Adventure Capital

Black Ocean #9

by J.S. Morin

There's a new crime lord in this galaxy. Time to make crime actually pay.

Carl Ramsey had a derelict battleship and a hundred stranded navy veterans fall into his lap. With Earth Navy happier pretending none of them existed, it only seemed logical to turn them into a criminal empire.

Of course, when 95% of your employees have clean criminal records and by-the-book instincts, there are bound to be some bumps along the way. Never one to take failure lying down, Carl enlists the help of some old squadron mates to show the newcomers how to make a living on the wrong side of the law.

Unfortunately, Carl has a blind spot for his fellow Half-Devils. Will one rogue take building a dangerous reputation too far, and get them all killed in the process?

Adventure Capital is the 9th 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 Adventure Capital, and aim to misbehave with the crew of the Mobius.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Audiobook, Adventure, Fiction, Aliens, Magic

158 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 21, 2016

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

[Chafic (Rello) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I knew this was inevitable.

While a slow start and some really good installments with the Mobius crew, this definitely was both too short and too disappointing. Definitely the weakest in the series so far.

While more of a 'setup' towards the next set of books, this definitely was too short.

2.14 / 5

[Julie Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously a transitional story, but not a bad one if you want to see how Carl copes with training newbies into the criminal life, while juggling established criminals.

[Nooilforpacifists · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don’t ask me what’s going on here—going straight? Or going Sting?

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I keep rating these 4 stars, but they get better the further you go. The first one feels like a Firefly knock-off, but then the parallels begin to fade as the characters are further developed.

[Vilius · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure I like where this is going.

[Jas · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the ship found, the crew located, and Carl now sort of in charge, it is time to put things into action. Carl decides to put a mission together and go into a rather interesting part of space Eyndar/ARGO Demilitarized Zone, full of planets with companies doing various bits of mining, research and other ‘interesting’ bits of research, some of it that might be legit, some of it that really isn't. The great thing is, that ARGO is contractually bound to stay out of the area. However, Carl has come to realise that his band of misfits that he has found with the Odysseus are not necessarily up to doing jobs of this type of nature, and he might need some help. With Amy’s help, he decides to pull together his old crew from his fighter days aboard the Odysseus. This introduces us to a new set of Characters, Hiroshi and July, Toshiro (Samurai), Niang, Jaxon and Rachel and their kids Jaxon Jr and Lisa and Yommin. Hiroshi has his own ship, which kind of covers his personality as well, the Hatchet Job, and it becomes clear pretty quick that the crew that Carl used to run, although some of the best fighter pilots in the galaxy, were also one step away from Jail or the Psych ward. Carl had basically collected all the misfits, saved them, and put them into a not so elite fighter unit. This is a fantastic bit of the story, giving us some real history of Carl, and introducing some new blood to the story. We have constantly heard about ‘Blackjack’ and we got to learn about how Carl has a bit of a magic trick of his own with his ability to split his personalities in multiple different ways, any time he likes any which way, a trick he learnt from Mort to deal with the PTSD he suffered from the war, and the mental scars he received.
Morin has taken it a step further, diving into the past, and brining all these characters to us.
What unfolds is a rather fascinating mix of personalities, some that have moved on and are quite ‘normal’, some that have made a life for themselves and are pretty good, and some that are just plain nut bag crazy.
And this is what makes the story really interesting as the crews of the Mobius and The Hatchet Job go off on an adventure to try and find themselves a prize worth more money than they have ever seen.
Morin has out done himself in this book with his characters, reaching new levels as he dives into the various psyches of not just the main characters, but the new comers as well. He is obviously doing some serious research to understand the people he is writing and it shows.
Further to this is the brilliance of Mort, and his magic, combined with the unique way that magic and tech both co-exist, but also mess with each other so disastrously.
In the middle of this story, Mort and a small group are still ‘God’ hunting, trying to work out the source of the ‘Gods’ powers, and how they are keeping such a grip on the Marines and so many of the troops still on the moon.
This is a multi-faceted story, with plenty of different angles and sub-stories and is easily the best so far for not just its complexity, but the sheer brilliance of the character writing. Don’t miss it.

[Dale Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding the Odysseus looked to be the greatest wind fall that Carl Ramsey and the crew of the Mobius had ever enjoyed. And the potential for even greater rewards were flashing before Carl's eyes like a glowing miles high beacon in a starless night. Sure...there were the little stumbling blocks...like... how to turn potential into return... how to keep several hundred ex-military happy... and how to control a new criminal organization when all you wanted to do is fly off into the BLACK OCEAN for fun and relaxation.

And so... the game is on with a potential "mission" that failed earlier suddenly having the potential to turn a gigantic profit... that is until things go sideways per SOP... AND your ex-father in law shows up looking for his little girl.

It ain't all fun and games in THE BLACK OCEAN.

J.S. (Jeff) Morin gives his readers book 9 in the original Black Ocean series. In this case, it's more of a transitional story as he continues to establish and carry on a story-arc that will span several more books to come. And...while this isn't a knock down drag out action thriller from beginning to end there are some fun elements that continue through out the series and action that will leave you wondering exactly how the author is going to get his players out of the most current life threatening situation they are in.

As always, another fun journey with the crew of the Mobius.

[Robyn Blaber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well into the "second act" of the series, our brave captain and crew have expanded their mildly illicit operations to a cast of hundreds. The author seems to be struggling to keep us apprised of who is whom in this new melange. More is better, perhaps from a business standpoint, but I'm not so sure about fiction. Imagine the story of Lando Calrissian after taking over the cloud city of Bespin... I somehow think it would be a stretch to keep that story exciting.

Oh well, this episode (and that's really what each entry is, an episode), is over and we're off to see what becomes of this newly expanded crew.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of a start of a story than a complete one in itself. The discovery/rescue of the marooned Odysseus crew from the last mission ended with Carl Ramsay offering them jobs with his quasi-legitimate crew aboard the Mobius.

The premise is that Ramsay attempts to acquire the necessary capital to turn his now substantially larger crew into a "Syndicate" capable of pulling in far more revenue. It's an interesting premise but as is often the case in these Black Ocean stories, getting from A to B gets a bit muddled. This one is no different. While I like the idea of Ramsay and the Mobius crew "expanding" -- there's not a lot of narrative drive to this volume.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carl Ramsey takes several of the Navy veterans in his new syndicate on a mission to introduce them to the criminal life. He decides to enlist several of his old squadron mates to help, but of course nothing goes as planned. Meanwhile Roddy and then Mort are left in charge on Ithaca, much to their dismay. As usual, there is plenty of action and humor, but not enough Kubu in my opinion. When all is said and done, there might be a way to salvage the mission, but back on Ithaca there is a new situation that needs Carl’s expertise in fast talking. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all turns out in the next story.

[Adam K · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories are becoming increasingly more connected to one another as opposed to their more episodic predecessors. Adventure Capital picks up right where the previous story left off with Carl organizing a job for his newly established syndicate in order to prove that he can bring in the money. Basically, they are trying to establish a reputation for themselves in the black market. Considering the fact that this story and the next one are basically joined by the same paragraph, I am not really sure why they were split off at all since they are clearly the same story. In any case, it's hard to rate this one because it's only half of a story.

[C Patrick Daily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good book in the series. Esper is growing ever more as a character and Roddy as well. I don't miss Tanny as she's never been a favorite of mine, though I'm not sure about Amy, yet. I will say I need more Kubu whenever possible.

[Derek Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got a bit bored during this one. Might be this story is getting stale.. Or I just need a break. Either way this one felt more like a segway rather than its own story. Even up to the end where it just cliffhangs out, which has not been happening with these stories.. Which I very much liked.

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carl is now the boss of his own syndicate and he wants to be rich, but as usual none of his plans work as the should. Another nice book in the series, although this one introduces a lot of new characters and the old team dynamic suffers for it.

[Claudette Gabbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Still enjoying the series. Lots of action and adventure. The characters are still likable too.

[Moireach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun story following the crew of Mobius - plus a bunch of ex Earth navy staff...

[Scott S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Another good story, with a lot more going on now. This one didn't hold my attention as well as the previous books though.

Narration still excellent.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

This installment seemed to end fairly abruptly, and mid story-arc.

[Netz · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this in the omnibus version (audible)

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I miss the coziness of the original crew now that we have hundreds in the Syndicate. Not a very interesting story and it was super short and ended very abruptly. Hoping things get back on track.

[Derek Rabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid book in the series but it's a little annoying that there are 18+ books in the series and they are all short.

[A.R · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another weird one. It splits the crew, and introduces a lot of new characters. But the code of the books has been the crew, so this decision weakens the enjoyment of the story.

[Schvenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

With more than 100 new crew members, Carl has big dreams for big scams. This story has even more pieces moving on the board than usual, meaning more can go wrong than ever.

[Scott Wozniak · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seems to be the set up for a new arc in the story. Lots of new characters and changes to existing characters, but not a strong story in this one.