The Orphaned Worlds (Humanity's Fire) [Paperback]

Michael Cobley (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841496332
• ISBN-13: 978-1841496337
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,984,083 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good continuation with multiple plot threads, May 17, 2010

By 

Mark Chitty (North Wales) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Orphaned Worlds (Humanity's Fire) (Paperback)

I read Mike Cobley's first epic space opera book, Seeds fo Earth, prior to its release last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Orphaned Worlds, the sequel and part two of the trilogy, was a highly anticipated release for this year and upon getting a copy through the post I made sure it was high on the list of to-read books. While not quite on the same level as Seeds of Earth, The Orphaned Worlds delivers a whole lot of action, adventure and politics on a canvas even bigger than the first novel!

The foundation laid down in Seeds of Earth gets us introduced to the lost colony world of Darien, the surprise arrival of an Earthsphere ship and the discovery of an ancient and powerful relic on Darien as well as delivering an excellent cast of characters that kept the story focused. The Orphaned Worlds picks things up without holding its breath and delivers very much more of the same sensawunda that I got from the first book. The characters return and we follow the trouble and strife they now must struggle through in the face of powerful adversaries.

Widescreen isn't quite the term I'd use to describe this book, it goes far beyond that in many ways! From the guerrilla conflict on Darien to the immense journey through the ancient hyperspace layers, The Orphaned Worlds certainly doesn't take things lightly. The characters are also relatable and enjoyable to read, especially as we start to get glimpses of Legion and it's own quest. Greg and Theo are left on Darien trying to survive and lead the attack on the invaders; Robert is on a mission to the ancient Construct deep in hyperspace; Kao Chich is journeying to try and find help for the colony of Darien; Catriona and Chel are learning more of the ancient ways of the Uvovo and the secrets the forest moon of Segrana; Legion is slowly fighting it's battle to free the ancient evil that was imprisoned thousands of years ago. There are also a host of other characters supporting these main ones, including Julia who is a little out of the action after being captured in Seeds of Earth.

However, The Orphaned Worlds loses it's focus slightly because of the sheer number of plot threads we follow. While all individually adding to the bigger picture, the pages pass without much feeling of urgency. For instance, the first seven chapters are each from a different perspective and last 90 pages, so when we finally catch up again with the characters it's with a feeling of detachment. I sometimes had to stop reading and go back to remind myself of the situation they were in last time they had some page time - it can be a frustrating read because of this.

Don't get me wrong though, The Orphaned Worlds was very enjoyable and delivers a good story on a huge canvas with more than its fair share of great scenes and interesting developments. Being the middle book of the trilogy hasn't helped matters and much of the time it feels like a big build up to a grand finale - without the payoff. Because of this it's very difficult to say how successful the novel is as part of the series, but it certainly gives the reader more than enough to come back for the third installment, The Ascendant Stars.

Humanity's Fire is definitely a series worth reading and I'll be eagerly anticipating the final book next year!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than the first book, August 25, 2010

By 

Gletkin (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Orphaned Worlds (Humanity's Fire) (Paperback)

Michael Cobley's second entry in the projected trio of Humanity;s Fire books is even better than the opening work, Seeds of Earth. The three lost colonies resulting from evacuation of Earth's solar system in a long ago war have been rediscovered by one another. The surviving body politic of Earth, known as Earthsphere, is subservient to the alien Hegemony. Earthsphere has established its presence in the space near Darien and in the shadow of the Hegemony's allied Boltruran battle cruiser.

Many factions recognize Darien as the seat of an enormously powerful weapon, last used millennia ago against the bio-cybernetic Avatar Knights. The factions are closing in on Darien in an effort to claim the weapon, known as a Warpwell. Many of Darien's inhabitants, human and Uvovo, are being transformed to prepare the world-covering forest, Segrana, for reactivation of the Warpwell. The transformations are altering and threatening the very humanity of characters developed so well in "Seeds".

Cobley has managed to whip multiple threads into a very cogent tale, much more controlled than we saw in Seeds of Earth. It felt like the jumps between threads were smoother, with greater sense of continuity. The addition of the third lost colony's players in the galactic chess game makes for greater depth and scope for the story. The guerilla war on Darien against the Hegemony troops and mechs is played out with the introduction of a sole Knight making his way inexorably across Darien to the warpwell in an effort to release the defeated cyborg intelligences who lost the long ago war and remain trapped via the warpwell in the lowest depths of hyperspace.

Highly recommended. I'm eagerly awaiting the next (and final? Boo!) installment of Humanity's Fire, The Ascendant Stars, due out in 2011.

3.0 out of 5 stars Book 2: Heavy on the "deus ex machina", November 8, 2011

By 

M-I-K-E 2theD "2theD" (The Big Mango, Thailand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Orphaned Worlds. Michael Cobley (Humanitys Fire 2) (Paperback)

I had read Book One, Seeds of Earth, only one month ago but I found it hard to start to get into Book Two right from the start. The character appendix in the back of the novel was too limited to refresh one's memory and the additional species appendix was just a terse blurb about the average height, body hair distribution, locomotion and vision of each species. A heftier appendix would have been much appreciated but instead the reader is left with a rather unhelpful few pages.

Once the plot gets moving, the bits and pieces from Book One begin to slowly fall back into place. Like Book One, each chapter shifts point of view between the characters and in Book Two we experience about nine perspectives. Like Space Opera ought to be, it's a large platter to eyes and mind to digest. As a means of synopsis, I'll review the nine perspective alphabetically and sequentially:

1) Cat has risen to become the keeper of the forest on the Nivyesta moon, where she witnesses the continual destruction of the forests by invading forces. 2) Chel assumes the role of middle-man between the Sentinel and Greg as the both begin to understand their true role. 3) Greg is the head of the rebel force on Darien and continues to hide and resist the Brolturan forces. 4) Julia and her Enhanced counterparts are raided by pirates and forced to use their minds for the evil purposes an organized quasi-religious cult. 5) Kao Chih remains a pawn in the great game of the galaxy he he finds himself used yet again, this time as he visits his home world. 6) The Knight of the Legion of Avatars is still striving for access to the warpwell through victories and setbacks after arriving on Darien. 7) Kuros, the Sendrukan occupier on Darien, maintains a calm demeanor even amid critical appraisal of his activities surrounding the warpwell. 8) Robert, the ex-Ambassador from Earth, continues his ethereal journey through the scores of tiers of hyperspace in search of deities and salvation. 9) Theo leaves his world of Darien for the realms of space with the captured Tygran soldier and his cohorts who aim to overthrown Marshel Becker.

Some of these storylines cross paths and some diverge through the 603 pages of text but there are two separate lines of activity going on. The one line Chel, Greg, Kuros and Cat limits itself to the planet of Darien is, for about 90% of the book, keeps a fairly low profile with more suspense building that actually getting things done. The other line of activity rests with Kao Chih and Theo, who are traversing the great expanse of the galaxy from base, to planet, to orbital and back again all the while collecting more minor characters amid minor skirmishes and observations... which is exactly the more exciting line of activity where the "deus ex machina" pops in.

OK, it's science fiction. All the sciences of ancient races can't exactly be known to everyone (especially the reader) and these science can seem like magic sometimes, as it has been said by Clarke. But when beams lock-out ship control, when wormholes are spawned between ships, when hyperspace missiles go undetected, when psi-symbiotic motes repel any given attack, when a handmade remote control tricks surveillance, when a pilot casually records and loops video footage... the long combination of the easy use of technology at hand teeters on unbelievability. One or two technological punches through the plot would have been acceptable but the wanton use of it is sloppy.

One more paragraph with minor quips... I felt that the pages from 150 to 160 were inconsistent with the rest of the book. The plot went through a transition from being like Book One to being inconsistent with its precursor. For example: After page 153 the now-dead drone of Drazuma-Ha* loses the star at the end of its name. The once amicable relationship between Greg and Chel begins to feel washed out after they urbanely reunite and exchange cold greetings on page 158. The dialogue between Kao Chih and Silveira seems to be missing another paragraph or two as Silveira refers to something Kao Chih didn't even mention (pages 150-151). Again, minor gripes but a little sloppy.

Not bad at all. A little long winded with all the inclusions of the ever present deus ex machina, but nevertheless it's an eye-opening space opera- it offers a sense of wonder at the array of species, planets, customs, modes of thought and visions of the future. Sometimes it's difficult to understand what the F is going on (like all the oddities down there in Hyperspace) but in the end I'm left wanting more. Bait and hook... ready for Book Three!