Orbs

Hold on to your butts, people, because this book is awesome. I'm not new to Sansbury's work. I have previously read and reviewed books from his Tisian Chronicles, including his debut novel The Biomass Revolution. I can honestly say that it has been a treat to watch Sansbury develop as a writer. While the Tisian Chronicles were good and held promise, ORBS is a polished science fiction thriller that really hit all the marks right on point.A smoother writing style than his previous works has emerged along with a more natural tone and approach for his characters and settings. These stylistic improvements are paired with a great story and a suspenseful thrill ride that keeps you reading, and guessing, right to the very end. I had a very hard time putting this book down.First, the world building. It's based on Earth and Mars, so most readers already have a good grasp on what the environment could or should look like. Salbury adds to this with good descriptions of the decimation from the solar storms and how the Earth has changed. There are also neat descriptions of Mars from Sophie's dreams. Beyond the environmental descriptions, there are changes in society and technology. The changes are subtle enough to be believable for the near future while still feeling innovative. The NTC wear reflective, glowing goggles, and anyone who has read Biomass Revolution may get a kick out of that like I did.The characters are excellently scripted as well, each having their own voice and temperament. Sophie is a strong, capable female character without completely losing her feminine side. She reminded me a bit of Jodie Foster from Contact mixed with Sigourney Weaver from Aliens. Brains, leadership, not 100% perfect, real and solidly standing on her own two feet, except when her nightmares make her scream.She leads a team of specialists into a biosphere to test six months of living in isolation. It is a prep test for a future colonization project on Mars as it becomes clear that Earth is slowly dying from solar storms. It appears to be going well at first, but then Sophie begins having vivid dreams and weird things start happening around the biosphere. The team has to figure out if this is part of the NTC test or something more sinister.This is where the real mental thriller starts taking place, as Sophie struggles to deal with the reality of her dreams and her scientific mind trying to keep the mission together. Alexia, an A.I. hologram, informs them that the NTC has stopped responding, and Sophie makes the decision to open the biodome to figure out what is going on outside.Sansbury uses a mixture of perspective shifts between characters to give as many points of view as possible. He also switches to first-person for the chapters in which the AI, Alexis, is the focal character, telling the story through her eyes. The shifting perspectives can be a bit jarring, but over all, I liked the effect. I found Alexis' first-person perspective chapters to be some of my favorites, as it gives the unique viewpoint of how a programmed intelligence might perceive and deal with the events unfolding. The only real style issue I found with this book are that sometimes, a long paragraph of dialogue would not identify the speaker until the very end of the paragraph, leading you to reread the paragraph once you understood who the speaker was so you could properly place the perspective.Once Sophia leads a team outside, what they find only lends to the mystery and pushes the story forward with fast-paced page-turning momentum. I actually found myself having trouble concentrating on other things until I finished this book. My mind kept wanting to follow the clues, discover the secrets along with Sophie and her team, and not put the book down until I reached the last page. The well written nature of the book allowed me to read it rather quickly, and it never felt like it dragged.I recommend this book for anyone who likes Science Fiction, Thrillers, or even Post Apocalyptic type books. It won't disappoint.

Let me first preface this review by sharing some key facts that provide some context to my thoughts… Firstly, I purchased the Kindle version of this book for precisely $1.06. Secondly, I’m no snob by any stretch of the imagination… I hadn’t read a book for leisure in a couple months, so I was looking for a science fiction thriller to sink my teeth into. Thirdly, I have never reviewed a book in my life before and I’m at work slacking off, so be kind.--Getting straight to the point… This is a great book and well worth a read at $1 (or even $10, for that matter)! As an individual who reads all types of books, I look for one specific thing when evaluating a science fiction novel (or franchise, as the case may be): does it create a vivid universe I can submerge myself into? As an avid gamer, I’ve found that this perspective is easily applied to the best video game franchises as well. Franchises like Halo, Final Fantasy, Far Cry, Skyrim (Elder Scrolls), etc. all do a great job of creating a world that you live and breathe, a land that has distinct properties, people, and color.Orbs does a great job of doing this. Without revealing too much, when I first started the book, I thought to myself that this was just another post-apocalyptic story. That thought quickly faded away as I began to explore the protagonist(s), the antagonists, and the world in the wake of massive destruction. This book does a fantastic job as a thriller as well. I couldn’t help but read on to the end of the chapter to figure out how each scene ended.While it does many things well, the book does suffer from a few issues. I can agree with the other reviewers that the protagonist has her moments where she’s far from likeable. Playing Devil’s Advocate however, I can see how that contributes to the idea of her being “only human”, so that’s not a major minus in my book. Another thing I think the author does a great job of doing is fleshing out the strengths, weaknesses, hopes, dreams, and fears of certain characters. My issue with this was that he did so, while leaving others standing colorless in the background, like extras in a movie.And finally, my biggest gripe was the writing. In my eyes, the author is great at storytelling. He does a fantastic job at creating a dystopian world. Still, I wouldn’t say that Orbs is “great writing” (read: well written) in the literal sense. At times, I found glaring syntax errors, duplicate words, and choppy, inOrganic (an insider you’ll get if you buy the book…) transitions to bog down the storytelling.Were any of these issues enough to hamper my enjoyment? By no means!TLDR//Bottom Line: I think that with the unique premise and antagonists, the hint of mystery and the unknown, and the storytelling skill of the author, Orbs is well worth picking up… In fact, I’ve already preordered Orbs II, which is coming out tomorrow! :] I’m excited.Happy reading!-AJ

It is great science-fiction for catastrophe and end of the world buffs. Nicely tailored not much deus ex machina plots thank the divine Providence. I recommend it for those who read a lot of hard science-fiction and want something easy.

I read this, because it was written by the Author, and I really enjoyed his other books. I have to be honest, and say, I was not expecting to enjoy it, as I really don't care for the science fiction genre. I WAS WRONG! It was not long before I was hooked. I devoured this book, and wanted more. Excellent story, kind of creepy, and it draws you in, and just does not want to let go!

Good read...but has a lot of cliches. Worth a try for fans of post- apocalyptic scenarios that like a lot of action and some light horror details.

"Orbs" by Nicholas Sansbury is quite simply one of the best books that I have read this year, and as someone who reads hundreds of Sci/fantasy books a year I can honestly say that this one stands out. It is the year 2061 and a team of independent scientist led by Dr Sophie Winston enter a biosphere (a closed environment) to enter into an experiment to study technologies designed to facilitate a manned mission to mars. However, it's not long before all contact with the outside world is lost, and the world has somehow become filled with mysterious orbs of a non-terrestrial nature......Within the story the characters are excellent with each one having a unique voice and personality that can be felt as the story progresses, I found myself feeling for the characters and experiencing both the highs and the lows that they go through as the story progresses. The author also succeeds in creating a very detailed and believable world to set the story in.I can honestly say that I haven't enjoyed a book so much in years, and I am eagerly looking forward to the second installment to see whether the mysteries at the end of the book are unraveled! Nicholas Smith is clearly a rising star in the world of sci-fi!!!

Orbs was a great novel to read. The story line was gripping and had great depth. I have grown very attatched to the characters in Orbs and can't wait for the next installment, Orbs II, to see how my beloved characters fare. I found that I was so gripped by the story that I finished it in only a couple of days. This novel is a real page turner!Thank you Nick for the wonderful read. I look forward to reading more!