The Outer Ring

Solstice 31 Saga

by Martin Wilsey

The Ventura was a deep space survey ship with over two thousand men and women on the crew. This short story details the events the day before the Ventura Incident. Roland Barcus had no idea what was about to happen. But someone knew...

Genres: Science Fiction

19 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 22, 2015

About the author

Martin Wilsey is a writer, hunter, photographer, rabble rouser, father, friend, marksman, story teller, frightener of children, carnivore, engineer, fool, philosopher, cook and madman. He and his wife Brenda live in Virginia where, just to keep him off the streets, he works as a research scientist for a government funded think tank.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a prologue & thus doesn't feel particularly complete. There was some attempt to fill in the gaps, but I think it would have been a lot better if I'd read the first book in the series first. I felt rather lost & it ends abruptly. I'm giving it 3 stars as an intro to the series. I didn't find it compelling enough to want to read further, but it is good for what it is.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing....

This short left me wondering how Chen and Barcus survive and who was the terrorist? Dialog is a little two-dimensional, but after a while, you get pulled into the story and don't notice that drawback as much....

[Leo McBride · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you ever find yourself reminded so completely of a moment in another medium when reading? I had that moment reading this short story by Martin Wilsey. Not in a copycat kind of way, but reading this tale of life - and imminent threat of death - on board a space station reminded me of a moment in Stargate Universe. There was a fabulous montage in that show set to Julian Plenti's Only If You Run as members of the crew went about their daily grind, trudging along with the chores of space living, and there's a feel of that here - the grimy side of work in space bringing a synchronicity with that moment.
As short stories go, this gives an insight into the technology and life of Wilsey's Solstice 31 series, and it's a good feel. His writing is full of solid science and thoughtful projection of how things would be in a future world.
It probably makes a better companion piece than an outright introduction, as it doesn't really feel like it's a standalone story, with events happening but no real resolution to the piece. Still, if you're reading it alongside his Solstice Saga series, starting with Still Falling, I suspect it'll fit in very neatly as a director's cut extra.

[Isdihara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel reads hard and fast and was a "cannot put down" experience. I LOVED IT! First time author Martin Wilsey has two more in this saga, plus short stories to keep you sitting on the edge of your SCIFI seat. Be warned, there are themes that might be objectionable to some, but are NOT gratuitous or illlogical to the plot. Give this one a read, you won't be disappointed.