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Orpheus Rising
Love, rockets and a bloody great fish...
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
10 people are currently reading
173 people want to read
About the author
Colin Bateman
77 books351 followersColin Bateman was a journalist in Northern Ireland before becoming a full-time writer. His first novel, Divorcing Jack, won the Betty Trask Prize, and all his novels have been critically acclaimed. He wrote the screenplays for the feature films of Divorcing Jack, Crossmaheart and Wild About Harry. He lives in Northern Ireland with his family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
December 6, 2025
3 stars for me.
Another one bizzare read,there's romance,shark attack,dangerous friend and ghosts.
My mistake was to take a mouthful of my tea reading this part:
'Oh,I usually feel sorry for them and jump their bones.'
'That's uhm,very acommondating of you.'
'Relax,Michael,I'm not going to jump you.'
'Okay.'
'I would be interested,but I had my clit pierced yesterday and I think it's gone septic.'
I nodded,and raised my drink.
What did I just read?This book is hilarious,I'm surprised that I didn't hear about this author before,and while I will not re-read it,it was a good laugh and I don't regret nothing.
Another one bizzare read,there's romance,shark attack,dangerous friend and ghosts.
My mistake was to take a mouthful of my tea reading this part:
'Oh,I usually feel sorry for them and jump their bones.'
'That's uhm,very acommondating of you.'
'Relax,Michael,I'm not going to jump you.'
'Okay.'
'I would be interested,but I had my clit pierced yesterday and I think it's gone septic.'
I nodded,and raised my drink.
What did I just read?This book is hilarious,I'm surprised that I didn't hear about this author before,and while I will not re-read it,it was a good laugh and I don't regret nothing.
July 23, 2018
An interesting story which I found a departure from the other Batemans that I have read. It rolls along reasonably and the main characters are well defined and sufficiently different. His deadpan sardonicism still shines through, albeit with less humour than other stories. I liked the turn of the story in the back third of the book as well. A good three and a half stars stars
October 4, 2016
"You have to understand this. I die in the end."
When Michael Ryan first sets foot in Brevard, Florida, he spots a woman that immediately sparks his interest. Even though quite a few guys aren't happy to witness it, they become a couple and get married. But their luck doesn't last, because Claire is murdered at a bank robbery. After that Michael ups and leaves town and only comes back 10 years later to attend a memorial in the victims' honor. He can't believe his eyes when he sees Claire, right there in Brevard, though. Could she still be alive?
I have seriously mixed feelings about this book. "Orpheus Rising" starts slow and really drags on for the first half of the book until, finally, something interesting happens. Initially, I was really confused as to the sudden turn of events, which I absolutely did not see coming and thought to be really odd. But as the story went on, I learned to enjoy the way it was going. Until the end, that is. I am not sure, I agree with that.
The characters I did not particularly like. Ambrose, Michael's companion, a cheating drunk and full-of-himself Pulitzer winner, I probably disliked the most.
Also, I can't quite understand the fuss about Claire. Why is everybody just dying to be with her?
By no means did this novel blow my mind, but once you've made it through the first half of it, it really picks up its speed and becomes an interesting, sometimes funny, all in all enjoyable read.
When Michael Ryan first sets foot in Brevard, Florida, he spots a woman that immediately sparks his interest. Even though quite a few guys aren't happy to witness it, they become a couple and get married. But their luck doesn't last, because Claire is murdered at a bank robbery. After that Michael ups and leaves town and only comes back 10 years later to attend a memorial in the victims' honor. He can't believe his eyes when he sees Claire, right there in Brevard, though. Could she still be alive?
I have seriously mixed feelings about this book. "Orpheus Rising" starts slow and really drags on for the first half of the book until, finally, something interesting happens. Initially, I was really confused as to the sudden turn of events, which I absolutely did not see coming and thought to be really odd. But as the story went on, I learned to enjoy the way it was going. Until the end, that is. I am not sure, I agree with that.
The characters I did not particularly like. Ambrose, Michael's companion, a cheating drunk and full-of-himself Pulitzer winner, I probably disliked the most.
Also, I can't quite understand the fuss about Claire. Why is everybody just dying to be with her?
By no means did this novel blow my mind, but once you've made it through the first half of it, it really picks up its speed and becomes an interesting, sometimes funny, all in all enjoyable read.
July 11, 2017
Funny thiller with supernatural and romantic elements
My second Colin Bateman, and he's got a winning way. Preferred Mystery Man but this had some great moments and characters, and I just love the way he winds up like an Agatha Christie.
Michael's wife was murdered 10 years ago, his publisher writes that he is now dead himself. With that bookend, we move between Michael's own notes to his publisher, telling his story of past and present, of how he met his wife, when she was with a rather dangerous boyfriend, and their life together.
That sounds rather simple, but actually, the story gets rather complicated, as the title might suggest - as Michael in the present day decides to investigate her murder further, he triggers a series of events leading to both other deaths and possibly the uncovering of a secrets a town has been sitting on.
Entertaining, it's one I had to concentrate on (audio is always more of a challenge for this), but I did enjoy the characters, and even the supernatural past was quite fun. I would definitely listen to more of Bateman's books, they are genre-defiant and neither crime thriller nor comic family stories, picking elements of both.
Clever structure that worked, and it kept my attention throughout. Well read by the CD's narrator as well.
My second Colin Bateman, and he's got a winning way. Preferred Mystery Man but this had some great moments and characters, and I just love the way he winds up like an Agatha Christie.
Michael's wife was murdered 10 years ago, his publisher writes that he is now dead himself. With that bookend, we move between Michael's own notes to his publisher, telling his story of past and present, of how he met his wife, when she was with a rather dangerous boyfriend, and their life together.
That sounds rather simple, but actually, the story gets rather complicated, as the title might suggest - as Michael in the present day decides to investigate her murder further, he triggers a series of events leading to both other deaths and possibly the uncovering of a secrets a town has been sitting on.
Entertaining, it's one I had to concentrate on (audio is always more of a challenge for this), but I did enjoy the characters, and even the supernatural past was quite fun. I would definitely listen to more of Bateman's books, they are genre-defiant and neither crime thriller nor comic family stories, picking elements of both.
Clever structure that worked, and it kept my attention throughout. Well read by the CD's narrator as well.
December 30, 2018
A while back Colin Bateman's 'people' decided to give him a rebrand. His first name was removed from his books and he simply became Bateman; I guess Colin just wasn't a feasible name for an author (sorry Mr Dexter). Another part of this rebrand was to give all his books a consistent look - they would have black covers with some simple, single coloured graphics addressing key points in the book and a catchy tagline. That's all fine.
But what if the author tries something a bit different?
Orpheus Rising has that very problem. I think I've read most of Bateman's books by now and I would describe them mostly as capers. There's usually some unwilling or incompetent (or both) hero at the centre and he gets through the plots of these books by luck, accident or alcohol-induced fate. Orpheus Rising is more serious in tone from the outset.
The hero is a best-selling author who has done a Salinger and dropped off the map after his one big successful book. At the centre of the story is a tragic love story that isn't played for laughs. This is Bateman with a straight face and that love story is very well observed. Not that there aren't some funny lines in there, there are, but the tone of the book is more sombre, and even dips into supernatural territory in the second half - something else neither Bateman, nor his previous skin Colin Bateman, ever explored. It's an experimental novel for the NI author and that's why I think his rebrand doesn't fit. My copy has a pink shark on the cover along with the tagline: Love, Rockets & A Bloody Great Fish, and though all those elements are mentioned in the story, the tone of the cover seems wrong. It's a bit like describing Jaws as: Chums, Chumming & a Bloody Great White. It's all true, but it's the wrong approach.
So this wasn't what I was expecting from a Bateman book, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. It's definitely an oddity in the Bateman-verse (?) but it's probably a good thing for any author to shake things up a bit every once in awhile.
But what if the author tries something a bit different?
Orpheus Rising has that very problem. I think I've read most of Bateman's books by now and I would describe them mostly as capers. There's usually some unwilling or incompetent (or both) hero at the centre and he gets through the plots of these books by luck, accident or alcohol-induced fate. Orpheus Rising is more serious in tone from the outset.
The hero is a best-selling author who has done a Salinger and dropped off the map after his one big successful book. At the centre of the story is a tragic love story that isn't played for laughs. This is Bateman with a straight face and that love story is very well observed. Not that there aren't some funny lines in there, there are, but the tone of the book is more sombre, and even dips into supernatural territory in the second half - something else neither Bateman, nor his previous skin Colin Bateman, ever explored. It's an experimental novel for the NI author and that's why I think his rebrand doesn't fit. My copy has a pink shark on the cover along with the tagline: Love, Rockets & A Bloody Great Fish, and though all those elements are mentioned in the story, the tone of the cover seems wrong. It's a bit like describing Jaws as: Chums, Chumming & a Bloody Great White. It's all true, but it's the wrong approach.
So this wasn't what I was expecting from a Bateman book, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. It's definitely an oddity in the Bateman-verse (?) but it's probably a good thing for any author to shake things up a bit every once in awhile.
December 17, 2024
I saw this book in the charity shop , and the cover caught my eye. The cover is black with white and pink writing on it and a pink shark and it's definitely caught my attention, when I read the back of the book and the plot it sounded quite a dark story and I'm not wrong.
But this is where the novel gives a twist and surprises you, it turns into a rather intriguing and very different ghost story but one that's kind of black humorous.
Michael is a fabulous character and I did care what happened about him from the minute i started reading the book . He started thinking that he saw his dead wife, and then seeing other people and realising they were dead and trying to convince other people of that.
The reason it's a four star Read is because I felt Michael's ending was a little bit inconclusive, it kind of ended abruptly and I didn't like that.
But this is where the novel gives a twist and surprises you, it turns into a rather intriguing and very different ghost story but one that's kind of black humorous.
Michael is a fabulous character and I did care what happened about him from the minute i started reading the book . He started thinking that he saw his dead wife, and then seeing other people and realising they were dead and trying to convince other people of that.
The reason it's a four star Read is because I felt Michael's ending was a little bit inconclusive, it kind of ended abruptly and I didn't like that.
October 4, 2019
Possibly my favourite book ever. Would 100% recommend to anybody. Batman's typical funny writing style with a huge depth of emotion and a story that I don't want to touch on so much because it's a story with lots of potential spoilers
March 15, 2020
A great romp. Interesting characters and a good pace throughout. I loved the bitter relationship between the two writers Michael Ryan and Ambrose. So mean!
I don’t generally go for books with a supernatural element but I kept reading! A veritable page turner.
I don’t generally go for books with a supernatural element but I kept reading! A veritable page turner.
October 27, 2017
Simply brilliant!
Certainly my favourite Bateman so far!
Certainly my favourite Bateman so far!
January 15, 2019
Lo mejor que he leido en años.
November 21, 2020
Part crime thriller, part ghost story, part psychedelic rant. Brilliant.
January 6, 2021
book within a book (again)
April 18, 2021
It was ok. Was a little bizarre at the end but I think I prefer his earlier books
November 19, 2025
DNF. I tried a lot harder than I should have really; it isn't bad it just is sort of meh for me.
November 17, 2016
I thought it a great 'easy' and quick read.
February 12, 2021
Quirky n fun
March 23, 2024
Surprising twist 3\4 through - not sure about the last 1/4…..
Read
September 9, 2008ORPHEUS RISING is a standalone from Colin Bateman, perhaps best known for his dark, comic previous offerings set mostly in Northern Island. Which this one isn't - it's set in the US, albeit with an Irish central character - Michael Ryan. Although you'd be hard pressed to remember he's supposed to be Irish, as the setting is 100% mid-Atlantic sort of nowhere particularly special. But then I'd imagine setting wasn't the whole point of ORPHEUS RISING, although I confess I'm not 100% sure what the point of the book was at all.
Basically Michael is smitten when he meets and eventually marries Claire. He's been on a sort of a road trip around America, lobbing into the small town where she lives with her father - the local newspaper owner - at the time that's she's pulling the porn shop owner out of the ocean after a shark attack. Michael stays - works for the newspaper for a while - writes his great American novel. Claire's got a bit of a past with a weird ex-boyfriend who she says isn't. Long story short - she's shot dead in a bank robbery. Michael goes completely off the rails, but returns, years later, the writer of the "great novel" who is haunted by visions of his wife, who he claims has returned from the dead. Along with a whole heap of other people.
Now I confess I'm a huge fan of Colin Bateman's books - and ORPHEUS RISING wasn't really what I was expecting from this author - but the book just gets, well flat out weird very very quickly. And it stays weird for most of the narrative. And not good weird - just weird weird for a fair part of it. This probably isn't helped by Michael Ryan starting off just a bit annoying and ending up very very annoying. Maybe it's because some of the supporting characters are too over the top as well - Ambrose, who he is travelling with in the later part of the book, is just gross and mostly not very funny and Michael is flat out just unlikeable. Not that being unlikeable is a bad thing for a central character - it's just that there's got to be something that keeps you interested in him - and I struggled to find a single thing that involved me.
The structure of the book was interesting - maybe that was the only weird bit that was good weird. But, despite a willingness to store my disbelief out the back, and expect the totally unexpected, ORPHEUS RISING ended up a bit too much like hard work.
Basically Michael is smitten when he meets and eventually marries Claire. He's been on a sort of a road trip around America, lobbing into the small town where she lives with her father - the local newspaper owner - at the time that's she's pulling the porn shop owner out of the ocean after a shark attack. Michael stays - works for the newspaper for a while - writes his great American novel. Claire's got a bit of a past with a weird ex-boyfriend who she says isn't. Long story short - she's shot dead in a bank robbery. Michael goes completely off the rails, but returns, years later, the writer of the "great novel" who is haunted by visions of his wife, who he claims has returned from the dead. Along with a whole heap of other people.
Now I confess I'm a huge fan of Colin Bateman's books - and ORPHEUS RISING wasn't really what I was expecting from this author - but the book just gets, well flat out weird very very quickly. And it stays weird for most of the narrative. And not good weird - just weird weird for a fair part of it. This probably isn't helped by Michael Ryan starting off just a bit annoying and ending up very very annoying. Maybe it's because some of the supporting characters are too over the top as well - Ambrose, who he is travelling with in the later part of the book, is just gross and mostly not very funny and Michael is flat out just unlikeable. Not that being unlikeable is a bad thing for a central character - it's just that there's got to be something that keeps you interested in him - and I struggled to find a single thing that involved me.
The structure of the book was interesting - maybe that was the only weird bit that was good weird. But, despite a willingness to store my disbelief out the back, and expect the totally unexpected, ORPHEUS RISING ended up a bit too much like hard work.
September 18, 2012
From the cover
The first time Michael laid eyes on Claire she was rescuing porn shop owner Paul de Luca from a shark attack - Paul lost his feet and Michael his heart. The last time he saw her she was laid out in the morgue; shot dead in a bank raid
Ten years later Michael is back in town to exorcise the ghost from his past. But then he catches sight of Claire, seemingly alive and well. Surely it can't be her? But then if she really is alive, or worse she's still dead and he's gone mad with grief? Michael's journey to find out what's going on will take him to hell and back
This is one of those books that you start and then wonder if it is worth carrying on with and think about abandoning it. Luckily I have a stubborn streak and pressed on and I was helped by the pace of the story. I think the reason for wanting to quit was that I felt no empathy to the main characters Michael and his buddy, although they were realistically portrayed. The writing and pace of the story was good and when I got to the part where Michael sees the "ghost" of Claire for the first time, the story picks up and it then became almost impossible to put the book down.
I'm glad I read this book, although I felt there were inconsistencies in the latter stages relating to the ghost
The first time Michael laid eyes on Claire she was rescuing porn shop owner Paul de Luca from a shark attack - Paul lost his feet and Michael his heart. The last time he saw her she was laid out in the morgue; shot dead in a bank raid
Ten years later Michael is back in town to exorcise the ghost from his past. But then he catches sight of Claire, seemingly alive and well. Surely it can't be her? But then if she really is alive, or worse she's still dead and he's gone mad with grief? Michael's journey to find out what's going on will take him to hell and back
This is one of those books that you start and then wonder if it is worth carrying on with and think about abandoning it. Luckily I have a stubborn streak and pressed on and I was helped by the pace of the story. I think the reason for wanting to quit was that I felt no empathy to the main characters Michael and his buddy, although they were realistically portrayed. The writing and pace of the story was good and when I got to the part where Michael sees the "ghost" of Claire for the first time, the story picks up and it then became almost impossible to put the book down.
I'm glad I read this book, although I felt there were inconsistencies in the latter stages relating to the ghost
June 6, 2011
- Not sure if I like or dislike the 'ghosts' bit, but for now I think it's fine.
- Less of Bateman's usual humour (or it's probably not as obvious)
- I liked the fridge magnets story a lot for some reason.
- Some minor point that irks me a little: I don't think Claire had that much characterisation? For example, I don't really see why everyone loves her so much. (But maybe this is just me.)
- Undecided about the ending. Besides wanting to know whether the "other world" was real or not (and hence if Michael got to be with Claire or not), having the possibility that everything might be a hallucination made me feel the whole book was rather pointless (not the right word, but oh well).
- Now that I think about it: the "other world" thing had to be real, right? Otherwise, how would Michael know all these facts about the dead people to tell their relatives? Hmmm.
- Not his best book, I think. If you're a first time reader of Bateman, I wouldn't recommend this, but in general as a book, read it.
- Less of Bateman's usual humour (or it's probably not as obvious)
- I liked the fridge magnets story a lot for some reason.
- Some minor point that irks me a little: I don't think Claire had that much characterisation? For example, I don't really see why everyone loves her so much. (But maybe this is just me.)
- Undecided about the ending. Besides wanting to know whether the "other world" was real or not (and hence if Michael got to be with Claire or not), having the possibility that everything might be a hallucination made me feel the whole book was rather pointless (not the right word, but oh well).
- Now that I think about it: the "other world" thing had to be real, right? Otherwise, how would Michael know all these facts about the dead people to tell their relatives? Hmmm.
- Not his best book, I think. If you're a first time reader of Bateman, I wouldn't recommend this, but in general as a book, read it.
February 13, 2011
An OK book. It has a twist. It's not the twist you're expecting. It's probably not the twist you're hoping for, but a twist it has none the less. One that come quite early on in the book and which, I hoped beyond hope, would twist again before the end of the story. And it does, sort of...
I came into this story with preconceptions. Having read some of Bateman's previous novels, I was expecting Belfast, crime, intrigue. wit and journalism. It has journalism. It may have had wit too but I didn't spot it. It does have a shark, a man with metal feet, a smattering of space adventure and a love that spans all the dimensions of space and time and, if it had just twisted round another way, I would have loved it.
I came into this story with preconceptions. Having read some of Bateman's previous novels, I was expecting Belfast, crime, intrigue. wit and journalism. It has journalism. It may have had wit too but I didn't spot it. It does have a shark, a man with metal feet, a smattering of space adventure and a love that spans all the dimensions of space and time and, if it had just twisted round another way, I would have loved it.
March 24, 2014
It really enjoyed this book. It had the suspense of a murder mystery, the love of a love story, the
investigation of a crime reporter story, the magical qualities of the surreal and otherworldly, the imagination of a truly good book, the format that is easy to read, and the 1st person narration I so enjoy.
Just a wonderful book. I wish there were a lot more books like this.
And may I say that Colin Bateman has surpassed himself in this one.
I have just read 5 other books of his and I especially loved the Mystery Man series for it's quirky characters. This book was as different as it could have been and yet even better. I think Colin Bateman really is a great author to show such variety and such mastery in his work.
investigation of a crime reporter story, the magical qualities of the surreal and otherworldly, the imagination of a truly good book, the format that is easy to read, and the 1st person narration I so enjoy.
Just a wonderful book. I wish there were a lot more books like this.
And may I say that Colin Bateman has surpassed himself in this one.
I have just read 5 other books of his and I especially loved the Mystery Man series for it's quirky characters. This book was as different as it could have been and yet even better. I think Colin Bateman really is a great author to show such variety and such mastery in his work.
September 7, 2009
A pretty tight plot in terms of motif for Bateman, but also dabbles in the poltergeisty and I'm not sure how much I liked that part of it. It starts with a shark attack.
Michael Ryan write a super bestseller called Space Coast but his wife is murdered in a bank robbery so he disappears from the limelight.
10 years later, he's back for a civic celebration and to finally get some closure on his grief for his wife. He brings along an alkie Pulitzer-winning bully who likes the ladies (particularly if they are loose), and he meets the daughter of his old neighbour/doctor, and he drinks. A lot.
It's Bateman, so expect anything.
Michael Ryan write a super bestseller called Space Coast but his wife is murdered in a bank robbery so he disappears from the limelight.
10 years later, he's back for a civic celebration and to finally get some closure on his grief for his wife. He brings along an alkie Pulitzer-winning bully who likes the ladies (particularly if they are loose), and he meets the daughter of his old neighbour/doctor, and he drinks. A lot.
It's Bateman, so expect anything.
August 12, 2010
I really enjoyed this book. Not his best book, so perhaps it is unfair to give it 4 stars when this is in relation to his other books. Not like his other books, but this is not a bad thing. Told by jumping from time period to time period as the story progressed made for an interesting read. I wouldn't recommend it as the first book of Bateman's to read, but I would still recommend it.
June 15, 2011
A tale of love, loss and bank robbery. Oh, and a bloody great fish. First Bateman book I've read, but it won't be the last. A really unusual tale, told in the form of what is essentially a very long suicide note. The author, who is an author, returns to the scene of his greatest love and his greatest loss, only to find out that there is more to the story than even he could possibly have imagined.
August 27, 2012
I don't want to give anything away about this story as it has a wee twist(as Colin might say). I've read Some of Colin 's books before and found them funny and well written. I'd say he has moved up a notch with this book, plotted the story very well and manages to jump between timelines almost effortlessly.
There's much to enjoy in this book if you like Mr. Bateman you'll love this book.
There's much to enjoy in this book if you like Mr. Bateman you'll love this book.
November 15, 2014
I love Bateman (as an author, never met the person) and don't think I've read a book of his I didn't enjoy. This is one of the better ones, and starts to take shape when the main character starts seeing people that he shouldn't be seeing, and others begin to question his sanity. Ambrose is a wonderfully likeable unlikeable sidekick, and could easily imagine him in his own novel.
June 2, 2011
The first half was very good (even if the the lead character moaned nearly as much as Fitz from the Farseer books) but the second half went down a route I just didn't like that much. However he is a very readable author so I would give him another go.
July 28, 2011
Have to admit, I really liked this...I know I really shouldn't have as there were loads of plot holes and some downright "well wasn;t that lucky" moments...but I did and I bloody well liked it. add it to my lists of books that I really shouldn't like, but do!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews