Orb

by Gary Tarulli

Three months outbound from Earth and the starship Desio approaches its planetary destination, her crew eager to commence a mission of scientific discovery. Kyle Lorenzo, however, has a personal reason for being on board--an inner conflict that will ultimately propel him to explore not only of the furthest reaches of an enigmatic ocean world but the nebulous recesses of his inner psyche.

During the long and isolating interstellar journey a physical relationship develops between Kyle and the ship's physician, Kelly Takara. That part is easy. Understanding the reasons for avoiding the emotional commitment desired by Kelly is harder. So, too, is trying to penetrate the mind of Larry Melhaus, the mission's brilliant and reclusive physicist - a failure to communicate made exponentially more troublesome when the scientist's disturbing behavior begins to threaten the crew.

While Kyle struggles to comprehend himself and Melhaus, the ship's crew, led by their strong-willed commander, Bruce Thompson, attempt to fathom a planet where none of the precepts of science seem to apply. A world where every preconceived notion of what constitutes life must be re-examined and challenged.

Two journeys: One inward, one outward.
Culminating at the same destination.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Amazon

322 pages, Paperback

First published November 16, 2011

Reviews

[Dkattean · Rating 4 out of 5]

The crew of the Desio - five scientists, one writer, and a standard poodle - travel to a yet-unnamed water planet on the fifth extra-solar mission from Earth. We've got all the ingredients of a standard genre novel: spaceship, wormholes, unexplored planet, alien lifeforms. But trust me that Tarulli's story is something altogether unique; there are no little green men, intergalactic battles, warlords, or robots. This is a quiet, contemplative novel. It is not a string of cobbled-together action sequences. Instead, it ponders the self-awareness of each member of the crew, the degree to which each is willing to expose his or her private thoughts and feelings, and how this profoundly impacts their interpersonal relationships. It is as much - if not more - psychological case study as it is alien-encounter thriller.

Tarulli knows how to build suspense slowly and still keep things interesting. As the characters' motives for joining the mission unfold, the life form moves steadily closer. Tarulli gives the reader time to think about the different theories about the planet and its fauna before giving up his explanation. For this reader, the result was something wholly unexpected.

This novel was an unexpected gem. I bought it on a whim after viewing a goodreads.com advertisement for it. This was hands down the best self-published novel I have read to date, and I look forward to Tarulli's next publication. (PS - I hope it has another dog in it.)

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immediately my attention is caught as that fine reader’s hook sinks in. The subtle trace of humour in which it is couched only makes me want to know more, to read on. Amazingly, a short way into the novel, I discovered that the society of that far future is Dystopian (really, why should that have surprised me?) As a voracious, lifelong reader, a writer, and a reviewer, the notion of existence in a society where reading is considered to waste energy and time is so mind-boggling as to make me light-headed. Pray I never live to see such!

Author Gary Tarulli has such a wry turn of phrase and sense of irony that reading this novel is comparable to having an in-person conversation, and would make the novel worth the reading even if it didn’t have a great story-which it does.

Protagonist Kyle Lorenzo (who might be characterized as in the throes of a mid-life crisis) decides to throw over his routine life and travel out of the Solar System, the sole writer on the spaceship packed with scientists and technicians. Why would a normal Earthling in a dystopian society decide to travel on a vessel where he sticks out because of his occupation and nature, to a planet he’s never seen? Similarly, why would the expedition’s Screening Committee determine a writer was necessary at all? There are reasons for everything, and I’ll leave it to the reader to find out, with my recommendation. Don’t put this one aside, don’t delay, just get it, read, and enjoy!

[Patrick]

The book started out slowly. I almost gave up reading it. But I stuck it out. The author certainly gets bogged down in the philosophical and psychological of his characters. While the main idea is novel, the psychological and philosophical detract from this. There was a definite lack of science fiction.

[Allisyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rather enjoyed the set-up of this novel. The narrator, Kyle, is a writer chosen for a space mission over the objections of the scientists who believe that literature is no longer relevant. The motivations of the group setting up the mission become clear later in the story. It was fascinating to see space travel from the perspective of a character that is a writer. I loved the details of the new planet and how it affects the crew.

The plot build up of Orb is slow and depends more on the growth and development of the characters but the climax is sufficiently action-packed for the tastes of most readers. I found the insights into human nature and the reactions to completely alien environments to be both intriguing and engaging.

I would definitely recommend Orb to other science fiction readers. Just be prepared for a slow build to a satisfying conclusion. I wouldn't read Orb if you are in the mood for an action packed adventure but it was definitely an enjoyable read.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I picked up this book, I was expecting a fun and fanciful sci-fi read. I got that and more. A team of scientists, a non-scientist and his dog set out for a distant planet to gather data and information about it. What they discover astounds and mystifies them. The planet forces them to rethink not only conventional scientific wisdom but their very selves. I liked that the author was able to tell a fun tale while at the same time make me stop and think.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book. The plot was simple and straight forward with no surprises, but the content and the way it was presented had a philosophical twist that made me think about how we interpret what we experience and how we pass our experiences through the filter of our perceptions. What we are seeing might not be quite what is actually there...

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although his writing is a little on the dry side, the book was somewhat engaging. I would have given it only 2 stars but it does start to pick up in the second half. If you are reading Orb and get a bit bored near the end... you have to stick with it. The end makes it worth finishing.

[Blake Kanewischer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book, with a perhaps-predictable plot twist or two, but it captures nicely the tensions and challenges of a long-term space voyage, and forces some uncomfortable thinking about the nature of life.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

If this book was listed as a soap opera I would have given it 3 stars. This is 60% dramatizations of interpersonal and personal issues with psychological interpretations. The rest is Science Fiction. It wasn't all bad but the more I read, the less I wanted to finish it. I did finish it, however.
The basic premise is a scientific expedition to a unique planet. The crew of the starship had various qualifying talents. The protagonist was a writer whose education was in communications with limited course work in psychology. He was selected to create an accurate "written record of what will certainly be a great and historic scientific voyage".
PROS
Absolutely remarkable imagery
Strongly developed characters of widely varied personalities
Original story line
Interesting interactions between characters
An interesting twist ending
CONS
Too much time spent on interactions and psychology
Huge leaps about the workings and nature of this peculiar planet with very little to
base the conclusions on.
The protagonists official chronicle at the end became mostly his meandering feelings, relationship and love life, and an apology for writing mostly about that.
The twist ending was not enough to redeem this, IMO, poorly executed book.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has an interesting potential story and plot line, and I really tried to like it - with each click of the next page on my Kindle, I kept saying "it has to get better" to myself. Finally, at the 55% mark on my Kindle, I stopped reading it and deleted it.

What was the problem? It just plods along - the first 15% really has no narrative but an inside look at one of the characters, then we spend another 25% of the book with relationship building among the crew, and you really start to lose your train of thought. Just when you think there might be some action, we go back to more self-awareness and the dealings among the crew and their personalities and it just plods along and along.

I originally picked this up for free during a Kindle promotion and, as I type this review, the pricing has reverted to 99 cents. I'd give it a pass.

[Christopher Zirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb. It reads like Arthur C. Clarke, and feels like Stanislaw Lem's Solaris. So often a novel makes the antagonist the alien, the outsider. But I enjoy when a book like Orb (and Solaris) reveal the antagonist within, or perhaps it may be the outsider manipulating the inner thoughts of the spaceship's crew. The characters feel unique, the suspense is has just the right touch, and the pacing is spot-on.

[Denise Felton · Rating 3 out of 5]

good ideas; overwritten and under-edited

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story rides on the well used exploration of a distant planet theme. What make this story different is that it is told from the point of view of an author with a liberal arts background residing in a ship with 5 scientists who as you might expect belittle this guy with only a B.A. degree. He focuses on his interaction with the other crew members and his view of the world that they visit. His different view combined with the views of his scientist crewmates highlights how we become narrow minded from our own perspectives and that having these diverse views can lead to discoveries that are sometimes unbelievable. Basic questions about our relationships with each other and even the basic question of what it means to be intelligent is covered in this novel.

Very enjoyable and couldn't put it down. I found the style to be very natural and obviously from an accomplished story teller.

[Mark Balson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much liked this book. There is a bit of a Moby Dick aura about this book. It is man with his baggage of superiority, self aggrandizement, and just a cocky screw nature this is what I want attitude. They are then confronted by a natural world that is so profoundly different that man cannot understand them let alone exploit this other being, beings. It was nicely paced, the characters were nicely developed and the interplay was believable.

I was worried about the ending. Had the author taken a more conventional end it would have been less than the actual resolution the author found.

Nicely done.

[Punxsutawney · Rating 1 out of 5]

When there have been so many errors (compositional, grammatical, spelling, and punctuation) within just the first chapter that I lose count, it's time to DNF and move on. Hopefully to a book in which a decent attempt was made at proofreading/editing... so the reader isn't being regularly thrown out of the story flow by a plethora of errors which should have been removed prior to publication. FYI: this is the retail (we're charging you for it) edition, not an ARC.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best science fiction novels I have read in a long time. A little talky at times, but in the end, everything is pulled together beautifully. One of the few books I have read where I would appreciate a sequel. I want to know what happened next!!!

[Tom Park · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way too much scientific talk for me, so I do not have a clue as to whether it was possible or not. There was some interesting interplay among the characters and the ending was totally unexpected. That alone kept the rating a bit higher than I would have given for the whole.

[Jeff Wetherington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable story. I was a little put off at first by the author's style and some occasional grammatical errors and typos, but was able to move past those and find a good little story with interesting characters and plot.

[Pierrette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinatingly different! internal space sci-fi, loved it!

[Daryl Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. A few formatting issues in the Kindle edition that need fixing.

[Liviu]

flat prose and nothing else to compensate

[Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written, and, somewhat a rarity in Science Fiction, mostly character-driven. An interesting twist at the end, too. Well worth a read.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like science fiction, read this. If you like a great story, read this. If you just enjoy a good yarn and good writing, read this. Whatever you do, read this.

[Bill Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not much care for the book's ending.

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The core idea behind this story is not as original as some readers might think, but even so it was very well done.

[Mike Heyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable novel with classic SF optimism and an intriguing alien lifeform. Unfortunately the proofreaders overlooked a few paragraphs.

[Steve Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Psychological First Encounter Thriller. Typical bad guy profile.