Book Review: Orion in the Dying Time by Ben Bova

Book #98 of 2023:

Orion in the Dying Time by Ben Bova (Orion #3)

This time-travel adventure sequel offers probably the most problematic of its saga’s dabbles in what the back of this book calls ‘speculative theology,’ taking as its premise the wild notion that the ancient Egyptian god Set is the same being as Christianity’s Satan — and a murderous reptilian alien from another universe, to boot. The ensuing plot finds humanity’s champion Orion struggling against that foe and his minions in the Neolithic, Cretaceous, and far-future eras as they seek to supplant us throughout the space-time continuum, and while I think author Ben Bova is trying to offer a twist on the first novel in the series (which revealed that humans once did much the same to Neanderthals), it plays out here as too similar a conflict in practice.

More interesting on a character dimension is the fact that the protagonist’s divine love interest accompanies him for most of this title, having previously been largely either separated or present in a mortal guise with no memory of her true self. We finally get to see the lovers as an actual couple for an extended period of the narrative, and they seem like a good match with their shared warrior spirit, although Orion has some needlessly angsty moments when he temporarily (repeatedly!) thinks she’s abandoned him.

This was my least favorite of its series when I read the lot as a teenager, and I can’t say that it’s improved after decades away. It’s also definitely the work of a male science-fiction writer from 1990, with its gratuitous female (including underage) nudity, infanticide, and gore, none of which are handled with particular respect. At its best amid all the flamethrower-wielding dinosaurs and whatnot, the story does manage to achieve a level of pulpy fun akin to something like A Princess of Mars, or perhaps Planet of the Apes crossed with the prehistoric epoch of Chrono Trigger. But the hero’s dour moping cuts against the effectiveness of that as a sustained mood for the overall piece, and together with some sloppy plotting in the end ultimately lands this installment a lower rating than its predecessors for me.

★★☆☆☆

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