Regarding Tom Doolan's wonderful story, BLACKSKULL'S CAPTIVE. . . . First, I like pirates. Second, I like space opera. Third, I like pirates in outer space. Fourth, I like Orcs. Fifth, I like Orc pirates in a space opera. Well, Blackskull's Captive certainly fits the bill. Doolan weaves a neat little tale of young Jack Munro, taken captive by the notorious Orc pirate, Blackskull. While there's plenty of action and atmosphere in this tight little short story, there's a subtleness of character that undercoats the plot. Young Jack grows and learns, and even comes to respect the Orcs, even though they are his enemies and had killed a family member. There's a "friendly enemies" nuance going on here, as a relationship begins to develope between Jack and Blackskull. There's also another Orc character, a character I quite like: his name is Barka, and he sort of takes Jack under his wing. But just when you think you know where the story is going, it takes you by surprise. Even though you may think friendships are forming, well . . . read this story for yourself and find out. Doolan has something to offer here, and I hope his next one furthers the set-up, so that we get more of a sense of the world/universe Jack lives in. And I have a feeling that this tale, and the next one, will become chapters in a novel. I hope so. I was sucked into Jack's story by the end of the first paragraph. Oh, and did I mention a cool sci-fi gizmo called the Haven Device? Well, all I can say is, I wish I had thought of it first!
It's available now, as an eBook download, from amazon.com
2 comments:
Thanks, Joe! As always, happy to hear people are liking it. The first draft of the second story is well underway. :)
Also, it's available in other formats at Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/145839
Very cool, Tom -- and you're very welcome. You got something going on here, and I look forward to more --- especially a novel! :)
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