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Black Ocean: Mercy for Hire #9
Ship With No Name: Mission 9
You can't own a warship and still think small.With the capture of the Eye of Ra, Esper and her friends discover that small problems have started looking too small. When a plague breaks out on the occupied planet of Meyang, she decides it's time to see what her new ship and crew are capable of.However, the situation is more complicated than they counted on. Not only does the occupying force not want them there, the azrin living on Meyang are none to keen on interference from outsiders. But never let it be said that Esper wasn't willing to help those who refused to be helped.Ship with No Name is the ninth mission of Black Mercy for Hire. Set in the Black Ocean Universe, it continues the saga of the galaxy's sweetest bounty hunter and her loyal sidekick (who is NOT a dog!) and introduces a colorful cast for new and returning readers alike. Fans of vigilante justice and heroes who exemplify the word will love this series.
184 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 18, 2020
15 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
J.S. Morin
192 books611 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.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 24, 2021
Magic Back - Check!
Bring down the Cult of Ra and its Pharaoh - Check!
Acquire a starship and a new home - Double Check!!
The last few months have been a whirlwind and the Mercy For Hire family finally have a chance to take a breath. The only worries they have now are which humanitarian missions they will pursue...and...finding a new name for their newly liberated home (Eye of Ra probably NOT a good idea to keep).
But, just as things begin looking like they are returning to normal - or as normal as it ever is for the MFH team - a battle that has been being waged for years suddenly takes a terrifying turn and home may not be that warm and fuzzy place anymore.
This is my 37th BLACK OCEAN novel that I've read - along with 15 other Stowaway shorts. The one thing I will repeatedly say about the series is, Jeff Morin, the author NEVER lets the story line get comfortable. When it looks as if the characters have made it to a place of safety and peace, that's when he turns the story on its head and takes the reader in a completely different direction. Not that those twists and turns weren't foreseeable, though. Morin is a master of foreshadowing and continually weaves single and multiple threads of future plot points into the background until such time that he pulls on one of those threads and the story turns on its head.
A SHIP WITH NO NAME is one of those stories and it appears that it will drive the series for the next few books...at least until the NEXT thread is pulled.
Bring down the Cult of Ra and its Pharaoh - Check!
Acquire a starship and a new home - Double Check!!
The last few months have been a whirlwind and the Mercy For Hire family finally have a chance to take a breath. The only worries they have now are which humanitarian missions they will pursue...and...finding a new name for their newly liberated home (Eye of Ra probably NOT a good idea to keep).
But, just as things begin looking like they are returning to normal - or as normal as it ever is for the MFH team - a battle that has been being waged for years suddenly takes a terrifying turn and home may not be that warm and fuzzy place anymore.
This is my 37th BLACK OCEAN novel that I've read - along with 15 other Stowaway shorts. The one thing I will repeatedly say about the series is, Jeff Morin, the author NEVER lets the story line get comfortable. When it looks as if the characters have made it to a place of safety and peace, that's when he turns the story on its head and takes the reader in a completely different direction. Not that those twists and turns weren't foreseeable, though. Morin is a master of foreshadowing and continually weaves single and multiple threads of future plot points into the background until such time that he pulls on one of those threads and the story turns on its head.
A SHIP WITH NO NAME is one of those stories and it appears that it will drive the series for the next few books...at least until the NEXT thread is pulled.
April 26, 2020
Injustice makes a plague outbreak worse, and Esper can't stay out of it.
Esper's pathological need to do good sets her and her ragtag crew against one of the biggest, trigger-happiest orgs in the galaxy. But her aversion to harming her opponents leaves her few options. Has she gotten herself and her crew /friends /hangers-on in too deep?
Dark Esper has an answer, as always. And her whisperings are growing more insistent.
This was an interesting one. Not too plotty, with lots of time for character interaction. We see more dimensions of Wesley, Tiff and Ilsa in particular.
Oh there's action too, with a few moments of good tension & real danger. Not everything is resolved by the last page, leaving me hungry for the next installment.
These books are comfortable, easy fun. We know the world, we like the characters, the writing flows nicely in a conversational style and is liberally spiced with humour and wit. Morin is not above winking at the reader once in a while, reminding us that we're members of a special club: honourary citizens of the Black Ocean.
Esper's pathological need to do good sets her and her ragtag crew against one of the biggest, trigger-happiest orgs in the galaxy. But her aversion to harming her opponents leaves her few options. Has she gotten herself and her crew /friends /hangers-on in too deep?
Dark Esper has an answer, as always. And her whisperings are growing more insistent.
This was an interesting one. Not too plotty, with lots of time for character interaction. We see more dimensions of Wesley, Tiff and Ilsa in particular.
Oh there's action too, with a few moments of good tension & real danger. Not everything is resolved by the last page, leaving me hungry for the next installment.
These books are comfortable, easy fun. We know the world, we like the characters, the writing flows nicely in a conversational style and is liberally spiced with humour and wit. Morin is not above winking at the reader once in a while, reminding us that we're members of a special club: honourary citizens of the Black Ocean.
July 22, 2020
What would you do if you “inherited a space warship?
Gosh, is this really the ninth book (“mission”) in the Mercy For Hire series? It’s kind of neat to look back at where it started, with glamorous and morally upright wizard Esper and her sidekick Kubu the magical talking dog on the run in a tiny spaceship. Now we have a team of diverse characters finding themselves in possession of a huge space navy medical ship, bickering and worrying as they not only try and name it, but try and find a good cause to use it for. Along the way we continue to learn more about the team, including Wesley’s mysterious past and Esper’s internal battles with her “dark self”.
As you might imagine, nothing goes entirely to plan as the team spread themselves thin trying to bring a complex medical rescue mission to fruition. The adventures of each of the characters weave in and out of the overall storyline and the tension keeps dragging you on to the next challenge. Just when you get to the end and think it’s all under control, everything twists.
I’m now desperate for the next book in the series!
Gosh, is this really the ninth book (“mission”) in the Mercy For Hire series? It’s kind of neat to look back at where it started, with glamorous and morally upright wizard Esper and her sidekick Kubu the magical talking dog on the run in a tiny spaceship. Now we have a team of diverse characters finding themselves in possession of a huge space navy medical ship, bickering and worrying as they not only try and name it, but try and find a good cause to use it for. Along the way we continue to learn more about the team, including Wesley’s mysterious past and Esper’s internal battles with her “dark self”.
As you might imagine, nothing goes entirely to plan as the team spread themselves thin trying to bring a complex medical rescue mission to fruition. The adventures of each of the characters weave in and out of the overall storyline and the tension keeps dragging you on to the next challenge. Just when you get to the end and think it’s all under control, everything twists.
I’m now desperate for the next book in the series!
June 26, 2020
Esper and crew hear about a plague on Meyang where the military is blockading any assistance to the victims and decide that their next mission will be a mission of mercy, to get help for the azrin, whether they want it or not. They each have a part to play and as Esper teams up with Wesley Wesley and Tiffany and Kubu take off to do their part, Ilsa says on the ship they liberated from the Cult of Ra and does her best to hold down the fort and help them all. Even Esper’s dark side has a part to play and there is a little twist at the end - I’m eager to find out what happens there. I love Esper and crew and how they bumble their way sometimes but always manage to come through in the end - of course a bit (or in Esper’s case, a lot) of magic helps.
March 10, 2020
I felt strongly with the last book that so much was resolved that, if anything, this book feels more like an epilogue to the story as a whole. You get a bit of backstory with Wesley, which is good as that has been something up in the air for a while. Something big does happen in this story though, but it just feels like it sets us up for another series of books I would guess. Tiffany has grown a bit, but I just can't find that I enjoy her as character. I think Iisa's character was a bit more fleshed out here in the new capacity she is in, and I find I'm more curious about her AI than herself.
Warnings - same sex relationships and language are prevalent.
Warnings - same sex relationships and language are prevalent.
February 23, 2020
**** SPOILER ALERT ****
Morin does it again! "Ship With No Name: Mission 9 ( Black Ocean: Mercy For Hire )" is a great continuation of the series. The author, again, does a fantastic job of world building and character development. We readers get to see Ilsa and Tiffany stretch their wings as the entire team works to stop a plague.
I recommend this entertaining page turner.
I can hardly wait to read the next book in the series.
In the interest of transparency: I was given a review copy of this book and I am voluntarily sharing this review.
It is my own honest opinion.
Morin does it again! "Ship With No Name: Mission 9 ( Black Ocean: Mercy For Hire )" is a great continuation of the series. The author, again, does a fantastic job of world building and character development. We readers get to see Ilsa and Tiffany stretch their wings as the entire team works to stop a plague.
I recommend this entertaining page turner.
I can hardly wait to read the next book in the series.
In the interest of transparency: I was given a review copy of this book and I am voluntarily sharing this review.
It is my own honest opinion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2020
We get some new and fun insight into the characters in this installment. More of Wesley's background and reasons for his buffoonery flesh him out. Tiffany tests out her indepence and sometimes questionable morals. Ilsa looks for her place among the crew and what she can offer. Kubu tries to keep everyone on the straight and narrow, able to see the best in everyone. And Esper finds some lines she's willing to cross that she hadn't before. Which, of course leads to a world of trouble.
Wonderful ending.
Wonderful ending.
February 18, 2020
Mercy for Hire is back! This was a good, solid story in it's own right, and it's also set the stage for shenanigans and mayhem to come. Plus, we've got a bunch of characters dealing with similar sorts of personal problems, and I have a suspicion that that's going to come into play in new and interesting (and troublesome) ways. In short, a fun story that hints at what's to come. Esper's motley crew is growing!
May 24, 2020
An interesting start to the next mission pack
Wesley Wesley is fast becoming one of my favorite characters. As we learn more about him, he is showing unexpected depths.
Esper, on the other hand, is struggling to keep her moral compass and the outlook does not look all that promising.
I'm looking forward to what they (as well as the others) get up to in the book.
Wesley Wesley is fast becoming one of my favorite characters. As we learn more about him, he is showing unexpected depths.
Esper, on the other hand, is struggling to keep her moral compass and the outlook does not look all that promising.
I'm looking forward to what they (as well as the others) get up to in the book.
April 4, 2021
Continues on without the feel and magic of the first series. No new magic inovations. No camaraderie as from the original crew. Our favorite actor is enjoyable, but even Kubo's character development is stifled, but some is there.
April 25, 2024
The rescue mission in this story took a backseat to the heroes' internal struggles. It's par for the course this far into a series, once the reader is invested well enough into the characters' stories.
November 28, 2020
Always enjoy these short stories.
January 24, 2021
Interesting twists with character development and interactions. Makes me want keep reading the next book.
December 29, 2021
The gang is back together looking for a way to do good in the galaxy. Esper is forced to call on her dark side and loses control.
February 22, 2024
This story rubbed me the wrong way. 2.5 stars.
September 30, 2025
Decent and engaging story but marred but unnecessary and grotesque sexual storylines that add zero content.
September 11, 2020
This will be a quick review. Esper and crew pick up a new mission, things go sideways, but the crew is more than capable of dealing with Earth Navy elite without breaking a sweat. Couple "B" sides later, crew is reunited with extra goodies to boot.
There wasn't a while lot of character development. We got to know a little about Wesley Wesley, no real spoilers there. Tiffany was as annoying as ever, and Kubu was, well, Kubu.
This book felt more like filler or a setup for the next major story arc. Not sure which one it is and as a result I can't really give this book more than 3 stars. Still like the series, this one just didn't do it for me.
There wasn't a while lot of character development. We got to know a little about Wesley Wesley, no real spoilers there. Tiffany was as annoying as ever, and Kubu was, well, Kubu.
This book felt more like filler or a setup for the next major story arc. Not sure which one it is and as a result I can't really give this book more than 3 stars. Still like the series, this one just didn't do it for me.
June 14, 2021
I'm starting to think Kubu should lead this crew. 5/7.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews