The Behemoth Job

Space Rogues #3

by John Wilker

For the crew of the Ghost, it's never just a job

The last one nearly cost them a member of the crew.

Well, they fight spider-bears, meet Bennie’s family and learn more than anyone wants to about Wil’s digestive tract, and Wil reveals what he’s been hiding under his bed all this time.

And then it gets interesting!

An old boss calls on Wil, and while he’s reluctant to get back into working with Xarrix, the money is outstanding, and the job seems straightforward. With nothing else on their plates, the crew of the Ghost finds themselves in a sector of space deemed “untamable” by the Galactic Commonwealth, working with a warlord with some pretty big plans.

Things, as you might expect, go downhill fast.

Xarrix has learned from past experiences and assigns one of his own to stay aboard the Ghost to keep an eye on the crew and make sure they behave themselves, as if that was possible, worse yet it’s someone the team knows, and don’t particularly like.

And then there’s the space battle and grilled cheese.

Can Wil and the crew save the day one more time? There’s only one way to find out, get your copy today!

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction

346 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 24, 2018

About the author

John lives in Denver with his amazing wife, and two nutty little dogs, where he enjoys patio beers, gardening, and camping.

He's been writing since he could but made the leap to sharing with the public in 2017 with his Space Rogues series.

John is an active member of the SFWA as wells as a board member of the Colorado Authors League.

He also writes under the pen name J. Beckett.

Reviews

[John Bryan]

The Behemoth Job is my favorite of the three so far. I've enjoyed all three but #3 has a better flow between the quips between crew members. I'm finding the old Earth pop references smoother and more endearing (they were a fit forced in the first book, but still funny). Nice twists and turns and I personally enjoyed the lack of devotion to Chekhov's Gun literary law - makes the story more realistic. Fun book; reads really quickly. I'm genuinely looking forward to #4.

[Mr. Bear]

A respectable 3.8 stars.

Wil and the crew/found family of the Ghost have saved a group of non-aligned world from political conspiracy, and saved the GC from annihilation from beyond known space. What's left for them to do but lead a quiet life running cargo and the occasional odd job? Well...
It starts with a family emergency that leads to phobia inducing criminals, then to a job offer from an unlikely source to a seething new rivalry that leads to massive sentient beings rights violations to... well, let's just say that there's a lot happening in this addition to John Wilker's Space Rogues series.
Without listing spoilers, I feel I need to address an aspect of the plot for the latter part of the story. If you are a ST: TNG fan, you'll know where part of the inspiration for The Children is taken. To be honest, it troubled me a little until I reached out to someone with inside experience with this story, and the sci-fi shows that collectively inspired it. I see now that they are aspects of homage and parody, not simply recycling of a story idea. What's the humorous quote? "Good authors borrow from each other. Great authors shamelessly steal."? Recognize the similarities to the original sources, but then sit back and enjoy Mr. Wilker's treatment of it as he makes it fit in seamlessly to his characters and their universe.
On the whole I enjoyed The Behemoth Job, but a few of the running gags are losing their haha status for me, but that's a personal preference on my part. There are also a number of simple editing errors that can cause a reader to momentarily stumble as they go. I know the author has replaced the original editor to help clean things up for future editions.
In spite of that, I will continue to recommend this series to readers who enjoy themes like found family, snark, moral conflict, bawdy humor, a smidgen of romantic entanglement, ship to ship combat, hand to hand combat, fun times, and a whole lot of conversations around the dinner table. Buy and read, then discuss if you think I'm wrong, but I bet you'll agree.

[Anne Scott]

Funny series

I don't laugh out loud a lot, but have with this series. I've read all three of the books and each one is quite good. If you like scifi, Farscape, Serenity, etc., you'll love this series. I'm looking forward to more books.

[Marianne]

Once more the crew gets mixed up with Xarrix.

Xarrix offers a job Wil and the crew can't turn down for the money offered. But refused to tell them everything until they get to the Werdlow World 3. As usual nothing is what it seems.

Read and enjoy!!

[Paul]

I really enjoyed these three books but I wish the writer would check for spelling mistakes, missing words and added words, it spoils the read for me but again I really enjoyed the stories and following the crew. I look forward to book four

[Vir]

This book did not dissapoint. I can’t begin to explain how much fun this series is. So much action and humour. Wil Caulder is the best, but my favourite character has to be Gabe. He just gets better and better the more the story progresses.

[Robert DeWoody]

A lot like another sci fi series that was on tv.

The name of that series was Farscape. The names were changed bit the descriptions were almost identical. One human, one little green alien and characters called peacekeepers.

[Terry]

Good job

Quite the tale,, great imagination of the galactic commonwealth and its inhabitants along with other entities,, looking forward to the next book!

[Carl Johnson]

This series just gets better and better, a human, robots, aliens, gangsters, space battles and bad guys! What more do you need for a totally entertaining yarn! Highly recommended!

[Rick Gellman]

Third book in this series, and the third one I've read. I've enjoyed them all. This, like the earlier ones, is a lightweight semi-comic adventure science fiction novel. VERY light weight on the science. HEAVY on the fiction. There is no attempt at realism. There is good writing, including good dialog, in a story that carries you along. There are good guys. Evil bad guys. Robots. Aliens. Space travel. Plenty of action. Difficulties to overcome. Everything you need, if you like this kind old fashion space opera for escapist fiction. Put your troubles aside for awhile, and get involved with theirs instead. It's a lot of fun.

[Keith]

Staying Afloat

I’m not sure why, exactly, but this series continues its chaotic appeal with a storyline which rambles along. Decent character development, even for secondary characters, and enough plot twists to generate interest. Each installment comes to a suitable close, resolving the current story threads before introducing the next book.

[Scott Jann]

I'm really enjoying the stories of the Ghost's crew and the underdog, human Wil Calder. Now that we're familiar with them, it is fun to read more of their adventures. This story felt sort of like another one that could fit somewhere in the Star Trek universe, but with Wil's less conventional approach. Another fun installment in the Space Rogues series!

[Marianne]

Very enjoyable series. Lots of action and very cool characters. I did get a little lost during the battle working out who was who and on which ship but that usually happens for me in big battle scenes anyway so not really surprising. I still miss some characters depth, but with all the action I kinda forget for the most part.

[Shawn Wasilensky]

Such a great series!

I love these hilarious characters & their antics. After having read the ‘Space Team’ series I can’t help but think how Cal & Wil would have so much frellin fun together! Even their teams would hit it off (esp now with the new addition)

[Joseph Gorup]

Really enjoying this series

Great series I really like they are still adding to the crew. Nice to close out a few story lines from the first two books also

[Adam Marcinkowski]

Another doozy

Gotta love this fun filled crew and there adventures. Looking forward to episode 4. Great work Mr. Walker. Always a good read

[Jan Potts]

Great read

Enjoyed the adventures and antics of the Ghost crew very much. Looking forward to book 4! It's like I'm part of the crew!

[Tracy Cuchia]

Space rogues 3

This story has lot of good action. I am enjoying the author's good work. It is entertaining and worth your time

[Jesse Deleon]

Gotta love the ending!

I did and am still laughing! Having enjoyed reading this series so far. I again say Thank you to John Wilker. A fan!

[Joan Lloyd]

A space opera with lots of shooting, wise cracking and Wil's American'isms that no one else understands and amuse the reader. Total fun and silliness. On to book 4

[Jeff Miller]

I need to go back and review how many stars I give previous books, I don't give them enough credit for being as entertaining as they are

[Torfinn Ingolfsen]

I liked it.

[Matt]

Quite a fun romp. I’m enjoying the books more as I go, probably the writing is improving, as is the depth and enjoyment of the recurring cast of characters.

[S D Lawrie]

The third excellent story in the series. Just noticed there are 6 or 7 more.

[Matt]

I'm more interested in the crew developments than the main plot, but it's still a quick enjoyable read

[David Hyder]

Always hokey always fun

Old fashioned space opera in a lot of ways. No physics, no orbital mechanics and cartoons
characters. Some of whom are fun in print but aggravating in real life.

[Marcus]

Interesting

This is a sometimes a very funny story, that have little additions of deep thoughts with a little action and romance thrown in. Overall, a very good story/book to read.

[Gary]

This was a fun, easy read which revolves around the only human out in the galaxy, away from planet Earth. The main character is quirky and at times like a fish out of water. The other main characters are also interesting and the author expands their backstories throughout. I’d recommend this book if you like Guardians of the Galaxy and Firefly.