Lightship


Fiction - Science Fiction
333 Pages
Reviewed on 07/08/2021
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

Author Biography

Stephan has been an avid reader all his life. He has read many the classics of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein, Poul Anderson and Frederick Pohl, with a touch of A. E. Van Vogt and Clifford D. Simak
Recent favorites have been Eric Flint and the Ring of Fire series, Mike Shepherd’s Kris Longknife and Vicky Peterwald series, and Jack Campbell’s Lost Fleet and variations. On the fantasy side, Jim Butcher’s Dresden series is a favorite, along with various writings of L.E. Modesitt.
It seems harder to find true, quality science fiction nowadays. Most recent authors seem to prefer the fantasy genre, not really Stephan’s cup of tea with a few exceptions. Peter Hamilton and Charles Stross come to mind as recent exceptions to the fantasy rule, and even they have been in the business for a long time.
Stephan’s primary interests have always been “hard” science fiction and military history. He is especially interested in what might be called near-term hard sci fi- fiction about circumstances and events that may occur within the lifetime of today’s reader. But who knows how long today’s young readers may live? One can only hope.
Stephan is a regular reader of Scientific American. He is a supporter and frequent user of Wikipedia.
For comments, questions, or corrections, Stephan can be reached at sbesik@artiplex.net.

    Book Review

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

Lightship is a work of fiction in the science fiction, adventure, and short story anthology subgenres, and was penned by author Stephan Besik. The work is intended for the general adult reading audience and contains mature content that is not suitable for those under the age of sixteen. Through four different stories of technology gone wrong, future-focused conflicts, and invasion from a whole new perspective, Besik delivers a delightfully spiky and kind of dark look at popular science fiction concepts we all know and love. The works each have a message like modern-day fables, and what results is a very engrossing collection of tales that are sure to keep readers coming back for more.

Author Stephan Besik has crafted a well-themed and cohesive collection with plenty of twists, surprises, and classic science fiction atmospheres and themes to offer readers. For me personally, I felt that The Old Man delivered the biggest surprise value of the four stories based on its intriguing and atmospheric build-up, but all of the tales have interesting plus points and ideas that stick in your mind long after you've finished reading them. The dialogue was also very effective, serving to display the unique traits of the characters and help us learn more about them in a short space of time while also moving the plot forward in a natural way, which can be difficult to do when there’s so much to cram into a short story. Overall, I would highly recommend Lightship to fans of interesting and conceptual science fiction shorts, cleverly-worded concepts and bright ideas, and for anthology fiction enthusiasts everywhere.

Pikasho Deka

Lightship by Stephan Besik is a collection of four loosely connected short stories. Lightship follows Kevin Lee, a doctoral candidate trying to find a cheap and efficient way to build a spaceship. He gets the opportunity when eccentric billionaire Danny Smith hires him to oversee a project working toward building a human settlement on the moon. The Old Man is set in the distant future where humans basically live forever. A centuries-old man named Bob finds his existence obsolete and enlists himself for an exploratory mission to outer space. In Damage Report, an expedition sent by an alien civilization investigates the ruins of a planet where an intelligent species went extinct due to infighting. Long Shot shows a dystopian future where a nuclear winter envelops the Northern Hemisphere due to a global nuclear war started by Russia.

Using dystopian and sci-fi stories, author Stephan Besik provides an apt commentary on the relatively slow progression of ethics and morals in humans compared to the advancements made in science and technology. Lightship is an enthralling collection of stories that gives you a lot to ponder about humans as a species. In the book, Stephan Besik uses plenty of expository scenes to explain some of the mechanics behind the science used in his stories. It helps in making them easily accessible to the reader. The characters are primarily used to drive the plot forward and explain the mechanics of the world. I enjoyed them all but found The Old Man to be my favorite. If you're into well-researched sci-fi stories, Lightship will be up your alley.