Orion Rising by Chard Pawley

Second Officer Orion Trayfer is the central protagonist in this compelling dystopian novel set sixty years after the Wars made most of the Earth an uninhabitable wasteland. The surviving population now lives in the crowded regions of New Zealand, Australia, and Indonesia = ‘The Commonwealth’. High-rise buildings clutter the available land, while all the food is supplied from vast floating farms, pods moored at sea.

Orion enjoys his job at sea, tending to the crop barges near New Zealand’s eastern waters. But then comes news of a friend’s supposed suicide, and a threat of a new war on the Fringes of the Commonwealth seems to be already happening, when there are terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, Orion is still traumatised by the death of his mother 18 years ago, and he has an uneasy relationship with his father, who is now also his captain. Then there is the attractive trainee assigned to their ship, who quickly gets under his skin, threatening his protective defences.

Reading like a thriller by David Baldacci or Lee Child, Orion Rising is unputdownable from start to finish. It has the perfect blend of a well-crafted, unforgettable hero, a cast of characters to care for, a love story with emotional depth and chemistry, plenty of action, and thought-provoking themes. It’s bound to be adapted for the screen in the future, but do yourself a favour and go and grab a copy as soon as you can!

Reviewer: Karen McMillan

Nineteenth House Publishing