Customer Reviews

Orbitsville Departure

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Garry Dallen, a resident of Orbitsville (a giant "Dyson sphere" surrounding a sun and containing the surface area of five billion Earths) returns to Earth and becomes involved with events which ultimately lead him back to his home. As with the original "Orbitsville," Bob Shaw tries to tackle too much with this 251-page (fairly large print) sequel--more on Orbitsville itself, scientific proof of life after death, the structure of the universe, a space-opera-style riff on Orbitsville's origin--and the result is somewhat of a mishmash and disappointment. The book's blurb talks about Orbitsville's origin being "the ultimate answer to [Dallen's] quest," but it's not really--this is just a book about a resident of Orbitsville who had some interesting things happen to him. Shaw keeps the story moving, but the overall result is, regrettably, less than memorable.

This sequel for Orbitsville must have been forced by the publisher because of the popularity of the first book. This book is not at all as fascinating as Orbitsville, and over all I do not recommend reading it. I myself would have preferred having the puzzle unsolved to the New-Age-style explanation offered by this book.

This story lacks the imagination or uniqueness of its predecessor, which I would have ranked higher. Perhaps there are common themes in Shaw's work, but his protagonist in this story goes through many of the very same personal difficulties and conflicts (wife, children, fidelity) as did the one from Orbitsville, although the two stories are separated by many years. This is in one sense a detective book. For those interested in the mystery surrounding Orbitsville ("Lindstromland") it is answered (although this is not the detective part of the story). I found the explanation a bit hoaky, but it is thorough. Overall, this is a quick read and may be worthwhile for those who enjoyed Orbitsville.