Orbits

by Jeremy Scott, Eric Michael Summerer (Reader)

In this epic conclusion to The Ables series, old and new generations of Ables must overcome their personal challenges and work together to stop a sinister plot to destroy all of the world's custodian heroes. For many years, Phillip Sallinger was one of the greatest custodians on Earth, using his superpowers to save countless lives. But after a personal tragedy, Phillip has spent the last decade living off the grid with his two children, Winnie and Henry. Phillip tries to ignore his powers and the increasing destabilization of the country, stubbornly believing he can shelter his family from harm simply by staying out of the public eye. But when Phillip is visited by a rush of familiar faces, they reveal the undeniable devastation of the looming crisis. The country's leader, calling himself the Superintendent, has hatched a diabolical plan to rid the world of custodian heroes once and for all. Finally convinced of the unprecedented threat to humanity, Phillip can no longer pretend that his family is safe. Actively hunted by evil government forces and dealing with a host of new and complicated relationship dynamics, Phillip must cut through the noise of his own self-doubt and join the fight to save the world one more time.

1 pages, Audio CD

Published November 8, 2022

Reviews

[M.K. Bingman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series, great job

This was a wonderful series and book. I was slightly disappointed that there wasn't a cameo from Donnie at some point in this story but other than that it was tied together masterfully.

[emily_oriley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed to sit with this for a while before doing this review.

The story itself is a little outlandish—especially when you compare it to the other three books. I was a little thrown off by not only the massive jump in time but the fast-forwarding through some fairly extreme world-building. On the one hand, I can understand why Jeremy Scott chose not to walk us through the hows and the whys of the world ending up the way it did since (at least in America) we basically tiptoed into this worst case scenario for four years. Which, sadly, makes this sort of thing go from bonkers-ass-crazy to plausible.

On the other hand, it does make the story feel a little empty in places. Like joining a show a two or three episodes in—not enough to be completely lost but you kinda regret not starting it from the beginning. It also felt too short and a little rushed while still having moments that felt like filler that, honestly, didn’t really impact the plot other than delaying the characters’ progression.

Now, as far as the characters and the writing and the overall tone: all just as perfect as the others in the series. Natural progression and growth even with that long gap in the timeline. The humor was spot on as always and the respect paid to mental / emotional health was wonderful.

My biggest issue with this story is Boss Hogg and his Chairface plan with the moon. Now, I read comic books so I’ve seen some wacky supervillain stuff but this was a little too cartoony even for me.

Honestly, while I love these characters and was happy to spend as little time as them as this book allotted, I don’t think this story was needed. I think it would have been okay to leave it at the third book. But I’m also not mad that this does exist.

For the record, I’m only giving this four stars because of Pluto.

[Daryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Special Education teacher, I loved this series about a group of superheroes with disabilities. It’s great for young people with disabilities to know that differently abled folks are heroes too!

That said, this final book felt rushed and left me somewhat unsatisfied and a little disappointed. It just didn’t appeal to me as strongly as the previous books in the series. I would have loved a longer book with a stronger finish than Scott gave us.

Disappointment notwithstanding, I’m glad the author wrote this series and I hope more authors will follow his lead. Representation matters!

[A.M. Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was great to return to the world of The Ables. It was a conclusion I didn't know I needed since I found the third book to have a great ending. Even if the third ended perfectly, I knew I still wanted more of this series, and Scott delivered with a great new edition. Maybe someday we'll see more of this world through the eyes of Philips kids, but for now, I'm glad to have seen it through his eyes one more time.

[Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Orbits, but not as much as previous books in the series. I like to read fantasy/sci-fi to detach from the world and I felt this book took too much inspiration from events over the past few years. Jeremy is one of those must read authors for me. I’m glad for the time spent with the Ables, but it will hurt to see them go

[Aaron Coumos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounding up from 3.5

Not sure why this one is so short (almost exactly half the length of the first book), and with such a large time jump, it could've used some extra time fleshing out the changes to the world.

Overall, absolutely ridiculous plot, but works within the series somehow. It will be sad to not have more stories with these characters.

[Yann · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5-4 stars.
A satisfying ending for the series. Blasted through it. Sometimes it felt a bit rushed but Jeremy stayed true to the characters and their histories.
Good series!

[Jessica WOlfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this series… but

This series is one of my faves. I wish they would make it into a movie. This final chapter if it is that just felt rushed. He used to in the other books go into great detail about the heist. This book it was just they went here did the thing and was back. I know it’s hard to Nerf a teleported or speedster, so I get it but what always made these stories so appealing was the handicap angle. All the heroes pretty much have either lost their handicap due to technology or just don’t seem to have it any more. So it just became a regular normal superhero romp. Which is fine but you look to this series to see them overcome their supposed disadvantages while succeeding.

[Davis Dunkleberger · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good conclusion to the Ables series but the book is flawed. None of the heroes have the disabilities that made the series unique. The story is well done and run family element is nice. I would’ve liked some more explanation of where Em was during this time. I also felt some descriptions of the villain were a bit on the nose for a political figure. It just took me out of the world. A good series that ends well, but this book is the weakest of the four in my eyes.