Black Ocean: Astral Prime Collection: Missions 1-12

by J.S. Morin, M.A. Larkin, Mikael Naramore (Narrator)

A station at the edge of the galaxy is about to become the center of the universe.

Cedric the Brown is a wizard with a dark past. In an effort to make amends, he hides in plain sight among the residents of a space station he once nearly destroyed. Cut adrift by a bankrupt megacorp, the mobile mining station sets off to uncharted space in a desperate attempt to scrape by.

What they stumbled onto would change the course of the galaxy.

A planet.

A lost alien race.

A secret that will lead to all-out war.

How will a station filled with scoundrels and crewed by former miners handle being the fulcrum of history?

Astral Prime is a collection of all 12 Black Ocean missions chronicling the adventures of a mining station on the edge of known space, along with five short stories. This series follows in the traditions of Deep Space Nine and Babylon 5 with high-stakes space station intrigue and epic discoveries.

Genres: Audiobook, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

61 pages, Audible Audio

First published December 6, 2019

About the author

I am a creator of worlds and a destroyer of words. As a fantasy writer, my works range from traditional epics to futuristic fantasy with starships. I have worked as an unpaid Little League pitcher, a cashier, a student library aide, a factory grunt, a cubicle drone, and an engineer--there is some overlap in the last two.

Through it all, though, I was always a storyteller. Eventually I started writing books based on the stray stories in my head, and people kept telling me to write more of them. Now, that's all I do for a living.

I enjoy strategy, worldbuilding, and the fantasy author's privilege to make up words. I am a gamer, a joker, and a thinker of sideways thoughts. But I don't dance, can't sing, and my best artistic efforts fall short of your average notebook doodle. When you read my books, you are seeing me at my best.

My ultimate goal is to be both clever and right at the same time. I have it on good authority that I have yet to achieve it.

Reviews

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know every time I read Morin I end up frustrated or angry. He creates interesting worlds and colorful and likable characters...and then he kills them off or lets them just fade away for no good reason. I don't know if he thinks it's clever or he's trying to be like TV, whether he's just not capable of dealing with that many characters, or he just can't finish/come up with a storyline for them. Whatever it is, it's a pain in the behind. you spend several books getting to know and like them and then boom they're gone. Does he not understand why we read his books? A lot of them I just stop reading them in disgust.
This isn't TV or the movies there's no cgi or explosions to entertain us, it's the story and the characters and he keeps killing them off or fading them out of the picture and changing the storyline.
It's like watching a TV series and the next episode is a lame spinoff.
I'm an audiobook listener so I get these bundles because they are long, 40-60ish hours, but if I was reading these, I never finish any of the ones I've listened to. Who'd wanna watch firefly if halfway thru Mal, Wash and Zoe were removed for no reason?
I mean the books are pretty good but don't get attached to anyone.

[Darren McMillan · Rating 5 out of 5]

quite different from the original series but in a very good way. This has more of a back story that evolves to become the main plot of the book. Cedric becomes a changed character in this series, highly enjoyable. Audible narration was fantastic as well.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one really bogged down for me in the middle. I loved the interactions and watching what happened to the characters, but the parts where it was the computer and learning drove me nuts. It was too much. The end pulled it out though, I was happy at the end.

[Richard Hogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's really one long book, not 12 missions. but fun and pretty good overall

[Tim Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy these stories. I like spacing one or two in between other books. This setting mixing sci-fi and fantasy hits a nice note for me.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took way too long to get from point A to point B.

[Schvenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are several short stories that don't move the plot forward any, but do provide some insight into specific characters. Usually, these are quite entertaining, but this time around, they were mostly disappointing, especially the ones that take place after the apocalyptic climax.

The series itself however, top notch; less comedy, more science fiction and very unique. I fully recommend it.