Customer Reviews

Orbital Burn

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Orbital Burn by Australia's KA Bedford is an excellent treat. Not only does he weave a good tale, create excellent compelling characters, and leave you to wonder what does being dead and being alive REALLY means - he captures your imagination on the first page and never lets it go until the last thought provoking sentence.

I have heard that KA Bedford will be coming to World Con in Boston via Vancouver BC- I hope that World Con gives him the opportunity to do a reading from the book, as it will be well enjoyed by all...if you have not read this book - read it - even the New York Review of Science Fiction just loved it! It is nice to see a Canadian publishing company such as EDGE doing so well to bring excellent authors from around the world to the science fiction scene. Thanks!

Mr. Benford has pulled off a nice little trick here. He has written a good story with well developed characters, put them on the stage, but forces the reader to create a bit of the background and scenery. Some are not going to like this approach: there are those who like to have every moment of the past present and future spelled out for them, like the Robert Jordan junkies, (I was one for half of the series, I know.)

Some reviewers have perceived the ending as incongruous. There is some validity in the statement, but I found myself adding details as I went along. I think a lot of the better authors do similar things. I never full feel that I understand Michael Swanwick's stuff, but I think if I did it would lose some of it's potency. In fact, I am fairly sure that at times, Swanwick is intentionally vague, or more appropriately, abstract, so that the reader imbues the text with his own meaning. That happened to me, here, and in my book that deserves high praise.

"Orbital Burn" is a quick, entertaining read. The main character Lou, while strong and humorous, struggles with an interesting sci-fi illness. While her illness isn't the core of the story, it adds an important dimension to the book. (Don't worry - this book is not depressing. Rather, it's very humorous.)

The main story line of the book is Lou working as a private detective for a talking Dog. They hope to find Kid and get off the planet before it blows up due to an asteroid. The characters of Lou and Dog are a delight to read about. And who can resist a "doomsday" story? Plus, it's brain-candy to discover the world that Bedford has created...

Bedford's word-choice in the book is trendy and fun. Additionally, his style in "Orbital Burn" mimics Isaac Asimov's theory of writing, as expressed by Asimov in 1986, "By my writing, I amuse people and make them happy. My writing style is simple, straightforward, and upbeat - nothing nasty or horrid or violent or perverse. In this sad world, I think that anyone who spreads happiness automatically justifies his existence."

Bedford's Orbital Burn is science fiction in the tradition of the space exploring age with the addition of modern science. As a scientist, I was thrilled that the science part of the book is believable. As a reader, I was even more pleased that the science adds to the story and doesn't overwhelm what is primarily a story about human interaction (or psuedo-human - dog interaction in this case). It's a highly recommended read for a rainy day and cup of coffee, and don't be suprised if what seems like a light and fluffy novel stays with you in your head for a while afterwards. A strong debut novel from a new Australian writer.

What're you looking for in a book? Do you want techno-talk with micro-widgets? Perhaps some dark and shadowy places with tense, quick walks from here to there? Violence? Walking dead? Really big guns? Dirty cops? Elevators that go from the planet's surface to space and beyond? Slimeball ex-spouses talking pretty for some untold reason? I could go one forever, but there's a word limit to this thing. The point I'm making is that ORBITAL BURN truly can be something to all people and everything to some people. Let's melt that down and call it "most things to many people". Alright?

Enough reviews introduce the characters and the story...I'll not belabor any past sketches too much. In short - on a distant planet, one doomed from a dire intersection with a major space rock, a dead girl made mostly good with nanotechnological thingamabobbies studies the finer points of playing the broke, hungry (metaphorically speaking), and unemployed private investigator. She gets a gig from a dog, also technologically enhanced and smart as all get-out, who a) can't pay (a hard-boiled standard), and b) is looking for a disposable human so brainless that the dog walks him like a marionette without strings (this one's a bit less common). As they search they run across the usual street thugs, the previously-mentioned slimy ex-husband, and dirty cops...and things don't get better from there. Will the PI (her name is Lou) help the dog (whose name is Dog) find the missing kid? Before the big rock hits? Before she dies...again? Tension!!

Where the story is great, the characters are one tick behind. Some, such as Lou the dead PI, are quite mature. Some minor characters are as developed as they need be, such as Lou's ex-husband. Other's could use some fleshing out. It's a minor nit, really, but since characterization carries so many novels these days it's a wit worth bringing up. Robots, partial peap;we, and people with robotic parts would be included here for further consideration.

Mr. Bedford puts most of his effort into Lou, so she makes for a deep and empathetic character. You learn to almost hate her ex-husband. Some others might have benefited from more backing, but then when one writes one has to judge just how much the reader needs to know and how much they should figure out on their own.

I would, and do, emphatically recommended ORBITAL BURN to readers of science fiction. The only reason I'm not tossing 5 big stars is that I'm generally not a science fiction reader. I'm a horror reader who found dark bits hidden throughout ORBITAL BURN that kept me turning pages. Now you buy it and go find your bits, eh?

-Mikey-

Michael T. Huyck, Jr.
http://www.nukegumby.com

It's rare to find a first novel which grips from the outset, but this is one of them. The characters draw you into their world effortlessly, and for some odd reason you don't want to leave again. I was singularly drawn by Dog the cyberbeagle, who seemed at times more human than the humans around him. Lou, the vitally-challenged PI with the hard-nosed exterior and the soul of a frightened girl, was particularly well-conceived. The author clearly has a love of words, and certainly knows how to use them; the prose displays flashes of a superb lyrical quality which brings scenes vividly to life, and which seems lacking in a lot of modern science-fiction.

Whilst the plot suffers from one or two pacing problems (racing through the final elements rather too quickly), and some of the characters could have done with more depth (e.g. Kid), these are only a matter of detail, and aren't that significant beside the story itself, which drags you along on a relentlessly entertaining adventure which you will have considerable difficulty putting down. I know I did. If the author's next book is half as enjoyable as this one, I'll be snapping it up.

This is a very good story full of neat SF ideas and some involving characters combined with an interesting plot. A very good first novel that shows this author has great promise.

Lou the unlicensed PI whose main problem is that she is technically dead and living on a planet that's about to be obliterated by an approaching rock the size of Mars is well drawn and likeable, Dog the augmented pooch she takes on as her client is also a great idea and a companion you feel a bond with. The combination of high tech future world and old fashioned detective story is pretty well done and gets the reader in.

The second half of the story is more iffy however, too many convenient aliens and AIs with super powers and not enough explanation towards the end. I feel Lou should have struggled along more on her own on Kestrel to solve the case instead of action transferring to the orbital colony (though the courtroom stuff was quite entertaining). The mysterious woman (and later male) visitors from the future are never really explained properly and could really have been omitted with no loss. Right at the end why the extra-dimensional aliens can't cure Lou is not explained (heck, they can do so many other amazing god-like things!) The Kid's background is never really explained either, why is he the chosen one to bridge with the aliens, etc.? Still, these are relatively minor gripes with an otherwise good story. 4 stars as it's a first novel, if it wasn't I'd probably say 3 or 3 1/2.

Author K.A. Bedford wisely chooses to let the reader ride along on clinically dead P.I. Louise Meagher's shoulder as she tries to unravel a mystery brought to her attention by - a dog. Dog's friend Kid is missing and Lou is the only one who can help. She and Dog struggle through the final days of the world Kestrel, and (as every good mystery should) each answer they obtain only brings up more questions.

This is a book that starts slowly and can be a tad confusing at first, but then when you think about it, we are with Lou, and darn it all, she's confused! What keeps the reader going is the growing relationship between her and Dog, and of course, that's what keeps Lou going as well. By the half way point, the book really ramps up and brings us to an ending that is as satisfying as any I have read recently.

Orbital Burn rises above a few 'first novel' spit and polish errors here and there to provide the reader with a fun, thought-provoking way to spend a few hours of their time.

From the first sentence, you know this book will be different. By the end of the first chapter, you're certain of it. You've just met the dead PI, Lou, and her new client, a highly enhanced, very polite, talking beagle.

I don't read much SF, and the nearest recent comparison I have is J.K. Rowling, of whom this book put me in mind several times. Stalktown and the Orbital inhabit a richly imagined part of the galaxy, with strange things happening according to rules that Bedford creates and sustains in deft narrative and action.

He tackles some large themes here-the human/machine interface, genetic modification, death, immortality, the soul-and handles them impressively, with much heart. At times, the reminders of Lou's condition and how unpleasant her unlife is caused the action to drag for me just a bit. But not enough to allow me to put the book down. I couldn't wait to see what would happen, and I was sorry to see it end. Lou and Dog, Jen and Kid, and the ideas of the book, all stayed with me for several days, and are with me still. More people need to read this, so we can make jokes like, "is that Martian French you're speaking?" and "I need nano-tink!"

I normally don't have much inclination toward SF and was very worried that I wouldn't like this book just because of the genre. I ended up loving it, because the characters were genuine and engaging... a difficult stunt in any genre! Amazingly, my favourite character was Dog (a bionically enhanced character), and I'm wondering if this wasn't because a person trying hard to think like a dog would put extra effort into writing the part to get it just right. Regardless of the reason, this non-human character supplies one of the most moving moments in the novel.

There were some first novel weak spots, but none that undermine the general solidity of the book. The some scenes labour slightly under the weight of exposition. On the flip side, certain characters (such as the enigmatic Kid)remain clouded. The hint of SF cliche found in the story's climax is overridden by the fact that this end for the heroine seems perfectly fitting, and not laboured.

This first-time author is one to watch - his style is perfectly suited to briskly-paced, snappy prose well used as a good summer read. Let's hope he keeps them coming.