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Overview
In this "heart-pounding" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) aviation thriller, New York Times bestselling author John J. Nance ventures forward to 2009, taking readers on a riveting journey of life or death.
His once-in-a-lifetime chance...
Disillusioned with his life, when Kip Dawson wins a passenger seat on one of American Space Adventure's commercial spaceflights, it's a dream come true. Although his acceptance of the prize strikes terror in his family, Kip sets off, ready for adventure. But a successful launch quickly morphs into chaos — a micrometeor punches through the wall of the spacecraft, leaving the radios as dead as the pilot.
...becomes a global fight for survival.
With nothing to do but wait for death, Kip composes his epitaph on the ship's laptop computer. Little does he know an audience of millions would soon discover his cries — sparking a massive rescue mission in his honor. With no idea the world can hear him, his heroism in the face of death may sabotage his best chance of survival.
Editorials
From the Publisher
"Tense and gripping...Orbit ranks among Nance's best." — Library Journal"One trip into space that should not be missed." — The Roanoke Times (VA)
"[A] very modern, exciting novel.... You won't want to put it down." — Lincoln Journal Star (NE)
Publishers Weekly
For Kip Dawson, an unhappily married man with a son who blames him for his first wife's death, winning a trip into orbit is a dream come true. But when a meteorite slices through the ship, killing the pilot and severing all lines of communication, the dream quickly becomes a nightmare. Nance is well-known for his aviation thrillers, and with Orbit he successfully ventures into the near future with this tale of privately funded space flight gone awry. Nance is no newcomer to narration and it shows. He reads with an assured, confident voice and moves the story along with the pacing of an expert raconteur. His vocal modulations to distinguish between characters are subtle but effective. Most of his accents sound true. The use of a walkie-talkie-like voice filter to indicate when characters are speaking over the phone or radio is a nice touch that makes conversations more vivid. Kudos to Nance for crafting such a taut thriller and for infusing his performance with such heart and vigor, proving that he is the only person who should narrate his books. Simultaneous release with the S&S hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 20). (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Library Journal
What goes up must come down-unless you're a passenger in a damaged spaceship orbiting Earth in this tense and gripping novel by New York Times best-selling author and aviation analyst Nance (Pandora's Clock). It's 2009, and Kip Dawson, a salesman confronting multiple midlife crises, wins a trip into space on a craft owned by a civilian space company. He's enjoying himself when the unthinkable happens: a micrometeorite hits the ship and kills the pilot, leaving Kip alone in the crippled craft and with no radio signal. With only a few days' worth of oxygen left, he writes his parting thoughts on the ship's laptop, unaware that they are being read by millions of people on Earth, where he becomes an instant celebrity. As Kip confronts his fate and his demons, the director of NASA tries to sabotage any attempt to rescue him because of his hatred for the civilian enterprise. Orbit ranks among Nance's best. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/05.]-Robert Conroy, Warren, MI Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Library Journal
The master of aviation fiction, Nance (Turbulence) takes the action several thousand feet higher in the sky with this first-rate tale of a man trapped alone in a damaged commercial spacecraft. Artist Kip Dawson is thrilled to have won a contest guaranteeing him a seat on the Intrepid, one of the first privately owned rivals to the Space Shuttle. After a freak accident kills his astronaut pilot, Kip is forced to rely on his own skills to keep the craft in orbit, knowing that in a few days he will run out of breathable air and die in a fiery crash. Determined to leave behind some record of his life, including apologizing to his children for neglecting them, Kip begins to type his biography into a laptop he finds on board. He is unaware that the entire world is reading his words and of the phenomenon he is creating down below. Nance reads his own work and presents a pitch-perfect product; his vocal skills, especially in defining male characters, are one of the elements that make this a high-priority item for all public libraries.—Joseph L. Carlson