Omniorb: Consortium: Episode 1

by Andrew M. Friday

“When being tortured, minutes seem like an eternity." The Consortium. A supposed “utopia” where thousands of planets benefit from financial and cultural unity. Where neurological experiences and emotions are converted to energy via mysterious orbs. Where travel from one end of the galaxy to the other in mere hours is possible thanks to the dimension called The WhereHow. Where a mysterious being named The Siron, a god to some, an alien tyrant to others, makes all the diplomatic decisions for planetary relationships. Spotov, a planet ravaged by civil war, is about to become part of The Consortium. But first, Spotov’s Advocate must be announced. When an imposter claims to be Spotov’s Advocate, three friends--Bandonn, Edom and Durso--find themselves caught in the middle of the planet's political crisis. Someone wants them dead. Omniorb is the first episode of The Consortium Series. Each installment shares the fast-paced adventures of a group of young people with mysterious powers who must save Spotov from the False Advocate or die trying.

98 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

First, feel free to sign up for my e-newsletter at http://eepurl.com/glFkfT. Now about me:

I can’t help it. I’m a born nerd. I have loved science fiction since I came home from school, turned on the television and watched reruns of Lost in Space. Then I graduated to Star Trek. I still remember going to the theater with my dad and brother and watching Star Wars. My dad said he had no idea what the movie was about. But I loved it.

Moving on to literature, when I read Dune in middle school, it changed my attitude about reading. From there it was Anne McCaffrey’s dragon books. My friends and I shared copies of the original Elfquest graphic novels on the school bus.

Don’t ask me who my favorite author is. I have more than one and I appreciate each of them for different reasons. But some science fiction and fantasy authors who have influenced me include: Dan Simmons, Frank Herbert, Connie Willis, Vernor Vinge, C. S. Lewis, Neil Gaiman, Madeleine L’Engle, and … I could go on until lunchtime.

I hope you enjoy my stories.

Reviews

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omniorb is the first of 12 Episodes. We are introduced to conflicting ideologies, alien discoveries, and abnormal abilities. Conflict is nothing new, but the weaponry is. Imagine loading an illegally obtained Sarcasm orb into a rifle made from scraps after receiving a dose of Treat. Coveting technology isn’t new either, but unless you’re a member of the Consortium, many high-level discoveries are not easily obtained. In fact, gaining access to the Weave is illegal to those who are not part of the Consortium. Then the abnormal abilities? We’re walking around a universe filled with aliens. Of course, they are all going to be different… but Bandonn and Durso seem particularly special.

I loved this story. After learning so much, we are left wondering how different things could have been if Rolorzak had been stricter with his son. And why did Kessla’s shuttle get attacked by multiple xyce when they are supposed to be rare?

[Cheryl Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would love to give this book a five-star rating. The story is intriguing and I liked the characters. Whilst the story develops nicely, I found it rushed past character development and also sometimes, the jumps between scenes and characters was a little jarring - not always making sense at first.
The ideas are fresh and as a developing story, it has potential. The ending is abrupt and didn't make sense and I was disappointed because the action had only just started. I think it would have been better to conclude a lot of the open threads in this book, but understand it has been serialized.
There are many errors and I found they detracted from the work - spelling, syntax, grammar. I'm not too concerned with those sorts of things, personally, but some readers may find it too distracting or confusing and give up on this book.