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Orion #5
Orion Among the Stars
The superhuman, time-traveling Orion leads interstellar warriors in a galactic war among the gods themselves.
Praise for the Orion Saga
"Nonstop action and mind-bending concepts combine to make Orion absolutely unforgettable. . . . Bova brings it to life on a canvas spread over time and space."
—Isaac Asimov
"Slambang SF adventure mingles with speculative theology in this gripping story of an immortal's hatred, a mortal's love, and a death-struggle that spans a million years."
—Spider Robinson on Orion
"Six-time Hugo Award winner Bova doesn't disappoint!"
—Los Angeles Daily News on Orion in the Dying Time
"Bova's adroit use of detail makes the setting ring true; his depictions of historical personages as well as his fictional creations are psychologically sound. The sounds, the scents, and the sensibility of the ancient world permeate this well-wrought adventure."
—Publishers Weekly on Orion and the Conqueror
"Bova creates characters that come alive on the page. . . . It is perfectly paced so that the reader has trouble putting the book down."
—The Clarion-Ledger on Orion in the Dying Time
"Bova presents enough solid historical backing to give the story a ring of authenticity."
—Starlog on Orion and the Conqueror
"Rip-roaring science fiction . . . tightly-constructed and fast-moving."
—Science Fiction Chronicle on Orion in the Dying Time
"One of the best SF military series around."
—VOYA on Orion Among the Stars
About the Author
Ben Bova is a six-time winner of the Hugo Award and many other awards, including the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Novel of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation. He is the former editor of Analog and Omni magazines, and the author of over a hundred books, both fiction and non-fiction. Bova has served as president of both Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. and the National Space Society. He lives in Florida.
Praise for the Orion Saga
"Nonstop action and mind-bending concepts combine to make Orion absolutely unforgettable. . . . Bova brings it to life on a canvas spread over time and space."
—Isaac Asimov
"Slambang SF adventure mingles with speculative theology in this gripping story of an immortal's hatred, a mortal's love, and a death-struggle that spans a million years."
—Spider Robinson on Orion
"Six-time Hugo Award winner Bova doesn't disappoint!"
—Los Angeles Daily News on Orion in the Dying Time
"Bova's adroit use of detail makes the setting ring true; his depictions of historical personages as well as his fictional creations are psychologically sound. The sounds, the scents, and the sensibility of the ancient world permeate this well-wrought adventure."
—Publishers Weekly on Orion and the Conqueror
"Bova creates characters that come alive on the page. . . . It is perfectly paced so that the reader has trouble putting the book down."
—The Clarion-Ledger on Orion in the Dying Time
"Bova presents enough solid historical backing to give the story a ring of authenticity."
—Starlog on Orion and the Conqueror
"Rip-roaring science fiction . . . tightly-constructed and fast-moving."
—Science Fiction Chronicle on Orion in the Dying Time
"One of the best SF military series around."
—VOYA on Orion Among the Stars
About the Author
Ben Bova is a six-time winner of the Hugo Award and many other awards, including the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Novel of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation. He is the former editor of Analog and Omni magazines, and the author of over a hundred books, both fiction and non-fiction. Bova has served as president of both Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. and the National Space Society. He lives in Florida.
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First published January 1, 1995
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341 people want to read
About the author
Ben Bova
690 books1,040 followersBen Bova was born on November 8, 1932 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1953, while attending Temple University, he married Rosa Cucinotta, they had a son and a daughter. He would later divorce Rosa in 1974. In that same year he married Barbara Berson Rose.
Bova was an avid fencer and organized Avco Everett's fencing club. He was an environmentalist, but rejected Luddism.
Bova was a technical writer for Project Vanguard and later for Avco Everett in the 1960s when they did research in lasers and fluid dynamics. It was there that he met Arthur R. Kantrowitz later of the Foresight Institute.
In 1971 he became editor of Analog Science Fiction after John W. Campbell's death. After leaving Analog, he went on to edit Omni during 1978-1982.
In 1974 he wrote the screenplay for an episode of the children's science fiction television series Land of the Lost entitled "The Search".
Bova was the science advisor for the failed television series The Starlost, leaving in disgust after the airing of the first episode. His novel The Starcrossed was loosely based on his experiences and featured a thinly veiled characterization of his friend and colleague Harlan Ellison. He dedicated the novel to "Cordwainer Bird", the pen name Harlan Ellison uses when he does not want to be associated with a television or film project.
Bova was the President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past President of Science-fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
Bova went back to school in the 1980s, earning an M.A. in communications in 1987 and a Ph.D. in 1996.
Bova has drawn on these meetings and experiences to create fact and fiction writings rich with references to spaceflight, lasers, artificial hearts, nanotechnology, environmentalism, fencing and martial arts, photography and artists.
Bova was the author of over a hundred and fifteen books, non-fiction as well as science fiction. In 2000, he was the Author Guest of Honor at the 58th World Science Fiction Convention (Chicon 2000).
Hollywood has started to take an interest in Bova's works once again, in addition to his wealth of knowledge about science and what the future may look like. In 2007, he was hired as a consultant by both Stuber/Parent Productions to provide insight into what the world is to look like in the near future for their upcoming film "Repossession Mambo" (released as "Repo Men") starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker and by Silver Pictures in which he provided consulting services on the feature adaptation of Richard Morgan's "Altered Carbon".
http://us.macmillan.com/author/benbova
Bova was an avid fencer and organized Avco Everett's fencing club. He was an environmentalist, but rejected Luddism.
Bova was a technical writer for Project Vanguard and later for Avco Everett in the 1960s when they did research in lasers and fluid dynamics. It was there that he met Arthur R. Kantrowitz later of the Foresight Institute.
In 1971 he became editor of Analog Science Fiction after John W. Campbell's death. After leaving Analog, he went on to edit Omni during 1978-1982.
In 1974 he wrote the screenplay for an episode of the children's science fiction television series Land of the Lost entitled "The Search".
Bova was the science advisor for the failed television series The Starlost, leaving in disgust after the airing of the first episode. His novel The Starcrossed was loosely based on his experiences and featured a thinly veiled characterization of his friend and colleague Harlan Ellison. He dedicated the novel to "Cordwainer Bird", the pen name Harlan Ellison uses when he does not want to be associated with a television or film project.
Bova was the President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past President of Science-fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
Bova went back to school in the 1980s, earning an M.A. in communications in 1987 and a Ph.D. in 1996.
Bova has drawn on these meetings and experiences to create fact and fiction writings rich with references to spaceflight, lasers, artificial hearts, nanotechnology, environmentalism, fencing and martial arts, photography and artists.
Bova was the author of over a hundred and fifteen books, non-fiction as well as science fiction. In 2000, he was the Author Guest of Honor at the 58th World Science Fiction Convention (Chicon 2000).
Hollywood has started to take an interest in Bova's works once again, in addition to his wealth of knowledge about science and what the future may look like. In 2007, he was hired as a consultant by both Stuber/Parent Productions to provide insight into what the world is to look like in the near future for their upcoming film "Repossession Mambo" (released as "Repo Men") starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker and by Silver Pictures in which he provided consulting services on the feature adaptation of Richard Morgan's "Altered Carbon".
http://us.macmillan.com/author/benbova
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 24, 2023
Author Ben Bova's time-traveling super-soldier Orion was originally introduced as an agent who could be sent by his all-powerful Creators to anywhere in the continuum that was in some way under threat, but for the most part, each subsequent novel in the series has ended up stranding him somewhere in earth's ancient past in our comfortable established history. This fifth volume is a welcome change from that pattern, finding the hero instead placed in a thrilling military sci-fi adventure, where he commands a squadron of beleaguered troops in a desperate interstellar war. His arrogant overlords are as demanding and inscrutable as ever, and his star-crossed love interest is absent as usual, but the plot rhythms are all different, and the unfolding story allows for some interesting new worldbuilding including a loose Lovecraftian tie-in. Swapping swords for blasters hearkens back to a certain memorable epoch near the end of the first book as well, not to mention other genre touchstones like Starship Troopers, and is theoretically a great step forward for the saga.
It's unfortunate (and hard to ignore on a reread) that the most promising aspects of this title do not in fact ever amount to anything in the final remaining sequel, but that's hardly a fault here and now. On its own terms, it's a neat little space opera in miniature -- somewhat dated to its 1995 publication year, but overall one of the better Orion installments. You could read just the debut novel and this one and walk away satisfied, I think.
[Content warning for gun violence, torture, gore, racism, Islamophobia, mention of rape, and mention of violence against children.]
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It's unfortunate (and hard to ignore on a reread) that the most promising aspects of this title do not in fact ever amount to anything in the final remaining sequel, but that's hardly a fault here and now. On its own terms, it's a neat little space opera in miniature -- somewhat dated to its 1995 publication year, but overall one of the better Orion installments. You could read just the debut novel and this one and walk away satisfied, I think.
[Content warning for gun violence, torture, gore, racism, Islamophobia, mention of rape, and mention of violence against children.]
Like this review?
--Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
--Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
https://patreon.com/lesserjoke
--Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6...
--Or click here to browse through all my previous reviews!
https://lesserjoke.home.blog
December 13, 2019
I really didn't like this book for the reason that there was nothing original, interesting, or creative in the entire thing. It is highly possible that the only idea that Ben Bova had in this series was used up in the first book. In fact, Orion Among the Stars departs from that good idea and replaces it with a few hundred pages of exposition.
The winner, though, is the way he ended it. I have read books where the plot depends on a Deus ex Macina, and sometimes this desperate literary device has actually worked. Most times though, it is the product of not enough prewriting. Most authors can be forgiven for this faux pas because ultimately, it worked.
Orion Among the Stars, however, is the first book that I have ever read that is one single Deus ex Macina. The entire book is one giant, rolling, unexplained and contextless jump from epic personal enlightenment to an equally unexplained burgeoning realization of power until all that is left is Orion as god. And the kicker is, as the reader, I had no idea why this was the ending. There was no reason for the author to go the way he did.
In the end, this book is better suited to the dust bin than the library.
The winner, though, is the way he ended it. I have read books where the plot depends on a Deus ex Macina, and sometimes this desperate literary device has actually worked. Most times though, it is the product of not enough prewriting. Most authors can be forgiven for this faux pas because ultimately, it worked.
Orion Among the Stars, however, is the first book that I have ever read that is one single Deus ex Macina. The entire book is one giant, rolling, unexplained and contextless jump from epic personal enlightenment to an equally unexplained burgeoning realization of power until all that is left is Orion as god. And the kicker is, as the reader, I had no idea why this was the ending. There was no reason for the author to go the way he did.
In the end, this book is better suited to the dust bin than the library.
June 28, 2024
Another sequel to the Orion books, John O’Ryan is once again fighting a battle between gods. This time, he’s in the distant future, caught in the middle of an interstellar war between two competing human factions, along with several different alien species allied to either side. O’Ryan will have to survive interspecies combat as he tries to find a way to end the war, permanently.
Read this if you like Old Man’s War.
Read this if you like Old Man’s War.
December 14, 2019
On the one hand this is a rip roaring, all action space opera. It also does what all good stories do. That is it makes you question your own reality. A brilliant mix of gritty action, deep philosophical questioning and a sprinkling of mythology makes this a huge story. Can't wait to read the rest of this series.
April 24, 2025
The final sequel to the Orion books, set in the distant future. Our hero gains power and battles many "enemies," becoming an ambassador to quell the fighting. In the end, the story just kinda pffft's out, no resolution. However, this is a well written series, and the characters are good. Orion continues the search for his lady love....
October 8, 2024
Outstanding series
I have never read a series like this. This is a well written series, and you will love the characters,I'm starting to collect the Ben Bova books on Kindle and audible, well I off to start another Ben Bova series
I have never read a series like this. This is a well written series, and you will love the characters,I'm starting to collect the Ben Bova books on Kindle and audible, well I off to start another Ben Bova series
May 11, 2023
Not my favorite in the series. Orion fights in an interplanetary war and acts as moderator with the old ones.
February 24, 2017
This book was a good read and has moved me to read more sci-fi books. I had originally just picked up this book because I had nothing to read, I honestly was not expecting to enjoy it much, and I found that I was honestly enjoying it. I never really dove into the sci-fi genre but this has inspired me to do just that. Scott wrote the point of view of the main character perfectly even though it was a bit cheesy at times. The describing of the worlds Orion had been introduced to was beautiful and he did not take to long describing every single detail which allowed me to keep my interest more so in the characters and plot of the story.
October 3, 2008
Today was one of those days I got to bibliophilacally debauch because I spent most of it in airports. This broadcast brought to you from Cape Girareau, Mo . . .
This is the last, to date, entry in Bova's Orion series (although it's more than a decade old) and it brings the series to a stopping point, although not a close. Orion is no longer hopping through the annnals of ancient Earth history, which had the potential to make the book suck as it is Bova's ability to bring history and historical figues to life that has been much of the charm of the series so far.
However, no suckitude here; Bova is also grand master of science ficiton, and the book is doesn't lose anything from being set in the future as opposed to the past, it may actually gain. Bova is a helluva story teller and does a good job of creating new worlds. And this novel has one story line; one of the maddening things about earlier Orion books is there were usually at least three different separate stories in each novel--just as you got to know, like, and admire a set of characters, Orion jumps forward, or backward, in time.
In this novel, Orion wakes from death find himself a member of a genetically bred group of soldiers, sent off to fight tobred troup of a geaking up as a war on a distant planet with little sense of who they are fighting and what they are fighting for. Don't want to ruin too many plot details here, but once again he is stuck in the service of/in the thrall of Aten, who has appeared as "The Golden One," nee Apollo, in the previous series, and who agian holds out the possibiity of Orion's being reunited with the love his his lives, Anya, if he fulfills Aten's objective.
Really great read. One of the most likable set of supporting characters in the series; Orion finally develops to the point at which he is able to break free of Aten's control, although his quest for Anya is incomplete; perhaps Orion the Hunter should always need to have something to hunt for.
I really liked this book; I'd recommend it to anyone who loves SF, whether they've read the series or not--it's a good standalone novel. If you know the series, you'll like it doubly.
This is the last, to date, entry in Bova's Orion series (although it's more than a decade old) and it brings the series to a stopping point, although not a close. Orion is no longer hopping through the annnals of ancient Earth history, which had the potential to make the book suck as it is Bova's ability to bring history and historical figues to life that has been much of the charm of the series so far.
However, no suckitude here; Bova is also grand master of science ficiton, and the book is doesn't lose anything from being set in the future as opposed to the past, it may actually gain. Bova is a helluva story teller and does a good job of creating new worlds. And this novel has one story line; one of the maddening things about earlier Orion books is there were usually at least three different separate stories in each novel--just as you got to know, like, and admire a set of characters, Orion jumps forward, or backward, in time.
In this novel, Orion wakes from death find himself a member of a genetically bred group of soldiers, sent off to fight tobred troup of a geaking up as a war on a distant planet with little sense of who they are fighting and what they are fighting for. Don't want to ruin too many plot details here, but once again he is stuck in the service of/in the thrall of Aten, who has appeared as "The Golden One," nee Apollo, in the previous series, and who agian holds out the possibiity of Orion's being reunited with the love his his lives, Anya, if he fulfills Aten's objective.
Really great read. One of the most likable set of supporting characters in the series; Orion finally develops to the point at which he is able to break free of Aten's control, although his quest for Anya is incomplete; perhaps Orion the Hunter should always need to have something to hunt for.
I really liked this book; I'd recommend it to anyone who loves SF, whether they've read the series or not--it's a good standalone novel. If you know the series, you'll like it doubly.
July 18, 2014
The last of the Orion books was, for me, the weakest. It's the same old story but this time set in the far future. The creators are whiny, egocentric bullies and Orion hates them but continues to do their bidding until the end. The book ends leaving us thinking that more is coming but after 15+ years it hasn't. Thankfully. Had there been a 6th book, I doubt I'd read it after this one.
October 31, 2013
Formulaic, yet fresh, if that's possible.
July 7, 2008
Not as good as the original Orion, but well worth getting.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews