3 out of 4 stars
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The Orb by Tara Basi is a sci-fi action thriller that follows the adventures of Zip, a private investigator, as she tries to solve her current case while coming to terms with her own personal circumstances. She is hired by a professor of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to prove that his daughter did not take her own life. Her investigation proves both life-threatening and enlightening as she battles a myriad of foes and discovers whether she herself had committed suicide and how she ended up in new young body.
The story-line is both intricate and well-developed. The narrative unfolds in a future, post-war civilisation which is divided based upon belief in the divinity or the lack thereof of an alien object known as ‘the Orb’ hovering above London. The ethical and psychological conflicts portrayed represent real human struggles, many of which we face today.
The environment is highly technological. Machines think for themselves and have the power to eradicate humanity. AI machines have evolved to be largely distrusted by humans. Zip wears holographic clothes and there is communication via holographic projections. Human personalities are resurrected from death using memory records. There are also multiple sub-terranean levels where people reside.
What I liked most was the unfolding of the plot which kept me in suspense for most of the book. What I disliked most was the feeling that a proper description of the scenario was missing at the start so that I was left confused and trying to put pieces together. The book would have benefited from a prologue or even a paragraph or two that set the stage for the story rather than the reader having to figure out the situation along the way.
There is a movie-like quality to The Orb. The scene descriptions are so vivid that one can almost see and feel what the characters are experiencing, for instance, ‘Her heels clicked loudly on the stone floor, and the sharp sounds bounced around the curved walls. The space ahead was narrowing, squeezing her lungs. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Zip clutched her breast and started running.’ The ending of the book also paves the way for the continuation of the story in a second adventure-packed novel.
The Orb was quite enjoyable to read, but the initial confusion about the scenario prompts me give it a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. There were some instances of profanity and sexual descriptions. For this reason, I recommend the book for adult adventure-lovers and sci-fi enthusiasts but not for younger readers.
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The Orb
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