Stasis

Alpha Ship One #1

by L.D.P. Samways

They say that in space, no one can hear you scream, but the question is; can they see you coming? The Alpha Ship One crew are famous for two things; making Earth heaps of money and doing it under the cover of deep space. The mercenary ship is commissioned to run missions on dangerous planets. To reap great rewards from unsuspecting alien races. To take minerals, precious metals and invaluable resources for Earths galactic expansion. They do the work that no other ship in Earths fleet would dare consider. Why? Because if they get found out, then Earth abandons them. Leaves them to rot in the middle of the universe, unaided and unheard of until the very end of time itself. For Captain Flynn, he never imagined that day would come. He and his crew were more than happy with the way things were going. That's until one day they wake up from stasis not knowing how they got there. One minute they're back on earth, relaxing after another hair-raising, highly-illegal mission, and the next, they're waking up from a six-year slumber, in the middle of a galaxy they don't recognise. But not all is as it seems. They are not alone. Aliens are aboard their ship. And unfortunately for Captain Flynn and his rag-tag group, they don't come in peace. Earth has sold them down the river. Banished them from the blue planet with no return ticket home. Now the aliens have them. And they plan on using them against their enemies. They take them prisoner on their home planet. Shackled and bound, the crew fear that their fates are sealed. But unfortunately, it is just the beginning for them. The aliens that hold them captive have far greater plans for them than death. Plans that will undoubtedly shake earth to its molten core. Prepare yourself for a journey that leaps from star system, to star system, in a space opera filled to the brim with nail biting suspense throughout.

Genres: Science Fiction

330 pages, Paperback

Published November 18, 2015

Reviews

[Mike Nemeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

L.D.P Samways' "Stasis" is about a starship crew that awakes from stasis sleep to discover that they've been sold out by the corporation that rules earth and employs them. Six years have passed, and the four are halfway across the universe and in the custody of bear-like creatures who hate humans and are bent on destroying all of mankind, wiping them out like a virus. And after getting to know Captain Flynn and his crew, their opinion is easier to understand. Flynn is kind of a schmuck. He does the dirty for the corporation. He's often successful but employs tactics even he considers sometimes below board. The bear aliens toss the captain and his crew into a cellar and give them very little information about what is required of them. And then there's a big reveal. The bears force Flynn and his crew to make terrible decisions. And then it gets worse. Samways presents a rather fascinating concept in this novel that requires his antiheroes to either solve or die, alongside the rest of the human race. They don't appear to have a chance. Thinking this one through appears far beyond their capabilities. But Flynn is resourceful. I picked up this book after reading the first three chapters at the end of "Dropship One." It roped me in, and I had to finish it by the end of the night. Flynn and crew face massive moral decisions that anybody would have trouble coping with. There's no gray area. Do they save themselves or humanity? Selfishness is the more viable option. I enjoyed this read, and I'll be getting more of Samways books. In the author's notes, Samways mentioned getting some grief over not presenting some of the deep space details correctly. That didn't bother me. Hell, I grew up with Flash Gordon. Talk about technically incorrect. Same thing with John Carter of Mars. Whatever. This book is a high-concept throwback to the days of the pulps, when everything was fair game. And the details, sure it's good to get everything perfect. But who the hell really knows? Until we get space travel and learn to jump light years instantaneously, we'll all be wondering.

[Brian's Book Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Banished from Earth, the team of Alpha ship one awake from stasis not knowing where they are--or when. They quickly realize this and a new adventure begins.

Narration done by Michael Gilboe was really good -- the sound effects, not so much. I'm not really sure when he chose to do these between each and every chapter. They only really "worked" in chapter one and one other chapter where there was pounding in the ending scene before. Every other time it almost pulled me out of the story. My recommendation to Gilboe is to just leave the random audio notes unless the author specifically asks for them.

I read some of the reviews and people are upset about the science not being accurate. Isn't that one of the bonuses of writing in the Science Fiction genre. You can bend the rules and even break them if you give a reason why or how (you don't even have to tell the how -- just make it believable). I guess people are too stuck in the here-and-now to just enjoy a futuristic tale.

The science in it was fun to me, especially how fast the ship was able to go. I just found it enjoyable, like an evening comedy after a long day at work.

The characters were very well explained and thought out. The ones you were supposed to like you liked (but not unequivocally, he had to earn it a little). And the ones that we were supposed to hate -- earned that hate as well. The other outside forces (both the alien race and the backstory of what was going on) were also interesting to me and added a lot of depth to the book.

Overall if you are looking for a fun and fast-paced science fiction book that won't make you think too hard (or make you Google something to understand it). Stasis Alpha Ship One is the book for you. Gilboe's narration helped with the pacing and the overall enjoyableness of this.

Like this review? See more like it at Brian's Book Blog

[Mr. W. J. Kozlowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Critics are usually even worse writers than those they criticise.

I thought this was a good first volume in a potentially excellent series. Yes a couple of errors were made but a book like this is a story of the worlds in the authors imagination not a research paper by some world renowned scientist. I think constructive criticism and suggestions could go a long way to help this author create a masterpiece of a series plus a couple of proof readers with a scientific bent might help polish up future volumes. Overall a few nice twists in the plot, a few areas where the story was wrapped up to neatly without leaving strands that could be exploited in future volumes and the all to rapid removal of some of the characters without allowing them to develop beyond a cursory outline.
Overall I enjoyed this story and look forward to the next book in the series.

[Bluecobras09 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waking up from hyper sleep, the crew of Alpha Ship One know something is wrong. They have no memory of going into hyper sleep, no memory of a mission. Next thing they know they are prisoners. Handed over to the Ursines by Earth, the crew and paired up with another crew with the mission of destroying Earth if they wanted to survive. They are sent back to Earth with a large nuclear weapon powerful enough to crack Earth in half. And before reaching Earth they must figure out how to save it. But something else becomes clear, Earth is complicit in what is happening and knows they are coming. But the do not know about the nuclear weapon or the thousands of Ursine ships following Alpha Ship One to Earth.

[Michael J Yuchasz · Rating 1 out of 5]

It didn't flow well at all

The book started out very interesting. It soon got bogged down in way too much hopelessness. It progressed into more of the same with no light at the end of the tunnel. Then suddenly two weapons appeared by magic I guess to turn the tide for the good guys. It then the impossible happens and the bad guys are easily defeated everyone gets home magically and people that started the reason for the book face no retribution. Then most everyone lives unhappily thereafter.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book, good story line,nit is OK if any science is wrong because it is a made up universe and fiction!

I hope the main captain grows because he needs some balls especially when a crew member is out of control and he seems like amature instead of a captain of a bunch of Badasses. Over all a good story line even if I didn't agree with the captain. And I will be reading the next books I look forward to this new universe! Hopefully he gets more of a crew and some good alien Ali's!

[shannon Stubbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

I couldn't put the book down. I read the apology letter from the author and still enjoyed the book. I'm not a science knowledgeable kind of person but I do enjoy sci-fi books. So I don't care of the s since aspect of the book. Just the story. I liked the captain of the ship and what was left of the crew. I can't wait to see if they give Pilgrim Tech their just deserved in the next book.

[M. Spencer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stasis

This is probably the biggest waste of time and effort that I have ever subjected myself to. I had to quit after 5 chapters, the language and grammar were fine...the storyline...not so much. The arrogance and stupidity demonstrated by the principal character was unbelievable, in fact it was sickening. I have NO desire to read any more of it.

[Ted Mathews · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't...

Not only is the science bad, there are impossible numbers, actions and reactions throughout the entire book.

Sci-fi is supposed to stretch the imagination, not destroy it.

I would think that there are some redeeming features somewhere in this book, but I could not find them.

I'm sorry that I wasted my time reading this drivel.

Ted

[Jesse Deleon · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars and not for the math!

Thank you L.D.P. Anyways for a enjoyable and awesome reading adventure. Will buy the next book in the series as a special birthday gift for me. As the title says for my review 5Stars and not for the math! Sorry misspelled your last name again. This is my 3rd try to give this review. Thank you again and Please keep writing. A new fan.

[Andrew Ng · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor plot and irrational science

The plot was poorly designed and science made no sense. How can you travel faster than the speed of light based on Newtonian mechanics?
Not my type of author.

[William H. Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stasis is better than 80 percent of Amazon kindle books

Good plot, good action, easy to get involved with the book. The story itself is more unusual than the majority of science books.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable

Loved every minute of the story and can't wait for the sequel to it. There may have been a few mistakes but it didn't keep me from having fun reading it. Thank you

[Gerald Mooers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story line

I chose a five rating because it was a different story. I couldn't imagine how they were going to get out of the terrible predicament that they were in.

[jackie seyfried · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not your normal predictable space novel

Don't think you know whats going to happen just because you've read tons of space operas in the past. Unique ideas and storyline.

[David Barrows Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read.

Lots of fun...Nice wintertime read. A rollicking story with excellent characters and action. Can't wait for the next book to see what happens.

[Donald W. Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funread

It's a fun read reminds me of fast pace stories from when I was younger. Have fun reading the book.