The Orphaned Earth: Book 2 of Geryon's Code Cycle

by Liudmila Brus

22nd century. In post-Blackout Antarctica, an unknown infection ravages the town of McMurdo. While the blacksmith apprentice, Randy de la Serna, seeks a cure, his perilous quest draws him into an interplanetary conflict between a god-like AI Geryon and the scouts from Mars.

415 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 20, 2026

About the author

Liudmila lives in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, with her small family and her adopted cat. She is currently a video game writer at Ghost Workshop, working on the game Marsbound.

Under the influence of her grandparents, Liudmila fell in love with reading at an early age and developed a passion for writing. She began collaborating with a city newspaper at the age of 15. At 16, she entered the Moscow State Institute of International Relations to study journalism. She also participated in a student exchange program with Sciences Po (France).

Her earlier literary works include the short story Fury (mystery, 2008) and the novella Three Days with Light Off (erotica, 2012), both published in St. Petersburg. Liudmila has extensive experience in journalism, with professional interests in environmental issues and green initiatives worldwide. Although climate change is not directly addressed in her novels, it has shaped the world of Geryon's Code, leading to such dire social and moral consequences that the Martian colonies declared independence, starting a new civilization and aiming to be free from the evils of the past.

She is also a fan of heavy music and a LARP (Live Action Role-Playing) enthusiast. In 2012, she co-founded the "After Us" post-apocalyptic LARP club in Moscow and organized several themed parties and festivals.

Her sci-fi book cycle Geryon's Code consists of three novels: No Life but Immortality, The Orphaned Earth, and From The Abyss, To The Abyss (currently in progress).

Reviews

[Ilona Nurmela]

An amazing postapocalyptic set in Antarctica of 2190 - an unputdownable must-read!

It’s 2190AD in post-apocalyptic Antarctica where many different stories converge.
The book gives you a glimpse of various communes that have survived the apocalypse (and some have caused it) - from religious to high tech to marauder junkyards to Gangs of New York style strongholds, to Martians searching for their dispersed crew.
Survival of the strongest and adventures galore.

Loved these bits in particular:
- Immersive postapocalyptic world from the get-go - the story draws you in and doesn’t let go;
- Loved that Antarctica’s surviving human developments were built on top of the destruction of a futuristic tech world we could realistically have (and quite soon). Made me want to download a printed instruction on how to make a radio.
- The details of the worldbuilding were fab - I mean dream films we can watch in hibernation, cults grouping do-gooder scientists, builder & dreamers - gimme!)
- The book uses multiple POV, but these different stories come together nicely. Each character provides a different background aspect for the before and after of the cataclysm that befalls Earth.
- Loved the billionaire ex-human character living in isolation, tending to his plants (Could happen to Mr Musk);
- The Prophet and his followers’ Holy War fervour was as much Orwell’s 1984 as it was Mad Max.
- Weaving in a polymorph and telepathy gave me “Heroes” feels;
- I particularly delighted in the mention of my (and author’s) home town Tallinn as the choice setting of an Omniverse game, used by one of the characters to generate max cognitive strain while being immobile when stimulating neural growth.

I can totally see this being made into a movie - either StarWars style where some prequels come after sequels or a TV series endeavour.

If you like Cloud Atlas, Altered Carbon, Heroes, the reformed Arnie in the Terminator movies as well as Sati for being an error in the Matrix, then you’ll love this book. The tech details of this thuggish world reminded me of “Into the Beanstalk” by J. Paul Roe.

I picked up book 2 without having read book 1 - and it still works as a standalone. There are references to the first book and Geryon Lindon, but they are nicely weaved into the story that unfolds. I’m definitely reading book 1, though, just to get the full impact of the amazing world the author has created.

Recommended for lovers of speculative fiction aka grounded near-future scifi (bordering on hard scifi) or for those who enjoy postapocalyptic & dystopian worlds.

[Ven]

For me this is a case of starting with second things second, as I have not read book 1 (yet) which in itself is not an unusual thing for me, and when the author put this on my radar, they said this does work as a standalone, which I would say is broadly true, you don't have to have read 'No Life But Immortality' before reading this, and it does work in isolation, but I will come back to that later.

This is the poster child for a book that demands you to give it your full attention, and rewards you for doing so, the drawback is that if your focus slips you may end up feeling like you missed something and having to backtrack. Set in a world after a solar event cased massive tech outages, the majority of the story takes place in the Antarctic in 2190, with humanity in the area fragmented into relatively small and at time tribalistic communities struggling to survive the harsh conditions with limited resources. Some old tech still exists and works, but its few and far between, and often larger communities have sprung up where the tech is more prevalent. But this is only a very small part of the world, and Empires from elsewhere have begun to turn their focus in this direction for reasons that are gradually uncovered throughout the book.
We have multiple POV characters who act as introductions to the wider lore of the world, both factual as well as rumoured, and while their is some overlap, it is minimal for the majority of the story although it the end points do begin fully entwine towards the end setting up the next title. Randy's chapters in many ways felt like the cornerstones of the tale, the local who had a chance encountered when he was a kid that inspired him, before being forced out into the world after an attack on his town whilst also seeking a cure for a plague that was sweeping through his home, and having his world views and naivety challenged, and ultimately stripped away (going to leave mention of the initiation scene here, if you know, you know). That's not to say the other characters were not interesting, and in many ways they had more subtle character shifts and reveals, but in many ways Randy felt the most human.
The worldbuilding is overall well done, if confusing by design due to peoples own unreliable opinions and knowledge of the world and wider events, which links back into the mention of 'focus' from earlier, each location we visit has a distinct 'feel' and vibe, but always against the backdrop of the struggle to survive which I like to in my dystopian fiction.
The pacing does feel very 'middle-book' at times with the middle third feeling slow for long periods, but this is a 2nd book in a series, and is setting up events on a grander scale for book 3 so it is to be expected.

As I said earlier, this does work as a standalone, however I am going to go back and read book 1 by the end of the year because at times I did feel like I was missing larger context for the world and some of the key characters that are mentioned, and I love world building in my sci-fi/fantasy, and I suspect with that extra bit I would have enjoyed this even more.

With all that said, this is a very solid dystopian post apocalypse dark sci-fi in an unforgiving world and location, and is a series I will definitely be continuing with. I give this a very solid 4⭐ overall as a standalone title.

[Elena]

This book is the kind of science fiction novel that asks for your full attention, but rewards you with a world that feels vast, dangerous, and strangely alive. Set in post-Blackout Antarctica, the story immediately pulled me into a frozen future where survival is never guaranteed and knowledge can be just as dangerous as any weapon.

What I appreciated most was the atmosphere. McMurdo and the other settlements do not feel like simple backdrops; they feel like broken, haunted places carrying the weight of a collapsed civilization. The author often shows this world through tension, danger, and the way people react to scarcity and fear, rather than simply explaining everything. That helped the setting feel more immersive and emotionally believable.

Randy de la Serna’s journey to find a cure for a devastating prehistoric fungal infection gives the story a strong emotional center. I found myself caring about his courage, his fear, and the difficult choices he is forced to make. His development works because he does not feel like a perfect hero; he feels like someone learning how heavy responsibility can become. The supporting characters also add moral complexity, especially those caught between loyalty, survival, faith, and power.

The novel is ambitious, imaginative, and often gripping. I enjoyed the mix of hard sci-fi, post-apocalyptic survival, political intrigue, and moral uncertainty. The dialogue generally serves the story well, especially in moments where characters reveal their beliefs or conflicts through conversation. At times, however, the heavy worldbuilding and many factions can make the pacing slow down, and some sections feel more focused on information than emotion.

Still, this did not take away from the power of the story. Overall, The Orphaned Earth is a thoughtful, emotional, and compelling sci-fi novel for readers who enjoy complex worlds, morally gray characters, and stories with real weight behind them.

[R And]

The Orphaned Earth: Book 2 of Geryon's Code Cycle continues the series with deeper worldbuilding and higher stakes, pulling readers further into its complex and imaginative universe. The plot expands in intriguing ways, and the characters evolve as new challenges unfold. I received an ARC copy and appreciated the ambition and layered storytelling, though a few sections felt slightly dense at times. Overall, it’s a strong and engaging follow-up that will satisfy fans of thoughtful science fiction.

[Oswald Black]

This is a very well-written sci-fi piece about the world after a solar flare knocks out all digital records and history, sending humanity backwards. I enjoyed the family aspect and the authenticity of the relationships. Highly recommend!

[A.M. Lavender]

The Orphaned Earth: Geryon’s Code is a sprawling, intense, and very imaginative post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel. It takes place in a future where civilization has been broken by the Blackout, and Antarctica has become one of the last strange, dangerous frontiers of humanity. What I liked right away is that this world does not feel empty or generic. There are towns, factions, ruins, old technologies, myths, grudges, cults, survivors, and people still trying to understand what was lost.

The worldbuilding is one of the strongest parts of the book. McMurdo, Port Amundsen, Heliopolis, Seven Winds, and the other locations all have their own mood and danger. The story blends hard sci-fi ideas with post-collapse survival, religious extremism, artificial intelligence, cyborg identity, old corporate power, and the question of who gets to shape the future after humanity nearly destroys itself.

I also really enjoyed the characters. Randy brings curiosity and heart into a brutal world. Rakhmanov has that great mysterious mentor/survivor energy, but with a dangerous edge. Veliard’s sections add a lot of emotional and philosophical weight, especially with his complicated identity and connection to Wilhelmina. Grigory/Aelius is especially interesting because he is not written as a simple villain. He is frightening, devoted, conflicted, and tragic in ways that make him stand out.

This is not a light or simple read. There are a lot of names, factions, timelines, and moving pieces, so it asks the reader to pay attention. But for readers who like dense sci-fi worlds with moral complexity, survival stakes, political tension, and big ideas, that depth is part of the appeal.

A bold, intelligent, and emotionally layered sci-fi epic. It feels like a story about the end of the world, but also about memory, loyalty, power, belief, and what kind of future people are willing to fight for. I would absolutely continue with the next book.

[May Oktan]

I really enjoyed getting lost in this book.
The story takes you through the brutal, frozen world of post-Blackout Antarctica, and I loved how the author made the different settlements feel like distinct, dangerous places with their own secrets.

The plot weaves together several different perspectives without ever feeling like it’s too much to track. I was also impressed by the sci-fi elements. The tech and the mysteries surrounding the Brotherhood felt gritty and well-thought-out, adding a great layer of realism to the survival story without turning into dense jargon.
Definitely a compelling read that kept me engaged until the end!