What do you think?
Rate this book
Orpheus Nine
An unputdownable supernatural thriller about a mysterious global event that causes the simultaneous death of every nine-year-old in the world, set in an Australian rural town.
'It began in every town and city at the same time, in every dark and twisted corner of our world. One third of the earth's citizens were asleep at the time. Their awakening was marked by horror and confusion. Just about everyone else had their routine interrupted as they witnessed the event with eyes wide open. They prayed it was a dream.'
In the small, sleepy town of Gattan, population 7448, it happened at eleven o'clock on a Saturday morning. At the local soccer field, only one boy, aged ten years and one week, remained standing as the brothers, sisters and parents of his teammates realised the horror they were witnessing. Their screams split the sky.
One hundred and thirty million children died that first day.
Every day since, on the morning of their ninth birthday, more children die. No one knows why. The ongoing horror becomes known as Orpheus Nine and bereft parents cruelly labelled Orpheans. Global leaders have no answers as riots and chaos take hold. Supply chains are broken, violence and conspiracy theories spread as scientists wrestle with the ongoing death toll and militant Orpheans try to take matters into their own hands.
In Gattan, the chasm between life before and after grows wider between three old friends, now parents. They will wrestle with waves of grief at one child's loss, guilt at one child's survival and anger as another child edges closer to their birthday. In different ways these three friends will fight the unfathomable and attempt to defy this new reality. No matter the cost. But the truth is, the clock keeps ticking, the world order is crumbling and the gods are watching ...
From the bestselling author of Mammoth comes a propulsive and spine-chilling thriller that prompts the is this the end of days or the start of something new?
'It began in every town and city at the same time, in every dark and twisted corner of our world. One third of the earth's citizens were asleep at the time. Their awakening was marked by horror and confusion. Just about everyone else had their routine interrupted as they witnessed the event with eyes wide open. They prayed it was a dream.'
In the small, sleepy town of Gattan, population 7448, it happened at eleven o'clock on a Saturday morning. At the local soccer field, only one boy, aged ten years and one week, remained standing as the brothers, sisters and parents of his teammates realised the horror they were witnessing. Their screams split the sky.
One hundred and thirty million children died that first day.
Every day since, on the morning of their ninth birthday, more children die. No one knows why. The ongoing horror becomes known as Orpheus Nine and bereft parents cruelly labelled Orpheans. Global leaders have no answers as riots and chaos take hold. Supply chains are broken, violence and conspiracy theories spread as scientists wrestle with the ongoing death toll and militant Orpheans try to take matters into their own hands.
In Gattan, the chasm between life before and after grows wider between three old friends, now parents. They will wrestle with waves of grief at one child's loss, guilt at one child's survival and anger as another child edges closer to their birthday. In different ways these three friends will fight the unfathomable and attempt to defy this new reality. No matter the cost. But the truth is, the clock keeps ticking, the world order is crumbling and the gods are watching ...
From the bestselling author of Mammoth comes a propulsive and spine-chilling thriller that prompts the is this the end of days or the start of something new?
292 pages, Trade Paperback
Published March 26, 2025
17 people are currently reading
571 people want to read
About the author
Chris Flynn
14 books35 followersChris Flynn is the author of A Tiger in Eden (2012), which was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize. He edited ‘Terra Australis: Four Stories from Aboriginal Australian Writers’ in McSweeney’s 41, and his writing has appeared in Griffith Review, Meanjin, Paris Review Daily, Monster Children, Smith Journal, Age, Australian, Big Issue and many other publications.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
June 8, 2025
A rapid read, but by golly, what a disappointment. I was initially drawn to this novel after reading a Guardian review that described it as “fast-paced and highly suspenseful” while also exploring "..the human experience" particularly how adults react to an inexplicable crisis. The review further claimed it was “both unsettling and a great deal of fun.”
Unfortunately, the novel fell short of the review’s promises. The middle third was dull, clichéd, and hardly what I’d call "fast-paced." Even the supposedly thrilling sections lacked momentum. As for the suspense, the final major event was telegraphed far too early to be truly gripping.
The novel’s exploration of human behaviour in crisis was similarly predictable, some characters resorted to quasi-religious conspiracy, attempting to burn the world down in rebellion, while others sought power, exploiting the chaos for their own advantage. This is nothing new.
And as for “unsettling” being “a great deal of fun”, if every nine-year-old on the planet suddenly died an agonising death while reciting King Lear, I doubt anyone would find much entertainment in the aftermath.
I don't mind the occasional dystopian read, but this one didn’t do it for me. Death by Shakespeare for untold millions of children? A bit too far a stretch.
Unfortunately, the novel fell short of the review’s promises. The middle third was dull, clichéd, and hardly what I’d call "fast-paced." Even the supposedly thrilling sections lacked momentum. As for the suspense, the final major event was telegraphed far too early to be truly gripping.
The novel’s exploration of human behaviour in crisis was similarly predictable, some characters resorted to quasi-religious conspiracy, attempting to burn the world down in rebellion, while others sought power, exploiting the chaos for their own advantage. This is nothing new.
And as for “unsettling” being “a great deal of fun”, if every nine-year-old on the planet suddenly died an agonising death while reciting King Lear, I doubt anyone would find much entertainment in the aftermath.
I don't mind the occasional dystopian read, but this one didn’t do it for me. Death by Shakespeare for untold millions of children? A bit too far a stretch.
June 16, 2025
4.5★s Orpheus Nine is the fifth novel by Australian author, Chris Flynn. One March Saturday morning in 2023, parents, friends and siblings in the small Australian coastal town of Gattan are watching the under-10s play football when it happens: all the nine-year-olds stand stock still, recite a King Lear quote, swell up with excessive sodium levels, their kidneys fail and they quickly die from a heart attack. But not just in Gattan, not just in Australia: this is worldwide. And it repeats, daily, for any newly-turned nine.
Horrific. Everyone demands answers. The governments don’t have any, the scientists don’t have any. In the months that follow, a variety of reactions is seen. Grieving, broken parents, soon dubbed Orpheans, some of whose despair pushes them to the ultimate step; others speak out, creating civil unrest, and might be takes to Orpheanages under the pretext of being a menace to society; still others become covertly militant, and determined to take revenge on those they see as responsible, the Decadians, parents of the final generation which will inherit the world.
There are fatalists, who see in it the hand of God and preach acceptance. There are zealots, whose children will be next in line to be taken, who grasp at straws to circumvent the awful fate in store, enforcing saltless diets and trying anything else the various internet forums throw up. And then there are the opportunists, who can see a chance to make money or seize power when governments collapse and society fails.
All are represented to some extent in Gattan, and how they cope with this devastating phenomenon is understandably a product of upbringing and experience. Parents who were firm friends at High School suddenly find themselves on opposite sides of a divide, with vastly differing priorities. Can this small town isolate itself from the widespread mayhem and become self-sufficient? Might there be a way for certain almost-nine-year-olds to be spared?
What an original piece of speculative fiction Flynn gives the reader: an apocalyptic novel with a very different slant, and a zinger of a twist at the end. But while the premise is quite novel, this is very much a character-driven tale and, with interesting backstories to flesh them out, his protagonists have depth and draw the reader’s empathy. He evokes his era and setting with consummate ease, but some readers might feel they are left hanging by what might be seen as an incomplete resolution. Alex Ross’s striking cover deserves a special mention. A thoroughly gripping read.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by Hachette Australia.
Horrific. Everyone demands answers. The governments don’t have any, the scientists don’t have any. In the months that follow, a variety of reactions is seen. Grieving, broken parents, soon dubbed Orpheans, some of whose despair pushes them to the ultimate step; others speak out, creating civil unrest, and might be takes to Orpheanages under the pretext of being a menace to society; still others become covertly militant, and determined to take revenge on those they see as responsible, the Decadians, parents of the final generation which will inherit the world.
There are fatalists, who see in it the hand of God and preach acceptance. There are zealots, whose children will be next in line to be taken, who grasp at straws to circumvent the awful fate in store, enforcing saltless diets and trying anything else the various internet forums throw up. And then there are the opportunists, who can see a chance to make money or seize power when governments collapse and society fails.
All are represented to some extent in Gattan, and how they cope with this devastating phenomenon is understandably a product of upbringing and experience. Parents who were firm friends at High School suddenly find themselves on opposite sides of a divide, with vastly differing priorities. Can this small town isolate itself from the widespread mayhem and become self-sufficient? Might there be a way for certain almost-nine-year-olds to be spared?
What an original piece of speculative fiction Flynn gives the reader: an apocalyptic novel with a very different slant, and a zinger of a twist at the end. But while the premise is quite novel, this is very much a character-driven tale and, with interesting backstories to flesh them out, his protagonists have depth and draw the reader’s empathy. He evokes his era and setting with consummate ease, but some readers might feel they are left hanging by what might be seen as an incomplete resolution. Alex Ross’s striking cover deserves a special mention. A thoroughly gripping read.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by Hachette Australia.
April 12, 2025
Great premise. Great first chapter. All down hill after that. A story full of ‘filler’.
April 6, 2025
Disclaimer: I stopped at page 60.
There are some severe faults that make it almost unreadable.
PROS:
- Intrigruing premise
CONS:
- The dialogue is terrible, unrealistic and shoe-horns some contemporary issues purely for the sake of it.
- There is no use of the small town setting to provide any aditional context. I presume this was an attempt a-la Stephen King to create an eery feeling alongside an intimate community but it failed.
- Extremely unlikeable characters which seem to hate everyone in their community. Every dialogue exchange is hostile.
- The name of the global event "Orpheus Nine" (09 for short, surely to parallel with C19) starts to be used across dialogue as if common knowledge, but the reader isn't clued in to the point of frustration rather than curiosity.
- And lastly, and most unforgiving, is the lack of any significant discussion and tension around societal collapse which would very likely occur should millions of kids start dying daily (not a spoiler - this is mentioned in the synopsis). The book reads as if this was the flu rather than an extermination.
I will continue to attempt reading it, if even by skipping a few pages, but good god this needed a serious re-editing.
Note: I'm sure the 5 star reviews were either paid for or not-honest at all, as they seem to just discuss what's obvious from the synopsys. The review in The Guardian doesn't seem to be any more honest either.
Note 2: just finished a speed read through and the books ends pathetically with no explanation for the events and teenagers stopping a terrorist attack. Good grief! I understand the metaphor the author was going for, but it’s executed extremely poorly.
There are some severe faults that make it almost unreadable.
PROS:
- Intrigruing premise
CONS:
- The dialogue is terrible, unrealistic and shoe-horns some contemporary issues purely for the sake of it.
- There is no use of the small town setting to provide any aditional context. I presume this was an attempt a-la Stephen King to create an eery feeling alongside an intimate community but it failed.
- Extremely unlikeable characters which seem to hate everyone in their community. Every dialogue exchange is hostile.
- The name of the global event "Orpheus Nine" (09 for short, surely to parallel with C19) starts to be used across dialogue as if common knowledge, but the reader isn't clued in to the point of frustration rather than curiosity.
- And lastly, and most unforgiving, is the lack of any significant discussion and tension around societal collapse which would very likely occur should millions of kids start dying daily (not a spoiler - this is mentioned in the synopsis). The book reads as if this was the flu rather than an extermination.
I will continue to attempt reading it, if even by skipping a few pages, but good god this needed a serious re-editing.
Note: I'm sure the 5 star reviews were either paid for or not-honest at all, as they seem to just discuss what's obvious from the synopsys. The review in The Guardian doesn't seem to be any more honest either.
Note 2: just finished a speed read through and the books ends pathetically with no explanation for the events and teenagers stopping a terrorist attack. Good grief! I understand the metaphor the author was going for, but it’s executed extremely poorly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 20, 2025
Loved the concept of Orpheus Nine, set in a small Australian town as a microcosm of a global catastrophic event. The main downside of this book was being left wanting more. There is a lull in the middle where we’re given backstory to some of the characters but I was desperate to get back to the main story and find out what was going on. And some of it left me scratching my head. Why would the event have resulted in massive chain places like McDonalds closing down in less than 9 months? A minor complaint though. This would make an excellent series and was really fun to read.
3.5 stars rounded up.
3.5 stars rounded up.
March 24, 2025
I find myself drawn to speculative fiction more and more in the climate we’re living through. I find it oddly comforting, if not a little dark. Orpheus Nine is one of the most original ideas in this genre that I’ve read in a while. It tackles some pretty big topics around over-population and pandemic, all while giving us a riveting story. If the pandemic narrative feels a little time-worn to you: fear not. Orpheus Nine is not your typical “pandemic” book, and it didn’t irk me the way a lot of pandemic narratives do.
Synopsis: All around the globe, an unexplainable plague simultaneously strikes down every 9 year old in the world. As eight year old children reach their ninth birthday, they too succumb to the strange phenomenon, reciting a line from King Lear before they’re abruptly silenced. The small, rural town of Gattan rallies to protect their children and survive in a world that’s crumbling around them.
The characters in this story are what really make it. It’s not a super long book, but the author goes to lengths to build complex and layered characters in a short space of time. I felt the writing balanced the storyline of the Orpheans (those that lost children in the first wave) against the backstories of the characters masterfully. The book does have that “race against time” quality as the residents of the town do what they can to protect their children, and I felt the suspense and pace was well executed.
Very, very clever and well-written book. This was the first of Chris Flynn’s books that I’ve read, but it certainly won’t be the last.
5 ⭐️
Thank you to Hachette Australia and New Zealand for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: All around the globe, an unexplainable plague simultaneously strikes down every 9 year old in the world. As eight year old children reach their ninth birthday, they too succumb to the strange phenomenon, reciting a line from King Lear before they’re abruptly silenced. The small, rural town of Gattan rallies to protect their children and survive in a world that’s crumbling around them.
The characters in this story are what really make it. It’s not a super long book, but the author goes to lengths to build complex and layered characters in a short space of time. I felt the writing balanced the storyline of the Orpheans (those that lost children in the first wave) against the backstories of the characters masterfully. The book does have that “race against time” quality as the residents of the town do what they can to protect their children, and I felt the suspense and pace was well executed.
Very, very clever and well-written book. This was the first of Chris Flynn’s books that I’ve read, but it certainly won’t be the last.
5 ⭐️
Thank you to Hachette Australia and New Zealand for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 20, 2025
I’m very much in two minds about this one. On one hand, I love the premise and I tore through the whole book in almost a single sitting. I kept trying to leave to go to sleep but simply couldn’t, and I do think that’s rather a mark of a novel that is, at the least, quite gripping.
I didn’t, however, think all of this book was spectacularly good. Some of it was! The starting scene was great, and the descriptions of a small Australian country town (I live in one, and the accuracy of the KFC & McDonalds comment was never more apt). I was also a big fan of the whole concept of the terrorist faction that did seem to spring naturally from the series of events. A lot of the stuff in here made sense- but there was also a lot that didn’t.
The flashback in the middle to ‘simpler times’ (if you can indeed call them that) was so extensive it took away from the rest of the book. I don’t like it when something is detracted from to the detriment of the story, and I was left feeling a bit hollow by this. I liked the idea of the modern premise, and while the flashbacks were helpful to an extent, they were definitely not why I was reading the book.
The ending also seemed to wrap up in less time than it takes to boil an egg, which I found really disappointing. I wanted this to be an appalling, Black-Mirror speculative fiction, but what I got only showed glimpses of that.
I didn’t, however, think all of this book was spectacularly good. Some of it was! The starting scene was great, and the descriptions of a small Australian country town (I live in one, and the accuracy of the KFC & McDonalds comment was never more apt). I was also a big fan of the whole concept of the terrorist faction that did seem to spring naturally from the series of events. A lot of the stuff in here made sense- but there was also a lot that didn’t.
The flashback in the middle to ‘simpler times’ (if you can indeed call them that) was so extensive it took away from the rest of the book. I don’t like it when something is detracted from to the detriment of the story, and I was left feeling a bit hollow by this. I liked the idea of the modern premise, and while the flashbacks were helpful to an extent, they were definitely not why I was reading the book.
The ending also seemed to wrap up in less time than it takes to boil an egg, which I found really disappointing. I wanted this to be an appalling, Black-Mirror speculative fiction, but what I got only showed glimpses of that.
December 17, 2024
Ooft. It starts out with a bang, literally, and then proceeds to blow your mind. Flynn captures the essence of small town rural Australia beautifully, the intricate relationships in a place where everyone knows everyone else's business. A place where friends come together in a flash and fall apart just as quickly. The suspense culminates into a wonderfully twisted and surprising end that had me all but tearing the pages to get to the next paragraph. Much love and praise for Orpheus Nine! Encore
June 12, 2025
I dropped the rating down even further after the book club discussion because, honestly, there was very little that I liked or thought was done well in this book. It felt very much like the author had a dream of that opening scene and thought it was cool and eerie and decided to base a book around it without much additional thought beyond the obvious.
The characters are absolutely flat. I could not tell you the names of any of them at this point, except that one is the grieving mother turned fundamentalist, and the other is a lesbian. None of the characters have much depth to them or any distinct voice,s so it's hard to keep them straight anyway. These characters are also not particularly interesting in the way that they approach the events happening to them. Dirk thinks his sperm is special for no reason, Jess (?) is angry and grieving, and Hayley is aggressively parenting her child to live without salt in her diet to try and save her life. Jude is just there as a counterfoil to Hayley's fear-based parenting, and Steve is just a background character that we never really hear from beyond that he's very enthusiastic about children's sports and then an alcoholic.
The book's structure is also baffling. The first third is about this insane event and the repercussions in this small town in Australia. The second third is a strange flashback to the adults when they were turning 18, presumably to flesh out their relationships, but this has zero impact on the characterisation or the events in the present day, so I don't know what the point was. We then come back to the present day after a time skip of a few months, where things have changed so drastically and without any explanation that I assumed initially that it had been years. No explanation is ever provided as justification for anyone's attitudes or choices, so we just go with it.
The ending is just silly. All in all, the more I think about this, the less I wish this book existed because it's just bafflingly low effort.
The characters are absolutely flat. I could not tell you the names of any of them at this point, except that one is the grieving mother turned fundamentalist, and the other is a lesbian. None of the characters have much depth to them or any distinct voice,s so it's hard to keep them straight anyway. These characters are also not particularly interesting in the way that they approach the events happening to them. Dirk thinks his sperm is special for no reason, Jess (?) is angry and grieving, and Hayley is aggressively parenting her child to live without salt in her diet to try and save her life. Jude is just there as a counterfoil to Hayley's fear-based parenting, and Steve is just a background character that we never really hear from beyond that he's very enthusiastic about children's sports and then an alcoholic.
The book's structure is also baffling. The first third is about this insane event and the repercussions in this small town in Australia. The second third is a strange flashback to the adults when they were turning 18, presumably to flesh out their relationships, but this has zero impact on the characterisation or the events in the present day, so I don't know what the point was. We then come back to the present day after a time skip of a few months, where things have changed so drastically and without any explanation that I assumed initially that it had been years. No explanation is ever provided as justification for anyone's attitudes or choices, so we just go with it.
The ending is just silly. All in all, the more I think about this, the less I wish this book existed because it's just bafflingly low effort.
January 13, 2025
In the town of Grattan, New South Wales, the under 10’s have taken to the soccer field, it is a normal, day, parents are on the sidelines gossiping and cheering. What they do not know they will witness an event that will happen to one hundred and thirty million other nine year olds. The children will sing a Latin quote from King Lear and then their world will be shattered. To make matters worse the same event happens each time a child turns nine and no one can discover why.
The inability by government, science, or religion to find answers to the phenomenon known as Orpheus Nine leads to a global meltdown. People get angry and confused resulting in governments being overthrown, law and order erased, supply chains falling over, and the conspiracy theories are rampant.
The story follows three people who live in Grattan, they have known each other since childhood, and each is impacted in a different way as are the family and friends who surrounded them.
Jess watched as her son Tyler was affected by the phenomenon and she has been labelled as an Orphean, a term of recognition and derogatory. Jess struck by grief, is angry, confused, tired of the “trauma vampires”, has a husband who has turned to the bottle and desperately needs an outlet to channel her anger and guilt. Jess finds the Kingdom of Hades, a group of Orphean’s determined to make people aware of their plight.
Hayley’s daughter Ebony is eight, with the dreaded day looming, she is determined to find a way to save her daughter. She investigates every crackpot theory and becomes a no-salter. Advocating and removing salt from everything in an evangelical manner. Her zealotry towards protecting Ebon, has her alienating her daughter from friends and family.
Those not impacted by Orpheus Nine are called Decadians, the children of the final generation and Dirk Van der Saar can see the opportunity in that. The Van der Saar’s have been in Grattan for generations and they are old town money. Dirk knows he should feel guilt that his son survived but he is a businessman, a survivor, it is time to adjust to the new world and make things happen.
Through the interactions of three characters, you are exposed to the impact that Orpheus Nine has on Grattan, the state, the country, and the world and how the views of people are shaped. Flynn really does a marvellous job in exposing the different reactions to the events and creates a world that is devouring itself through fear and hatred but also the way each of the main characters tries to deal with their situation. The intricacies of the characters, their emotions, how they all know each other in the town of Grattan, really brings you into not just the action but the motivations of the people. One of the joys in reading Orpheus Nine is how all these tangled messes are interrelated and how they create tension, division and hope.
This book is unique, the first chapter is utterly spellbinding, and I was hooked. Flynn takes you on a rollercoaster, you rapidly turning pages needing to know what how this will be resolved. It is an absolute corker and will linger long after finished.
The inability by government, science, or religion to find answers to the phenomenon known as Orpheus Nine leads to a global meltdown. People get angry and confused resulting in governments being overthrown, law and order erased, supply chains falling over, and the conspiracy theories are rampant.
The story follows three people who live in Grattan, they have known each other since childhood, and each is impacted in a different way as are the family and friends who surrounded them.
Jess watched as her son Tyler was affected by the phenomenon and she has been labelled as an Orphean, a term of recognition and derogatory. Jess struck by grief, is angry, confused, tired of the “trauma vampires”, has a husband who has turned to the bottle and desperately needs an outlet to channel her anger and guilt. Jess finds the Kingdom of Hades, a group of Orphean’s determined to make people aware of their plight.
Hayley’s daughter Ebony is eight, with the dreaded day looming, she is determined to find a way to save her daughter. She investigates every crackpot theory and becomes a no-salter. Advocating and removing salt from everything in an evangelical manner. Her zealotry towards protecting Ebon, has her alienating her daughter from friends and family.
Those not impacted by Orpheus Nine are called Decadians, the children of the final generation and Dirk Van der Saar can see the opportunity in that. The Van der Saar’s have been in Grattan for generations and they are old town money. Dirk knows he should feel guilt that his son survived but he is a businessman, a survivor, it is time to adjust to the new world and make things happen.
Through the interactions of three characters, you are exposed to the impact that Orpheus Nine has on Grattan, the state, the country, and the world and how the views of people are shaped. Flynn really does a marvellous job in exposing the different reactions to the events and creates a world that is devouring itself through fear and hatred but also the way each of the main characters tries to deal with their situation. The intricacies of the characters, their emotions, how they all know each other in the town of Grattan, really brings you into not just the action but the motivations of the people. One of the joys in reading Orpheus Nine is how all these tangled messes are interrelated and how they create tension, division and hope.
This book is unique, the first chapter is utterly spellbinding, and I was hooked. Flynn takes you on a rollercoaster, you rapidly turning pages needing to know what how this will be resolved. It is an absolute corker and will linger long after finished.
May 29, 2025
I was so looking forward to this book. The concept in the beginning is engaging but it then falls down so quickly . Too much time in the back story of the parents and the simplicity of a world falling apart and morally rotten. I was not emotionally engaged with any of the characters . An interesting fact in the acknowledgements at the end is that Chris Flynn was a foster child who had over 100 brothers and sisters under nine. That line holds more emotion than the whole book itself. It is poignant that he has chosen to keep himself so emotionally distant in his writing but still stated this fact.
May 6, 2025
This book is the kind that makes me think both while reading and after finishing it. It raises questions such as: Is it better to love than never to have loved at all? How meaningful is life? What gives it meaning? Does it suggest that people will die regardless of how healthily they live? If you know your days are numbered, is it better to enjoy life to the fullest? Should someone with a serious illness choose to stay in the hospital and undergo a lot of treatments, or forgo treatment and enjoy their last days? Is a diet of vegetables healthier than one that includes meat? (These questions are not related to the story of Orpheus Nine, just something that popped up in my mind while I was reading)
Although it's a short and easy read, it's also a great choice for a book club discussion.
Although it's a short and easy read, it's also a great choice for a book club discussion.
December 15, 2025
Funny, easy to read, based locally. Good work 👏
March 16, 2025
When I first heard Chris Flynn talk about the strange yet intriguing premise of this book, I simply had to find out what happened for myself! This book—from start to end—wasn't at all what I expected, and in many ways, that became my favourite part.
Set in the small Australian town of Gattan, the story unfolds in the aftermath of a mysterious global event where every nine year old drops dead simultaneously, at the same time, on the same day, in every country across the world. And then, every day after that, on the morning of each child’s ninth birthday, the event repeats. The main plot follows the lives of Gattan’s citizens, as society fractures into factions: those who have lost a child, those who are going to lose a child, and those whose children are older than nine and thus unaffected.
I would describe this book as deeply character-driven, offering an engaging and immersive look into the lives and backstories of the parents affected by the mysterious event of Orpheus Nine. The beginning grabs your attention, and the twist ending is just as impactful! While the middle of the book lagged a bit for me at times, it’s definitely worth sticking with until the end.
Overall, Flynn masterfully combines a quaint Australian setting and relatable, convincingly human characters to offer broader commentary on grief, uncertainty, and the complex ways society functions in times of crisis. This is a must-read for anyone who enjoys Australian fiction with a mix of thriller and mystery!
Set in the small Australian town of Gattan, the story unfolds in the aftermath of a mysterious global event where every nine year old drops dead simultaneously, at the same time, on the same day, in every country across the world. And then, every day after that, on the morning of each child’s ninth birthday, the event repeats. The main plot follows the lives of Gattan’s citizens, as society fractures into factions: those who have lost a child, those who are going to lose a child, and those whose children are older than nine and thus unaffected.
I would describe this book as deeply character-driven, offering an engaging and immersive look into the lives and backstories of the parents affected by the mysterious event of Orpheus Nine. The beginning grabs your attention, and the twist ending is just as impactful! While the middle of the book lagged a bit for me at times, it’s definitely worth sticking with until the end.
Overall, Flynn masterfully combines a quaint Australian setting and relatable, convincingly human characters to offer broader commentary on grief, uncertainty, and the complex ways society functions in times of crisis. This is a must-read for anyone who enjoys Australian fiction with a mix of thriller and mystery!
May 1, 2025
A great premise but let down by a very lengthy flashback in the middle of the book, and a rather unsatisfactory, almost rushed ending.
October 8, 2025
All 9 year olds start dying on their respective birthdays around the world and chaos follows. Governments topple, factions are created and terrorism ensues. Interesting how people will always find a way to turn against each other.
Very fast-paced, read like a movie, but not much there in terms of characters, message or language. I occasionally enjoyed all the pop culture references, although they sometimes felt a bit forced or pretentious.
However, it was hugely entertaining, despite how dark it was, I was totally immersed and I inhaled it in a day and a half. And that was only because I also had to go to work.
Very fast-paced, read like a movie, but not much there in terms of characters, message or language. I occasionally enjoyed all the pop culture references, although they sometimes felt a bit forced or pretentious.
However, it was hugely entertaining, despite how dark it was, I was totally immersed and I inhaled it in a day and a half. And that was only because I also had to go to work.
June 27, 2025
A perfect premise, but the time-travelling plot line prevented the progress of the best bits. This landed squarely in the three-and-a-half star space.
July 23, 2025
Orpheus Nine? More like Awful-eus Nine. This was the strangest (audio) book I’ve ever read (listened to). Once I realised the author was a man, it made a lot more sense why I found the writing style so bland, blunt, and bleak. I’m sorry, but it’s true. Okay but most importantly, THIS BOOK JUST STEREOTYPED OUR ENTIRE COVID EXPERIENCE - in the bad way. Bluntly calling out health food stores as having different opinions, labelling groups of people as “salt free” which was clearly an analogy to those who chose not to get vaccinated, protests and discourse between the public and politicians which so obviously was parroting what people said and did during covid. Except this wasn’t about a virus that would pass, IT WAS ABOUT A RIDICULOUS SUPERNATURAL PHENOMENON WHEN EVERY PERSON ON EARTH RANDOMLY DROPPED DEAD WHEN THEY TURNED 9. Personally I felt like this book was offensive to practically everyone. Anyone who lived through covid probably has some sort of trauma from it and using the the analogy of a supernatural event to spew out everything you experienced during covid and reduce it to stereotypical norms is completely antithetical to working towards being harmonious and understanding of each other, especially during times of crises. Idk man, some critics acclaim that the novel explores the grief of parents, the breakdown of social order, and the emergence of new social and political structures in the face of unimaginable loss, delving into themes such as grief, social inequality, the abuse of power, and the human capacity for both cruelty and hope. It uses the fictional event to reflect on real-world issues and societal tensions.
Personally I didn’t find those parallels intelligent or groundbreaking, I just found them questionably factual, unimaginative and offensive in the way that it reduced people’s differences into stereotypical, predictable boxes. Although our behaviour is somewhat predictable, it was the close sailing to the wind of what actually happened in Covid that was too much for me 👎🏼
Personally I didn’t find those parallels intelligent or groundbreaking, I just found them questionably factual, unimaginative and offensive in the way that it reduced people’s differences into stereotypical, predictable boxes. Although our behaviour is somewhat predictable, it was the close sailing to the wind of what actually happened in Covid that was too much for me 👎🏼
March 30, 2025
Chris Flynn has written an incredible thriller, but, wonderfully, instead of hauling out some of the thriller tropes - hardened/broken ex-cop/CIA/FBI agent is dragged into a cataclysmic event and manages to save the day, with his girl by his side - Flynn sets this in a small Australian town.
The premise is both fascinating and horrifying - at the same moment around the world, all the nine-year-olds stop what they're doing, eerily sing a line from King Lear in Latin - and die. Then, each day afterwards, on their ninth birthdays, more children die in the same way. No one escapes.
Society explodes and collapses - governments fall - there are riots and wars, and conspiracy theories abound, but we focus on Gattan, a small Australian town.
The dreaded event happens during an under 10s soccer match, so all but one of the players die, watched by their parents.
But as well as taking us through the reactions in this small community, we go back to the main characters' pasts - looking at what has shaped them and defined them. It's so very, very interesting!
Visits to the past aside, the story rattles along, with our eyes firmly fixed on the fate of eight-year-old Ebony. As the days, weeks and months pass, drawing ever closer to her ninth birthday - will she be spared?
Well, you're just going to have to read the book to find out!
Fabulous - highly recommended!
With thanks to Hachette Australia for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The premise is both fascinating and horrifying - at the same moment around the world, all the nine-year-olds stop what they're doing, eerily sing a line from King Lear in Latin - and die. Then, each day afterwards, on their ninth birthdays, more children die in the same way. No one escapes.
Society explodes and collapses - governments fall - there are riots and wars, and conspiracy theories abound, but we focus on Gattan, a small Australian town.
The dreaded event happens during an under 10s soccer match, so all but one of the players die, watched by their parents.
But as well as taking us through the reactions in this small community, we go back to the main characters' pasts - looking at what has shaped them and defined them. It's so very, very interesting!
Visits to the past aside, the story rattles along, with our eyes firmly fixed on the fate of eight-year-old Ebony. As the days, weeks and months pass, drawing ever closer to her ninth birthday - will she be spared?
Well, you're just going to have to read the book to find out!
Fabulous - highly recommended!
With thanks to Hachette Australia for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
May 10, 2025
Though Orpheus Nine centres on a pandemic that claims the lives of nine-year-olds, it’s about so much more than that. Chris Flynn explores how families cope and navigate grief, how communities hold together (or fall apart), and how we find meaning in the face of devastation.
The small country town setting is beautifully built and distinctly Australian and the pacing works well, even with the looming sense of doom as more and more 8-year-olds are destined for death. Flynn takes care in building his central characters, letting us slowly understand their histories, motivations, and desires, both past and present.
There are plenty of references to Greek mythology and astronomy/astrology that add depth without feeling heavy-handed. Despite the dark premise, this was a moving and verrry enjoyable read.
The small country town setting is beautifully built and distinctly Australian and the pacing works well, even with the looming sense of doom as more and more 8-year-olds are destined for death. Flynn takes care in building his central characters, letting us slowly understand their histories, motivations, and desires, both past and present.
There are plenty of references to Greek mythology and astronomy/astrology that add depth without feeling heavy-handed. Despite the dark premise, this was a moving and verrry enjoyable read.
August 7, 2025
2.5 stars
The elevator pitch for 'Orpheus Nine' was reason enough to reserve it from my local library. At a random moment, all 9 year olds on Earth die suddenly for no apparent reason. Whilst chanting a line from King Lear in Latin. And the opening scene, where this happensa at a junior football match in the Australian small town of Gattan captures the premise with decent enough drama.
Unfortunately, it is mostly downhill from there.
The opening stanza introduces the reader to the 3 main characters, one lucky - Dirk, whose son Alex has just turned 10 and misses the apocalypse (but sees all his friends die), Hayley, whose 8 YO daughter Ebony is under a death sentence (because once any child turns 9, they suffer the identical sudden death) and Jess, whose son Tyler is one of the dead.
Initial reaction to the 'event', and its effect of the world follows, but lacks imagination. Instead the expected frustration with authorites (why can't they tell us why this inexplicable event happened and cure it right now!) and the division of society into factions - one angry and intent on finding a conspiracy, another looking for the best way to take advantage of the tragedy, and those with children under age 9 who are looking for some way, any way to protect their children from something they cannot control (hence the 'salt-free' obsessives, since the sudden deaths are a result of a massive increase in body sodium in the victims).
Inexplicably, the middle third flashes back to the late adolescence of these main characters. While the depiction of small town Australia is OK, and the events which make the characters into the type of adults they become are aired, the effect is to blunt the momentum of the story, and to miss the opportunity to analyse the inexplicable event in more detail. I was peeved at this lack. The inexplicable sodium had to come from somewhere. How? Surely eveidence can be found since further children are dying every day. Is there any signal causing it? Does the effect pass right through the planet? My thought was that Clarke's law might apply - any suffienently advance technology is indistinguishable from magic' - and I'd be on the lookout for aliens. Or at least a vindictive deity.
The relevant back-story causes- why Dirk comes to resemble his mercenary father, why Hayley mimics her own oppressive parents, and how Jess' hard luck story of betrayal and disappointment leads to her rebellion could have been trimmed significantly. Maybe the unfortunate partners of the 3 protagonists could have been better fleshed out. Only Hayley's partner Jude is any more than a cipher. Jess' partner Steve might well have been invisible whilst Dirk's wife, poor Lucy is just there as a trophy.
At the end of this long diversion, and a time jump of several months (not long enough to justify the extent of societal breakdown required for the denoument IMO) the jump back to the apocalyptic timeline is a touch disorrienting. The ending is fast paced and reasonably tense, though the events are telegraphed, there is still the sense it could go either way. There is a decent enough twist in the tail.
Not a complete waste of time, and it is a fast read.
The elevator pitch for 'Orpheus Nine' was reason enough to reserve it from my local library. At a random moment, all 9 year olds on Earth die suddenly for no apparent reason. Whilst chanting a line from King Lear in Latin. And the opening scene, where this happensa at a junior football match in the Australian small town of Gattan captures the premise with decent enough drama.
Unfortunately, it is mostly downhill from there.
The opening stanza introduces the reader to the 3 main characters, one lucky - Dirk, whose son Alex has just turned 10 and misses the apocalypse (but sees all his friends die), Hayley, whose 8 YO daughter Ebony is under a death sentence (because once any child turns 9, they suffer the identical sudden death) and Jess, whose son Tyler is one of the dead.
Initial reaction to the 'event', and its effect of the world follows, but lacks imagination. Instead the expected frustration with authorites (why can't they tell us why this inexplicable event happened and cure it right now!) and the division of society into factions - one angry and intent on finding a conspiracy, another looking for the best way to take advantage of the tragedy, and those with children under age 9 who are looking for some way, any way to protect their children from something they cannot control (hence the 'salt-free' obsessives, since the sudden deaths are a result of a massive increase in body sodium in the victims).
Inexplicably, the middle third flashes back to the late adolescence of these main characters. While the depiction of small town Australia is OK, and the events which make the characters into the type of adults they become are aired, the effect is to blunt the momentum of the story, and to miss the opportunity to analyse the inexplicable event in more detail. I was peeved at this lack. The inexplicable sodium had to come from somewhere. How? Surely eveidence can be found since further children are dying every day. Is there any signal causing it? Does the effect pass right through the planet? My thought was that Clarke's law might apply - any suffienently advance technology is indistinguishable from magic' - and I'd be on the lookout for aliens. Or at least a vindictive deity.
The relevant back-story causes- why Dirk comes to resemble his mercenary father, why Hayley mimics her own oppressive parents, and how Jess' hard luck story of betrayal and disappointment leads to her rebellion could have been trimmed significantly. Maybe the unfortunate partners of the 3 protagonists could have been better fleshed out. Only Hayley's partner Jude is any more than a cipher. Jess' partner Steve might well have been invisible whilst Dirk's wife, poor Lucy is just there as a trophy.
At the end of this long diversion, and a time jump of several months (not long enough to justify the extent of societal breakdown required for the denoument IMO) the jump back to the apocalyptic timeline is a touch disorrienting. The ending is fast paced and reasonably tense, though the events are telegraphed, there is still the sense it could go either way. There is a decent enough twist in the tail.
Not a complete waste of time, and it is a fast read.
August 29, 2025
I ‘read’ this via audiobook, and I’m not going to lie.. it took me AGES to get through it. I felt like I just couldn’t quite get into the story, and I wonder if I had read the physical version, how I would have enjoyed it… I did like the narration on the audiobook however.
While I did enjoy the Australian colloquialisms and the “true blue” Aussie moments and humour, especially the opening scene being during a local AFL game and on the footy field, I did find that it somewhat made ‘light’ of the whole Covid situation and what everyone went through during that time. I also felt like it jumped around a fair bit, but the sequencing wasn’t that clear.
While I did enjoy the Australian colloquialisms and the “true blue” Aussie moments and humour, especially the opening scene being during a local AFL game and on the footy field, I did find that it somewhat made ‘light’ of the whole Covid situation and what everyone went through during that time. I also felt like it jumped around a fair bit, but the sequencing wasn’t that clear.
June 29, 2025
Like many I picked this up after a rave review in The Guardian. The premise and concepts within are really interesting and could go far, but unfortunately this was pretty disappointing. I found the dialogue to be artificial and trite, the characters interchangeable and absolutely zero tension that was promised. Bit of stinker.
July 6, 2025
This started out with a great hook & introductory scene but unfortunately that was the best part of the book for me. I enjoyed the exploration of different people reacting to fear & grief, however I felt that there wasn’t enough depth to the characters to really feel anything, and the reactions seemed to go to the most extreme ends of the spectrum rather than being the more nuanced examination that I was looking for.
May 14, 2025
I enjoyed the book which predominantly shows how different people react when faced with trauma directly or indirectly. The twist at the end was unexpected (at least for me).
May 5, 2025
I feel like I may have missed something critical to the story here?? The premise is so intriguing. I simply didn’t connect with the characters and found it too challenging to work out where Flynn was going. I don’t know if I’m trying to make meaning where there is none or the book is just way above my head!
September 1, 2025
This was very readable and had an interesting premise but the structure was all over the place and the ending silly. 1 star for the idea alone.
April 7, 2025
I love the atmosphere of this book. Depiction of life in small town Australia makes me feel nostalgic. The characters were engaging too. I didn’t think the ending lived up to my expectations, I was hoping to see more. But overall a quite enjoyable read
May 2, 2025
I listened to the audiobook and was not prepared for it to end the way it did, so abruptly. It felt very rushed. Didn't hate it, but was left with a "huh??" which is quite disconcerting.
November 4, 2025
⭐⭐
💚Apocolyptic Events
💚Thriller
💚Mystery
💚Suspense
Orpheus Nine has a wild, intriguing premise, all nine-year-olds die at once in a small town, then finding out the whole world, and the first chapter really grabs you. But after that, it kinda drags. The characters are hard to connect with, the pacing is uneven, and the story leaves a lot unexplained.
It’s got tension and a creepy vibe, but if you want answers or strong character arcs, you might be left frustrated. Good idea, messy execution.
💚Apocolyptic Events
💚Thriller
💚Mystery
💚Suspense
Orpheus Nine has a wild, intriguing premise, all nine-year-olds die at once in a small town, then finding out the whole world, and the first chapter really grabs you. But after that, it kinda drags. The characters are hard to connect with, the pacing is uneven, and the story leaves a lot unexplained.
It’s got tension and a creepy vibe, but if you want answers or strong character arcs, you might be left frustrated. Good idea, messy execution.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews