In the Orbit of Sirens

The Song of Kamaria, Book 1

By: T. A. Bruno

Narrated by: Michael Reimer

Length: 16 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

The last fragments of the human race are forced to adapt to a dangerous new world or face extinction.

When starship mechanic, Denton Castus, is caught in the destructive path of a devastating war, he abandons his home and seeks refuge on a distant planet. However, this new safe haven has undiscovered threats of its own. Eliana Veston, a scout preparing the planet for the refugees, struggles with a deadly pandemic that is killing off colonists. The hunt for a cure unleashes a new threat to humanity - the Sirens - mysterious beings with incredible powers and a deep hatred for invaders.

©2020 Thomas Bruno (P)2021 Thomas Bruno

Great sci-fi

I really enjoyed in the Orbit of Sirens.

The world-building is beyond great. Kamaria is well thought out, alien, fascinating, and alive. It's one of the cooler planets I've visited in a lifetime of sci-fi fandom. I'm excited to dive into the rest of the trilogy to explore more of this world.

The structure is phenomenal. Bruno sets up multiple different timelines but is able to bring them together perfectly, and he does a great job with the push-pull of tension and release. The action is exciting and clearly written, visceral without being overwritten.

i really dug the characters and audibly reacted to multiple moments while listening in my car as I felt the joy, sadness, dread, and triumph along with the characters.

Again, I had a great time listening to this story and would recommend it to any sci-fi fans looking for new worlds to explore.

Easy 4 stars

First and foremost, I must thank T.A. Bruno providing me with an ARC for my honest review.

In the Orbit of Sirens is your typical sci-fi story full of epic space battles, searching new worlds, interactions with other alien species all while in the name of keeping humanity alive for generations to come.

The world building and storytelling was fantastic, I found the author’s creativity and attention to detail to be on point and it kept me engaged from start to finish.

I was a bit caught off guard by the horror in this book as it was not something I was expecting however I really enjoyed it. The only part I was not a big fan of in this book would be the romance side of the story but that is just because I am not really into reading romance, I do however think it was well done.

All in all, I really enjoyed the story and I think this could make a killer adaptation for film or maybe something like a Netflix series. Although I have not typically been a huge sci-fi reader in the past (love sci-fi movies though) I look forward to reading book two and this just might be the series that pushes me to add more sci-fi to my TBR.

An intriguing blend of sci-fi and fantasy

In the Orbit of Sirens was an intriguing book with surprising depth and complexity. It's categorized as science fiction on both Audible and Amazon, but Bruno seamlessly blends fantasy elements into the novel. The story is set on a newly colonized world -- but one already inhabited by intelligent, indigenous lifeforms. The planet has rich mythology that comes to life as the colonists discover the god-like creatures they refer to as Sirens. The Sirens have powers and abilities that defy scientific explanations, and they are tied to the planet as Gaia-like protective deities. With the plot revolving around the supernatural Sirens, the story deviates from most of your typical sci-fi adventures to be something somewhat unique in the building of genres.

I'll admit that I wasn't that impressed with the book before the various plot elements came together and the narrative started to solidly move forward. I was about a quarter into the story before becoming hooked on the building suspense and intriguing mix of sci-fi and fantasy. Besides the unique premise, there was also good dialog and interaction, an interesting cast of characters, and an entertaining plot that was difficult to predict. While the story does come to a resolution at the end, there were also a few loose, unresolved threads that leave a perfect opening for future books in the series.

The narration in the audiobook version is something of a mixed bag. Some parts of Michael Reimer's performance are excellent. For example, his character voices (especially using a synthesized voice for a marine who uses a cybernetic voice box) are very good and, for the most part, distinctly unique. It helps that Bruno describes his characters well, making it easy to attribute accents and speech patterns -- and Reimer replicates these well. However, at the start of the book, Reimer's default narration voice felt flat and monotone and was a bit of a turn-off. The lack of voice inflection was so bothersome that I almost stopped listening after only a few minutes. However, once character dialogue became prominent and character personalities became more evident in POV text, the issue narrowed to become only a rare and minor annoyance.

Special thanks to T. A. Bruno, who provided me with this book at my request.

Amazing sci-fi

With fantasy elements to boot. loved it! Highly recommended to all science fiction/ space opera fans.

Cool new world

There is some really good world building in this book. The history established in this story is well thought out and the planet where the book happens is very interesting. There wide cast of interesting characters and the story is very engaging. The narration is very well done. He gives voices to a lot of different characters.

That was great!

It’s been a very long time since I’ve enjoyed a story so much. Surprising plot, complex characters, and a performance that pulled me in and made me forget I was listening to an audio book. Felt like I was right there with them. Looking forward to the next book!

An Epic Space Opera Science Fiction

Read for SPSFC finalists!

Overall Thoughts
Are you looking for a truly epic sci fi space opera? This is a good one. From space battles, robots, and time dilation, to aliens, telepathy, and cool creatures, this book has almost everything. It feels epic in its time scale as well, covering over three hundred years in a way, but also in a span of four years for the main story. My only complaint for this book is that it might be a little too epic. There are a few scenes I think could have been cut to heighten the overall tension, and sometimes there were lengthy descriptions of events during action scenes that didn’t really add anything, as well as changes in POV to tell what another character was thinking. But in general, this story drew me in and kept me engaged.

Plot
The story has a unique structure in the beginning, where it covers one family in Earth’s solar system three hundred years before the main story timeframe, and another family already on a distant planet. Those still in our solar system are fleeing a cyborg race intent on destroying humans, while those on the planet have to find a cure for a disease which will stop their lungs if they breathe the air. The narrative reverses later, catching the humans on the planet up to when those from our solar system arrive. And this is all before the main part of the story starts! There are dealings with native aliens, lots of cool creatures, and of course the eponymous sirens. Looking back, this book covers a lot of ground, but still leaves some loose ends for the rest of the series to use. The sequel is out and the third book is coming out very soon, both of which I’d be interested in reading!

Setting
The story really shines here. The author is also a previsualization artist and it shows in the care taken in how plants and animals are described, glimpses into the ecosystem, and how the native aliens’ culture works. The planet this takes place on is a vibrant place, which the human settlers are just starting to discover. There is a lot of room for surprises in the story when something works a little different than expected. However, I will say sometimes the description bogs down the story just a bit. For example, there’s an extended section dealing with one character training to be a scout which could probably have been shortened or cut as it doesn’t have the biggest effect on the story’s outcome.

Character
As with a lot of the epic science fictions, especially dealing with multiple subjects, the character development sometimes suffers for this. This book does a good job of watching the action from several points of view, but generally keeping to the most important characters. There is a romance in here, but I felt it was overshadowed by the rest of the events and wasn’t as impactful as it could have been. However, the characters are distinct, and even if they don’t always get as much screentime as I wanted, their objectives are clear, for both heroes and villains, which is a big part of making relatable characters. There’s even a bit of LGBTQ representation. Not much, but some. In all, this was a very enjoyable romp across a strange new planet, and I’d be interested to read the sequels.

Score out of 10 (My personal score, not the final contest score)
An epic science fiction space opera that covers everything from killer robots to alien telepathy and diverse ecosystems! 8.75/10.

Great New Adventure

I have a hard time keeping focus on books. This book kept attention! I've downloaded the second book and will be starting that shortly!

Action, Aliens, and Exploration scifi adventure!

Excellent classic sci-fi story full of action, adventure, planetary exploration, and alien contact, with bits of mystery and even a bit of light horror to boot. The world building and story shine bright for me in this book. I found the author’s inventiveness and attention to details in describing all the nuances and gadgets, biological aspects, etc. of the planets and space tech/travel to be so entertaining. It really sucked me into the world of the story. The plot is very classic sci-fi – straight-up, with no-nonsense characters that give it a very relatable quality. And it is an epic scale journey! I found it to be very cinematic and was pulled into the narrative, which speaks about our expansion into the stars and how we deal with surviving what we encounter, whether it be environment or alien species. Looking forward to #2!

Exciting new author!

Never a dull moment in T.A. Bruno"s "In the Orbit of Sirens", an epic genre blending sci-fi with original twists, memorable characters, and remarkable critters. As the tale of a young colony on a colorful new planet becomes a battle of epic proportions, Bruno weaves an original backstory of the non human 'Sirens', and follows a group of colonists scouts adventures in the struggle for control of the planet.