recommend. I’m definitely looking forward to the fourth book in this series.
June 21, 2019
Shielded Sun
Shielded Sun opens with every one — humans, eyndor, Zhee, and stuunji — trapped inside a giant golden shield along with the Shadow Planet that was generated by the ur-aliens, the vaieen. The vaieen are a very ancient race that it is believed made all other life forms using their magic and scientific knowledge.
The action never stops and the duplicity and deceit by some aliens and a few humans make this a really interesting book. It is fun to watch how all the characters handle the twists and turns in the plot. And none of it is not engaging to read.
The remnants of the vaieen were awakened when representatives from Astral Prime broke into the citadel where they had lain dormant for an unknown. amount of time. One thing you dos not want to do is wake some nasty, ill-tempered aliens who are considered to be the most powerful wizard/scientists who become very angry they were disturbed.
The four races stuck inside the golden shield all are plotting to either protect or steal the alien technology by whatever means is necessary.
The double dealing and deceit by aliens and some of the humans results in some fast-paced action where it is hard to decide who some of the good guys (or aliens are) while others are just plain nasty and not to be trusted.
Sorting through all this and trying to keep everyone from shooting at each other while trying to escape the golden shield adds even more tension and excitement to the story.
As with the two previous books in the series the biggest problem is it ends and you are left expectantly waiting for the next one in the series, “Prime Guardian .”
Shielded Sun opens with every one — humans, eyndor, Zhee, and stuunji — trapped inside a giant golden shield along with the Shadow Planet that was generated by the ur-aliens, the vaieen. The vaieen are a very ancient race that it is believed made all other life forms using their magic and scientific knowledge.
The action never stops and the duplicity and deceit by some aliens and a few humans make this a really interesting book. It is fun to watch how all the characters handle the twists and turns in the plot. And none of it is not engaging to read.
The remnants of the vaieen were awakened when representatives from Astral Prime broke into the citadel where they had lain dormant for an unknown. amount of time. One thing you dos not want to do is wake some nasty, ill-tempered aliens who are considered to be the most powerful wizard/scientists who become very angry they were disturbed.
The four races stuck inside the golden shield all are plotting to either protect or steal the alien technology by whatever means is necessary.
The double dealing and deceit by aliens and some of the humans results in some fast-paced action where it is hard to decide who some of the good guys (or aliens are) while others are just plain nasty and not to be trusted.
Sorting through all this and trying to keep everyone from shooting at each other while trying to escape the golden shield adds even more tension and excitement to the story.
As with the two previous books in the series the biggest problem is it ends and you are left expectantly waiting for the next one in the series, “Prime Guardian .”
May 21, 2019
The battle with the ancient vaieen guardian wizard on the Shadow Planet had ended in its defeat and MOST of the landing party surviving. Calvin, the human wizard for the mining and processing platform, had come out on top and allowed the party to return to the Maho Saigai Mobile Excavating Station YF-77 (they were really looking for a better name than that). Unfortunately, the death of the vaieen wizard had activated a fail safe device and some type of force field containment globe had instantly appeared surrounding the immediate vicinity around the planet and YF-77. To compound matters the station was trapped inside with a warship of the eyndar and zheen fleets and the ever belligerent Earth Navy. And, with tempers flaring, it would only be a matter of time before the affected parties decided that they didn't care to share the same space with those others...and, if that were to happen, there wasn't any place safe to hide.
Book 3 in the Black Ocean: Astral Prime series sees the authors Morin and Larkin escalating tensions and creating enflamed passions and attitudes that keep these books exciting and the core group at each other's throats where only the sheer determined nature of some keep the planet...and the station... from erupting into flames.
Book 3 in the Black Ocean: Astral Prime series sees the authors Morin and Larkin escalating tensions and creating enflamed passions and attitudes that keep these books exciting and the core group at each other's throats where only the sheer determined nature of some keep the planet...and the station... from erupting into flames.
July 27, 2018
Hoo boy. Things are ramping up like crazy, and I'm enjoying the character development. Everything the characters are doing seems wonderfully in line with their personalities-- and yet I'm not at all sure exactly what's going to happen. The story keeps getting more complicated without getting convoluted, and I'm really looking forward to finding out what happens next.
One thing that I'm a little on the fence about is how, well... non-heroic the characters are-- which is not at all a complaint about the writing. It's jut a personal preference. In DnD terms, I don't know that any of the characters land on the Neutral Good, Lawful Good, or even Lawful Neutral ends of the spectrum. Which, again, is totally okay! And it's mentioned multiple times that that's exactly why they're all on the station in the first place. It's just that having the cast so heavily weighted towards Chaotic/Neutral definitely gives the story a different feel.
One thing that I'm a little on the fence about is how, well... non-heroic the characters are-- which is not at all a complaint about the writing. It's jut a personal preference. In DnD terms, I don't know that any of the characters land on the Neutral Good, Lawful Good, or even Lawful Neutral ends of the spectrum. Which, again, is totally okay! And it's mentioned multiple times that that's exactly why they're all on the station in the first place. It's just that having the cast so heavily weighted towards Chaotic/Neutral definitely gives the story a different feel.
May 28, 2019
A bit of a tunnel book - and it seems that is the goal for this series. I found this to be an interesting bit of political hits and just unveiling of these races and ideas. Nothing too huge or earth shattering, besides a bit with Cedric near the end, but I'm certainly more and more pulled into this series. Has given me a bit of a feel of SGU for some reasons. I'm still liking the characters, but I would like to see a bit more movement in some of them rather than just some past things just being brought up that we just didn't know about.
June 21, 2019
A darker chapter where we see characters manipulated by alien forces, discover various secrets (and see what lengths some will go to to learn those secrets), witness how misunderstandings affect decisions and opinions, and see what truly angers a wizard like Calvin. The ending is superb.
June 4, 2022
All these ran together and I didn't update. But we find the reason there's multiple earths gotta fight extra-universal aliens and the ancients who created us. In the end sacrifice for the many saves the whole universe.
January 8, 2020
Takes you for a ride.
Read
May 1, 2020dnf
November 26, 2020
Slowly but surely.
July 22, 2023
Great book love the story and the book narration can’t wait to listen to the next one I highly recommend it 👍😀📖⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
June 13, 2024
Time to go to war with gods! The authour said he wanted to go the route of DS9 in this series and he very much has. There is a definite Star Trek feel to it this far in.
June 15, 2019
After Calvin and Hiroko as well as the Ambassadors of the Xeno ships discover that the Temple on the planet could actually be the birthplace of all sentient species in the galaxy, as well as magic itself, everything changes. Unfortunately, no one can do anything about it, as a massive shield has descended on the Solar System, including the Astral, trapping everyone inside.
The initial reaction of the starships is to attack the shield with absolutely no effect.
Calvin and Hiroko both believe that the shield raised as a result of their encounter with the Vaieen Guardian on Shadow Planet in Part 2.
What follows is a rather intense situation, with each of the 3 factions, the Eyndar, The Zheen and the ARGO Earth Navy, all wanting answers from Hiroko, or looking at taking action of their own. Hiroko meanwhile, continues to put more and more pressure on Kane to bring the shield down, like he is going to have some miracle answer.
These episode of the series (without giving away spoilers), has some fascinating insights into each of the races, we get to learn more about the Marines of the Navy, the inner workings of the Pack Mentality of the Eyndar, and how the Zheen hive mentality also works.
This is also one of those episodes in which we get to see a great deal of Wizarding powers, as Calvin/Cedric unleashes himself in full fury over a couple of things (you will see), and it is totally enthralling to see a Wizard in all his glory. This has to be one of the best bits of these stories, tying in magic into Sci-fi, and making it work so well, but now to have an Origin species, The Vaieen, who have combined both Tech and Magic, makes it all the more brilliant. There are very few episodes in which we see this level of magic unleashed, so for those that love the magical side, this was a real treat.
As with all the episodes, there is some great Characters, and great development of the characters, the 3 Xeno Ambassadors from the Zheen, Stuunji and Eyndar races have to be some of the best characters in the book.
Calvin/Cedric’s character continues to be an outstanding character as he is developed throughout the series as the damaged soul, seeking redemption. Along with Hiroko, and Kane, as well as the cast of secondary characters, there is an exceptional cast in this series.
The Black Ocean Series was extraordinary, and the Astral Prime spin-off is turning out to be just as thrilling. If you were a fan of The Black Ocean Series, you will love this series. Even if you haven’t read the Black Ocean Series, you can still get into this, although it is better if you have read Black Ocean (and trust me, you won’t be disappointed).
Regardless, Astral Prime is a series that should not be missed – Part 3 is just awesome!!
The initial reaction of the starships is to attack the shield with absolutely no effect.
Calvin and Hiroko both believe that the shield raised as a result of their encounter with the Vaieen Guardian on Shadow Planet in Part 2.
What follows is a rather intense situation, with each of the 3 factions, the Eyndar, The Zheen and the ARGO Earth Navy, all wanting answers from Hiroko, or looking at taking action of their own. Hiroko meanwhile, continues to put more and more pressure on Kane to bring the shield down, like he is going to have some miracle answer.
These episode of the series (without giving away spoilers), has some fascinating insights into each of the races, we get to learn more about the Marines of the Navy, the inner workings of the Pack Mentality of the Eyndar, and how the Zheen hive mentality also works.
This is also one of those episodes in which we get to see a great deal of Wizarding powers, as Calvin/Cedric unleashes himself in full fury over a couple of things (you will see), and it is totally enthralling to see a Wizard in all his glory. This has to be one of the best bits of these stories, tying in magic into Sci-fi, and making it work so well, but now to have an Origin species, The Vaieen, who have combined both Tech and Magic, makes it all the more brilliant. There are very few episodes in which we see this level of magic unleashed, so for those that love the magical side, this was a real treat.
As with all the episodes, there is some great Characters, and great development of the characters, the 3 Xeno Ambassadors from the Zheen, Stuunji and Eyndar races have to be some of the best characters in the book.
Calvin/Cedric’s character continues to be an outstanding character as he is developed throughout the series as the damaged soul, seeking redemption. Along with Hiroko, and Kane, as well as the cast of secondary characters, there is an exceptional cast in this series.
The Black Ocean Series was extraordinary, and the Astral Prime spin-off is turning out to be just as thrilling. If you were a fan of The Black Ocean Series, you will love this series. Even if you haven’t read the Black Ocean Series, you can still get into this, although it is better if you have read Black Ocean (and trust me, you won’t be disappointed).
Regardless, Astral Prime is a series that should not be missed – Part 3 is just awesome!!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews