Orion

Orion (Orion #1)
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Synopsis
Orion is the chosen tool of a god, to fight another being of great power throughout the ages. Orion starts at the end of time and works back to the beginning and at each nexus in time, strives to keep the established continuum on track.

My Thoughts
I know I haven't read this book, but the premise, of a time agent working against someone else while one descends time and the other ascends time, is wicked show more familiar. But I can't remember what book it was, so I can't be sure which came first.

This was lightly engaging, but in all honesty, it was so preachy about free will and choice and stuff, and it was from a perspective that I completely disagree with, that it was hard to really engage in the story without going "No, that is WRONG!"  I read to escape, not debate in my mind with the author.

Then there was the little part about the flood. Or, as I would call it, Noah's Flood. and its humanistic, evolutionistic mocking of Christianity really turned me off. Snide. Very little is worse than snide condescension when you're reading something.

Apart from that, this was a slightly dry set of short adventure stories. This is a series, so I'll be trying the next book, but if it isn't any better I'll let the series go.

Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Author: Ben Bova" show less

Orion chases the dark side through time to it's beginning...three times he encounters darkness and three times Orion must chase him some more. That repetitiveness made me think about putting the book away. But, I knew that there would be a kicker at the end. There was one. As always, Bova does a good job with the personal interactions. Wondering whether I should continue the series?

A fun adventure story through time but going backwards in time. Similar to Elric in some ways but also just as enjoyable. I enjoy how the writer crafts a character that is heroic in a reluctant manner but pushes past that to right a wrong that is committed. When you finally understand the relationship between himself and the main antagonist you rethink everything about the book. It's a great twist to the story that also highlights what can come in future stories with these characters.

I've read a lot of things by Ben Bova, and mostly I read them just once, and then pass them on. I've read this at least twice, and the cover art (by Vallejo) alone was a reason to keep it. It's really one of Bova's better works, and it still reads well, after all these years.

Great series. Orion is a tortured and haunted character. Driven by love and manipulated by the gods.

This is the 1st of 5 Orion Novels. Bova's prose is as straight-forward as the march of Genghis Khan's warrior Mongols--who you will come to know intimately here--aside our hunter, Orion. Along with visiting the capital of the Mongol empire and meeting Subotai, Ye Liu Chutsai, and Ogotai (3rd son of Genghis)--the leading forces behind the 13th Century Mongols--Orion will make stops in the 20th Century, the Neolithic Age, and even back further to the shadowy Ice Age of the alleged (outside of mainstream scientific fields) Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, with various interludes in eternity. Orion's fate lies with Ormazd and Ahriman, whom you perhaps know as two of Zoroaster's divinities. If you are unfamiliar with Zoroastrianism--the show more dominant religion of Iran--don't worry, it is likely that you will remain ignorant of the faith, unless you set forth upon your own research. In this novel we have a polytheism of god and goddess who let it be known to Orion that they are merely playing at gods, and that there are higher authorities than them. They are quite Greek--meaning that they have negative human characteristics. The goddess goes by a number of names, and like Orion, a number of human incarnations. She becomes Orion's main love squeeze, though outside of her human form Orion becomes to lowly a creature for her to love in any other way than an agape love. The whole of the novel is centered around Orion's mission to kill the dark and evil Ahriman who is constantly looking to destroy the time-space continuum--aka the universe. I hope the next Orion novel will feel more like Sci Fi than a Jean M. Auel novel, as I am not a Darwinian evolutionist. Much of our science--most notably evolutionary biology--is a nostalgic idealist's fantasy. Huxley and Darwin themselves would by now have gone far past their theorizations; perhaps even as far as Creation. Anyhoo, only a physicist who cared nothing for their career would try to marry spirituality and taught "science" (Dan Brown pun)--so the propaganda of both sides churns on, as the gods play their game out. What are we to do Orion? Serve our purpose is the only thing to do....an automaton with the freewill to die. show less

What a fun read!! Absolutely love the way he weaves; possible history and military sci fi together; once you read one of these you will want to read the next 4