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Orion #1
Orion
John O'Ryan is not a god...not exactly. He is an eternal warrior destined to combat the Dark Lord through all time for dominion of the Earth. Follow him, servant of a great race, as he battles his enemy down the halls of time, from the caves of our ancestors to the final confrontation under the hammer of nuclear annihilation.
432 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
37 people are currently reading
1153 people want to read
About the author
Ben Bova
715 books1,036 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 - 30 of 88 reviews
February 21, 2011
It starts off slow but ramps up at the end. It is little predictable, but Bova can write interesting boring material if that even makes sense.
July 8, 2012
Don't generally like Sci-Fi but this was pretty gripping. There seemed to be something happening on every page (I presume it's a page turner then). It's a story about the Neanderthals fighting back (jumping to & fro in time). I don't think you're supposed to know the antagonist is a Neanderthal but I guessed, even though the author kept referring to him as a non-human. Pretty sure they are human but not homo sapien sapiens such as us. On the whole I'd recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2023
I really enjoyed reading this book again, and I plan to read the whole series this summer. It is an interesting look at time and the future, which was ahead of its time (it was written in the mid 80s). A rollicking good time, with plenty to think about as well.
July 16, 2014
This had an interesting premise but it ultimately didn't really work well for me. It started out as a good vs. evil kind of story but then the good wasn't so good and the evil wasn't so evil and though the individual parts were interesting the story as a whole was not very compelling.
November 5, 2016
I read this book in Jr. High. I loved it. This book is why all my friends consider me an expert in Zoroastrianism. I guess all those comparative religion classes in college didn't hurt. I never read any of the sequels, but if you've got a decent concept, I guess you run with it, right?
August 22, 2007
I read this book in High School and LOVED it. I'd be curious to see if it still holds up or not.
September 8, 2010
Interesting book, but I definitely do not agree with his views on theology and the origin of things.
July 27, 2024
**** 4.3 STARS **** words 115,329
I first read Orion by Ben Bova in 1999 and loved it, and it's just as great 25 years later.
Orion is kinda like a short story collection where our hero goes back in time to different time periods in human history. He does this to defeat the Dark One, and/or to prevent human history changing so dramatically the space-time continuoum is completely destroyed, as well as the Universe. Considering Orion was released in 1984, I wonder if the makers of Assassin's Creed were fans of Ben Bova's Orion?
The characters were pretty good. And the dialogue felt very similar to a 90s action movie. Ahriman was my favourite character. I would've loved to have spent more time with him. As the story goes along we definitely get a good feel for who he is, and ultimately his motivations. He reminded me of Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII.
I also would've liked Orion to have visited more time periods. Of course, there are five more Orion books for that. But the ones we got, in the first Orion book, really came together to create a very good story with some really good twists and revelations.
I first read Orion by Ben Bova in 1999 and loved it, and it's just as great 25 years later.
Orion is kinda like a short story collection where our hero goes back in time to different time periods in human history. He does this to defeat the Dark One, and/or to prevent human history changing so dramatically the space-time continuoum is completely destroyed, as well as the Universe. Considering Orion was released in 1984, I wonder if the makers of Assassin's Creed were fans of Ben Bova's Orion?
The characters were pretty good. And the dialogue felt very similar to a 90s action movie. Ahriman was my favourite character. I would've loved to have spent more time with him. As the story goes along we definitely get a good feel for who he is, and ultimately his motivations. He reminded me of Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII.
I also would've liked Orion to have visited more time periods. Of course, there are five more Orion books for that. But the ones we got, in the first Orion book, really came together to create a very good story with some really good twists and revelations.
August 15, 2007
Orion is a facinating story of a quantum-leap-esq time traveling man from the future/past (it makes sense after you finish the book). The opening line is something like "I am not superhuman". The main character is able to completely control all of the autonomic functions of his body. Good story with an interesting plot twist.
September 30, 2025
I first read this in the early 90s. I loved it then, and I love it now. It held up well. This book was formative for me as it solidified my thoughts on religion and ethics. I also loved the history. All that, and it was a very sweet love story.
February 22, 2020
Certainly an original plot. I enjoyed pondering the awesomeness of perfect body control and traveling back in time and telepathy and genetic modification and the such. It was cool.
February 15, 2011
Loved it! Could not stop!
December 28, 2019
It's ok I guess.
The antagonist could've prevented Orion from spoiling his plans, he is clearly shown to be far more powerful than our protagonist yet instead of capturing him in person or any number of other actions he lets Orion prance about especially at Kharakhurem were they fight a duel for Ogedei's favor and wit only taking direct action once. I mean he could've easily left him with bloody stumps.
That aside the author makes huge errors not only in historical accuracy but also in logic.
Credit, where credit is due Ben Bova, does show he did some research such as using Temujin as Chinggis Khaan's name with Chinggis being a title, but he makes up a great deal where he does not know this is fine for small details this is fiction but some are too huge to ignore.
1st. The Yuan empire, the Mongol successor state with Chinese influence, had half its territory in historically Chinese lands. The others became influenced by Turks, Persians, etc because these were the people they interacted with. The Golden Ulus became Muslim because of political reasons for example. Had the Mongols been allowed to conquer Europe the ruling elite would just be replaced with a mixture of Mongol and European nobility and some Mongol institutions.
2nd. Safe travel and laws is just one of the hallmarks of the Mongols. Their legacy must also include ideas for they implemented many that would not be seen again until our modern institutions.
Religious freedom, meritocracy, logical decimal units and trade allowed the free flow of ideas from East to West and vice versa. This exchange of ideas is believed by many to have kickstarted many of our modern innovations.
A few examples would include gunpowder, paper money, and a book on Mongol history was a best seller in the colonies and in the library of some of the founding fathers possibly inspiring parts of the U.S constitution to name just a few just a few examples.
3rd. Kharakhurum was built to be the impartial administrative and technological heart of the empire, it was organized with every major sub-division of the empire having its own district, thus could the greatest scholars and learned men, which the Mongols attracted and swayed at every opportunity, discuss the merits of any idea plainly without any baggage as to whether it was Chinese, Persian, Korean, etc as would happen in their homelands.
4th. Mongolia is not just the Gobi desert, I mean there's a place nearby Kharakhorum which can be translated to "sudden sand" or sth because it's a large patch of sand surrounded by miles upon miles of grassland.
How all of Eurasia would be turned under assimilating waves from the East just baffles me, I mean even then the Chinese themselves were ahead or on par with the Europeans in many fields.
The timeline seems to be as alterable as you want so long as humanity does not become extinct and makes it into space eventually. So the whole episode in Mongolia just seems weird to me. I mean even a little lie could've left Orion protecting Ogedai for the last few days but Ahriman does literally nothing.
For me at least, the book just worsens as it nears the end, so all told a meh.
The antagonist could've prevented Orion from spoiling his plans, he is clearly shown to be far more powerful than our protagonist yet instead of capturing him in person or any number of other actions he lets Orion prance about especially at Kharakhurem were they fight a duel for Ogedei's favor and wit only taking direct action once. I mean he could've easily left him with bloody stumps.
That aside the author makes huge errors not only in historical accuracy but also in logic.
Credit, where credit is due Ben Bova, does show he did some research such as using Temujin as Chinggis Khaan's name with Chinggis being a title, but he makes up a great deal where he does not know this is fine for small details this is fiction but some are too huge to ignore.
1st. The Yuan empire, the Mongol successor state with Chinese influence, had half its territory in historically Chinese lands. The others became influenced by Turks, Persians, etc because these were the people they interacted with. The Golden Ulus became Muslim because of political reasons for example. Had the Mongols been allowed to conquer Europe the ruling elite would just be replaced with a mixture of Mongol and European nobility and some Mongol institutions.
2nd. Safe travel and laws is just one of the hallmarks of the Mongols. Their legacy must also include ideas for they implemented many that would not be seen again until our modern institutions.
Religious freedom, meritocracy, logical decimal units and trade allowed the free flow of ideas from East to West and vice versa. This exchange of ideas is believed by many to have kickstarted many of our modern innovations.
A few examples would include gunpowder, paper money, and a book on Mongol history was a best seller in the colonies and in the library of some of the founding fathers possibly inspiring parts of the U.S constitution to name just a few just a few examples.
3rd. Kharakhurum was built to be the impartial administrative and technological heart of the empire, it was organized with every major sub-division of the empire having its own district, thus could the greatest scholars and learned men, which the Mongols attracted and swayed at every opportunity, discuss the merits of any idea plainly without any baggage as to whether it was Chinese, Persian, Korean, etc as would happen in their homelands.
4th. Mongolia is not just the Gobi desert, I mean there's a place nearby Kharakhorum which can be translated to "sudden sand" or sth because it's a large patch of sand surrounded by miles upon miles of grassland.
How all of Eurasia would be turned under assimilating waves from the East just baffles me, I mean even then the Chinese themselves were ahead or on par with the Europeans in many fields.
The timeline seems to be as alterable as you want so long as humanity does not become extinct and makes it into space eventually. So the whole episode in Mongolia just seems weird to me. I mean even a little lie could've left Orion protecting Ogedai for the last few days but Ahriman does literally nothing.
For me at least, the book just worsens as it nears the end, so all told a meh.
June 17, 2023
I loved this science-fiction novel -- and to a lesser extent the loose series that follows -- when I was a teen, and I'm glad to find that it holds up pretty well today. It's definitely a product of its 1984 publication date in some ways: the hero is a muscular ubermensch with such complete control over his body that he can consciously regulate his temperature or speed up his perceptions during battle, his love-at-first-sight romantic interest is practically the only woman in the book and doesn't get nearly as much characterization as the men, and the perspective on non-western cultures can be a bit simplistic (in addition to using some now-outdated racial terminology). But it's also a great time-travel story that helped spark my lifelong interests in anthropology, history, and comparative religions.
Our titular protagonist is living in the late 20th century when he learns that he is actually the champion of a godlike being, who directs him to stop an enemy intent on destroying humanity's progress towards a utopian galactic civilization. They use the names Ormazd and Ahriman respectively, the Zoroastrian deities of light and darkness, and it's eventually revealed that all earth's various divine legends are based on them and their ilk (although we don't get to see much of them until the sequels). Here, the dark figure is attempting to destroy an experimental fusion reactor, and when Orion successfully stops him, he next finds himself relocated over time and space to the Mongol Empire a few generations after Genghis Khan. It turns out he and his adversary are moving in opposite directions across history, and in each era, the warrior must uncover and oppose Ahriman's plan to subvert the natural timeline. And in their every encounter, he knows the other man better while being less well-known in return, River Song-style. A reincarnation of the same woman accompanies him too, although she doesn't retain her memories from life to life, only her personality, her physical appearance, and her attraction to Orion.
The plot ultimately reaches back to the Stone Age and beyond, where there are some solid sci-fi twists, which I won't spoil here but will merely note have stayed with me for a good long while. The saga goes in some odd directions after this point -- I believe the next volume dumps Orion into the Trojan War for some reason -- but this first one was always my favorite, and it's been fun reencountering it as an adult, even if the flaws are a bit more evident than I had remembered.
[Content warning for gun violence, gore, violence against children, genocide, and rape.]
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Our titular protagonist is living in the late 20th century when he learns that he is actually the champion of a godlike being, who directs him to stop an enemy intent on destroying humanity's progress towards a utopian galactic civilization. They use the names Ormazd and Ahriman respectively, the Zoroastrian deities of light and darkness, and it's eventually revealed that all earth's various divine legends are based on them and their ilk (although we don't get to see much of them until the sequels). Here, the dark figure is attempting to destroy an experimental fusion reactor, and when Orion successfully stops him, he next finds himself relocated over time and space to the Mongol Empire a few generations after Genghis Khan. It turns out he and his adversary are moving in opposite directions across history, and in each era, the warrior must uncover and oppose Ahriman's plan to subvert the natural timeline. And in their every encounter, he knows the other man better while being less well-known in return, River Song-style. A reincarnation of the same woman accompanies him too, although she doesn't retain her memories from life to life, only her personality, her physical appearance, and her attraction to Orion.
The plot ultimately reaches back to the Stone Age and beyond, where there are some solid sci-fi twists, which I won't spoil here but will merely note have stayed with me for a good long while. The saga goes in some odd directions after this point -- I believe the next volume dumps Orion into the Trojan War for some reason -- but this first one was always my favorite, and it's been fun reencountering it as an adult, even if the flaws are a bit more evident than I had remembered.
[Content warning for gun violence, gore, violence against children, genocide, and rape.]
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
September 22, 2020
I love Bova's stories. They are sort of pulpy, and good yarns with engaging characters; sure, the character-building isn't often very complex or deep (though to be fair, some is!), and some of the plots are quite predictable (though to be fair, some aren't), but that's part of the charm I think. Sometimes you just want a good adventure story that doesn't make you have to think. It's like watching a good action movie: Sometimes that's about the right pace for a work-tired brain. I've always meant to go back and read more of the Orion series. I've read other books by Bova, as well as several essays he's written on science fiction and writing, and I think he's great—to a point. I can't forgive him for the way he rather ignorantly attacked female sci-fi authors in a certain speech given in 1980, nor can I forgive some of his colleagues who backed him up at the time. But hey, we all have our prejudices and biases and ignorancies (is that a word? lol)... and life eventually gives us chances to grow out of them, discard them, and learn from them. Hopefully he has learned from his. Regardless, I tend to try to look at a novel for what it is, not in light of who wrote it. Same with movies and actors. I love Harrison Ford's movies, for example, even though I really am not a fan of his NRA-supporting politics; his beliefs are not going to keep me from enjoying Indiana Jones and Star Wars. (And no; by no means am I comparing Bova to Ford.)
June 11, 2024
"Il tempo non è come un binario che viene steso un troncone alla volta, fissato saldamente, permanentemente. Il tempo è come un fiume, o meglio ancora un oceano. Si muove, si sposta, cambia [...]."
La lotta tra il Bene e il Male è un tema sempre verde, qualcuno lo potrebbe indicare come sorpassato e per questo leggerlo in una chiave fantastica-fantascientifica lo rende interessante. "Orion" narra le vicende dell'omonimo protagonista, un uomo del futuro dotato di capacità fisiche e intellettive superiori, costruito appositamente dalla forza del Bene, Ormazd, per sconfiggere la forza del male, il tenebroso Ahriman. Solo che questa lotta non avviene in un punto preciso del tempo, ma in tutto il tempo dell'esistente, nell'eternità che è da sempre la base dello scontro tra Bene e Male. Orion così viene mandato dall'oggi al Trecento e poi alla Preistoria e poi ancora negli antichi giorni del mondo, ad incontrare sempre Ahriman, che vuole distruggere la specie umana e quindi il continuum temporale.
Tutto molto affascinante, tutto molto ben raccontato, tutto molto emozionante. Manca la vera fantascienza, manca forse la base conoscitiva per esplorare le cause profonde di questi viaggi intertemporali, ma tutto sommato il romanzo è molto godibile e avventuroso. Peccato per il finale, un po' ingarbugliato, e soprattutto per l'immancabile storia d'amore con una donna (?) che ricompare in ogni epoca storica e di cui, onestamente, non si sentiva l'esigenza.
La lotta tra il Bene e il Male è un tema sempre verde, qualcuno lo potrebbe indicare come sorpassato e per questo leggerlo in una chiave fantastica-fantascientifica lo rende interessante. "Orion" narra le vicende dell'omonimo protagonista, un uomo del futuro dotato di capacità fisiche e intellettive superiori, costruito appositamente dalla forza del Bene, Ormazd, per sconfiggere la forza del male, il tenebroso Ahriman. Solo che questa lotta non avviene in un punto preciso del tempo, ma in tutto il tempo dell'esistente, nell'eternità che è da sempre la base dello scontro tra Bene e Male. Orion così viene mandato dall'oggi al Trecento e poi alla Preistoria e poi ancora negli antichi giorni del mondo, ad incontrare sempre Ahriman, che vuole distruggere la specie umana e quindi il continuum temporale.
Tutto molto affascinante, tutto molto ben raccontato, tutto molto emozionante. Manca la vera fantascienza, manca forse la base conoscitiva per esplorare le cause profonde di questi viaggi intertemporali, ma tutto sommato il romanzo è molto godibile e avventuroso. Peccato per il finale, un po' ingarbugliato, e soprattutto per l'immancabile storia d'amore con una donna (?) che ricompare in ogni epoca storica e di cui, onestamente, non si sentiva l'esigenza.
March 30, 2023
The human known as Orion claims not to be a superman but he has control over his immensely-toned body that no other human possesses. When he comes to, after an unspecified injury in 1984 he finds that he is the subject of an assassination attempt by people or things he has no memory of, and he recognizes a mysterious grey-eyed woman. Through a number of violent encounters Orion comes to understand that he is a weapon being used in a war across all space and time, and he is designed to kill The Dark One - Ahriman, before that entity wipes out the entire Universe’s continuum. His motive seems to be that Ahriman’s entire race has been wiped out in a war millennia ago. Orion battles Ahriman from 1984 to the Mongol hordes of the 13th century to paleolithic tribes post-Ice Age, but seems not to have the abilities to defeat Ahriman. Also, since the grey-eyed woman seems to be involved in each encounter, Orion has formed a love relationship with her. Together, Orion starts to suspect that the being behind his creation, The Golden One, may have his own less-than-god-like reasons for this incredible war, which he discovers tens of thousands of years before the paleolithic, being fought by advanced humans with spacecraft! A fabulous adventure yarn from Ben Bova.
June 29, 2021
Very entertaining.
Orion is a hunter. He is sent by forces greater than himself to hunt Arihman. These two men meet again and again, locked in a conflict that spans millennia.
Arihman wants to avenge the genocide of his people. Orion is the puppet of forces greater than himself, obeying Ormazd, who claims to be the god of light.
Arihman travels to pivotal points in human history, attempting to alter the course of events on a way that would destroy the human race. Orion travels to these places in time to stop him.
Greater forces are also at work. Orion keeps running into the same woman throughout history. The woman he loves. This becomes his chief motivation for forging onward. He wants to see her.
Orion eventually learns a darker truth. Ormadz created humans to destroy Neanderthals, who were Arihman's people. The humans eventually would evolve to become the godlike race Ormandz belongs to.
There are many questions this book explores. What is right and wrong. Origins. Cause and affect. Linear time.
As a Christian I do. I do not believe in the naturalistic worldview that forms the basis for the story. But it is a fun read.
Orion is a hunter. He is sent by forces greater than himself to hunt Arihman. These two men meet again and again, locked in a conflict that spans millennia.
Arihman wants to avenge the genocide of his people. Orion is the puppet of forces greater than himself, obeying Ormazd, who claims to be the god of light.
Arihman travels to pivotal points in human history, attempting to alter the course of events on a way that would destroy the human race. Orion travels to these places in time to stop him.
Greater forces are also at work. Orion keeps running into the same woman throughout history. The woman he loves. This becomes his chief motivation for forging onward. He wants to see her.
Orion eventually learns a darker truth. Ormadz created humans to destroy Neanderthals, who were Arihman's people. The humans eventually would evolve to become the godlike race Ormandz belongs to.
There are many questions this book explores. What is right and wrong. Origins. Cause and affect. Linear time.
As a Christian I do. I do not believe in the naturalistic worldview that forms the basis for the story. But it is a fun read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2019
In a phrase, Orion, written by Ben Bova, is a summer blockbuster, which had the good fortune of being written in a time where there was a dearth of good Science Fiction being written. As such it has become important because fans of the genre have to say it came first and thus laid out some very important and often copied tropes and devices.
Keeping with the summer blockbuster idea, there is very little depth of thought or action present, and the major ideas of the entire work is expired in one giant expository dump from a character who is thoroughly underdeveloped, and whose motives are at best, opaque.
Now, all complaining aside, Orion was a fast and generally enjoyable read. I was initially surprised to find that Asimov had written the blurb, but by the time I finished the book I understood his comment that it is full of "fast-paced action" to be as much a criticism as a compliment.
Ultimately then, read this book of you are looking to be entertained, because in the end it was just that; cheap, fast, and thoughtless fun.
Keeping with the summer blockbuster idea, there is very little depth of thought or action present, and the major ideas of the entire work is expired in one giant expository dump from a character who is thoroughly underdeveloped, and whose motives are at best, opaque.
Now, all complaining aside, Orion was a fast and generally enjoyable read. I was initially surprised to find that Asimov had written the blurb, but by the time I finished the book I understood his comment that it is full of "fast-paced action" to be as much a criticism as a compliment.
Ultimately then, read this book of you are looking to be entertained, because in the end it was just that; cheap, fast, and thoughtless fun.
March 6, 2024
Orion, in concept, is very interesting but, in execution, it varies. The premise only falls short when the antagonist, Ahriman, just refuses to kill Orion when it would benefit him greatly to do so and has not excuse not to. The twist about the “gods” and Ahriman is quite predictable though not entirely unsatisfying when it’s revealed. The most nuanced aspect is the reveal that Orion is not on the morally right side but his moral obligation to humanity compels him to continue to fight Ahriman until the reveal. Certain concepts are hand waved especially about the nature of time which seems more of a way to get the author out of explaining it rather than a slow reveal throughout the series. Overall a fun romp through history with a traditional heroic demigod plopped onto a more interesting conceptual backbone.
September 10, 2024
I got this book as a present from a friend. I had no expectations really, but I like older science fiction books in general.
It starts weirdly. A lot of things happen real fast and it feels rushed and sort of confusing.
As I kept reading, it became better and better. I haven't read many books that contained some time traveling elements, but this one was something else.
Our hero Orion will traverse time to fight his nemesis in different eras : Modern times, Mongolia at the time of Genghis Kan, Prehistoric times and some other places that seem to exist out of time.
The conclusion was unexpected and pretty satisfying.
I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. And now I discover that there are four more books in the Orion saga. I may very well read some more!
It starts weirdly. A lot of things happen real fast and it feels rushed and sort of confusing.
As I kept reading, it became better and better. I haven't read many books that contained some time traveling elements, but this one was something else.
Our hero Orion will traverse time to fight his nemesis in different eras : Modern times, Mongolia at the time of Genghis Kan, Prehistoric times and some other places that seem to exist out of time.
The conclusion was unexpected and pretty satisfying.
I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. And now I discover that there are four more books in the Orion saga. I may very well read some more!
October 2, 2017
2.5 stars
Even though there are many interesting ideas in this book, the story itself was a bit of a chore to finish.
The story is basically that of Good versus Evil ... except that Good doesn't really know what it is doing, and Evil isn't really all that Evil at all. Even the Gods are a bit lost.
Good and Evil battle each other over and over again, in times ranging from the present to the distant past. And there is so much death ...
I found the ending of the book both interesting and sad, and I wanted to hear more. But then the killing started again ...
I won't continue reading this series. Looking at the reviews for the other books, I assume it is going to be more of the same. And one book of that was enough for me.
Even though there are many interesting ideas in this book, the story itself was a bit of a chore to finish.
The story is basically that of Good versus Evil ... except that Good doesn't really know what it is doing, and Evil isn't really all that Evil at all. Even the Gods are a bit lost.
Good and Evil battle each other over and over again, in times ranging from the present to the distant past. And there is so much death ...
I found the ending of the book both interesting and sad, and I wanted to hear more. But then the killing started again ...
I won't continue reading this series. Looking at the reviews for the other books, I assume it is going to be more of the same. And one book of that was enough for me.
April 29, 2019
Not for me. Generally, I enjoy works by Ben Bova.
I have the entire Orion series as audio books. I tried, I really did. The dialog was like listening to an audio book of a novel commonly called a "bodice buster". Or, it may have been like watching a particularly bad, fast moving, soap opera.
I even went as far as listening to the entire Orion #2. I hoped I'd be able to get into the series.
Sorry, way too melodramatic for me.
I have the entire Orion series as audio books. I tried, I really did. The dialog was like listening to an audio book of a novel commonly called a "bodice buster". Or, it may have been like watching a particularly bad, fast moving, soap opera.
I even went as far as listening to the entire Orion #2. I hoped I'd be able to get into the series.
Sorry, way too melodramatic for me.
September 21, 2019
A interesting and great sci-fi novel with a fantastic twist. Very thought provoking with an interesting interpretation of time and evolution that will make you ponder it long after you've finished reading. A lot of focus on time travel as the plot focuses on how important turning points or nexuses as the book calls them in human history affect the timeline.
Well written and captivating, it draws you in and really makes you think. The basis of a great book.
Well written and captivating, it draws you in and really makes you think. The basis of a great book.
February 18, 2024
I think this was the first book that started me down the science fiction highway. It has a special place in my heart.
It's a very interesting story, and though it's a product of its time with a bent on technologies and tropes that were new in its era, the plot is still a fun idea. It'll have a few scenes that would be considered cliche now, but they were new and novel when this was written, which says more about the quality of the work. Well worth the read.
It's a very interesting story, and though it's a product of its time with a bent on technologies and tropes that were new in its era, the plot is still a fun idea. It'll have a few scenes that would be considered cliche now, but they were new and novel when this was written, which says more about the quality of the work. Well worth the read.
October 2, 2017
I read this about 15 years ago. Found it in the bookshelf of a resort. At the time, I thought it started out well, and the ending disappointed me somewhat.
Today I understand that the author was giving us a more subtle message which is more in tune with reality than anything else.
Overall, my rating changed from 3 to 4 stars.
Today I understand that the author was giving us a more subtle message which is more in tune with reality than anything else.
Overall, my rating changed from 3 to 4 stars.
August 7, 2018
3.5 stars, really. I like Bova, and I liked this book, but this one felt like it could have been edited down a bit in places, and I felt myself wanting to breeze ahead now and then. You will learn more (possibly somewhat accurate?) information about the Mongol hordes than you ever expected to from a book that features a raygun on the cover.
January 24, 2020
The love story was silly. The writing wasn't good. The ending wasn't worth the effort expended to get there. *Spoilers* How was Ahriman captured at that place and time just as Orion was going to die again? It seemed completely random. Then, I didn't buy Orion choosing the end of the universe if he couldn't have Anya. I like Ben Bova. I didn't like this story at all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2023
(read a audiobook)
A fun, pulpy, "science" fiction novel. Book is divided 4 sections each of which where Orion is plopped into a new scenario and needs to figure things out. What really make this a fun read is the narration of the audio book. The narrator has a deep voice which suits the macho Orion well, and the narrator has some good variety when doing other characters.
A fun, pulpy, "science" fiction novel. Book is divided 4 sections each of which where Orion is plopped into a new scenario and needs to figure things out. What really make this a fun read is the narration of the audio book. The narrator has a deep voice which suits the macho Orion well, and the narrator has some good variety when doing other characters.
January 11, 2024
Orion chases the dark side through time to it's beginning...three times he encounters darkness and three times Orion must chase him some more. That repetitiveness made me think about putting the book away. But, I knew that there would be a kicker at the end. There was one. As always, Bova does a good job with the personal interactions. Wondering whether I should continue the series?
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