An exhilarating, sprawling superhero science fiction saga.
Orbital Reconnaissance and Interceding Operations Nest (ORION) is an organization that monitors danger from every corner of the globe. To stop a threat it never publicly explained, ORION detonated nuclear weapons in orbit. The resulting electromagnetic pulse killed more than thirty-six thousand people, and since then, the organization has been despised. But Global Director Gerhard Sieger is determined to win back the world’s trust. From Orion One, a UN-backed space station, he rebuilds the agency’s superpowered ranks through the Nexus Program, an ambitious parahuman initiative. Nexus gathers and trains all manner of superhumans, even a wisecracking mercenary pulled straight out of prison. However, anti-parahuman sentiment is growing. Kross, the glowing-eyed leader of a violent religious group, the Sworn, storms the station to seize its orbital weapon and wipe out the world’s superpowered beings. Adding unwelcome tension, the commander of ORION’s parahuman teams bears an unexpected tie to Kross. In another attack, the religious terrorists assault a classified U.S. research complex to steal a tracking algorithm that ORION operatives must race to delete. With some world leaders ready to destroy Orion One, despite the ten thousand people aboard, can ORION survive both an enemy that sees its heroes as sinful and a world that increasingly distrusts it?
A space opera for the ages, Corey A. Frazier’s ORION is a cosmic adventure that never stops moving. The story slides fluidly between several timeframes, and the pace only increases as it builds toward the final showdown, while new revelations surface at every inflection point along the way. Though the cast is dauntingly large, Frazier gives each character a distinct personality and each parahuman a signature power. It never becomes challenging to tell everyone apart, and the appendices help readers make connections that might otherwise be lost in the action. Beneath the flashy battles, relatable characters wrestle with recognizable struggles. Sieger holds on to his ideals even as leadership isolates him, a deputy commander continually feels overlooked, a superpowered human searches for a new direction, and a young parahuman doubts she’s good enough, reflecting a worry shared by much of the cast. Though ostensibly beneficial, ORION itself is no spotless hero. Its buried secrets make the struggle against the Sworn more morally complicated than a simple wrestling of good and evil. Despite the high stakes and frequent fights, humor keeps the tone lively and the characters likable. From a guy trying to talk his way out of a prison cafeteria brawl to the playful banter between new officers, even the deepest-space scenes feel down-to-earth. And vivid descriptions of places like Orion One’s corridors or top-secret laboratories make readers feel as if they’re in the middle of an attack, hunkering down in a white lab coat. Filled with superpowered spectacle and human drama, ORION: Heavenfall is an exhilarating, sprawling superhero science fiction saga for anyone who appreciates getting lost in a good book.
