4 out of 4 stars
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Since a huge Orb appeared over London, the world has been divided. Some believe the Orb is god; others think it's an alien artifact. There have even been wars over it - one in which Artificial Intelligence tried to destroy humans. Just when the world has reached some semblance of peace, everything is about to change.
Peter works for Orb Industries creating new technology. Right now, he's obsessed with finding out who killed his daughter, Kiki. They say she committed suicide, supposedly hiring someone to kill her. He knows that's not true. He hires Zip, a private investigator, to find out what really happened to Kiki. Zip, though, has a few problems of her own. She allegedly took her own life before her consciousness was transferred to a new body. She's missing the week of time leading up to her suicide, though. It seems that her missing week, the Orb and Kiki's murder are all connected. But how?
Ms. Basi does a brilliant job of creating a new world slightly in the future that is not so dissimilar from our own. There are new technologies - artificial intelligence, virtual reality, holographic clothes - but humanity is still divided. The technology is not so foreign that it is hard to understand. Neither was the science obscenely complex. There were, though, just enough details to immerse yourself in the story line. To me, it was the right mix of background information, technological knowledge and plot. It all flowed seamlessly together.
What was even more fascinating to me was that there were themes that are very applicable to our world. If we aren't careful, this might be our future, whether or not an Orb appears out of the sky. There are lessons to be learned here but all while reading an engaging story.
While the book falls firmly in the science fiction genre, there was an enigma to be puzzled out. We aren't given the full scope of the story upfront. But rather, the author lays down breadcrumbs guiding us along the path toward the answers. The answers we seek aren't fully revealed until the ending, leaving us eagerly turning pages. The mystery starts almost immediately, so there is no slow build-up or boring pages waiting to see when the action will start. It hooks you right away.
At just over 400 pages, the book is somewhat long. However, the reading went quickly because I was curious about what would happen next. The ending sets the story up for another book, but the plot of this book is sufficiently resolved.
There really was nothing I didn't like about The Orb. The plot is solid, the world building is on point and there were no excessive errors to be found. I love taking a glimpse into a possible future through the mind of the author. For these reasons, I gladly award this book 4 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to anyone that enjoys a futuristic science fiction novel. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
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The Orb
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