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Carolyn Ives Gilman

Dark Orbit: A Novel Hardcover – July 14, 2015

by Carolyn Ives Gilman (Author)

4.1 369 ratings

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From Nebula and Hugo Award–nominated Carolyn Ives Gilman comes Dark Orbit, a compelling novel featuring alien contact, mystery, and murder.

Reports of a strange, new habitable planet have reached the Twenty Planets of human civilization. When a team of scientists is assembled to investigate this world, exoethnologist Sara Callicot is recruited to keep an eye on an unstable crewmate. Thora was once a member of the interplanetary elite, but since her prophetic delusions helped mobilize a revolt on Orem, she's been banished to the farthest reaches of space, because of the risk that her very presence could revive unrest.

Upon arrival, the team finds an extraordinary crystalline planet, laden with dark matter. Then a crew member is murdered and Thora mysteriously disappears. Thought to be uninhabited, the planet is in fact home to a blind, sentient species whose members navigate their world with a bizarre vocabulary and extrasensory perceptions.

Lost in the deep crevasses of the planet among these people, Thora must battle her demons and learn to comprehend the native inhabitants in order to find her crewmates and warn them of an impending danger. But her most difficult task may lie in persuading the crew that some powers lie beyond the boundaries of science.

Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Tor Books
Publication date

July 14, 2015
Dimensions

6.5 x 1.12 x 9.44 inches
ISBN-10

0765336294
ISBN-13

978-0765336293
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Editorial Reviews

Review

iO9 Very Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of 2015
Kirkus Reviews essential speculative fiction reads for July 2015
Best New Sci-Fi/Fantasy Books of 2015 for July―Nerd Underground

“Wonderfully rich” –Portland Book Review

“Gilman intriguingly weaves together two plotlines: The scientific, theological, and political point of view on the Escher, as well as the sense of community under the surface of Iris. Thora’s metaphysical point of view is narrated through her audio diary as we learn about her past, the stress of adapting to total darkness, and the valuable skills she learns from the natives. Both plots are thought-provoking and play well off of each other. The satisfying, yet open-ended conclusion left me wanting more.” ―The Nameless Zine

“DARK ORBIT is old school in ways that fans of classic sci-fi will find delightful: new planets! Weird spaceships! Strange societies! Alien flora and fauna! Reality-warping space! But it also feels modern―uncalcified and unfussy, bold and unexpected.” ―The Portland Mercury

“Regardless of what type of science fiction enthusiast you are, you will find something wonderful in Dark Orbit … Add into that incredibly unique and wonderfully realized challenges that really push the boundaries of where-no-one-has-gone-before, and you have a book that’s well worth the read, even if you aren’t a hardened science fiction fan.” ―LitStack

“She delves into thought-provoking speculative science one expects alongside philosophy as ancient as Plato's cave. Dark Orbit is a stimulating and absorbing story.” –Shelf Awareness

“The story jumps from espionage to murder to first contact to philosophy at dizzying speeds” ―Publishers Weekly

“Dark Orbit is a peculiar novel, by turns sharp and gentle, cynical and idealistic, empiricist and mystical. But its characters are strongly drawn, its universe is richly sketched, and its prose is sheer delight. It is deeply compelling in its peculiarities, and probably one of the best novels of science fiction that I’ve read in the last few years. And it’s fascinating.” ―Tor.com

“Dark Orbit is set in the same Twenty Planets universe as Gilman’s 2010 novel Halfway Human. Comparisons to Ursula K. LeGuin are inevitable (and not unwarranted), but Dark Orbit has a strong thread of thriller-like suspense that keeps one turning the pages. I think a more apt comparison is to the work of James Tiptree, Jr.” ―Analog

“Dark Orbit is a well-paced and engaging story that doesn't disappoint. The mystery and intrigue builds to a climactic ending with several surprises along the way.” –Science Fiction Book Club

“Dark Orbit is a fast-paced and grippingly written sci-fi thriller, full of interesting ideas.” –Open Letters Monthly

“Not only did I find it highly original in some of its concepts, it also left me feeling a bit nostalgic for the science fiction heyday of authors like Harry Harrison and James E. Gunn.” ―SF Revu

“thought-provoking science-fiction” –Bibliosanctum

“Blending mystery, philosophy, and science gracefully in a twisty plot, Gilman has written a challenging but ultimately satisfying space adventure that explores how the most basic preconceptions can distort our outlook. It's a winner for any sf fan …” ―Library Journal

“Dark Orbit is a striking work of science fiction, and knowledge―self-knowledge, and how the knowledge of other people can shape a person―is at its heart. It is sharp and glittering and rather more interested in the philosophy of its physics than it is in the science. It’s also a novel about First Contact and the limits of science’s ability to classify data that cannot be seen. And damn, is it one hell of a novel.” ―Tor.com

“ A novel that will make you think about perception, human nature―even the nature of reality―while remaining consistently gripping and moving. Gilman manages to both dig deep into some pretty abstract and philosophically compelling ideas while writing a hell of a ‘first contact’ narrative and also touching on issues that are very much alive in our lives today. The ending may leave you wanting more, but even on its own, Dark Orbit remains thought-provoking days later.” ―RT Book Reviews Top Pick, 4 ½ stars

“Gilman has created a breathtakingly strange new world, and she's populated it with vivid, compelling characters. A thoroughly engrossing story with a fast-paced plot, memorable characters, and big ideas, this book is science fiction at its very best.” ―Kirkus (starred review)

About the Author

CAROLYN IVES GILMAN is a Nebula and Hugo Award–nominated writer of science fiction and fantasy. Her novels include Halfway Human and the two-volume novel Isles of the Forsaken and Ison of the Isles. Her short fiction appears in many Best of the Year collections and has been translated into seven languages. She lives in Washington, D.C., and works for the National Museum of the American Indian.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tor Books; First Edition (July 14, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0765336294
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0765336293
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.11 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.12 x 9.44 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,102,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,055 in Colonization Science Fiction
- #6,489 in Hard Science Fiction (Books)
- #7,915 in First Contact Science Fiction (Books)

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4.1 369 ratings

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Carolyn Ives Gilman

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Carolyn Ives Gilman’s latest novel is a space exploration adventure, Dark Orbit. Her other books include Isles of the Forsaken and Ison of the Isles, a two-book fantasy about culture clash and revolution. Her first novel, Halfway Human, was called “one of the most compelling explorations of gender and power in recent SF” by Locus. Some of her short fiction can be found in Aliens of the Heart and Candle in a Bottle, both from Aqueduct Press, and in Arkfall and The Ice Owl, from Arc Manor. Her short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Fantasy and Science Fiction, The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Lightspeed, Phantom Drift, Bending the Landscape, Interzone, Universe, Full Spectrum, Realms of Fantasy, and others. She has been nominated for the Nebula Award three times and for the Hugo twice.

In her professional career, Gilman is a historian specializing in 18th- and early 19th-century North American history, particularly frontier and Native history. She lives in Washington, D.C. and works as a freelance museum consultant.

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Maria Haskins

Twisting the fabric of reality

Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2015

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Carolyn Ives Gilman’s mind- and space-bending novel Dark Orbit transports the reader into a uniquely imagined future universe, and it is one of the most original science fiction stories I’ve read in years. It received high praise from the great Ursula K. Le Guin, and after reading it, I totally understand why.

Dark Orbit‘s plot twists and turns in unexpected ways, while delving into profound ideas about space, time, science, the human mind, and how we perceive the very fabric of reality. In some ways Gilman reminds me of Le Guin. Most obviously perhaps because of her interest in the spoken and unspoken rules of different societies, and how those rules shape human behaviour and human interaction. Just like Le Guin, Gilman also explores what happens when people either choose to abide by, or challenge such rules. That sounds dry and academic, perhaps, but when it’s skillfully woven into a novel (as it is here) it provides depth and detail that makes the invented world feel real.

Gilman’s prose is sleek, unsentimental, and well-crafted, and she pulls you into her future-verse easily and swiftly, and then pulls you ever deeper into a mind- and space-warping storyline. Dark Orbit is a real page-turner: I had a hard time putting this book down. One note: the ending is left somewhat open. Part of me wished Gilman had tied up all the ends more neatly (I want all the answers, dammit!), but another part of me relished the ambiguity. Also, I secretly wish for a follow-up to this book. I already miss Thora and Sara, and would love the opportunity to re-visit the universe of Dark Orbit.

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JSG

Excellent science fiction novel Recommended!

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2015

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Just completed the "first contact" SCI FI book "Dark Orbit" by Carolyn Ives Gilman.

This is a SCI FI that is a little hard to define. It certainly doesn't fit the space opera mold. It has seemingly fantasy / mystical overtones, and yet these are found to be grounded in science (at least as described in the book). Some would call it hard science fiction, and yet personality, philosophy, and inner strength are as important as the advanced technologies that populate the story. I would simply call it good. In some ways it reminds me of the imaginative and yet "homey" science fiction novels of the late 60's/ early 70's, but definitely with a more modern outlook. It's two main protagonists are female but in no way is this "feminist" literature. It is a book of new ideas and excellent world building, yet still intimate in its story telling. It is not super long, but the length seems just right (though I was sorry to see it end). It is thought provoking, frightening, funny, and different, and wholly satisfying. The characters, scientists and military people from different planets pulled together to study a newly discovered planet that appears able to support human life, were very well executed. The use of the concept of dark matter / energy was intriguing. And while traveling between stars was still restricted by the speed of light, the method for instantaneous communication between planets seems plausible.

Highly enjoyable and highly recommended. I will be on the lookout for more books by this author.

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Elenora R. Sabin

A Book with Something for Everyone

Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2018

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This fascinating novel can be read on many levels. It is a story of the exploration of a hitherto unknown world. It is an intriguing mystery in which a murder occurs on the spaceship of the explorers and must have been committed by someone on the ship—but who? No one is above suspicion, including the chief security officer who is in charge of the investigation. The novel is also a psychological study of the female protagonist and the woman she has been assigned to “keep an eye on.” It is a novel of discovery. The explorers encounter, on what they believed to be an uninhabited planet, a small colony of people living in utter darkness in a cavern too far below the planet’s surface to have been detected by the explorers’ probes. This group of people, because they live in a place without light, have eyes but have never learned to see. Knowing nothing about sight, they have no sense of lacking it. It is captivating to discover how they designed their village and find their way around in it. The contrast between sight and blindness, light and darkness pervades the novel on many levels. And can quantum physics explain a strange ability on the part of this community of the blind? This science fiction novel combines advanced science with mysticism in a totally believable way and leaves the reader with much food for thought.

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) This was really interesting in a good traditional science fiction space opera way

Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2016

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A xenoethnologist travels on an expedition to explore a planet that’s at a locus of unstable space where gravity doesn’t work as it should. They discover a lost diasporic group of humans underground, forcing the main character into an unexpected, unprepared-for first contact situation. (A second main character is making a study of consciousness and has some really interesting passages.)

This was really interesting in a good traditional science fiction space opera way, lots of shifting from interesting idea to interesting idea. Gilman’s prose keeps the story moving while knowing when to dwell on a pretty image (such as a disturbing, distorted forest of reflections and knife-like crystal leaves). It’s an effortless read because of Gilman’s skill.

The story lagged a bit for me in places and I had a few reservations about the depiction of Islamic-inspired cultures. Overall, I was really into its ideas and explorations. I even wish Gilman had gone further into the physics.

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Richard Abbott

Multi-layered and fascinating

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2019

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Let me say up front: I loved this book, and it was definitely a five star read for me. I had not heard of Carolyn Gilman before, and encountered her book through an online book club I belong to. Why did I like it? For starters, it is one of a tiny handful of books I have read which offers an explanation for instantaneous communication along with sub-light-speed travel - almost everyone simply assumes this without explanation as a plot device.

But my enjoyment of the book goes way beyond appreciation of a minor plot point. What I really enjoyed was the many ways in which events in the real world were mirrored on interpersonal or relational levels. So the darkness of the title emerges in many ways - certainly as literal darkness inhabited by a fascinating group of people, but also as relational darkness between individuals and groups, or as moral darkness invading a culture or a person. Themes of light and dark fill the book, and the different contexts in which they appear reflect each other.

Also, the book does not attempt to resolve all of its several dilemmas. Most of the major characters are forced to handle situations in ways which are at odds with their own wishes, backgrounds, or society's expectations. A simple reading of this suggests that each has been forced to deny something of themselves in order to get out of a difficult situation. But equally, each of these could alternately be read as showing the person coming into their true potential despite prior history, being liberated by events into new facets of life.

Finally, there was a recurring sense that the events and people in the book's focus were part of a much larger world. For example, the various scientists in the group cluster into several camps, some of which sound to a contemporary reader more like religion or philosophy than "regular" science. But these camps are simply part of the rich backcloth, and are left as teasing reminders that the world is much bigger and more diverse than the specific events described. The story certainly has its own very satisfying closure, but it also hints at bigger issues, and other stories that might be told. Whether Carolyn ever intends to write these subsequent stories is beside the point - her created universe extends far beyond the pages of Dark Orbit, teasing the reader with glimpses of many other possible tales.

On a science level, I felt that the quantum mechanical aspects of the book - especially to do with communication - were handled well. Dark matter, however, felt like a handy buzzword to bring the idea of darkness into the book, without really getting to grips with what we know of it. This didn't diminish my enjoyment of the book, since the science was used simply as a backcloth to a fascinating story, not as an end in itself.

I suspect that not everyone will like the book. Some people might find its ambiguities and open-endedness to be frustrating, and others might prefer the philosophical themes to be more buried. But I found it an excellent book, and am very happy to have discovered it.

H. Rivera

Tolle Ideen, spannend und interessante Fragen aufwerfend, aber mit recht abruptem Ende

Reviewed in Germany on November 4, 2015

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Ich bin ein Fan von innovativen Ideen, wenn es um SF-Literatur geht und wurde mit diesem Buch nicht enttäuscht. Die Idee der Möglichkeit, die eigene Molekülstruktur über lange Distanzen zu übertragen und dann dort nach vielen Jahren wieder aufgebaut zu werden ist spannend. die Implikationen für die so Transportierten werden gut und nachvollziehbar beschrieben.
Auch unterschiedliche Gesellschaftsmodelle und ihre ethische Grundlagen werden schön skizziert. Dazu zählen unterschiedliche Regierungsformen, die Rolle der Frau und die Machtpositionen der unterschiedlichen sozialen Schichten sowie die Rolle und Ausrichtung unterschiedlicher Wissenschaften und die Bedeutung und Gefahren von Sicherheitsapparate und vom Militär.
Die Geschichte besteht aus zwei Strängen. Einerseits wird die Entdeckung einer neuen, mysteriösen und bewohnbaren Welt,die viele Rätsel aufwirft, und der Erstkontakt mit einer grundlegend unterschiedlich, technologisch weniger entwickelten Kultur dargestellt. Andererseits wird die Geschichte einer Frau aus einer machtvollen Familie eingebaut, die im Zuge einer früheren diplomatischen Handelsmission in einem Planeten das gesellschaftliche Gefüge stark ins Wanken gebracht hat und nun bei dieser neuen Mission als Strafe weit weg geschickt wurde.
Ihr Pendant ist eine andere jungen Exoethnologin aus einer niedrigeren Gesellschaftlichen Schicht, die auf die Andere aufpassen soll und prinzipiell gerne Dogmen und Regeln in Frage stellt.
Der Erstkontakt mit dieser neuen Welt und der Umgang mit den Einheimischen wird aus der Sicht dieser zwei Frauen erzählt. Am Ende sehen sich beide mit einer Naturkatastrophe und einem Flüchtlingsstrom aus dem Planeten sowie mit der Tatsache konfrontiert, dass die bisher als "primitiv" empfundenen Bewohner ungeahnte Fähigkeiten besitzen. In den falschen Händen könnten diese Fähigkeiten großen Schaden für die Flüchtlinge, aber auch im gesamten Universum anrichten.
Schön ist die Stärke der Frauencharaktere, weniger gelungen sind die doch recht stereotypisch gezeichneten Unterschiede zwischen den Gesellschaftsformen der unterschiedlichen Planeten und der sozialen Schichten. Diese werden aber auch immer wieder in Frage gestellt. Zum Beispiel in der Auseinandersetzung mit dem Sicherheitschef des Raumschiffs, der als Mitglied des Militärs am Ende doch ganz andere Motive für sein Handeln hat als zuerst angenommen. Auch die Unterdrückung der Frauen wird thematisiert. Problematisch ist, dass die Beschreibung der "Weltrassen" in mir den Eindruck erweckte, dass Nord-Süd-Vorurteile bei der Wahl der Hautfarbe und Eigenschaften der Charaktere aus unterschiedlichen Welten unreflektiert übernommen wurden.
Einige Passagen, insbesondere die Tagebuch-Einträge eines der Charaktere sind recht langatmig. Dies könnte aber in der beschriebenen Situation auch durchaus intendiert sein. Am Ende geht alles ganz schnell und innerhalb weniger Seiten ist alles vorbei. Dies lässt auf eine Fortsetzung hoffen. Es wäre aber schön gewesen, als Leser_in ein besser gezeichnetes Ende vorzufinden. Trotzdem ein tolles Buch und eine unbedingte Kaufempfehlung für SF-Leser_innen, die neben der Aktion auch Reflexionen über Gender und soziale Rollen, Kolonialisierung und Machtverhältnisse in der Wissenschaft suchen.

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MACCA

Two Stars

Reviewed in Australia on August 2, 2015

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Not very impressed

Kindle Customer

Intellegently envisioned; likely to win awards

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2016

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A book that as well as having an interesting plot driven by the alien encounter genre considers a fascinating question: what would life be like for aliens who develop an unusual degree of spatial ability to compensate for sightlessness? Gilman handles the philosophical strand to her novel deftly, enlivening the work with some well-drawn characters and a neat turn of phrase - 'he's just in hierarchy withdrawal' was one of my favourite comments about the expedition's uptight security chief. The notion of 'what one sees' leads to another philosophical layer to the text, how reality and cognition intersect; the expedition for example numbers 'corroborative scientists', those 'trying to combine scientific method with already-formed systems of thought', and sketches some interesting approaches to empirical analysis - 'one one planet, they explored the nature of a thing by swallowing a sample and letting it pass through their bodies. Another culture composed songs from statistical data, with different harmonies implying different conclusions'. Reminiscent of the superb and multi award-winning Mary Doria Russell novel The Sparrow in using the concept of the alien to provoke alternate thinking.

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Mr. Christopher May

out there with the best

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2016

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Wonderful, thought provoking and original. I would recommend this book to any one who likes to explore new concepts and to wonder what it would be like of a world existed where different senses were used fully. Full of philosophy. It can become a little dogmatic in places and the ending seems to ask for a sequel. Carolyn Gilman has produced a great piece of science fiction.

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