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Black Ocean: Mercy for Hire #12
Mortanian Rhapsody: Mission 12
It's time to fight dark with dark.
Tiffany knows what happened. Esper has fallen to the darkness within her. Rather than fleeing to safety, she escapes the presence of Dark Esper to find a way to bring back the woman she thinks of as a mother. But before she can drag Esper down the road to redemption, she'll first have to wade into hell to find her.
Meanwhile, Esper is being hunted by the latest in a long string of bounty hunters and assassins looking to collect the astronomical price on her head. What makes this one think she's got any better chance than all the rest that have tried and failed?
This one looks like an old friend.
Mortanian Rhapsody is the twelfth mission of Black Ocean: 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.
Tiffany knows what happened. Esper has fallen to the darkness within her. Rather than fleeing to safety, she escapes the presence of Dark Esper to find a way to bring back the woman she thinks of as a mother. But before she can drag Esper down the road to redemption, she'll first have to wade into hell to find her.
Meanwhile, Esper is being hunted by the latest in a long string of bounty hunters and assassins looking to collect the astronomical price on her head. What makes this one think she's got any better chance than all the rest that have tried and failed?
This one looks like an old friend.
Mortanian Rhapsody is the twelfth mission of Black Ocean: 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.
181 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 28, 2020
About the author
J.S. Morin
196 books630 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 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 10, 2021
The family has been ripped apart. The girl friend left first, now the daughter has fled. But, while the first ran because she was afraid of the changes that she had seen in the head of the family, the second left because she knew it was the only way to save her. But, the one she turns to has a secret that would rock not only those around him, but the entire BLACK OCEAN. Yet, it's that same secret that gives Tiffany the hope and the power to bring her mother back home. Now if she can only save her, before someone from Esper's past makes it all pointless.
The wonderful thing about Jeff Morin is that, he has populated his BLACK OCEAN universe with so many fully fleshed out characters that he can turn the focus on any one of them and the readers will say "Of course that's what she would do." That is certainly the case with the focus of this, the 12th entry in the Mercy for Hire series. Tiffany, while an integral part of the family ever since Esper rescued her from a manipulative mother and a criminal father, gets her day in the sun here. In the terms of character development, this is literally the longest amount of time that we are able to see one of the main characters grow and develop into her potential.
And, as is the way with most of the stories that Jeff spins, story elements that we thought were pretty well defined as "This is the way it is." suddenly are turned on their head and the REAL truth comes out (sorry...no spoilers here...you'll have to read the book to find out...!!!).
The conclusion of a major story arc comes to an end and a thread that has been weaving throughout the previous 11 journeys suddenly becomes the major feature of the ever growing tapestry.
The wonderful thing about Jeff Morin is that, he has populated his BLACK OCEAN universe with so many fully fleshed out characters that he can turn the focus on any one of them and the readers will say "Of course that's what she would do." That is certainly the case with the focus of this, the 12th entry in the Mercy for Hire series. Tiffany, while an integral part of the family ever since Esper rescued her from a manipulative mother and a criminal father, gets her day in the sun here. In the terms of character development, this is literally the longest amount of time that we are able to see one of the main characters grow and develop into her potential.
And, as is the way with most of the stories that Jeff spins, story elements that we thought were pretty well defined as "This is the way it is." suddenly are turned on their head and the REAL truth comes out (sorry...no spoilers here...you'll have to read the book to find out...!!!).
The conclusion of a major story arc comes to an end and a thread that has been weaving throughout the previous 11 journeys suddenly becomes the major feature of the ever growing tapestry.
July 22, 2020
We have come a long way in this series, and learned a lot about all the continuing characters. Now it’s time to spend a few more pages with apprentice wizard Tiffany.
Her magical mentor Esper is facing her own internal battles as well as a ruthless and determined assassin on her tail. Tiffany finds herself alone and in need of help, and seeks out the only people she can think of, the folk-singing, cheap-beer-swilling, holovid-watching crew of the space ship Mobius. Away from Esper, Tiff is forced to grow up and learn things from unexpected sources before returning, with new capabilities, to help Esper in any way she can.
If you have read any of the original Black Ocean series, then this book is a fun chance to meet up with old friends and see them from a different perspective. There’s also a chance to enjoy a flavour of classic epic fantasy in the middle of a sci-fi series, complete with dragons, pseudo-medieval villagers and someone being turned into a toad, or at least a frog. And a shout out to anyone stuck at home and filling their time doing jigsaw puzzles!
I found this book to be a real (or should that be virtual) page turner. It kept me engaged from start to finish and resolved a few subplots in a satisfactory manner, while still keeping things open for the next in the series.
Her magical mentor Esper is facing her own internal battles as well as a ruthless and determined assassin on her tail. Tiffany finds herself alone and in need of help, and seeks out the only people she can think of, the folk-singing, cheap-beer-swilling, holovid-watching crew of the space ship Mobius. Away from Esper, Tiff is forced to grow up and learn things from unexpected sources before returning, with new capabilities, to help Esper in any way she can.
If you have read any of the original Black Ocean series, then this book is a fun chance to meet up with old friends and see them from a different perspective. There’s also a chance to enjoy a flavour of classic epic fantasy in the middle of a sci-fi series, complete with dragons, pseudo-medieval villagers and someone being turned into a toad, or at least a frog. And a shout out to anyone stuck at home and filling their time doing jigsaw puzzles!
I found this book to be a real (or should that be virtual) page turner. It kept me engaged from start to finish and resolved a few subplots in a satisfactory manner, while still keeping things open for the next in the series.
July 24, 2020
It all comes together here.
Tiffany comes into her own as a main character, and as a wizard (finally!). Various crew members of the Mobius, past and present, are back to stir things up. And a few things happen that CAN'T BE UNDONE.
Moral quandaries. World-shaking wizardry. The return of familiar old faces. This episode is very satisfying, with several long-running arcs resolving; BUT, in the last pages it becomes clear that Esper & Co. now have an even bigger bullseye on their backs!
A must-read for anyone who has read any of the Mercy For Hire series.
Tiffany comes into her own as a main character, and as a wizard (finally!). Various crew members of the Mobius, past and present, are back to stir things up. And a few things happen that CAN'T BE UNDONE.
Moral quandaries. World-shaking wizardry. The return of familiar old faces. This episode is very satisfying, with several long-running arcs resolving; BUT, in the last pages it becomes clear that Esper & Co. now have an even bigger bullseye on their backs!
A must-read for anyone who has read any of the Mercy For Hire series.
September 4, 2020
This book was a large helping if Tiffany, with a side of Mort, and Dark Esper as desert. For. Tiffany centric story, i found it pleasantly enjoyable, more so than the last two books in the series. The pacing was slow to start, but once Tiffany entered Mortania, the story's pace picked up a bit, and remained laser focused on her "training". All this training eventually paid off in the end, curious to see how Esper and Tiffany's characters will grow as the series progresses.
May 24, 2020
Oh man. First, this was easily my favorite of the recent Mercy for Hire stories, and also possibly my favorite Black Ocean story of them all, and I've really enjoyed a lot of them. But this one... I had a grin plastered across my face multiple times while reading. We got to meet some old friends I'd really missed. Our new friends grew (some in surprising ways). I didn't know how it was going to end and it ended so well. Five big stars. I loved this book.
September 16, 2020
This is the type of story that makes me keep coming back to the J.S. Morin wellspring! If you have been following Esper since her days as a member of the cloth then you have got to read this!
The culmination of multiple books of tension and it comes together so well. The character development with Tiff is so intriguing due to her previous parts in the story. Overall 6/5 stars!
The culmination of multiple books of tension and it comes together so well. The character development with Tiff is so intriguing due to her previous parts in the story. Overall 6/5 stars!
May 24, 2020
This story brought the current mission pack to a very satisfying conclusion while setting things up for much more fun to come. The visit with old friends was enjoyable and the growth of the characters was well done.
May 26, 2020
We spend a lot of time with Tiffany in this story, and that works out well. Nice to see some players from previous installments of the Black Ocean universe revisited too.
Good set-up for future episodes detailing the ongoing adventures of Esper and her friends.
Good set-up for future episodes detailing the ongoing adventures of Esper and her friends.
June 23, 2020
This is the book I have been waiting for in this series I think. So much got moved .. Almost retconned, but honestly I found it well reasoned out and I'm pulled into the story again for sure.
Warnings - language
Warnings - language
April 24, 2023
I feel like this series keeps missing the mark. I have glimmers of stuff I like, and then it goes in weird directions. It's great when we touch back on old crew from the Mobius and get some of that magic back, but it's rare.
April 27, 2024
As expected, this book took a huge upswing from the last. Things got really interesting as the apprentice has an extended montage of training and confrontation, as well as a late story arc surprise. Very rewarding.
June 4, 2020
What a great finale to this story arc! I particularly enjoyed reconnecting with our favorite curmudgeon of a wizard. :)
July 21, 2020
So far, the best in the whole 12 episode series.
March 19, 2021
Good to see that thread wrapped up. Now to start the final thread.
December 31, 2021
Mort RETURNS! Along with the rest of the crew from the original series. This book culminates in final battle with Dark Esper. Also Tiffany reads the tome and get's a mind world of her own.
February 26, 2024
3.5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews