Audiobook Review: Orbital by Andrew Mayne
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller
Series: Book 2 of Station Breaker/Space Ops
Publisher: Tantor Audio (July 4, 2017)
Length:8 hrs and 43 mins
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Narrator: Kyle McCarley
After Station Breaker closed on such an open-ended cliffhanger (*shakes fist*) I picked up Orbital immediately afterwards to continue following the action-packed adventures of former-pilot-turned-space-ops-astronaut David Dixon.
If you thought the first book was too extreme and ridiculous with its over-the-top antics, the good news is that this sequel takes a more laid-back tone. Thankfully though, it’s no less intense. While Station Breaker was your equivalent of a summer action blockbuster, Orbital reads more like a slick spy thriller. Picking up directly from the previous novel, the story sees David back on Earth, hailed as a hero for averting a global disaster. Unfortunately, the damage caused by the media circus has been done. David is let go by his employers at the aerospace company, and even though he was exonerated of all charges, the stigma of being labeled as a terrorist at one point means that no other agencies are willing to touch him with a ten-foot pole. The chances of David being able to fly again are looking quite bleak indeed.
Then one day, David is contacted by a covert government intelligence agency through one of his new connections. As it turns out, some of the enemy technology he encountered in the last book was actually stolen or leaked from a top-secret lab originating on an orbiting science space platform. While David is no spy, his experiences with these types of clandestine operations in space make him the most qualified to infiltrate the platform and sniff out the one responsible for the theft and leaks. Finding the culprit will also hopefully lead them to discover the identity of the shadowy agent known as Silverback, a highly placed mole in the US government.
After the rollercoaster ride that was Station Breaker, the beginning of Orbital was a nice chance at a little breather. Granted, the story was a little slower to take off this time, and in a lot of ways, the way things started reminded me a lot of another Andrew Mayne sequel. In his Naturalist series, the protagonist Theo Cray becomes anathema to the academic community after his involvement in a high-profile case to help catch a serial killer. Likewise, David Dixon manages to save the world but the fallout from the highly-publicized incident immediately kills his chances at ever being hired again by a legitimate aerospace company. In both cases, the characters are forced to take on any kind of soul-sucking work they could find. But because Orbital also needed to tie up a lot loose threads left by the non-ending of the previous book, the intro section was further protracted (which is another good reason why authors should just end a book properly.)
The good news is, once the story gets going, it gets REALLY going, and after the first third, the book gets hard to put down. Most of it takes place primarily aboard the orbital space platform where David must pretend to be a fellow researcher while trying to root out the traitor without arousing suspicions. David’s not the world’s best secret agent, but he does a relatively good job blending in, poking his nose discreetly into everyone’s work while schmoozing his way into the commanders’ good graces and politely holding off advances from lusty astronauts. A lot of the interactions are entertaining as you would expect, given our protagonist’s sense of humor. There are some amazing characters in Orbital—and also some great technology. This one’s a bit heavier on the science and jargon compared to the first book, but astronautics doesn’t have to be in your wheelhouse for you to appreciate this series. All of it is fascinating stuff that should be easy to take in and digest, and my favorite parts all involve David trying to MacGyver his way out life and death situations.
For fans of mysteries set in space, it doesn’t get much better than Orbital. It’s also a very clever and funny, and yet that humor does not come at the expense of the suspense and thrills. While the book sets a different tone than its predecessor, it’s no less addictive and fast-paced. Highly recommended.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Station Breaker (Book 1)
The BiblioSanctum 
SO this has been up for an hour and I forgot to comment (the tab that is), now what did I meant to say. I guess better have both at once
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Definitely. You’ll want this second novel if you want to know how the drama in the first one ends.
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It sounds like this series is keeping up the interest for you!
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And now it seems like it’s over…though I hope Mayne will revisit the characters at some point!
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Even though this sounds a little on the lighter side, I believe it would make – together with its predecessor – a fun and delightful summer read, so I will certainly take a peek for myself. Thanks for the review!!! 🙂
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Yes, these make for perfect summer reads! Nothing too serious or heavy, just plain fun 🙂
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Does the author explain how someone who was at one point called a global terrorist (with the attendant media coverage blasting his face all over the world I assume) suddenly is able to go “under cover”?
I’m thinking this author probably just isn’t going to ever be my cup of tea…
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Yes, the undercover part of his assignment involved pretending to be doing research in the lab, not assuming another identity or keeping a low profile, so that wasn’t an issue. One of the characters aboard the space station was actually very excited to meet him because of his escapades, while others weren’t so keen because they saw his presence as government interference, etc.
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I must try to fit this series in, I’m sure I’d love it😁
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They’re quick reads, so I say go for it! Just make sure you have both so you can read them back to back. Trust me, you’ll want to 🙂
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Sounds like a great quick read!
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Quick and exciting. The perfect thriller 🙂
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So you’ve made me really curious about this series but I’ll have to go back to the first one first. I do really like the cover of this one and having made an attempt to read more sci-fi this year, I am liking what I’m reading.
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I would highly recommend trying his Naturalist series too. That’s the one that got me hooked on his work 🙂
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I will definitely pick these two books up. They sounds great and I’m loving his murder mystery and the over the top antics in those stories.
Lynn 😀
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Yeah, if you liked The Naturalist/Looking Glass, you’ll love these!
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These sound like a lot of fun! Like I need more on my TBR list…
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Haha, we could always use more 😉
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I totally remember you saying Station Breaker was kooky (in a really good way), so it’s terrific to hear the sequel lives up! I absolutely adore humorous characters, and the plot of this one just sounds so fun and weird. 😂 This sounds like a great series to check out! Fantastic review!
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Yeah, this definitely lived up to the first book. The story was a bit less crazy, because the character was more about being subtle, but it was still excellent 🙂
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