Galaxy Outlaws: The Complete Black Ocean Mobius Missions, 1-16.5

By: J. S. Morin

Narrated by: Mikael Naramore

Meet the galaxy's unluckiest outlaws.

Carl Ramsey is an ex-Earth Navy fighter pilot turned con man. His ship, the Mobius, is home to a ragtag crew of misfits and refugees looking to score a big payday but more often just scratching to pay for fuel. The crew consists of his ex-wife (and pilot), a drunkard, four-handed mechanic, a xeno-predator with the disposition of a 120kg housecat, and the galaxy's most-wanted wizard.

Along the way, the Mobius crew crosses paths with the Black Ocean's vilest scum, from pirate fleets to criminal syndicates, and most law-abiding scum, including Earth Interstellar Enhanced Investigative Organization, ARGO high command, and the Convocation of Wizards.

Time and again, riches lie just out of reach, because for all the talents Carl Ramsey and his crew possess, they've also got an outlaw's greatest weakness: a conscience.

Galaxy Outlaws is a collection of all 16 Black Ocean missions chronicling the adventures of the starship Mobius and her crew, along with six short stories. This series is the perfect cure for the Firefly Season 2 blues. It's what you'd get if The Orville took place on Serenity, or if Star Wars had wizards instead of Jedi.

©2017 J.S. Morin (P)2025 J.S. Morin

Okay story

Any additional comments?

So far I've gone through 20 hours of this audiobook. I hate to disagree with other reviewers, but, this is not "like" Firefly. The ONLY thing it has in common with Firefly is: it's one ship with a bunch of misfit crew stuck together. That's IT. The story is okay, and I always enjoy listening to Mikael Naramore. If you can get past the one sanctimonious religiosity bulls*** character it's... okay.

"The Spiritual Successor to Firefly"

This is destined to become a beloved Sci-Fi classic! The writing is complex, but not convoluted. The characters broaden and deepen and you feel like you were on a real journey with them.

I could write so much, as this is now a personal Top 10, but I will instead just say this:

BUY IT. One credit for the whole series?!? How could you go wrong? This is like getting all of Firefly for one credit, or all of Cowboy Bebop, or Star Wars...Just do it.

Oh, and I've never heard this narrator before. Scott Brick *used* to be my favorite narrator. Now its Narramore.

Magic+Science Mix As Well As Oil+Water

First off, J. S. Morin's writing skills are excellent Mikael Naramore narration was superb. I was also intrigued by the premise that mixing science and magic were essentially opposing forces with magic usage having the additional negative effect of making thing based on physics go haywire when used around it. The author also picked an eclectic bunch of misfits crewing the Mobius which worked well in the beginning episodes of this series but eventually became somewhat stale as the episodes moved on. To Morin's credit, it seemed that he realized this and made adjustments to the crew throughout the series.

Regrettably, most of the episodes proved not to be all that intriguing and fell into somewhat of a repeating formula, even though the circumstances differed. Again, to Morin's credit, it seemed that he sensed this and worked to transition Carl the bumbling grifter to Carl the caring grifter. There were also several areas left dangling like knowing how much of Mort went to the great beyond versus staying behind among others and one section that was never explained; that of how magic came about in the first place.

Note: I also agree with one reviewer that the chapter sound effects were an unwelcome distraction.

James Garner in space

First of all, this is no more Science Fiction than Star Wars is.
Second, it's great. The author explicitly states this is meant to be the spiritual descendent of Firefly/Serenity, and I'd say he accomplished that goal. I'm old enough to see James Garner as Carl, so the old Maverick show is a similar vibe.
Carl's schemes are byzantine, and it's often not clear what is his eccentric genius and what is absurd luck, but the capers are a blast and 90% of the time our toes are hanging over a ledge.
Every character is fully realized and quite distinct, so that attributions are not really needed.
These truly are outlaws, and we ought not to root for them, but I did.
Mikael Naramore helps greatly by having a great range of very distinct, appropriate, and consistent voices, and he clearly takes the trouble to understand the author's intent with each line.
I was looking for hard science fiction when I bought this, and it certainly is nothing of the sort, but my work fell behind as I enjoyed every minute of 83+hours with the crew of the Mobius.

Wonderfully un-serious science fantasy.

I tend to go for very tight storytelling and highly developed world building. Like others have said though, this is a refreshing and fully entertaining 80 hour ride for one measly credit. The writing style and world building lacks that wicked edge you find in truly great fantasy and fiction, but easily makes up for it in just plain fun, sometimes juvenile, and always irreverent storytelling. It took fully half of the first book for me to finally let go of some annoyances and just relax into the characters and plot line, but I’m glad I stuck with it. Don’t expect any actual science here. This is lowbrow space magic pirates all the way and a lot of fun.