• Orion

  • Orion Series, Book 1
  • By: Ben Bova
  • Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
  • Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (706 ratings)

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Orion  By  cover art

Orion

By: Ben Bova
Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
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Publisher's summary

John O'Ryan is not a god...not exactly. He is an eternal warrior destined to combat the Dark Lord through all time for dominion of the Earth. Follow him, servant of a great race, as he battles his enemy down the halls of time, from the caves of our ancestors to the final confrontation under the hammer of nuclear annihilation.

Listen to more titles in the Orion series.
©1984 Ben Bova (P)2010 Audible, Inc

Critic reviews

"Non-stop action and mind-bending concepts combine to make Orion absolutely unforgettable…. Ben Bova brings it to life on a canvas spread over time and space." (Isaac Asimov)

What listeners say about Orion

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Cornucopia of Genre's

If Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory was to write a comic book, this would be it. This is the combination of Super Hero, Mythology, Physics, Beast Master, Historical Fiction, Yogi, Sci-Fi, Military Sci-Fi and Time Travel. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not.

The book is broke into four parts and an epilogue. Each part is a different time in history. Our hero starts in the future and is living backwards in time. If you like books about living backwards in time, you may want to check out Piers Anthony's, Bearing An Hourglass. Our hero is similar to Orson Scott Card's, Alvin, as he can control all of his bodily functions, such as heart rate, etc. The first part I thought at the time was dumb and I did not think I would finish the book. Later I realized that the first part is necessary to the story. The characters all seem cliche, but this changes as the story goes. At times I was not even sure who was the bad guy and who was the good guy.

The second part I enjoyed more as our main character spends time with the Mongols. If you like this part you will really like Conn Iggulden's, Genghis Trilogy. Then we spend time with prehistoric man, a reminder of Jean Auel's Cave Man series. Then we go to a weirder time, which I will not explain, so as not to ruin the story. Part of it is suppose to be a surprise, which most people will have already figured out.

There is some talk on evolution, fusion power and why man kills. Ben Bova seems to be one of the few writers in favor of nuclear power, which I liked just simply because it is different from the norm.

I liked parts two and three, but was not crazy about all the rest and as a whole it was just so, so. I might listen to some of the rest in the series if they are on sale.

Narrator is Rudnicki, who like usual is great.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

TRUE WARRIOR

Orion is man made more than a man, as he is given superhuman abilities to act as a warrior avatar in the conflict between one god, and another supposedly dark god Ahriman.

His life is lived as he is sent to various periods throughout time, and he quickly has to learn to live and adapt here, as well as overcome Ahriman's influence.

PS
Basically the first book has a finished a story, so it was a long time before I read the second book, but as i found out the second book is even better.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Cool concept, but get rather boring at times

Not a bad listen, good narrator.
The story unfolds in stages, but sometimes Ben takes way too much time building the world (earth at various stages in time) and the story gets boring until the next "event".

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Big twist

I must admit that I was a bit annoyed at first. The POV was so Euro-centric. But the end made me kinda wonder.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Great Book - Lousy Audio

Just wanted to write this review to alert prospective buyers that while the narration is very good, the sound quality certainly isn't. The sound is of low, metallic quality. A real pity considering I really like the narrator's voice.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

good cross-over multi-genra

Historical fantasy///sci-fy story.
extreme science becoming fantasy.
with the hero passing from era to era in time

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Spellbinding

I have read this book a couple times since the late '80s and it has never become stale. Now that I can hear it, I am in heaven. The fact that I can listen to the entire series is more than I could have hoped for.
Ben Bova has given us so many new ideas and the possibilities are inifinite. Just imagine what if...

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Good light read

This is a good light read, that's easy to listen to while you work. I wouldn't call this hard sci fi, I'd call it borderline fantasy. The story has some nice plot twists and an interesting plot. There's nothing earth shattering here, just a good light read.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

While I do not wish to spoil the story for others who may wish to read it I must say that if I had known that this was Dances With Wolves and Avatar dressed up in new clothes I would not have purchased it, even at the reduced $4.95 price.

The end, which was supposed to be a big surprise, seemed obvious to me long before the "revelation" and readers who are religious in nature should be warned that this story might not be for them. Overall I was disappointed. I need to stop buying books just because they are on sale ...

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Now merely for Sci Fi lovers

There's so much there, with wonderful pictures of societies in the past. Great depictions of the court of Ghengis Kahn, the end of the Ice Age, much food for thought. Give it a try!!!

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3 people found this helpful