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Black Ocean #5
Alien Racer
The need for speed meets the need for greed.
Ex-starfighter pilot Carl Ramsey, now captain of the Mobius, can't watch race pilots without scoffing that they've never faced hostile fire. When the ship's mechanic and warp drive wizard can't take it anymore, they goad Carl into entering a racing contest to prove it. Carl packs his bags, and his ego, and enters the Silde Slims Cadet Racer Challenge. With 250,000 terras prize money, it would be the biggest score yet for the crew of the Mobius.
Of course, Carl's not satisfied just racing to win. He hatches a plot for an even bigger score, dragging in an eliminated racer, an old squadron mate, and an unwitting corporate accomplice. With so many moving parts and Carl's seat-of-the-pants planning, what could possibly go...right?
Can the Mobius crew keep it together long enough to finally put together a big payday? Or will their plan, and Carl's ship, crash and burn?
Alien Racer is the fifth mission of Black Ocean, a science fantasy series set in the 26th century. Do you wish there had been a second season of Firefly? Do you love the irreverent fun of Guardians of the Galaxy? Have you ever wondered how Star Wars would have turned out if Luke and Obi-wan had ditched the rebellion to become smugglers with Han and Chewie? Then Black Ocean is the series for you!
Pick up your copy of Alien Racer, crank up the engines, and race for the cash!
Ex-starfighter pilot Carl Ramsey, now captain of the Mobius, can't watch race pilots without scoffing that they've never faced hostile fire. When the ship's mechanic and warp drive wizard can't take it anymore, they goad Carl into entering a racing contest to prove it. Carl packs his bags, and his ego, and enters the Silde Slims Cadet Racer Challenge. With 250,000 terras prize money, it would be the biggest score yet for the crew of the Mobius.
Of course, Carl's not satisfied just racing to win. He hatches a plot for an even bigger score, dragging in an eliminated racer, an old squadron mate, and an unwitting corporate accomplice. With so many moving parts and Carl's seat-of-the-pants planning, what could possibly go...right?
Can the Mobius crew keep it together long enough to finally put together a big payday? Or will their plan, and Carl's ship, crash and burn?
Alien Racer is the fifth mission of Black Ocean, a science fantasy series set in the 26th century. Do you wish there had been a second season of Firefly? Do you love the irreverent fun of Guardians of the Galaxy? Have you ever wondered how Star Wars would have turned out if Luke and Obi-wan had ditched the rebellion to become smugglers with Han and Chewie? Then Black Ocean is the series for you!
Pick up your copy of Alien Racer, crank up the engines, and race for the cash!
158 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2015
33 people are currently reading
159 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 - 30 of 37 reviews
April 23, 2019
This is right up my alley.
The need for speed meets the need for greed.
Intergalactic space racing? Pulling out a heist in the middle of that?
This just works so well - piracy and cons just makes this a really fun story.
Definitely the strongest showing of the series so far.
I absolutely loved this! Really quick read and immensely satisfying.
4.2/5
The need for speed meets the need for greed.
Intergalactic space racing? Pulling out a heist in the middle of that?
This just works so well - piracy and cons just makes this a really fun story.
Definitely the strongest showing of the series so far.
I absolutely loved this! Really quick read and immensely satisfying.
4.2/5
August 11, 2015
While competently written from a sentence-level perspective, and about a heist, which is one of my favourite things, this somehow failed to grip me. I'm reasonably sure it was the characters, who are both numerous and lacking in much depth - more collections of a few traits than fully-fleshed-out people.
There's an odd continuity error, with an alien character's name changing partway through.
I also found the violent incident at the end disproportionate and unnecessary.
There's an odd continuity error, with an alien character's name changing partway through.
I also found the violent incident at the end disproportionate and unnecessary.
September 4, 2024
I don't like NASCAR, even in space, even as part of a reality show. I was worried about Kubu the whole time and I was annoyed at Carl's heist plan. So this wasn't a book I liked as much as the previous ones.
February 12, 2019
Space NASCAR.
That's the basic hook of this quirky little volume of Carl Ramsay hearing an ad asking if he has what it takes to be the best space racer in the galaxy or a big cash prize. Because he has nothing better to do and shipping actual cargo is too prosaic, Ramsay enters the Silde Slims Cadet Racer Challenge (definitely NOT the Virginia Slims Racing Challenge).
What follows is a bit of a clusterfark. There are some interesting elements as Ramsay's fighter-jock history makes him a natural at the sport and his learning what makes a good show for the cameras is entertaining, but there is too much time spent in simulators and a hackneyed subplot of attempting to secure an even bigger payoff with a convoluted quasi-heist bogs this one down.
That's the basic hook of this quirky little volume of Carl Ramsay hearing an ad asking if he has what it takes to be the best space racer in the galaxy or a big cash prize. Because he has nothing better to do and shipping actual cargo is too prosaic, Ramsay enters the Silde Slims Cadet Racer Challenge (definitely NOT the Virginia Slims Racing Challenge).
What follows is a bit of a clusterfark. There are some interesting elements as Ramsay's fighter-jock history makes him a natural at the sport and his learning what makes a good show for the cameras is entertaining, but there is too much time spent in simulators and a hackneyed subplot of attempting to secure an even bigger payoff with a convoluted quasi-heist bogs this one down.
August 6, 2019
More like a Paul Newman move or a bank heist in a space ship—but nothing wrong with that.
February 17, 2018
So Carl being Carl, as an ex-fighter jock, he loves to abuse racing pilots, that is until the crew get sick of his bragging and tell him to put his money where his mouth is. So he enters the Silde Slims Cadet Racer Challenge, with a massive payout that will see the crew set for a while. Of course Carl is not happy with that, he wants to take it further, rigging the race so he can steal his borrowed racer, with a scheme that has to be seen to be believed.
If he and those that he has dragged into it not only survive, but pull it off, the 250K prize money from the race will be nothing compared to what they will get. Of course, they have to actually pull it off, and Live long enough to do so.
This is just plain old fun, a full on race that makes Pod Racing look like a joke, so many schemes, scams and ploys that the Oceans 11 crew would be lost in the first 10 minutes, and enough Magic and shenanigans to make Harry Potter look like a second rate street performer.
The best part of this story is that Carl actually manages to get the crew to join in with him to pull off the various aspects of the job. Of course it's a Carl job, so very little goes right or goes to plan, but that’s what makes these stories so much fun to read.
Morin is an evil genius, there is really no other way to describe how he constantly creates these crazy stories that are so good that you just can’t put them down, with such fantastic characters, and so many brilliant twists and turns. If you have read any of these, you know how good they are, and if you haven't, get into them, they are awesome, some of the best Sci-fi action fun, similar to Firefly, Killjoys, the Expanse etc.
I could sit here for hours talking up Carl, Tanny, Mord, Esper, Mrly, Roddy and Kubu, and all the fun things about them, but just go and read it, you won’t be disappointed!!
If he and those that he has dragged into it not only survive, but pull it off, the 250K prize money from the race will be nothing compared to what they will get. Of course, they have to actually pull it off, and Live long enough to do so.
This is just plain old fun, a full on race that makes Pod Racing look like a joke, so many schemes, scams and ploys that the Oceans 11 crew would be lost in the first 10 minutes, and enough Magic and shenanigans to make Harry Potter look like a second rate street performer.
The best part of this story is that Carl actually manages to get the crew to join in with him to pull off the various aspects of the job. Of course it's a Carl job, so very little goes right or goes to plan, but that’s what makes these stories so much fun to read.
Morin is an evil genius, there is really no other way to describe how he constantly creates these crazy stories that are so good that you just can’t put them down, with such fantastic characters, and so many brilliant twists and turns. If you have read any of these, you know how good they are, and if you haven't, get into them, they are awesome, some of the best Sci-fi action fun, similar to Firefly, Killjoys, the Expanse etc.
I could sit here for hours talking up Carl, Tanny, Mord, Esper, Mrly, Roddy and Kubu, and all the fun things about them, but just go and read it, you won’t be disappointed!!
June 19, 2019
For a 4 star review, I definitely have some mixed feelings about this one. I was just getting used to some of the formula driven parts of this series, and then this one comes around and spoils some of them.
In particular, this should have been Carl book, with the expectation that we were going to get a bunch of either Roddy or Kubu as the secondary focus. Instead, it's definitely a Carl book, but we get next to no exposition about his back story. We also get more Roddy and Kubu, but again we don't really learn much except that Roddy has real issues with alcohol.
My assumption is that this is at least partially because of the 4.X novellas having a fair amount of that exposition, as well as a transition into the "middle" portion of the series. We'll see how things go in the next book, but given the setup it seems like it should be a Tanny/Kubu book.
With all of that said, I did find the book quite enjoyable. We're well into the swing of things and quite comfortable with the characters at this point, so it definitely felt like the story flowed relatively naturally. It's a fun heist story, like most of the series, and a lot of it just nailed the "fun" feeling.
The mixed feelings comes from the constant creep of scope, and we still don't get much insight into what's going on. I'm still waiting on more exposition into things like the astral plane, some of the back stories, or a number of the things cropping up everywhere. This story in particular it feels like more hints were dropped about what lived in the depths of the story, but very little was exposed. I'm definitely still interested in the series, but I am concerned the unanswered questions will start piling up as I get deeper into the series.
In particular, this should have been Carl book, with the expectation that we were going to get a bunch of either Roddy or Kubu as the secondary focus. Instead, it's definitely a Carl book, but we get next to no exposition about his back story. We also get more Roddy and Kubu, but again we don't really learn much except that Roddy has real issues with alcohol.
My assumption is that this is at least partially because of the 4.X novellas having a fair amount of that exposition, as well as a transition into the "middle" portion of the series. We'll see how things go in the next book, but given the setup it seems like it should be a Tanny/Kubu book.
With all of that said, I did find the book quite enjoyable. We're well into the swing of things and quite comfortable with the characters at this point, so it definitely felt like the story flowed relatively naturally. It's a fun heist story, like most of the series, and a lot of it just nailed the "fun" feeling.
The mixed feelings comes from the constant creep of scope, and we still don't get much insight into what's going on. I'm still waiting on more exposition into things like the astral plane, some of the back stories, or a number of the things cropping up everywhere. This story in particular it feels like more hints were dropped about what lived in the depths of the story, but very little was exposed. I'm definitely still interested in the series, but I am concerned the unanswered questions will start piling up as I get deeper into the series.
May 11, 2020
Never let it be said the Carl Ramsey and the crew of the Mobius won't go to any length to make some coin. After all...it takes quite a bit to keep a ship and crew running and feed...along with all the other million and one things that need to be taken care. And no job is outside their bailiwick. Soooo...when the announcement that Silde Slims is offering the opportunity for ANYONE to win through their cadet challenge course and make it big time to the premiere racing league...winner guaranteed 250,000 credits!!!...Carl, the ex-military ace knows he only has to show up to win.
But, like everything else in the BLACK OCEAN, a simple race can turn into a life or death finish...and even Carl might not walk away from this one.
No one can say that J.S. (Jeff) Morin can't write adventure. From rescuing aged scientists in a prepubescent body... to liberating endangered and SENTIENT creatures from a world wide zoo on the edge of populated space... or returning a crew member home to face the family that they are dead too... Morin can handle any situation and tell a story to keep you entertained and demanding more. He has created a handful...plus some... of characters that the readers love and become fully invested in.
This is book 5 of 16 full novels in the BLACK OCEAN series. Morin has also created two other spin off series with ASTRAL PRIME that is currently 12 books and MERCY FOR HIRE which soon will be 12...and more to come.
But, like everything else in the BLACK OCEAN, a simple race can turn into a life or death finish...and even Carl might not walk away from this one.
No one can say that J.S. (Jeff) Morin can't write adventure. From rescuing aged scientists in a prepubescent body... to liberating endangered and SENTIENT creatures from a world wide zoo on the edge of populated space... or returning a crew member home to face the family that they are dead too... Morin can handle any situation and tell a story to keep you entertained and demanding more. He has created a handful...plus some... of characters that the readers love and become fully invested in.
This is book 5 of 16 full novels in the BLACK OCEAN series. Morin has also created two other spin off series with ASTRAL PRIME that is currently 12 books and MERCY FOR HIRE which soon will be 12...and more to come.
September 23, 2023
In this Mission, Carl gets to show off his chops when he enters a popular race for a chance to win 250,000 terras. The company that runs and sponsors the race provides lodging, meals, and even slick new racing ships for each of the contestants. Of course, the sponsor is not just in the racing business, they're also in the entertainment business and Carl has to play it up for the cameras or he might find himself weeded out.
Then things get complicated when Carl decides that the race is a good opportunity to toss in a heist. Will it all work out perfectly? Or will things go horribly wrong. The answer may surprise you. Or maybe it won't.
There is also a side story about Kubu where he basically gets kidnapped by researchers.
Overall, I thought this was another fun story, even if some of the things that happen seem a bit too convenient. It was nice to see Carl be a little more useful beyond talking his way out of a scrape. We get to see some moments of begrudging respect from his crew and a glimpse into why they trust him so much in spite of their usual "just barely tolerating him" attitude.
Then things get complicated when Carl decides that the race is a good opportunity to toss in a heist. Will it all work out perfectly? Or will things go horribly wrong. The answer may surprise you. Or maybe it won't.
There is also a side story about Kubu where he basically gets kidnapped by researchers.
Overall, I thought this was another fun story, even if some of the things that happen seem a bit too convenient. It was nice to see Carl be a little more useful beyond talking his way out of a scrape. We get to see some moments of begrudging respect from his crew and a glimpse into why they trust him so much in spite of their usual "just barely tolerating him" attitude.
May 21, 2018
Just gets better and better
This was a very fun mission, with a lot of Carl time planning his big plans as he so often does. Carl puts his money where his mouth is to prove his racing finesse, with 250k terra at stake. No sweat off Carl's back. Of course nothing is as easy as it seems and problems will arise.
Each book seems better than the last and I have to assume it's because of all the character and story development previously built upon.
Sure, as Morin states, one could dive into any mission without having to read the previous installments but I feel it's so much better with all the history and backstory involved.
Either way, Mission 5: Alien Racer was a blast and as expected I'm quickly moving on to the next!
This was a very fun mission, with a lot of Carl time planning his big plans as he so often does. Carl puts his money where his mouth is to prove his racing finesse, with 250k terra at stake. No sweat off Carl's back. Of course nothing is as easy as it seems and problems will arise.
Each book seems better than the last and I have to assume it's because of all the character and story development previously built upon.
Sure, as Morin states, one could dive into any mission without having to read the previous installments but I feel it's so much better with all the history and backstory involved.
Either way, Mission 5: Alien Racer was a blast and as expected I'm quickly moving on to the next!
December 21, 2019
Okay, Alien Racer, I can’t even…Carl Ramsey is one crazy pilot, who comes up with an idea to enter a race to win 250,000 terras in prize money, with a convoluted plan to do a heist as well. He brings in a few more people into the plan, and then things go sort of sideways, but then they go straight and take a left turn…but everything comes out right for Carl and friends in the end, I’m just not sure how the heck they got there, but it sure was fun watching them. I love this series, and I’m looking forward to the next one so I can see what happens with getting Kubu back, I’m sure there will be lots of excitement.
December 5, 2023
The Black Ocean series are fun reads. Not too heavy, entertaining characters, plots and dialogue. And plenty of plot twists. The Mobius crew find themselves on Roddy's home planet, where a series of race championships on the line entices Carl to win the prize money. The intrigue steps up when another racer tries to blackmail Carl into throwing the race. Will Carl succumb to the pressure or will his ego and competitive spirit win out. You'll have to read it to find out.
July 1, 2017
YES! Now that's a tail of piracy and con men.
April 11, 2018
Short and sweet. Have enjoyed all these so far.
Narration is still excellent.
Narration is still excellent.
August 16, 2018
Fun space adventure sequel.
November 29, 2018
Best one so far.
January 10, 2019
The crew is planet side for a while. It makes for an interesting change.
March 18, 2019
All in all, let's not forget these are short stories, and the rhythm is just perfect all through. Best one yet.
May 2, 2019
At first I thought this was going to just be a boring race, but I should have known that was wrong. Really enjoyed it.
November 1, 2019
read this in the omnibus version (audible)
December 29, 2019
Abandoning for now. Too oot
January 11, 2020
After Carl is goaded in to proving he can race, as good as he boasts he can, a new heist is born for the Mobius crew. The characters are now well established and this is another good story.
September 3, 2020
7/10 (Good)
April 19, 2021
Racing and a heist in this one.
January 17, 2022
Another fun little story.
September 13, 2023
It's good but felt a little I don't know not at the same caliber as the others, not I have at this point binged the audiobook and may have a little bit of series burn at this point.
January 12, 2024
3.5 stars.
April 30, 2024
This ensemble space adventure finally pays off after the first handful of books to establish the crew.
A fun easy read.
A fun easy read.
May 27, 2024
Filled with twists until the very end, this adventure is more of the typical low key fun.
June 1, 2025
Carl goes further with a con job that I expected and the ending was better than I thought. Fun adventure.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews