Orbit

By: John j. Nance

Narrated by: John J. Nance

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

The year is 2009. For Kip Dawson, winning a passenger seat on American Space Adventure's first commercial spaceflight is a dream come true. One grand shot of insanity and he can return to earth fulfilled. It's a bittersweet moment of triumph, however, muted by his wife's terror over his accepting the prize. The day of the launch, Kip tries to reconcile his wife's and daughters' fears and even tries calling his estranged son, to no avail. He sets off, vowing to make amends upon his return. But a successful launch quickly morphs into chaos when a micrometeor punches through the wall of the spacecraft, leaving the radios as dead as the pilot.

In the blink of an eye, Kip Dawson is truly alone and has no way of navigating the ship home. With nothing to do but wait for his fate, Kip writes his epitaph on the ship's laptop computer, unaware that an audience of millions has discovered it and is tracking his every word on the Internet. As a massive struggle gets under way to rescue him, Kip has no idea that the world can hear his cries - or that his heroism in the face of death may sabotage his best chance of survival.

©2007 John J. Nance (P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Live your own life!

I have just finished this Audible book. Wow! And it's more than an adventure story that would make a great movie. IMAX would be great. But the main part of the book that struck me deep was the main character's writing on the laptop. Amazing. And the reactions, Fantastic. I sure like the "live your own life" message hidden in the story. This will definitely be a book that I listen to often and visit like an old friend. Also, I am surprised at how well the author, John J. Nance does as the reader of his book. Amazing. I have recently found this author and have listened to 4 or 5 of the others before this one. But this one makes the most impact on me that I've "read" so far. Now to listen to the rest. I love how he develops the characters and the flying in the stories. Read this one if you can only choose one. Read the rest if you have the time and can get them.

a one-man Apollo 13

I hesitated to start thinking it might be a clone
.wrong. one of my favorite now.

Outstanding

One of the best books I've ever listened to. Not a genre I usually read but thought provoking.

Dated but still good

This book is over 10yrs old at this writing and it still is a good book. Granted we don't have pagers or flip cell-phones but the main plot of space tourism is still pointant today. The book keeps us moving from problem to problem without getting too detailed. The ending seems a bit too rushed with the main characters and although I had hoped to see a sequel to Orbit, it has not yet happened.

Enjoy the book even later years. -RJ

A delightful listen!

This is the most delightful, compelling, poignant and suspenseful story I have encountered in many years. The main character found his way into my heart almost immediately. His responses to the terrifying challenges facing him were surprising, believable, and heartening. Since listening to this book, I feel happier about being a human than I have in a very long time.

Not at all what I expected but in a good way.

What did you love best about Orbit?

The technical and space flight aspects were secondary to the human drama and the examination of a life and aspects of the human mind.

What other book might you compare Orbit to and why?

None, I have never encountered a book quite like this.

Which character – as performed by the narrator – was your favorite?

No character in particular. It not clear who the narrator is, I suspect it was the author himself. The narrator did not sound like your typical "professional Narrator", but after a short time I could easily understand him. I suspect it was the author because you could tell he had a fondness for the characters. I do think the audio engineering and microphone used could have been better.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. Wanted to yes, but not with my busy life.

WOW Magnificent even after the second time.

I have several hundred books in my library and there are many many great reads but none come close to effecting me like this one. Every human being on the planet should read or listen to Orbit. Thank You Mr. Nance.

* Spoiler Alert

This is a fascinating book, entirely different than I expected. It is similar to "The Truman Show" in the way that the entire world is involved in his thoughts and he is unaware. His honesty and raw feelings change lives. This is very thought provoking.

Great book

Enjoyed the book and the Audible , it sounded like real life and a real person who over came it all

great story

I have loved this story for a long time. The narrator did a great job. My 1st introduction to this story was the old CD audio book of it. My mother is the one that introduced me to orbit. I used to listen to it on my commute to a laboratory job I worked . The story is still great to this day