Orbit

Theonite #2

by M.L. Wang

This was a world where two black women with spears trumped three white men with guns, and one unarmed musician trumped them all. This was going to take some getting used to...

After barely escaping Earth with their lives, Joan and Daniel scramble to piece together the mystery of Killer 31 while dodging police, security guards, annoying family members, and dark hooded figures.

Daniel always intended to take on the Firebird mantle and fight his father’s enemies, but he didn’t expect to have to do it at the age of thirteen under a hail of spears and bullets.

Joan was hoping to find a world where she wouldn’t be isolated because of her powers, but adjusting to existence on the bottom of Duna’s racial hierarchy turns out to be more painful than any of the alienation she experienced on Earth.

Grieving, unbalanced, and quickly becoming the most wanted people on the Dakkabana space station, Joan and Daniel are forced to strike up alliances with some unlikely people: a hyperactive Firebird fanboy, a friendly painter, and the disappointing son of an otherwise powerful warrior family. Can the group of misfits pull together into something resembling a team in time to outsmart their enemies and save Firebird?

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Magic

555 pages, ebook

First published August 1, 2017

About the author

Hi, I'm M. L. Wang, writer of sci-fi & fantasy, winner of Mark Lawrence's 5th Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off (SPFBO).

I'm rarely on Goodreads, so if you need to get in touch, please see the contact page of my website: https://mlwangbooks.com/contact/

Reviews

[mesal · Rating 4 out of 5]

the way that i finished this book thinking i would read the next one immediately, only to find out the author had decided to discontinue the series... hearts been broke so many times

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

   M. L. Wang has outdone herself with this second installment in her Theonite series – it had me from page one and never let me go. While Planet Adyn takes place on the Earth we know, Orbit takes place on the Dakkabana space center above Planet Duna, the home dimension/planet where Daniel Thundyil is from and Joan Messi, lone Earthling theonite, now finds herself.
   Planet Duna can be considered the opposite of Planet Earth – most people have powers, space centers and shuttles are commonplace, Yamma-dominated society is matriarchal and largely divided by kafo/social class, and whites are at the bottom of the racial and societal hierarchy, to name a few. But in many ways, these very things that are so opposite to what we are used to on Earth show us just how similar these two worlds are, too. There are always racial, societal and cultural prejudices, the upper class knows and understands little of the lives of the lower classes, wealth distribution is just as varied and often unequal, and the ways of thought and traditions of old can be just as hard to change and modernize. And that’s just to take some of the big things that really pop out – there are plenty of other aspects that are addressed, too, with varying attention paid to them: as little as a line to paragraphs or even pages devoted to it.
   Wang handles these complex and incendiary subjects deftly, with an honest openness that is very self-aware – the characters express their thoughts, their understanding of such topics in ways that are shaped by the world they know while also (often) reflecting what they see the world could be. This mash-up of thirteen year olds – Daniel Thundyil, koro and inheritor of the Firebird legacy; Joan Messi, lone Earth theonite and seeker of answers; Kente Ekwenzi, star-struck and speedy senkuli who prefers holding weapons to making them; Fikile Zithathwa, progressive numuwu who loves painting over metalworking; and Izumo Matsuda, gentle and disappointing issue of the renowned Kaigenese warrior Matsuda clan – may be young and inexperienced and unsure of what is the right thing to do, but they are determined to find their way, help each other, and do the best they can do. They are young, they will (and often do) make mistakes, but they do not give up on each other even when the going gets and stays tough. They are each on the border of childhood and adulthood, with adult problems coming at them faster than they can dream of understanding and facing it with all they know and their all-but-childish dreams and wishes for their world. They will have to learn many things as they run and from and face no less than two different police authorities as well as other obstacles, including who to trust and when to let someone else handle something instead of taking all the burdens on their own unprepared shoulders.
   In glancing at a few other reviews, I found that the term “afro-futurism” is applied to this book – which I find is completely accurate. Yamma is Duna’s rough equivalent of a mix of African societies/cultures, and it is Yamma who is at the top of the country pyramid of power. The brightly colored fabrics of clothing and the use of face paints to color ones face with bright lines and dots is easily recognizable as derived from agglomerated African cultures. The combination of everything we learn about Duna alongside Joan also begins to fulfill the promise of complex diversity hinted at in Sword of Kaigen, for Duna and its societies are multifaceted, diverse, and rich. The interplay between the different nations and cultures, how they relate to each other, where they work together and where they rub harshly against each other, it all makes for an extremely engaging and engrossing read.
   Just, read this book. Read Theonite #1: Planet Adyn first, and have this book ready to go as soon as you turn that last page. It is a fabulous world that Wang has created, and it has me chomping at the bit to read the upcoming third installment, City of Ghosts, which cannot come out soon enough!

Favorite quotes:
    “Everyone has a center,” Grandpa said, “something that anchors them in their world, something they can point to, like the needle of a compass to a magnetic pole, and say ‘this is who I am, this is where I’m from and where I’m going, this is what’s important.’ Many people find their center in their religion; for some it’s their culture, their ideals, their goals, their passion, their family. For most, I think it’s a tightly-woven knot of all those things. Everyone has a center, a special thing that makes their world feel whole.” – page 15/530 – This idea of having a center makes me think directly of the movie “Rise of the Guardians” and Jack Frost figuring out what his center is, his reason for being, what motivates him.

   This whole place is made of transport tubes. – page 185/530 – The internet is made of tubes! (laughs all alone) XD

    “Ey? No!” Fiki said, looking almost hurt. “No, I do not think this. I’m always think if you are a woman or you are a man, it should not matter. Everyone is people,” she insisted passionately. “Even if your nyama is weak or strange, everyone is people.” – page 241/530

    “If [non-full-theonites are] overweight, they can actually break bones [in the outer rings of the Dakkabana space station].”
   Wait. So, did that mean that some whole rings of the space center—the nicest rings, Daniel said—were functionally off-limits to some people just because they weren’t theonites? – page 252-253/530 – Basically, ableism by the theonite population. Add it to the list of how Duna societies are just as imperfect as Earth ones!

   I didn’t know why I was suddenly so desperate to find a shred of Earth religion in this new world. I hated Earth religion. Christianity was half the reason I had been too scared to show anyone my powers growing up. Yet somehow, the thought of it not existing at all left me feeling hollow and stunned, like there was no breath in my chest. Everything I understood about people—their intolerance, their self-righteousness, their kindness, their cruelty—was tied up in Christianity. I didn’t know how to understand a world without it. – page 291-292/530

   African civilizations had never been ravaged by European colonialism [on Duna]; instead, they had flourished, growing powerful enough to dominate the globe and send cities into space.
   The thought created a moment of lightness in my chest, a powerful relief that almost turned to a smile. It was as though a great weight had suddenly lifted from my shoulders, a leaden guilt piled on layer by layer over a lifetime on Earth, with each paragraph of Huckleberry Finn, each documentary on the Old South or French West Africa, or the Triangle Trade, each school assignment about Martin Luther King. But before the smile could reach the corners of my mouth, before my shoulders could relax, I felt myself tense under a new weight: the thought of a library on fire. And I realized that I preferred the guilt.
   I was used to thinking of these terrible things—discrimination, genocide, and slavery—with a distant sense of guilt. It was sadness, but watered down by miles and centuries of distance, like standing safely behind a thick pane of clouded glass, watching something terrible happen on the other side. This felt so much closer, like a pair of hands wrapped around my throat, around my heart. Everything I had loved about Earth—the great conquests and cathedrals, Shakespeare and Shaw, the written English language itself, all gone—traded in for slave ships and genocide by fire. Picturing it hurt my heart beyond words—beyond breathing. – page 294-295/530

   My anchor was gone. The strength I had built up during all those years of study and solitude was supposed to be unshakable. I was strong because I was me. But if I couldn’t be me—if there were no librairies, if there was no France and no America, if there was no Joan—then what was I? I didn’t know. And I couldn’t stop crying. – page 298-299/530

    “Anger comes from shame, and shame lives in the soul. The koronu would like you to think the power to make you feel shame is theirs. Someone will always want you to think it is theirs. But all the words, and spears, and hammers in the world are nothing to [the] strength of the soul. People can say what they want, but only you can make you feel shame.” [Fiki explained].
[…]
    “In our history… I think… many people have tried to push other people down,” Fiki said, adding a last flick of color to the image. “Many people have tried to kill or crush down other people, thinking it will make them strong. I think people are strong when they are good to each other.”– page 310-311/530

    “He said to his followers, ‘I would rather choose my friends by their souls than their title.’ […]” – page 313/530

    “Good friends are a better place to start than flashy strangers.” -- page 339/530

   “To say that the order of the world is simple is to say that human beings are simple. And convenient as that would be, it is not the truth.” -- page 349/530

   “[The world Dingana Biraye] inhabited was smaller than ours. It didn’t include jijakalu, fonyakalu, sub-theonites, or adyns. It didn’t include non-Yammanka conceptions of family, or love, or religion. It didn’t need to, because my ancestor knew his people and he built his system for them. But the world has gotten more complicated—it continues to get more complicated. And it is only by expanding our understanding that we have a hope of keeping up with it. […] The world [our heroes] inhabited is gone. Their answers will not be our answers, because the questions have changed.” -- page 349-350/530

   “But sharing a name doesn’t mean you share a soul; sharing a kafo doesn’t mean you share natural abilities; sharing a language doesn’t make you able to understand another person’s heart; sharing a skin color doesn’t make you one people.
    […] The people who keep you the same as you always were are not your people. The people who change you—who inspire you to passion and greatness—these are your people, your tribe, your circle.” -- page 352/530

    “The past is a moving thing; it lives in the way we remember it, and the way we allow it to affect us.”
   […] “We understand ourselves through our past. The way we recall and retell our history tells us who we are and where we are going. The future may be in the hands of the koronu and the numuwu, who shape it through their craft and action. But the way they shape the future hinges on what they know of themselves and their own history. That is where we jaseliwu have our power.”– page 383/530

   And as I touched Daniel’s shoulder, I felt more conviction than I had—well—ever. And that was when I realized… this was my center, here with Daniel. It didn’t matter what I was. He was my koro—or manga-koro—or who really cared what it was called? He was my friend who could do for me the things I couldn’t do for myself, my friend for whom I would do the things he couldn’t do for himself.
   He was the center. – page 403/530

   I had just entered a world where two black women with spears trumped three white men with guns and a single unarmed musician trumped them all. It was going to take some getting used to. – page 473/530

Typos:
..a concept; It could be a person. – page 16/530 – “It” should be lowercase, “it”

…of shock from I eyes… -- page 30-31/530 – “I” should be “my”

Daniel was on his feet in an instant, darting over to the silver pod, he hit a button on… -- page 104/530 – Should probably turn that first comma into a period.

“I’m just glad we have some real fighters after us,” Daniel said, “makes it so much more fun.” – page 111/530 – Punctuation is a bit strange here, I think after “said” it should really be a period then a new sentence with “Makes”

…sit down I there, break… -- page 141/530 – “I” should be “in”

Leaping up from the table, darted out of the room and… -- page 144/530 – should be “he darted”

“Then why have orientation in out here space?” – page 152/530 – Should be something like “in outer space?” or “out here in space?”

I had never really gotten a handle on Dunian measurement of time? – page 237/530 – Final punctuation should be a period.

…so a senkuli never marries a koro and produces a child who is confused.” -- page 304/530 – I don’t think “confused” was meant to be unitalicized/accentuated.

…outside their kafo.
Some of the people… -- page 308/530 – Missing opening quotation marks “Some…

…a girl in pretty purple jaseli robes at us. – page 319/530 – I think it was supposed to be “robes came at us”, or just take out “at us” and replace it with “said” or something.

…said she was going to do that you, I hate… -- page 375/530 – should be, “to do that to you”

I was Joan because had spent years trying to figure… -- page 388 – should be “I was Joan because I had spent…” Maybe even italicize “because” for good measure.

But I was interrupted by sharp pop. – page 459/530 – should be, “by a sharp pop.”

But Zankare at already blasted… -- page 461 – should be, “Zankare had already…”

…to put to and two together… -- page 479 – should be, “two and two”

…revealing warm circle of flames… -- page 485/530 – should be, “revealing a warm circle”

“I um… I’m not sure. I still wasn’t used to the Dunian style of measuring time. “I guess—maybe, … -- page 500/530 -- Missing closing quotes after “I’m not sure.”

[Shelby M. (Read and Find Out) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall rating: 4 stars

Style/writing: 3.5 stars
Themes: 4 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Plot: 4 stars
Worldbuilding: 4.5 stars

[Anderson Viana · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's unfortunate that such a promising story is left unfinished... but oh well, it happens.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book manages to be so many things at once. It had me laughing out loud in one chapter and crying the next. Parts of it are really fun - Joan and Daniel are on a non-stop thrill ride, making new friends, engaging in superpowered hand-to-hand combat, and playing detective - but there's this undercurrent of exhaustion and terrifying strangeness as Daniel faces the consequences of his father's death and Joan struggles to adjust to a completely new world. It's a story about trust and friendship, racism and cultural hegemony, and a 13-year-old girl just trying to figure out who she is and what she's doing. It also plunges us headfirst into the West Africa-based parallel dimension of Duna.

This world is so thoroughly real it's unbelievable. We meet so many new characters that it's hard to even keep track of all their names, and yet I feel like there could be an entire book series about every single one of them, even the random jaseli who greets the students at the door for orientation. Each character serves their role in the story, but no one is just a trope or a gimmick - you can tell that each of them has an inner life and you want to get to know them.

The switching of POV characters makes the world feel even more real, as we get to experience this barrage of confusing alien people and traditions through fish-out-of-water Joan's eyes, while also seeing through the eyes of characters to whom this world is completely normal. There are so many things that are so strange to the reader that just go unquestioned by the people of Duna. It makes you question your own assumptions about the way the world works at many levels: What are the root sources of our prejudices? Are the systems we have in place - governmental systems, social classes, technology - in any way optimal, or was it just chance that they developed the way they did? What does it mean to live a successful or morally upstanding life?

One of the underlying themes of this book is that 'you do for your friend what he cannot do for himself, just as he does for you what you cannot do for yourself.' I found that really touching. That idea is not so much a part of our modern world - we try to function as discrete individuals, not always acknowledging that we need others or realizing that we're part of something bigger than ourselves; we don't seek out a star system and fall into orbit.

Much as I've praised it here, this book is definitely not perfect. The writing style is pretty simple and at times a little clumsy, and like the first book, it doesn't stand on its own, relying heavily on plot points from the first book while simultaneously feeling like set-up for what's to come. But it holds together beautifully and it keeps you entertained from beginning to end. Overall, I'd say it's well worth a read (or two or three)!

[Silvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this series by accident, and continued 'cause I couldn't put it down. This second entry, in particular, is exceptional for the detail that went into the world-building and for the thoughtfulness that went into designing a society that developed on completely different tracks and presuppositions than ours - from the different time measures to the dressing styles, from the traditions for knowledge-sharing to racial relations. It accomplishes the task of making us reflect on how we take for granted certain small details of our daily lives that are instead derived from centuries of history, and are far from the only, inevitable way to be. For that, if nothing else, this book deserve praise.
I know that I could personally spend a happy year figuring out how these different traditions developed and how we can understand them in relation to ours.
Beyond the world-building, the characters are vivid and smartly introduced, with extremely limited exposition wasted to rather give space to their actions, thoughts and relations (Alexis and Maadi might be my personal favourite in that respect). A perfect case of show-don't-tell.
I was impressed by how the craft and style of this book improved from the first entry, which was still very good.
I am excited to see what the third entry will reserve.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

ML Wang is surprising me with recent book series!

The book does end in a cliff hanger; however, I love how the author focuses on Daniel finding his true identity and Joan finding her true friends in unknown parallel universe.

I thought the book was long initially for a short plot. After reflecting, I'm glad she did. She developed the characters that will be playing a key role in finishing the job his father started on Earth.

I loved how she lures readers into a smooth, yet relatable story. Lessons like "you need companions" to "firebird is made up of a team not yourself" can be learned as well!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I liked this second book even better than the first book, and I will be looking for the third book in the series.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 stars
very different from the sword of kaigen but still a really wholesome and heartwarming story with very touching friendships :')

[Selina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oddly, a bit of a letdown.
The book focuses too much on running away and worldbuilding with a lot of information and characters.

[Camilla Reiersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

I've grown so fond of these kids :') And the world is interesting!

[Lekhana Gogineni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orbit is even better than the first book in this series. In this book we get to explore Duna, the concept of which M.L. Wang made very thought provoking and intriguing. Duna is basically Earth but upside down and backwards. The planet Duna is literally upside down (North is South, and East is West), and everything else is the direct opposite. Until a few thousand years ago Duna's history (I may be getting this slightly wrong but this is how I understood it) was exactly like Earth's but then Theonite powers stared genetically emerging in some people. And who are these people? The minorities! Specifically Africa, and South and East Asia. Most prominantly Africa whose fire powers help them conquer the world. The white people of Europe did not gain theonite powers and remained Adyns (people without power) so they were defenseless against the conquest. So on Duna Africans are the majority. This mean the darker the skin the better (unless you are east asian since they have powers too). All the minorities are powerful and priviledged in this world (mainly Africa. Africa, and India= fire powers; Japan=Water powers; China=Air powers. Most whites on current day Duna do not have powers. Being white you are severely underprivileged and are subject to severe racism. This is definitely a culture shock for Joan who finally thought she had found a place to fit in with people who have powers like her, but she feels just as alone as on Earth, being a white person on Duna. Her fist and only friend Daniel is doing a poor job of being there for her as he is doing poorly at dealing with his intense grief over his father's death in the previous book. In this book two thirteen year old are trying to continue the legacy of an adult (Robin's father) and nothing about it has been easy for them. Joan and Daniel are more powerful than most Theonites but I love how the authordid an amazing job of portraying them as what they really were, lost and helpless children. I also love how their understanding and maturity grew by the end of the book. This book was more of helping Daniel and Joan grow into the people they need to be in order to become Firebird and solve the mystery of who killed Daniel's father, than them making any progress on the actual crime in itself. This book like the last was also very thought provoking, and I just LOVED it soooo much. I can't wait for City of Ghosts to come out!!!

[Robbie Antenesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

The storytelling in the Theonite series has been excellent so far, and I'm really looking forward to the next book! The concepts of race and caste are eased into view in this book, and the glimpse of ideas for how the world would look without a white conqueror history was hugely interesting to me.

I'd definitely recommend this book to someone who wants a fun, interesting, and deep new fantasy world to dive into. It does rely on the first book in the series, Theonite: Planet Adyn, but that's also worth reading to get a handle on the main characters and some basic concepts brought more fully to light in this book.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first book so I thought I would try the second and was not disappointed. This book continues the story of Joan and Daniel as they mysteriously arrive on the Dakkabana Space Center. This story surpasses the first book and really develops your understanding of the world Joan finds herself now belonging to. There are many topics covered by the story that are real world issues that ground the story but it is balanced by the fantastic. I highly recommend picking this book up and giving it a go, you can get a copy of the first book to give you more background but the second book could be picked up and read on its own. There is a handy glossary at the end to help you understand all the new words you may not know.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, further character building. World building edition. The foundation of a budding generational super hero. Author takes care to create a whole new language and class system for the read to study & understand. Reader is a visitor to world right along with 1st main character Joan. Will read more!

Worth reading from book one, reader is drawn into a world, having to navigate a new language, class system, values and beliefs.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the things that strikes me most deeply about this book - and the series in general - is the wholehearted love put into developing it. The Yammaminke language is immensely impressive as a fictional invention for a fantasy world, and I am constantly amazed at how fully and fluidly it has been put together that the author can have characters hold whole conversations in it. If only it were as easy for me to learn another language as it is for Joan!

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible! I've read it three times so far and I've adored it every time. The characters and the problems they face are handled convincingly and the world building is fantastic.
I'm not sure how to put into words how much I loved this book, but I thoroughly recommend!

[Rajesh Das · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate Daniel. He is so irresponsible. How could you leave a friend who is also an alien in an unknown space station. Like the first book, nothing much happened in this book too. They just running around in circle.

[Tara Bush · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should have read up on this before picking it up. M.L. Wang decided not to continue with the series (even took the first two books out of print) and I felt like the best part of the story was going to be in the next book.

[Phil Matthews · Rating 1 out of 5]

Booring

This story is about a brat who runs around like an idiot. It drones on and on and on. I only got about half way through before I gave up.

[Evan Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read

[Steven Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Promising series that was sadly shelved.

The be blunt I would not have jumped into the series if I had known the author had stepped away from it to focus elsewhere. There is nothing more frustrating than to find that such a series with budding potential has been put on indefinite hold. Given the depth and style of the two books in it I am shocked. I will be hesitant to buy anything from M L Wang that is not a standalone book or a complete series. She has a heck of a lot of talent in pulling a reader into a story. That is why I'm so annoyed but still have to give the work a three star rating.

I do think the series shows promise even if the ages and voice of the protagonist is older than thirteen. They say a good rule of thumb in YA is that your target audience is about two years younger than you main protagonist. I love stories set up for younger readers like for example Percy Jackson or Harry Potter. There is a certain voice and tone that fit very will with the ages of the protagonist in the books. This two book series tries for that feel, and promises the reader an eventual "magic school," experience later in the series, but it does so with characters that feel older, and who dive in to concepts and points of views that feel more developed and mature. Just as you would not have harden middle age Detective have a preteen character voice you would not a budding teenager sound like world weary post college student.

The world building is interesting but may be confusing given the rather step learning curve and tons of info thrown at the reader. The elemental magic system is familiar and yet strange enough to spark the reader interest. The is no romance and little humor to break up the rather serious tone and constant, something happens, getting chased, runaway instead of solving anything, something else happens pacing. It does pull the reader through the pages at first but does get a little old later in the story were it become tedious to a point.

This book did suffer from weak antagonists with rather antagonist with undefined goals and who are obnoxious for the sake of being being obnoxious. The book covers only a couple days time and does it's best to set the reader up for a truly interesting series that has elements of Harry Potter, The Last Airbender, and a Wakanda like world where history is reversed and the world is literally flipped on its axis. It is a bit too much on the nose when it comes to racism, but still this book and book 1 gives the reader so much to look forward to that having the series shelved really does feel like having rug pulled out from under use.

Spirituality does play a part I in then story and it seem that the author can not resist taking shots at Christianity through Joan. The character is not a fan of religion which is fine but the way in which she strawmans Christianity is off putting, and honest something i would expect from someone a bit older if at all. I say this with the full knowledge that at the same age i was heavily into my faith and into the deep questions but I was, and am, rather weird. It is stranger still to see Joan's, aka the authors, thoughts expressed as one of the greatest influences in Joan's life was her Christian grandfather who encouraged her intellectual development. Just did not flow as one would expect.

Overall the story was interesting, with some good relationships and emotional moments. Still, given that book 2 is mostly a set up book laying the ground work to the new world the engaging character development in it might just anger readers. The story a bit of work to get through with the learning curve...to find that the series may never be finished...well that can induce book burning rage lol. Neither of the two ya books of the series are stand-alones. Honestly where the first book seemed like a large proluge to get to a new universe this second book spun it's wheels the entire time in a secondary location to set up friends and potential enemies for the rest of the series....that's now been shelved..

Over all this book is cleaner than book one 1 in terms of language. The characters and feel would work better if they said to be a could years older, and add a bit more young adults elements, but they are still interesting.

[Tzurky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent YA book that I would recommend to anyone of up to about 17 years of age and to any adult reader (like myself) with some patience. The reason you need patience is because the themes are a little bit over-developed. Not beating you over the head, but just repeated much more often than I would have needed them to be. To give you an example, power structures and racism are front and center in the story and since this is a different world, built on a completely different premise, the author eases the reader into the differences. One of which is that the globe is oriented with south pointing upwards, the Southern Hemisphere being the more powerful in this particular dimension. Any adult reader will of course be well aware that our orientation conventions for maps and out projections of flat maps are only conventions and highly inaccurate, respectively, but since this is aimed at a younger audience, she takes half a page to build that concept up. Understandable, just not my preference.

The world building and specifically the clash of worlds as Someone from our world goes to a separate dimension with an upside-down power structure and race and gender relations is one of the most fun parts of the book, though. For the first time in the series we get to meet Duna through the eyes of a stranger and while as I’ve explained the concepts are developed slowly for the benefit of the reader they are handled incredibly deftly - in contrast to supposedly ‘adult’ books like the painted man, the characters and their interactions are drawn with much more nuance and subtlety, a deep understanding of human nature and compassion and love for the better qualities of mankind that do not obscure our weaknesses. There’s an incredible depth of feeling in some of the interactions and they evolve as characters develop and their perceptions change with additional information or a better understanding of themselves. As always with this author, the world also feels lived-in, like there are entire notebooks of history and politics and other aspects she wrote up before-hand and which she just off-handedly references here and there. You’ll benefit from having read the sequel but you can still fully grasp the plot and the world without it, just without the emotional impact of seeing Robin’s family.

As I’ve said, the characters are very varied and well developed. They all have their unique ‘voice’ and they stay consistent throughout the story, while still being further developed. This is the most important aspect of plotting for me since I mostly don’t even notice logical or timeline plot holes if I am given consistent characters that don’t change for plot convenience. Another important aspect (especially for a YA book) is that the characters aren’t dumbed down. The main cast, who are in their early teens, may act stupidly and hastily and get themselves in over their heads because they’re young and overly excitable or dealing with trauma and powerful emotions, but they are not dumb and once they acclimate to the situation they act decisively and intelligently. The adults are also not portrayed as The Enemy. This is not one of those facile books where teens have to save the world on their own because the adults just don’t care or are too stupid to notice. On the contrary, supportive, caring and interested adults abound and are central to the plot and character development.

All in all an absolutely lovely YA fantasy book, leaps and bounds above the usual fare in characters, world-building, plotting and especially the intricate and painstakingly developed magic system (that is used to great effect in some very good fights). I will definitely read ANYTHING this author puts out but deep inside I’m hoping for another adult book set in the world.

[Vir - Física Lectora · Rating 4 out of 5]

"... our heroes may have been great, but they are dead. The world they inhabited is gone. Their answers will not be our answers, because the quiestions have changed."

Orbit es la segunda parte de la trilogía Theonite, de la cual la autora ya informó que, lamentablemente, no escribirá la continuación. Sin embargo, Sword of Kaigen, un libro autoconclusivo escrito también por M. L. Wang, se encuentra ubicado en el universo de Theonite. En Orbit seguimos a Daniel y Joan luego de que escapan de la Tierra.

"Humans tended to use whatever was at their disposal to kill each other - but the very idea just seemed wrong to me."

(Sin spoilers) A pesar de que en el primer libro, Planet Adyn, me costó mucho engancharme con la historia y tenía un poco de "temor" de que me pasara lo mismo, fue todo lo contrario. No sólo ya conocía más a Joan y Daniel, sino que desde el inicio hay mucha acción y te atrapa al instante. En este libro hay dos líneas principales, la primera es la de Daniel buscando "la verdad" y buscando en su historia, y la segunda es la de Joan buscando quién es realmente ella y cómo encaja en el nuevo lugar. La autora hace una apuesta interesante, en vez de erradicar el racismo, lo invierte, y ahora Joan se encuentra en una situación muy desfavorable por su color de piel clara. Esto hace que ella se realice muchas preguntas, y que tome conciencia de aspectos que antes daba por sentado o ante los cuales no se hacía muchos cuestionamientos, situaciones que fueron normalizadas toda su vida (hasta ahora).

El ritmo y el argumento de la historia en sí resultaron muy interesantes, es una historia de crecimiento personal y de encontrar su lugar en el mundo en la etapa de la adolescencia, donde nos empezamos a plantear a qué queremos llegar el día de mañana, qui��nes queremos ser, y cómo lo vamos a hacer. Además, como mencionaba previamente, el libro está cargado de acción y suceden muchas cosas a un ritmo bastante ligero, con lo que no hay forma de aburrirse.

Me encantó el world building, quería saber más sobre el origen de los poderes de Joan y qué variantes podía haber, y este libro cumplió mis expectativas al respecto. También nos introduce la dinámica de los grupos sociales que allí se encuentran, con situaciones que me resultaron completamente inesperadas.

Me da mucha pena que la autora haya decidido no continuar con la saga, porque mi intención luego del final de esta lectura era continuar con ella. Hay muchas preguntas que quedan por responder y además me quedé con ganas de saber más del futuro de Joan y Daniel, ya que quedó todo el terreno preparado como para la continuación. Recomiendo la lectura aunque es importante tener en cuenta que no se continuará con la misma.

[Jessica Thien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ / 5

Theonite: Orbit was a mixed experience for me. I went into it hoping to reconnect with the same emotional power, depth, and intensity I felt in The Sword of Kaigen but this book simply isn’t operating on that level. It feels much closer to the first Theonite book: juvenile in tone, lighter, and clearly written during Wang’s earlier years as a developing author.

I want to be clear: I don’t hold this against her. She was young when she wrote it, and her growth later on proves just how incredibly she has evolved. But because of that difference, my personal interest just didn’t match the book.

❤️ What Worked

The worldbuilding is strong. Wang has always had a talent for constructing layered, imaginative universes, and that remains true here. There are interesting systems, cultural details, and political complexities that show flashes of the brilliance she later perfected in Kaigen.

💔 What Didn’t

About halfway through the book, I felt myself losing interest. The story dragged, the pacing slowed, and I found myself reading just to finish not because I was emotionally invested. The characters didn’t pull me in the way Misaki, Mamoru, or even Takeru did. The plot is fine, but it lacks the intensity and heartbreak that made Kaigen unforgettable.

Final Thoughts

This wasn’t a bad book, it simply wasn’t the one for me. My tastes lean more toward the emotional weight and mature storytelling of The Sword of Kaigen, and Orbit feels like an earlier, lighter version of Wang’s voice. It could have been better, and I found myself bored at times, but I still appreciate how it fits into the broader universe.

A decent read, just not one that resonated with me the way her later work did.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. I read it all in one day, immediately after reading Theonite. I loved the characters and the world that M. L. Wang worked so hard to create. It's such an intricate world with so many characters and details. The alternate almost earth in another dimension where some things are the same and others are so very different is brilliant. I love how in the alternate world, Europe was conquered and their culture was erased while African countries dominate. I love how racism and classism developed anyway because of human nature. I just thought that the whole idea was brilliant. I am sad to find out that the author is not planning to continue the series that she put so much effort into creating. I found this series by watching booktubers talk about the prequel to these two stories. The prequel is The Sword of Kaigen. I recommend all three of the novels set in the Theonite world and look forward to reading more by this author.

[Carys · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this series and I will be waiting patiently for it to be finished one day, be it in 5 or 10 years.

This book has such thorough and satisfying world building which is necessary because of how complex it is. Both Joan and Daniel go through strong character development and I enjoyed the secondary characters that have come in play. Especially the Matsuda’s as I came from the Sword of Kaigen to this series.

My only complaint is that I was hoping to get to experience Daybreak and that Joan would really come into her powers and find she’s an awesome koro.

I didn’t want to leave this world and it’s characters - loved it.

[Matthew Konnecke · Rating 1 out of 5]

Its really hard to be polite. Sword of Kaigen was good in many ways. I understand we've switched to YA orientation.
Planet Adyn was ok. Orbit had no business being published. How could you describe it? Long winded. Repetitive. Most importantly - completely unnecessary. It should have transitioned straight to the new school and developed the main characters. Instead we get the super whiny and unappealing Daniel, the irrelevant side characters and so many wasted scenes with no development whatsoever of the plot. I hope the author finds an editor that can help their progress because this is garbage.

[Goldilor · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off, Kente is a type of fabric and not a name!!!!!

The language used threw me off, because there were a lot of words that looked like some Nigerian and Ghanaian languages but with different meanings and it just confused me. My brain kept saying kente is a fabric, it’s not a name. Ekwenzi looks like ekwensu which is another Igbo word

Then I found out the series has been discontinued, so this was a DNF

[Scott Sammons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great continuation of a very good series

This is going to be a rather long series, due to the authors love of rabbit trails, and the conceit of creating new languages and constantly defining terms after presenting the made up words. I love some of these characters, the effort to make character voices unique is noticeable and commendable.