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Daniel is an Unwanted. Unlike the clone captains, his missions are menial. Until he's in the right place at the right time. No one else is close enough.

All Daniel has ever wanted is to fit in. However, being an Unwanted makes him at the bottom of the food chain. Clones despise the Unwanted, because the clones are the best of the best, genetically--that's why they were chosen to be replicated--cloned. Unwanted weren't even wanted by their parents.

However, Daniel wants to change all that. He's sick of the discrimination of the Space Academy and the Space Explorers. He wants to lead a discovery mission. He wants to search for extraterrestrial life--or at least the possibility of it. Instead, he is in charge of measly mining discovery operations. If Daniel has to search for one more asteroid belt containing precious minerals for the shipyards, he'll go insane. It's time to make a change.

The President calls with a mission that only Daniel can complete. Why? Because he's the only captain near the sector that needs to be explored. Yes, all because he's the closest. Daniel isn't going to let that bother him. He's going to fulfill the newly appointed discovery mission, and he's going to do a better job than any of the clone captains before him. Daniel is going to prove himself.

220 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 9, 2020

190 people are currently reading
159 people want to read

About the author

Craig A. Price Jr.

44 books117 followers
Craig A. Price Jr. is a USA Today bestselling author of Claymore of Calthoria Trilogy, Dragon's Call Trilogy, Dragonia Empire Series, Space Gh0st Adventures Series, and several other titles available in alternate realities. He loves to read, write, cast spells, and spend time with his beautiful wife and three children. He dreams to one day become a full-time wizard, but until then, he’ll settle for being an author. With more than a dozen novels under his belt now, it’s only a matter of time before he settles for world domination, but until then, you can follow his author journey as he takes over one reader’s soul at a time.

Craig lives on the Alabama Gulf Coast, among the ravenous mosquitos, humidity, and deadly predators. If you spot him in the wild, he can be dangerous, but will often be tamed by a Mountain Dew and Reese's.

Visit his website at: www.CraigAPrice.com for random useless facts, book news, and a deep sense of personal satisfaction. Side effects may include: dizziness, Unexplained Dreams and Visions of Craig A Price, bibliophilism, a sense of freedom, and in rare occasions: the desire to break out into dance. These side effects may be remedied by joining his mailing list and receiving FREE books, as well as the occasional random, useless fact.

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5 stars
178 (42%)
4 stars
133 (31%)
3 stars
75 (17%)
2 stars
17 (4%)
1 star
14 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
Profile Image for Marcus.
Author 21 books62 followers
July 22, 2020
"Ghost Probe" is a classic sci-fi adventure with an interesting twist. When a strange radio signal is detected in deep space, the president needs his finest officers to check it out. Unfortunately, the closest vessel is a lowly asteroid miner staffed with a ragtag crew of misfits.

The leader of this crew is Captain Daniel, an "Unwanted." In Price's future, the rigors of space travel are reserved for two sets of people. Clones of the best and brightest officers, and the products of unplanned pregnancies. As one of the latter, Daniel is considered inferior to his peers and sees this exploratory mission as a chance to prove himself to the galaxy.

With comic dialogue and situations, "Ghost Probe" will appeal to fans of "The Orville" and other sci-fi that doesn't take itself too seriously.
6,029 reviews41 followers
November 3, 2020
Our hero is captain of a starship, but no one takes him seriously until he becomes the wrong man in the right place and they have to use him.

This is book one of the series, so a fine place to start.

This is something of a space opera, but definitely more on the humorous side than the serious. The story is fairly well written, but kind of repetitive, making the same points multiple times. The characters are different and distinct, but they also are lacking in the depth needed to make them truly likable. They is a lot of humor, which is good, and plenty of references to pop culture, which I always enjoy. Overall, it was an intriguing start to the series and I will probably check out the next one to see if it steps up the game a bit.

Recommended.

I received an ARC from Hidden Gems for review purposes.
Profile Image for Colleen MIller.
2 reviews
February 17, 2024
The main character is unbearable and so desperate to be discriminated against. The whole premise revolves around the captain be an “unwanted” in a field full of clones and wanting his crew to “be as diverse as possible” by filling it with “real humans” (unwanteds like him) instead of clones. I was going to try and stick it out on spite alone so I could drag everything this book failed at but the author just decided to throw some religious garbage in the mix and I can’t take this flaming trash anymore.
Profile Image for Ron.
984 reviews5 followers
January 11, 2022
An entertaining sci fi novel that is heavy on pop culture references; especially Star trek and Star Wars.

Humorous with More than a few puns.
391 reviews1 follower
October 31, 2022
“Unwanted” is a generic, publicly acceptable way of saying the unplanned pregnancy or accidental births on earth and in space. Orphans by another name of the disposable by any other thought. They were put to the most dangerous, tedious, or menial task, and Captain Daniel was one of them, unlike the clones of the best and brightest. That is why it seemed like he and his crew were forever on asteroid duty until the president received word that a radio signal was coming from a system not too far from them. Usually, those clones would check something like this out, but Captain Daniel would not let this opportunity pass him by.

I have to say that I liked the humor, and of course, I’m a sucker for the little guy beating up the bully, but this is not a bully but public opinion as their foe. I think you did an excellent job on the political situation and explaining it to the reader. Then, of course, the applause made me smile.

If you are like me and like a wide range of sci-fi, you should like this read. I give it five stars out of five stars.
Profile Image for Abby.
146 reviews5 followers
September 24, 2020
A story of a space captain in the minority, an Unwanted, trying to prove himself so he can rank up to fully explore space and not just be a space miner – all with a ragtag group of fellow Unwanteds and misfit clones in his fleet.
Honestly, I started this book and kind of assumed I would hate it because of the corny jokes and pop culture references…those never work well for me. But as the story went on and I saw that these dad jokes are part of what make the character of Daniel, I started to have more grace for it, even laughed at a few. The pop culture references were a little much at times…but I will always appreciate a good Darkwing Duck reference.
The jokes that really fell flat was the gay joke made toward a character that landed so badly that even I as the reader felt awkward and really bad for them. I don’t think that was the point of the author. There is also a few misogynistic jokes that not only crash land but never get amended? If you’re going to have those qualities in a character, fine, but to have no other character chime in or defend women? The silence in amending any of those jokes was uncomfortable.
There were also some characters that drifted in, somehow knew everything and dropped some bombs of wisdom, and then are never heard from again. For example, when Daniel is talking to the priest…there was some golden nuggets of dialogue there that I wish there were more of throughout the book…but then he disappears and is never heard of again. There were also a lot of lines about coffee and it being the elixir to life and I really thought that was going to come around again to have some big reveal or some funny callback…but it was mentioned a ton in the beginning and then forgotten throughout the rest of the book.
I wished there were more action – it seems this is the first of a series so I do hope it picks up in the next books. For a book about traveling space and going to other planets, this really was lackluster for the potential action it could have had.
Now that the negatives are out of the way, let me say the true shining quality of this book is the spotlight it puts on being a minority, being looked down on from where you come from, and not being offered the same positions as others with better upbringings. In a dystopian world where clones go far, while those abandoned by their parents get pushed to the back of the line, the character of Daniel becomes a leader to the oppressed and the silenced. There are some really powerful lines about ideas being stolen, being discriminated against, and never able to reach as far as others due to circumstances outside of their control. There is also a great moment between Daniel and the priest where they’re talking about clones vs. humans and there are some great parallels to today’s world and being individual and unique as you are and not following the crowd and looking like everyone else:

“But again, no clones are the same. Yes, they share DNA. Yes, they have similar personalities and traits. But what makes a person unique is more than his DNA. It is how he grows up, who he’s around. It’s the relationships and the things that happen to us—the memories that make us, and the soul that binds us. That is what truly makes us unique.”

Overall, it’s a cheesy, fun space book with a few negative aspects that didn’t completely ruin it for me. After a series of DNF books, I did finish this one so that says something! And I may even check out the next one to see if it gets a little more adventuresome.
Profile Image for CA Portnellus.
292 reviews4 followers
January 31, 2021
Not amusing or hilarious as promised. Uninspired writing, common slang language and not well done. A fast dash to the end with an intentional bombshell that is neither surprising, amusing or worthy, nor do we care by the end.
Many parts of the story fall flat or do not work properly. The science is silly, a ship made of and fueled by hemp? The crew are not science minded, not do they care when sent on a special mission by their president downplaying the mission as a fun adventure rather than a possible serious discovery. Carelessly tossing about scientific samples, then eating them? Most spacers wouldn't dare eat a big bug!
The class struggle between the 'Clones' and 'The Unwanted' isn't played off well. The characters have no development nor are of interest, everyone is treated by the author in the same way, including their halting and repetitive speech and dialogues. Adding the kitsch of past songs, TV shows and lines is supposedly funny but the jokes do not fly. Poor edits make for sloppy work.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Julian White.
1,719 reviews8 followers
March 10, 2023
epub on Kobo: 1230004514664

Comedy SF is a hard job to pull off - and there are very few writers I can name who manage it (Eric Frank Russell springs to mind; tv's The Orville also works, partly, I think, because it's such an affectionate tribute to Star Trek). This manages to pull it off, even if there are a number of HitchHiker's Guide allusions (one of the failures, to my mind - but I realise I'm in a minority with that opinion). Daniel is captain of an asteroid mining ship, unusual in that he is an 'Unwanted', not one of the more common clones in space. He has managed to be promoted to his own command and has crewed his ship with hand-selected individuals - but wishes above all to be allowed to 'explore new worlds', a desire frustrated until now. His chance arrives when radio signals are detected and his ship is the closest available... He is determined to make the most of it.

An interesting variation on the standard space opera. Daniel's interest in history allows him to make a number of comments on the twenty first century seeming obsession with Ancient Aliens and such... (I'm not a fan of those, either) which goes a long way to redeem the somewhat clunky prose. (The four stars mean I 'like' it but not 'a lot' - but it's better than the 3 star rating suggests.)
2 reviews
Read
June 30, 2023
I really liked the story, so much so that I actually ordered and paid for book 2. I ordered it because the last page had a blue alien that actually worked on board the ship unbeknown to the Captain AND the story told that there were no other sentient life known in the galaxy. Quite a cliffhanger.

I wanted to know more about the story behind how that happened. I’m several chapters into book 2 now and really disappointed that the book didn’t continue there. I wanted to know more about the blu alien. So far, I’m sorry that I blew the money for book 2. I’m not planning to buy book 3 and if I could get a refund for book 2 I would.

I am a real person. I actually read the book and I approve and certify this review. No chatgpt here.
Profile Image for Mark Lucas-Taylor.
556 reviews
January 9, 2023
Ghost Probe Book1

On the face of it this is just a humorous spoof parody. Going deeper it is also an exploration (pun intended) of marginalism and class struggle in a society which on the surface professes to be classless.
Captain Daniel is the Captain of an asteroid mining vessel who not so secretly wants his ship to be an exploration vessel. To that end he’s crewed his ship with various slightly eccentric staff from Phillips, the chief engineer to Ned a 5 foot tall security officer. They are “Unwanted” cast aside in a society that values perfection over ability.
Oh and don’t leave the ship wearing a red shirt!
Profile Image for Jefrois.
481 reviews4 followers
Read
March 30, 2022
.
A dumbazz name for a starship, lots of annoying “sipping” and “accepting,” and “coffee,” a dumb pink name for asteroids, and…oh…a President who does not look like me.

“He wanted as diverse a crew as he could manage.”

This book is NOT FUNNY. It’s NOT HUMOROUS.

So far this book has earned ZERO stars…I am giving it:

MINUS 11,000 stars.

I HATE this book, the characters, the story, and the writing.

And…I quit reading at Page 8, and deleted it permanently.
.

.
Profile Image for Join the Penguin Resistance!  .
5,660 reviews331 followers
September 21, 2020
Review: GHOST PROBE by Craig A. Price Jr.



GHOST PROBE is Volume 1 of THE SPACE GHOST ADVENTURES. A too light-hearted Space Opera with rather juvenile humor, GHOST PROBE is the story of an exploratory spaceship, captained and crewed by the “Different” (not cloned). Usually tasked with asteroid mining, Captain Daniel just wants to finally discover alien life. How he does is really a surprise twist.
6,726 reviews5 followers
May 27, 2022
Wonderful entertaining space listening 🎶🔰

Another will written fantasy Sci-Fi space opera adventure thriller novel by Craig A. Price about a spaceship with a crew of misfits who are sent to explore a new galaxy. They excel in the adventure and return to medals and new adventure. I would highly recommend this novel to readers of fantasy space novels 👍🔰. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to Alexa as I do because of health issues. 2022 👒💼😊
Profile Image for Craig.
196 reviews2 followers
Read
February 3, 2023
To Boldly Go Where Only Aliens Have Gone Before

From boring astetoid surveys to studying life on other planets, the crew of the Ghost had a number of challenges to overcome. Some were dangerous, even deadly, while others were mostly intellectual. There are more than a few similarities to Indiana Jones' adventures; but with more humor. Beneath it all, there is resentment of discrimination ... of natural humans by clones. Some things never change.
Profile Image for Tim.
14 reviews
April 25, 2023
Struggle to finish this one. The claim to be 'humorous' seems to be limited to a few Star Wars, Star Trek, HHGTTG references, and a couple of 4th wall attempts referring to writing a novel. Characters come and go with little or no development. Plot is just a collection of short anecdotes about visiting several alien worlds with telegraphed risks resulting in the obvious results. No tension, real plot or interesting characters. I won't be reading any more of the series.
Profile Image for fred jones.
1,815 reviews12 followers
September 22, 2020
This book is so much fun. full of puns, TV sci-fi references and a crew of misfits. When the captain says "we are all idiots" he's not kidding. The writing is wonderful with a great sense of humour, lovely one-liners. I am looking forward to the sequel.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review
791 reviews6 followers
July 11, 2022
An interesting story. It shows how someone with inner and mental strength can achieve success while motivating people under him.Captain Daniel is given a mission to explore a system from which radio waves are being received. Will he an his crew be up to the task going where noone else has gone. A light story with humor and some action. Well worth reading and a surprise ending.
Profile Image for Doris Stillings.
270 reviews1 follower
October 25, 2023
Ghost Ship in space

This is a whacky book about a spaceship crew of humans, and clones first mining minerals on asteroids. The president sends them on a mission to explore a planetary system. They find some interesting things. This is a must read. The book is full of off-beat humor. Im not a space reading fan but loved this book.
Profile Image for Kate.
27 reviews4 followers
December 5, 2023
MC was a bit annoying for me and the number of current pop culture references seemed out of place for a story supposedly happening in the far future. They kept pulling me out of the story. The descriptions of the planets were interesting but the exploration process seemed rushed.
Overall, a quick fun read.
Profile Image for Logan Rapp.
1 review
January 21, 2024
A fun series that doesn't take itself too seriously while still offering a very unique take on alien life. The humor is pretty light, but enjoyable. The characters are diverse and all have their own unique identities. As long as you don't question why people still make Star Wars references in 1000 years, you will have a good time.
Profile Image for Ronda.
1,711 reviews47 followers
December 27, 2024
On the plus side, I wanted to see what happened next. On the minus side, at times, I had a hard time taking the captain seriously as a captain, which might well have been the point. I would like to see a rewrite of this focused on making the characters more 3 dimensional and less something from a 30-min series episode. The foundation is there.
2,549 reviews6 followers
November 26, 2020
The story line line sounded good but the book is silly and riddled with errors (habitual planets instead of habitable planets). Daniel is the worst captain of a spaceship ever. I couldn’t finish this book. Sorry.
Profile Image for Michael.
167 reviews
January 19, 2021
Just terrible

Far leftist ultraliberal political and pro-drug agenda. That can be excused (no it can’t but we’ll all pretend it can), but the humor can’t rightly be considered humorous and that’s why I quit reading it. I’m not sure how this author made a best-selling novel.
418 reviews1 follower
January 16, 2022
Call the Chief Janitor

Reader ready for break from regular fair will enjoy this. Author creative writing gives simple theme with smiles by reader. Good mixture of characters gives depth and authors point of book.
130 reviews2 followers
February 3, 2022
Very poorly written

Supposed to be funny, its not. Talks about how humans have explored the galaxy in 100 years, then says 539 years. Just not consistent or good, seems to be written by a middle schooler.
426 reviews
June 13, 2022
tongue in cheek

A great example of literature with a,not so hidden, message. I really do enjoy humorous space fiction and the message about tolerance is a good one but, I do get the feeling, I’m a little too grown up for this particular book
56 reviews1 follower
October 8, 2022
Planets

A wonderful story about exploring planets. Kept you interested to turn to the next page. Interesting details on the makeup of the planets and weather conditions. The pyramids and the searching of them made sense was interesting, too.
Profile Image for Evelyn Goughnour .
1,172 reviews
October 10, 2022
Awesome book!

This was an excellent book! I absolutely loved the ending. I loved how they got inside the structures and were able to map them. I also love how the chief scientist was game to try the new meat.
572 reviews1 follower
January 23, 2023
Many fun puns

Sooi many references to current culture that the ship may have to do a Trekkie time travel via black hole to make sense for many. Romance is slighted although hinted at while holding alcohol up as a virtuous celebration.
Profile Image for Andrew Booth.
42 reviews1 follower
March 9, 2023
Nice story, very light hearted with the odd funny moment. Good old fashioned humour, which is just what's needed in science fiction. The pace of the story bounds along, although there was little tension or conflict, and perhaps this was the thing that was lacking.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews

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