Space Pirate Roberts

by Jay Toney

Plundering innocent worlds; that is Doc Roberts’ job and he is good at it. He is awarded a Letter of Marque and a territory to hunt in exchange for his service to the Alliance and of course, a cut of his take. The Alliance government can't openly operate in Coalition territory without starting another war, so they use privateers like Captain Roberts to destabilize governments and cause unease among the people, in hopes that they will ask for Alliance protection. Cheating and treachery cause Captain Roberts to reevaluate his loyalty. He can live with a little pilfering, but not outright stealing from him and trespassing on his planet. The Alliance has gone too far. It is time to teach them that there is a price to pay for stealing from him. The Alliance sends a snobbish young captain, Captain Thornton, to assassinate Doc's wife. Her death is the start of outright war, at least for Captain Roberts. Now, he is both a pirate and a rebel, with people on both sides of the border who either love him, or want him killed. After fighting a duel with the Alliance's promising new captain, torturing him, and leaving him for dead, he has made powerful enemies in the Alliance hegemony. The Alliance military leaders want to make Captain Roberts suffer like he has made their rising star suffer. One man can only do so much, and Doc is getting tired. It is time to pass the reins of command to his son. But first, he must crush his son's dreams and teach him what it means to be an Alliance citizen.

208 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 14, 2019

Reviews

[Derek Beaugarde · Rating 3 out of 5]

For readers who like sci-fi action thrillers full of piracy, battles in space and attacks on planets, then this is definitely the book for you. This is not my go to genre of sci-fi and I found it somewhat difficult to warm to the antagonistic and violent main character Doc Roberts. The one redeeming and interesting character was the alien hominid Elenau who married Roberts and bore him a son Nathaniel. Once she was out of the story and Roberts set out on a journey of vengeance, I found it difficult to warm to any characters. I found a lot of the sci-fi elements much more interesting and well described, such as the descriptions of the various star systems, and the methods of travel in deep space, such as hyperspace jumps, etc. I felt the book lacked a clear climax and just meandered into what was obviously going to be a sequel. Could have been tighter in the edit with tense confusion at times and switches from first to third.

[Matthew W Seniff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has elements of military, space opera and other sci-fi genres woven into an off the beaten path novel. The author’s grasp of the first person narrative is as good as I’ve ever read. The character development is organic and it leaves the reader feeling almost a part of the cast of characters. World building is effortless and entrancing. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader at attention. I tend to figure out the endings in movies and books well before the final page but not in this book. I recommend this to all adult readers that love good sci-fi. The author is well worth your time reading.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Denise Stinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this on a whim. I didn’t actually imagine I would like it or even want to read the whole thing. But, it had “Pirate” in the title and I thought, “Oh, what the hell.”

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I loved every high octane moment of this adventure. I could hardly stop reading. This was one of the most unexpected treats I’ve had while reading an unknown book by an unknown author (unknown to me).

I will definitely keep this author on my radar and I am looking forward to reading more from this talented author.

Well done!! 🤘🤘🤘

[Mick Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the "Space Rogues" series by Jay Toney, and the first one from this author that I have read. The book follows the Captain and crew of the "Queen Anne's Revenge". "Doc" Roberts. He is a citizen of the Galactic Alliance, who has permission to plunder areas of space outside of the control of the Alliance. The book contains lots of action, some pretty good dialog, and a good plot line. It also has some very graphic and disturbing violence. This book is an above average entry in the sci-fi "Space Pirates" type of book.

I received an ARC in exchange for this review.

[Lori Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received as a review copy, this is an honest review. Being a space pirate, Doc Roberts and his crew enjoy the luxury of plundering innocent worlds' as a part of the Alliance; he didn't mind helping 'nudge' people to want the Alliance's help. But when things get personal, Doc Roberts isn't the person you want coming after you, because the higher the risks, the better reward... even if it puts your crew into extreme danger. A fast, wild, colorful read. Highly recommended.

[Karl Hakimian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compelling read with interesting characters. There was a lot to like here, but the execution left a bit to be desired. Not only was the story a bit disjointed (seemed to have been written as a bunch of shorter stories and then tied together without complete editing) but things kind of fell apart and the end and wandered off.

Several good places to expand on the characters was missed and the the story itself could have make for several book to completely flesh out what was going on.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Space Pirate Roberts (Space Rogue Book 1), my sixth read from author Jay Toney, an author whose books I've been acquiring since February of 2021. Well-written with characters & plot you can buy into with unexpected twists & turns. “I received a Kindle copy of this book & am voluntarily leaving a review." The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it. Next uo, Exiles (Space Rogue Book 2). (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

[Asiaman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only problem with this book is that I read it after reading Exiles. Space Pirates Roberts begins the
tale of Doc Roberts and later tells about his son who become the Captain. Thrilling read for any Sci Fi reader. Plenty of action and it sets up the next book Exiles perfectly. A thoroughly enjoyable book. Now I have to find book 3.

[Brian Busby · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely brilliant read.
The storyline is well written as is the portrayal of the characters lives . Great and gripping action scenes.
This is one of those books to write a review with out giving spoilers is difficult so I will continue with just saying I totally recommend the reading of this book.

[Aviar Savijon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great adventure the needs to be read by all. I loved it!!!

[David John Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hell of a great read

Wow what a cracking time did not think much at first but as I got in to the story it gets better and better just got the next so far brilliant thanks

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Battle scenes all felt too similar. Got bored and gave up about 60% into book.