The Black

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The black is a story of a maintenance worker on board a military class space-faring vessel and his ventures through the black, or space, in a blog-like style.

Humans have explored the galaxy - well some of it anyway - and are continuing their exploration to distant stars to see what awaits them in the black. There are many things behind the black veil of space.

Writer's Note: I'm disappointed with where I went with this story. The truth is I ran out of steam and got lazy with it. I may continue this in the future and go another route, but until that day comes I am keeping this dormant.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2019
Author: J. P. Deniville

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.4/ 5.0
Views: 60

What readers say about The Black

“If I had stopped with the first few pages of this series, I probably would have given it a 3 star rating. Keep going - the author's spelling and grammar gets better and the story is worth pushing through for, IMO. If this author had an editor early on, this…”
jmc5003Royal Road5.0 / 5
“Alright, lets get down to the basics of why you would probably be interested in this: Yes, it has hot aliens. Yes, it has humans being bad ass. Yes, it has spicy stuff with said aliens. And yes, the humans are special. HOWEVER! The humans are not monolithic…”
Darman AriusRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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Community Reviews(7)

jmc5003Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
If I had stopped with the first few pages of this series, I probably would have given it a 3 star rating. Keep going - the author's spelling and grammar gets better and the story is worth pushing through for, IMO. If this author had an editor early on, this would be one of the highest rated reads on RR. I'm really hoping he goes back and does a good edit of the first book. But, honestly, give it a try - it gets really, really good, with very few grammatical or spelling errors (less than I see in most books) ! I got hooked and I'm glad I did!
Darman AriusRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Alright, lets get down to the basics of why you would probably be interested in this:
Yes, it has hot aliens.
Yes, it has humans being bad ass.
Yes, it has spicy stuff with said aliens.
And yes, the humans are special.
HOWEVER! The humans are not monolithic and perfect. We have the power you expect, but its logically explained and its clear humanity paid the price for most of it.
On top of that its not pure "hur dur this alien species is just meant to be sexy. This one jus bad! Evil species. All species fear the human and predator might!" You get over and over again. It lays out WHY humans have advantages. This is why style gets five but story loses one.
I mean, come on. It is still HFY at its core in some regards.
Spelling and some grammar issues. Overall nothing too egregious.
The characters? This is another spot where they shine. EVERYONE has reasons, motivations, growth, changes, motivations, thoughts, feelings, and more. The aliens are not just "Oh humie save me/mate with me!" The humans have baggage. Baggage that does cause issues. You get a feel for them and they don't feel like stereotype amazon 14e8 with blue skin.
Also: Things get better as it goes along. I can feel the writer growing better with each chapter and I, for one, cannot wait to see where it goes.
Ego_aloneRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Classic among the sci-fi favourite of mine of humanity discovering full alien civilizations whit all the chalenges but whithout a hopeless prospect of survival. The HFY element takes away some of the dreadfull hopelesness that some other stories usualy have in this situations.
Very recomendable and engaging. The author and the story deserve more recognition for a very well done work.
All my kudos
CuccareseRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Long story short, for a HFY story, this one is pretty good.
Style - The text is formatted well, and the perspective shifts are done fine. The flow of the story feels paced good, if not a tad bit fast.
Story - AFAIK, an original plot. It has decent suspense, great comedic timing, relatable characters (both male and female), and a good overarching plot (so far).
Grammar - Grammar could definitely use some work, multiple typos, and random symbols/numbers in each chapter. Could be easily fixed with proofreading or grammarly.
Characters - I enjoy how 4th writes his(?) characters. Even though I have no traumatic past, I can still feel empathy for BigMac due to how he avoids his past in most situations. IMO, it would be a five-star if not for how fast the romance progressed.
Overall, I rated 5 stars because the grammar could be edited and fixed with something like grammarly or a simple proofread. The romance is just my opinion. In the future, I think it would make sense in world for BM to take it slow, especially with the contest of the last two or three chapters. All of that aside, I really enjoy this novel. Keep it up! 💯
KavalanderzRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This is becoming one of my very favorite self published stories. I've always been a sci-fi nerd, and this one is fantastic.
Well developed characters i've become invested in. enough back story and baggage to feel alive, without unecassarily dragging things on. Well thought out and developed universe. it grows with the story, has twists, turns, and surprises, but still feels believable. Good progression that's easy to follow. Key characters may have some plot armor, but i like to see the good guys win, and don't like gut wrenchers where the characters you fall for suffer and die. So i'm ok with that. however i suppose if you prefer MC's to grow through hardship, this one may feel too easy. Keep in mind this story began over in Reddit's "Humanity, F*ck Yeah" sub, where the entire point is humanity being overpowered and often saviors, and i personally gobble up that trope. This one does an excellent job there, without being too over the top.
There are NSFW pages, but i like them, and they feel relevant as they cement relationships and commitments to key characters in the story. MC's tend to grow through these relationships, which i prefer.
There are a few plot holes, and some jarring relocations to time and space, but the author's intent is still clear, and for me at least, immersion was never broken.
jackdoolinRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
My only dislike of the book is the sheer amount of time skips backwards ie ( blurb) then 3 weeks ago... and 4 chapters before catching back up to "current" time other then that one of the best I have read on here going on my favorites. Four more words complete.
OwyoushotmeRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
A very fun scifi, with fun characters. Grammar can be rough at places but not to the determent of the story. The scifi can be soft is some places and the harder in others, however the author blends it well. The overall story can be a bit campy in some places, but it's cozy. The MC has a love of Hawaiian shirts that he must spread to the galaxy at large, a trait I very much agree with.
Loving this so much I may have binged it at work and forgot to get stuff done. Can't wait to read the rest and what is to come!
Whoops.