Really had a very difficult time trying to figure out whether give this a 3 or a 4. The book, to me, is a winner on reflective issues but mundane in most other respects. For a book that can be consider Science Fiction, set in the current world, it is not truly a space fantasy but more a 'what if' story. The story is set around an average guy winning a trip into space with a private commercial space operation. Leading up to the launch is sort of boring but, what would you expect. Yes you would be excited and everyone else would be simply be business like. Once in space things go very wrong. The pilot is killed and all communications are gone. Our hero is suddenly alone in space with no way to communicating or getting down. What do you do with all this time you have knowing that it is very likely you are going to die, isolated and alone, some 300 miles above the earth. This is where, to me, the story becomes most interesting and very uniquely reflective.

The writing is good but the story, except some very reflect portions, is so so at best. The writer does move the story along on an acceptable pace that fits very comfortably with the each point of the story. I found it difficult to get into the story as it was fairly slow paced building up to the launch. Once the story got started it moved along at a pace very driven by the circumstances, in this part felt the writer did an exceptional job in creating a pace that was very insync with the action.

If for no reason than the reflective introspective part of the book would recommend this book to anyone who wants to see within another's mind and soul. There are some points that would cause many to think about their loves and life and what is truly meaningful. Not terrible deep but poignant in several respects. ( )

I have loved ever other one of John Nance's books that I have read but not this one. The narrator is a whiny 'innocent' victim of his wife and the description of their relationship was so offensive, I knew that when he got up into space and was in danger of losing his life, I was going to hope he did. I put it down. I hope John does better next time. ( )

Having previously enjoyed the Kat Bronsky books by Nance my interest was piqued when I saw Orbit, although the proposed idea gives a somewhat Martian vibe, it is a different setting with different challenges and I can't say I have bothered to see which was written first. Regardless it sounded like an interesting idea, a guy trapped in space with one way communication to earth, typing out his rawest thoughts on a laptop in the spaceship under the idea no one will read them for decades yet a huge portion of the earth is hanging on his every word.

I found it to be quite an enthralling book, the slow unfolding marital troubles, the shifting family dynamics, the idea of a regular everyday guy getting trapped in space after a once in a lifetime competition win goes astray with a space accident. Then the unfolding narrative as he comes to terms with his impending dead 4-5 days away, all the while a huge rescue mission is being organised beneath him completely unbeknownst to him.

The subplot of sabotage within said NASA rescue mission was also well done and dovetailed neatly with the other aspects of the story, all of which lead to quite a climactic ending which resolved the story line very nicely. ( )

This is my first book this year. I picked up the audiobook version. The narrator irritated me by pronouncing "altitude' as "attitude' throughout most of the book. ie... "atltude indicator" became "attitude indicator." But, I'll give the author the benefit of the doubt, as the print book is probably correct. Now we get to the book itself. This is a book about an "average Joe" who finds himself facing his mortality. He gets a chance to spend five days contemplating his life while facing what he thinks is certain death. I found this book compelling, from a perspective that I felt I was in the cockpit of the shuttle with Kip Dawson, feeling as though when he poured out the story of his life, that his story resonated not only with me, but with countless other "average Joes" in the world. This book has risen to one of my new favorites. The author mixes a blend of "Murphy's Law" scenarios, the technical aspects of space flight (which he does superbly), politics, and the deep soul-searching of a man facing death. Superb!

How would things be different, if we knew how things would end? If we knew that the end of our life would require a recounting of our days, to be read by the population of the world, would we live a thoughtful life? If we knew the time, method, and manner of our deaths, would we think before we act? Give mercy instead of contempt? Patience and thoughtfulness instead of intolerance and selfishness? Would we stop on the street to offer a hand to a lonely man? Would so much of our lives be wrapped up in petty angers, in jealousy and rage? Would envy rule our lives, or the tedium of jobs and chores and routine so blind our eye to life?

How would things be different, if we could think clearly, in our true knowledge of the fleeting quality of our lives? Would we war among ourselves, devote ourselves to hating 'the other' for the way they live their lives? For their religion, their beliefs, the colour of their skins? Would we open our eyes to how small we truly are, and how much we need one another, how very alike we really are?

What would it take, to really stop the world, if only for a time? To make us see and understand just how fragile and precious this thing called life really is?

Mr. Nance has written a book that gives you the opportunity to think of all these things and more. To place yourself in the place of the main character, and realize in just how many ways our day-to-day lives are wasted on the petty nuances of life - to wish with him, with all our hearts, that we could have led a fuller, richer, purer life.

I never really thought of Mr. Nance as a sociologist, but rather as a terrific technical writer. I have read his books for the 'techie' aspects. He knows avionics exceptionally well, and writes in a clear and riveting manner about the technical sides, in an edge-of-the-seat manner that often keeps me awake well into the night. But with "Orbit", it is almost as if I never quite saw the depth of Mr. Nance's character, of his clear understanding of the human psyche in times of ultimate stress. He made me wish, very much, that his story could be real - that the world could, if only for a week, forget their envies and their greed, their petty indignities and spite, their deeply ingrained hatreds and misunderstandings. To simply watch, and think.

Of course, sociological and emotional points aside, this is definitely an intelligent thriller, with a level of technical expertise that lives up to Mr. Nance's reputation. The concept is fascinating, and well within the realm of reality as corporations begin to research the feasibility of space travel, both financial and technical. These are interesting times, and Mr. Nance has done an amazing job of allowing us to look to the future with hope rather than despair. ( )