Tempus Fugitive: Mission 1

J.S. Morin

May 2023 · Black Ocean: Passage of Time Book 1 · Magical Scrivener Press

About this ebook

The next generation is here, and trouble is in their DNA.

Jessie and Eric Ramsey have a family history of crime. Fighting back against heredity, each tried to make their way in the galaxy by respectable means. Jessie joined Earth Navy; Eric went to college for magic. But fate wasn’t having it. Eric was expelled. Jessie went AWOL. Now, due to a magical mishap that wasn’t entirely anyone’s fault (we swear!), they’re stranded 5 years in the future on a Mars that’s no longer friendly territory.

Caught behind enemy lines in a galactic civil war they didn’t know about, the pair need every trick in their respective books to survive on Mars long enough to escape. Along the way, they’ll meet old friends and make new foes, and if they’re very lucky, manage to figure out where they belong in this new galactic order.

And Mars is only the beginning. Time travel is a one-way trip, and the only way to stop is death. And Ramseys don’t die easy.

Tempus Fugitive is the first mission of Black Ocean: Passage of Time, a science fantasy series set in the late 26th century. What if Futurama jumped 5 years ahead instead of 1000? What if Doc and Marty lost the car keys? What if Bonnie and Clyde were siblings instead of lovers? Passage of Time jolts the Black Ocean universe forward into new adventures and new perils with a new cast of zany misfits trying to outsmart the galaxy just to get by.

Strap in and hold on tight. Passage of Time is the latest series in the Black Ocean universe, and it’s going to be an action-packed, mystery-filled, madcap ride across the galaxy!

Ratings and reviews

This was fun. Due to such different characters from before, it took a moment for this story to start for me, but knowing the background kept me interested. 12 pages in, I didn't want to put the book down. Morin is really good with characters and weaving them into typically solid and smart plots. The action is good, not as much comedy as the other BO stories, but smart reasons for why things are happening. And the last sentence actually got me. (I think I was thinking the same thing as Jessie before Eric spoke.) I AM SO READY FOR MORE! HURRY, J. S. MORIN, AND FINISH THEM! (But please don't do a rush job!)

Both Chuck and Carl have daughters who join the military to get away from their fathers' continual con jobs, Thankfully, the ladies love and care for their little brothers. Jessie takes leave to meet up with Eric, her innocent, naive, absent-minded professor wizard brother. Like their father, Eric's actions misfire and both end up on the run. Jessie's special operations training comes in handy as they avoid capture. Can't wait to see how this generation of Ramseys gets out of this bond.

Morin continues his cinematic style, easily involving you so that it is almost like watching this and not reading it. He sets up the characters so the reader is invested in who they are and how they are going to fix things, or at least survive, in this crazy new world in which they find themselves. The book ends with a great twist, and I definitely want to know more. There may be more questions than answers, but things are set up to begin telling the story beyond the straight tag line.