Ghost of the Black

by Alan Baxter

Ghost is possibly the best bounty hunter in the universe and he always gets the job done. At least, that's the reputation that he rides on. When the DAP employ him to track down and capture a rogue Magicker that's running across the galaxy killing anyone that gets in his way, Ghost realises that this is a job that could cost him his reputation. It's also a job that could cost him his sanity.

An action packed, noir sci-fi novella from Alan Baxter, author of dark fantasty novels RealmShift and MageSign.

Genres: Science Fiction

Nook

First published July 8, 2009

About the author

My book rating system:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Brilliant, I bloody loved it!
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Really good, highly recommended.
⭐⭐⭐ - Enjoyable, well worth a read.

I don't talk about ⭐⭐ and ⭐ reads because I only talking up the good stuff. That's why my Goodreads rarely has anything under a ⭐⭐⭐.

Bio: Alan Baxter is a British-Australian multi-award-winning author of horror, supernatural thrillers, dark fantasy, and crime. He’s also a martial arts expert, a whisky-soaked swear monkey, and dog lover. He creates dark, weird stories among the valleys of southern Tasmania.

Fond him online at www.alanbaxter.com.au

Reviews

[Jodie How · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baxter's writing voice has sass and punch. His writing is witty and entertaining with a big fat 10/10 fun factor!

This novella was somewhat reminiscent of Firefly. Although a sci-fi, the futuristic and technological elements of the story were not laboured on. 'Ghost' doesn't get bogged down in complicated exposition, making it a true breeze to read.

Baxter's characters are believable and well-rounded. I do hope this isn't the end of Ghost's story. Fingers crossed there are yet more adventures from this character to come!

And of course, there's the trademark fight scenes that Baxter is known for - wasting no words but conveying everything the reader needs to visualise.

Want kick arse sci-fi action? Lover of Joss Whedon's Firefly? Then this book is for you!

Thank you Alan! All the best in your future endeavours.

[Alan Baxter]

This is my noirish sci-fi novella, now available in hard copy from Amazon.

[Phillip Berrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this novella in one day and, despite some flaws, I found it a captivating read.

I have some issues with the description of FTL space travel used in the story and the lack of resolution of one aspect of the story.

The first problem could have been fixed by setting the story all on one planet and having the travelling involved in the story constrained by normal distances and the availability of more normal modes of transportation and communication rather than having it occur over unbelievable numbers of lightyears. Even the use of jump-drive technology would have been better than how travel between the stars is described here.

To my mind the second issue is more problematical. At one point the protagonist is given aid from an unexpected source, a religious group acting on a prophecy. To my mind this was one of the most intriguing aspects of the story. But, the prophecy's part in the story is never explained.

Okay, but don't start thinking that this story is not a science fiction story. It is. At the end of the tale the author presents the reader and the world(s) of the story with a revelation in fine sci-fi tradition. But, in keeping with the character of his protagonist, we are just left to wonder what might happen as the main character collects his fee and simply leaves the scene as quickly as he can.

And, strangely enough this worked for me because it was in character. Though I do hope we find out more about the 'Verse because there were some intriguing hints about it which I would like to find out more about.

It's a good yarn as a mystery thriller, but I wouldn't recommend it for those who like their science fiction hard. As I do like my science fiction hard, and could see how the story could have been improved, I've given it three stars, but it probably deserves an extra half star.

[Tracy Riva · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ghost Of The Black by Alan Baxter really had the potential to be a good story. some of the elements were there but it rushed toward the end of the story. Also the transition between scenes in some places was unimaginative, merely a spaceflight to a new place or a fight and the new scenes started. The plot line was good, but the characters, including the "hero" were all stereotypical.

Baxter's Ghost of the Black and my appreciation of it may have been affected by its brevity. It is a very difficult task to develop intense characters in novellas and short stories and Ghost Of The Black is not an exception to this problem.

The story line has so much potential for a longer work and I think I'm biased because that's really what it made me want, a longer work were Baxter could explore the characters more and really add some depth to the story. I really like the plot, I just think both the "hero" and the "villian" could have been much rounder characters.

I actually wish we had a score that was a two-and-a-half because there were aspects of this story that I really liked, but there were also aspects I felt were only okay, so given the choices offered I had to give it two stars, though in truth it falls somewhere between two and three.

[Anders · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is fast-paced and told in a first person narrative. The protagonist felt like a rough private investigator from an old TV series. He is driven by something he probably doesn't know himself and he isn't too burdened with caring for others.

There were some things that could have been explained more, but "our hero" is probably not that interested in details other than getting the job done so he can get another, and another, and another.

I liked the story a lot. Unfortunately I didn't find anything else from the author that resembled this book, but I'm pretty sure I will read more of his books. Hopefully a sequel?

[Mark Ennen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ghost always gets his man. The chase across the 'verse takes Ghost to many new and not so organized territories. Alan Baxter does an excellent job on this one, highly recommend this book and all of his books.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent novella! I love the straight forward, no nonsense prose it’s written in - it suits the story and main character so well. Fun reading from beginning to end.