Orbs 4 Exodus by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

Exodus by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The fourth and final novel in the Orbs series sees the last desperate role of the dice both from the remaining crew of the NTC Ghosts of Atlantis and those from the biosphere as potentially the last of humanity leave Earth as free beings. A journey to Mars to meet up with the earlier NTC expedition and perhaps to make a new home free of the "Organics" and their masters on a world already devoid of most of is water is the only hope but it's no safe haven. The Organics are waiting but Dr Winston's commune with the aliens gives the survivors a small edge and together and apart the revelations of the aliens plans and goals are fully revealed.
The final novel in the series is for me the most enjoyable, more alien tech/scifi hardware focused worked well with the foundations laid down in the previous novels. The surprising twists were also most satisfying and the ongoing trend of sacrifice for the greater good felt right given the opposing viewpoint of the guiding force behind this invasion and so many more fallen worlds and civilisations. This novel got the fifth star because it's worth it and it wraps up a very strong scifi story, there were few "wins" for the characters and humanity which you would expect given the odds they faced but everything fell into place and conclusion was so worth the wait. Stand out character may surprise some but I really enjoyed the AI Alexia and her growth throughout the series, initially met with some mistrust she grew with the human characters and playing a critical role throughout.
I can highly recommend the Orbs series even though the aliens want our water has been done to death in the movies (mostly poorly at that) but here we get a strong and believable narrative with good characters a few of which stick around but most burn bright but leave their mark.


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Orbs 3 Redemption by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

Redemption by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Redemption is the the third novel in the Orbs series and we return to an Earth stripped of its fresh water and the oceans slowly vanishing, the death of plant life and reduction in water is rapidly raising the temperature of the planet and it will soon cease to be a home for mammalian life. The inhabitants of the biosphere under the guidance of the AI Continue to struggle to survive as their numbers fall but there are others out there including the NTC submarine which was tasked with monitoring the biospheres but there came a time when they had to act and so together there may be hope that a few more humans can survive the death of the planet.
The pace and tension in the story to escalate in this third novel as the noose tightens on the few surviving humans, those previously unnoticed are forced to act and in doing so will fall to the superior alien forces but options are revealed and the struggle continues.
It's difficult to really go into any detail, this series is a must read for a science fiction fan who is willing to meet the author half way, the characterisation continues to be strong and the situations believable with a little leeway from the reader :)

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Orbs 2 Stranded by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

Stranded by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Orbs II: Stranded is the second novel in this four part alien invasion series by Nicholas Sansbury Smith. The survivors of humanity buried deep within cheyenne mountain in the biosphere continue to see a world stripped of water as the fresh water lakes, rivers and other sources have already been harvested and huge machines begin to drain the oceans. Alas the horrors of the new reality are even worse as the alien army repurpose captured humans as "cattle", mounted on spikes they are kept alive to maintain a water source and tensions mount as the marines and scientists clash over what they should about this latest development.
Orbs II is an excellent sequel or continuation of this huge ongoing tale of a credible alien invasion. There are no easy answers and that is where the strong character based writing comes into play counter pointing the world building and action sequences. Once again the whole is more than the some of its parts as I could not put this down thanks to the benefits of reading the first novel and knowing the the third is waiting for me.


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Orbs by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

Orbs by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Orbs was a novel or more accurately part of a series that was recommended to me in the usual Amazon fashion and the price was good and the blurb was interesting so why not. Four books later I was totally satisfied with the story that Nicholas had penned about an alien invasion of the Earth and the subsequent events which for humanity and the world were not good, not good at all.
In this first novel we get much of the backstory of the Earth set in the near future which carries throughout the series, the environment is damaged and political and economic issues have led to a corporate power being the defacto world leader to the point that China as a "power" were removed from the equation at the hands of the New Tech Corporation. Complications arise after a solar event slashes the Earth with destructive radiation and stella material leaving millions dead and cities gone or uninhabitable. The eyes of the corporation look towards Mars and a biosphere project is undertaken to prove the concept under the eyes of a highly advanced AI and selected specialists led by Dr Sophie Winston. Soon after the project is sealed under Cheyenne Mountain all contact is lost with the outside and the animals violently destroy themselves. The last time anything like this occurred was when the Earth was bathed in the radiation storms and while the team can last for months in this self sustaining complex the team need to know what has happened to the billions who lacked this protection...
I'm not going to go into too specific details of the events the followed leaving the Cheyenne complex but I will admit I was hooked, it's not easy making an alien invasion story work given all the questions that are often asked when the goal seems to be resource lead but this was by far more interesting than anything Hollywood has done recently. We were presented with a good mix of characters and good dynamic between them, personalities clashed and the AI was a good addition offering a look at events offset from the emotions of the team members.
I pretty much read all four novels over the course of a week, one of the benefits of being late to the party is that there is no waiting for the next installment and while this novel only got a four star rating the series as a whole will get five, it was that good.

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