Rating: 4 out of 5

Review:
I’m not a lover of short stories as I feel you are just getting in to the stories and characters hen the story ends. However as I have read all of Jay Toney’s books to date, I felt I owed him the courtesy of reading The Mindharp . . .I have to say I refamiliarized myself with Doc Roberts and Natasha and really enjoyed it, so full marks. Well written prose as usual with well rounded and realistic characters, a true pleasure to read. Ken.
 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Review:
This is a prequel to the Space Pirate Roberts series. As with the other books in the series the technology is well thought and described. This creates a great playing field for the characters in the plot. The author always manages to keep his work in the canon of the series making each book another adventure for the reader. I recommend this book to all adult sci-fi readers, it’s a quick rewarding read.

 

Recommended and rated this book 4 out of 5 stars
 
Alliance hires Doc Roberts to steal device purported to offer mind control – 4 stars This is a brief novella set early in the Doc Roberts series. Natasha is the physical and gorgeous embodiment of the AI that runs Doc Roberts’s ship. All of the traits expounded upon in the Doc Roberts stories (deceive, jump in, grab, and escape) are executed with customary ease. Natasha is the star. Her flaws of not being aware of human socialization are exploited but she still is key to the mission in spite of her naiveté. There are dog fights in space against heavy odds and a totally unscrupulous Alliance military officer, Captain Sorin. Natasha cooks the books, sets the course, and completes the mission as you would expect from a genius AI. The Alliance is fearful of the alien Keshians. They have tried other privateers before they hired Doc and his crew. If this mission is unsuccessful, the Alliance will find another gun for hire. The sexual innuendos and male posturing is typical for the Doc Roberts crew. It is a brief bit of fun in the far reaches of the universe.