Zero Hour: Expeditionary Force, Book 5

The best audible for this month because it was such a joy to listen to. The storyline is so similar to the last four story lines but they are progressions and I actually is interested to see what happened next. I still lovely care but any other character other than the MMC and Skippy. The jokes were so funny and even though I'm not American I understand majority of them. The space battle just keep getting more impossible and yet the Pirates always prevail.

I love this series, it became a surprised favorite when 1/2 way through book 1 the book went from merely a decent military sci-fi space opera to LOL wild and funny ride with the introduction of Skippy. Book 5 did not disappoint and it was good really good fun, I do look forward to book 6 but I will say that some of the jokes and plot lines are starting to get a bit ridiculous. Also, Skippy's relationship with Joe and the rest of the the not-so-merry-band-of-pirates needs to develop further. It just seems like the relationship has plateau in book 2 and every book since has just been "more of the same". I get that Skippy was originally used as a comic relief + force multiplier but he is very much a major character in the series now and should be treated as such. Ex. Book 5 feels kind of like book 2... with higher stakes...I hope Book 6 will seriously move both the character development and the plot line forward in a significant way. I see plenty of runway left in the series given the rich universe that Craig has created. But as it stands, the over reliance of Skippy being awesome but absentminded is seriously hindering both character and plot development.So what if other "older" races gets more involve in the future story line? At the end of the day, the story will more or less be the same one that's been told in book 2-5. Humanity is screw -> Monkeys can't do anything -> Joe / other monkey came up with some non-conventional solution that absentminded Skippy can't figured out -> problem is solved because Skippy did something awesome that other race can't even begin to understand -> monkey wins! But... unintended consequences... repeat.Again, it was great, but 5.5 books in I think the series needs to make some changes, take some risk to move the plot and the character development forward.

Another great story of monkey brain Joe thinking outside the box and surprising a "magnificent" AI of a solution. Our beer can AI is so entertaining and awesome I keep looking forward to the odd couple teamwork written. Thoroughly enjoyed and ready for the next series.

The author and the performer deserve whatever awards are available for this form of entertainment. I was dubious about how long any series of books could maintain my interest, but five books in and it's still very difficult to put it away and stop listening.

Other reviewers have complained about the formulaic narrative and wordy prose, but I enjoyed this audible book. The author managed to write an exciting story whose outcome was hard to predict, and he opened the doors to several more books. With bread crumbs about Skippy’s origin, the Elders, and even the Maxolhx, there’s enough material to keep us going for a while.If there’s a weakness, it’s in character development. We see a little, but not much. Some of the supporting cast grow in their personalities, but it seems as though the main characters remain as they were when we met them. This is true on a macro-level, too. The patron species are drawn in a one-dimensional way. This seems simplistic to me; I doubt that every member of an old and advanced race would be monolithic. It seems to me that, unless they’re pure evil, a race as advanced as the Maxolhx would have individuals and groups who try to end the war that’s raged for so many millennia. Perhaps a religious order would do outreach.The other thing I found disappointing was that we don’t know enough about Skippy by the end of this book. We need more information. I had a theory about Skippy—and I thought it was a pretty solid one—that I figured would be confirmed at the end of Book 5. I was surprised that it wasn’t. My theory might still be right, but I think that the author missed an opportunity to give us real insight into Skippy’s origin story and why Joe’s favorite label for him fits. Maybe in the next book?My complaints about this book don’t dissuade me from giving it 4 out of 5 stars. It’s a fun romp and I can’t wait for the next one.

I like to laugh and I love space opras. This has both in spades. Plus, it matches real life in that there's always consequences no matter the good or bad you're done.

I've been reading this series for a while and while the story is good the repetition of dialogue begins to wear on the reader. Many elements are well written but poorly applied.Two chapters dedicated to a simple rescue of the main protagonist are expensively bloated with filler while the last 3 chapters of the book rush through some potentially interesting events.The never ending diatribes between "skippy and Joe" are amusing up to a point but halfway through the book just become annoying distracting and obvious attempts at filling a page (or three).Repeated use of similar OMG how are we going to survive...last minute impossible solution repeatedly over complicated plans becoming common place. Admittedly they are meant to emphasize the overall disadvantages of the main protagonist's and bare capabilities of survival.Skippy's repeated inability to use common sense solutions or even produce actionable solutions based on his "Awesomeness ".It seems like the writer is trying to epic up the story but realy needs to bring most of it down to reasonable and apply some easy so the epic parts realy are EPIC by comparison.All in all it is a good story with believable characters even if their actions arent. A good casual read.

Great storyline. Great tension. And of course in true pirate monkey fashion, you thought you were out of trouble - ending!

The novel maintains many of the characteristics the first three books had. A good plot, well written structure, and humour.The author is able to include a funny "aside" or joke without it seeking forced or contrived.

In general this book is pleasant to read with the exception of some parts like this when Joe sunk in the lake. I know this is science fiction but fthe author could research the well known things like diving physics and why you would not be crushed on the depth of 400 feet or how stars works and what make them live longer. In my opinion because you write s-f novel does not make it all right to write such things as was written in this book (I need to be vague and soft because Amazon doesn't allow me to express what I really think of this part of the book). Could be 3-4 stars but well because of this is only 1.

The story continues with the crew of the flying Dutchman. Getting in and out of trouble. With humour and a talking beer can.

Another awesome book. The whole team with skippy makes you want to know what happens next!Can’t wait for book 6.

I've been waiting for this book with great anticipation and I had so much fun reading it it only lasted for a week or so. Again.So now I'm back to waiting for the next one. Again.What can I say, if you are looking for a fun Barrel of Monkeys (Humans) doing Shenanigans in space, screwing around with the laws of physics and ancient intergalactic super-weapons while beating all the super smart Aliens with plans too stupid for the rest of the Galaxy to be prepared for them: You've come to the right place.