Book #124 of 2023:
Orion Among the Stars by Ben Bova (Orion #5)
Author Ben Bova’s time-traveling super-soldier Orion was originally introduced as an agent who could be sent by his all-powerful Creators to anywhere in the continuum that was in some way under threat, but for the most part, each subsequent novel in the series has ended up stranding him somewhere in earth’s ancient past in our comfortable established history. This fifth volume is a welcome change from that pattern, finding the hero instead placed in a thrilling military sci-fi adventure, where he commands a squadron of beleaguered troops in a desperate interstellar war. His arrogant overlords are as demanding and inscrutable as ever, and his star-crossed love interest is absent as usual, but the plot rhythms are all different, and the unfolding story allows for some interesting new worldbuilding including a loose Lovecraftian tie-in. Swapping swords for blasters hearkens back to a certain memorable epoch near the end of the first book as well, not to mention other genre touchstones like Starship Troopers, and is theoretically a great step forward for the saga.
It’s unfortunate (and hard to ignore on a reread) that the most promising aspects of this title do not in fact ever amount to anything in the final remaining sequel, but that’s hardly a fault here and now. On its own terms, it’s a neat little space opera in miniature — somewhat dated to its 1995 publication year, but overall one of the better Orion installments. You could read just the debut novel and this one and walk away satisfied, I think.
[Content warning for gun violence, torture, gore, racism, Islamophobia, mention of rape, and mention of violence against children.]
★★★★☆
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