Beacon: Part III

Beacon Saga #3

by Jonathan C. Gillespie

At the edge of space, an unlikely quartet of scouts will be tested in ways they can’t imagine. Part III of the Beacon Saga.

The parasite ship and its crew have dodged the Shroud, and done what so many others died attempting: they have left Beacon’s orbit. But jubilation will turn to sudden disaster. A new star will give up its titanic wonders, but not without a high price. And the crew will either forge a bond…or never return home.

A serial installment of fourteen thousand words. Part IV coming soon.

50 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 11, 2013

About the author

Jonathan C. Gillespie has been writing genre fiction for almost two decades, with a particular interest in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. His short fiction has been published in a variety of outlets on three continents, including “The Drabblecast”, “Spinetingler Magazine”, and “Murky Depths”, and has been nominated for a number of awards, including the Parsecs.

Having shifted his focus to longer works in recent years, he has authored the Beacon Saga serial, and the Tyrant Strategy novel series.

He lives near Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife and daughters.

Reviews

[Marilyn Peake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Beacon: Part III by Jonathan C. Gillespie in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down. In this third installment of the Beacon series, one human, one Yiik and one Petack must travel in their parasite ship carried by the Elder to a distant, newly discovered star. They must do this in order to save all living beings orbiting around their own star, Beacon, before that situation becomes untenable.

In this installment, we learn a great deal about the three explorers inside the ship. The author does a fantastic job of letting us find things out about them gradually, in the same way the characters are getting to know each other. The mysteries surrounding all of them are intriguing, and it’s interesting to watch three very different types of beings come to understand each other a little bit better.

The author displays a great deal of scientific knowledge about outer space, sometimes describing it in scientific terms, but often adding a layer of fantasy and breathtaking language to describe it. He does the same with his philosophical statements about human history. The beauty of the writing and the philosophical insights, along with the story that’s unfolding in a fascinating way, will keep me reading this series.

[[ J o ]]

Read the first part Beacon: Part I, 3 stars, but read Beacon: Part II, 1 star, so will not continue with the series.