⋙ [PDF] Black Ops Expeditionary Force Book 4 eBook Craig Alanson

Black Ops Expeditionary Force Book 4 eBook Craig Alanson

Download As PDF : Black Ops Expeditionary Force Book 4 eBook Craig Alanson

Black Ops Expeditionary Force Book 4 eBook Craig Alanson

It looks to me like this series has finally crashed and burned. I thought the first book was "meh" but gave the 2nd 4 Stars. The third was less fun than the second, but Alanson toned down the incessant insults and hostility between Joe & Skippy. One thing I liked about the series was first the story turned in unexpected ways and it didn't take itself seriously. I think that is a very hard thing to sustain and I don't think Alanson has done so. The 4th book, so far (I'm only 44% thru it), is less repetitive but also a lot less fun. For instance, Skippy's idea of negotiation is to cause a (real or fake, it's not clear) emergency evacuation of one part of the ship. Problem is: who's gonna trust him after that? So, it's slapstick and has in my opinion jumped the shark. I no longer find the insulting banter and threats back and forth funny. I don't find the artificial way Alanson removes Skippy's "powers" credible, it is obviously just to add tension to the plot, and is without and internal coherency imho. Joe seems to be losing IQ points at about 1 a day, most people will grow into a challenging job, but we can rely on Joe to continue to be unprepared and unmotivated to prepare (the contrast between the extensive planning he does and his failure to ask Skippy relevant background questions is stark).


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Black Ops Expeditionary Force Book 4 eBook Craig Alanson Reviews

The book like the series is interesting and written with a good story line. The author has a great imagination which is essential for six th writer. He seems to want to stretch out his books like a student needing to finish a 500 word essay for his English class. Mr. Alanson, my favorite sci-fy author is Asimov because of his ability to make you want to read every word or you felt like you were going to miss something special. You will sell more if you write less. Keep it up. It was enjoyable.
The "Expeditionary Force" series is at turns amusing, puzzling, and irritating. It purports to follow the exploits of a stolen spaceship commanded by Joe Bishop assisted by possibly the most intelligent being in the universe, an Elder AI in the shape of a beer can, playfully named "Skippy", which is all that stands between Earth and more advanced alien races that would exterminate humanity (for reasons that are not entirely clear). Their complicated exploits invariably involve Skippy using his vast powers to cheat the technical systems of whatever the target might be, while not revealing the intervention of humans in any way; and in the end, Bishop must come up with fixes since Skippy is not perfect and in fact is in his own fight with a worm.

There are plenty of serious moments, but the series is sprinkled with banter between Bishop and Skippy that is fun but not what one expects from a hyper-intelligent AI and often seems to simply be banal filler. And the overall mission to keep Earth safe is somewhat lost in the puzzle-solving required by each adventure. This series is filling a peculiar niche in the sci-fi universe, half-way between serious and light-hearted.

Book 4 requires the Merry Band of Pirates to foment a broad civil war among the lizards, and it is a typically good read.
Joe and his crew are still aboard their modified transport, but now they have to steal a couple junk ships to look as if the kristang are trying to get away with something. At the same time they're having trouble with the transport ship they've been living on. Well the plans don't go well, so they go to plan B, plan C, etc. With amazing luck, not all because of Skippy, they get out of tight situation after tight situation. Book reads well and is intense with drama. Skippy seems less abrasive in his repertoire. It's more of a game now between him and Joe. They seem to play according to a set of rules now. Skippy realizes that human thinking can be better than his, and goes to the humans for advice now. Yeah, you gotta see that! So the band of pirates go in under cover, and eventually come out with what amounts to good results more or less. Grammar? Meh, same o same o, same mistakes repeatedly.
If you love stories about space, pirates, humans-against-the-Universe and genius talking beer cans you'll love this series. This is the 4th book and it continues the series right where it left off in the third. This is one of those books which benefits 100% by being an audible. R.C Bray is just about the best narrator out there and he brings the character of Skippy to life in all his sarcastic, condescending and loveable glory. Sure Skippy is the ultimate Deus ex Machina but in this book the humans also get to shine. Start with book one of course and then after book four you can eagerly await book 5 with the rest of us.
As usual a good book, with a great sense of humour. The reason for the four stars is that the facts and descriptions can go on for quite some time and is a little annoying to go through.
Giving the perspective of the different aliens is refreshing and something i would like to se a little more of. If in the future books the merry band of pirates doesn't go visit earth, how about a chapter that describes the eartlings struggle to advance technologically and the concerns over a future threat. This i believe would give a little more depth to the story.

Keep up the good work.
No filler, no boring dialogue, and plenty of action with a chaser of great character interplay. I thoroughly enjoy this authors writing style. The banter between characters is spot on and the right amount of action ties it all together. Keep the books coming.......oh and by the way the cliff hanger is something the beer can would do.... not nice 😧
Another great addition by Craig Alanson. I'm picky about my scify military books. It's unusual to find a writer so early in their careers, not supported by a mainstream publisher, who is this talented. The stories and their plots are so well done I find myslef anticipating his next book. Only a couple writers, in any genre, can catch my attention and hold it. Kudos on another good addition to what I call the Skippy series.
It looks to me like this series has finally crashed and burned. I thought the first book was "meh" but gave the 2nd 4 Stars. The third was less fun than the second, but Alanson toned down the incessant insults and hostility between Joe & Skippy. One thing I liked about the series was first the story turned in unexpected ways and it didn't take itself seriously. I think that is a very hard thing to sustain and I don't think Alanson has done so. The 4th book, so far (I'm only 44% thru it), is less repetitive but also a lot less fun. For instance, Skippy's idea of negotiation is to cause a (real or fake, it's not clear) emergency evacuation of one part of the ship. Problem is who's gonna trust him after that? So, it's slapstick and has in my opinion jumped the shark. I no longer find the insulting banter and threats back and forth funny. I don't find the artificial way Alanson removes Skippy's "powers" credible, it is obviously just to add tension to the plot, and is without and internal coherency imho. Joe seems to be losing IQ points at about 1 a day, most people will grow into a challenging job, but we can rely on Joe to continue to be unprepared and unmotivated to prepare (the contrast between the extensive planning he does and his failure to ask Skippy relevant background questions is stark).