Orphaned Worlds kept my interest long enough to finish it (and the third volume in the series), but the story was lacking in character development, the worldbuilding was a bit incoherent and the battle scenes didn't really hang together very well. I didn't really *care* about any of the characters, it was all just a bit meh. Still, it's nice to find science fiction that I haven't read in the library. That's one of the reasons why libraries are worth keeping open - I don't mind wading my way through mediocre books as one day, a hidden gem will appear making it all worthwhile. "The Orphaned Worlds" is the sequel to "The Seeds of the Earth" of the "Humanity's Fire" series. As such you can expect that it is an in-between book of a trilogy, meaning the story continues where the first one lefts of and orders the story in preparation of the third and final book. For those who've read the first book a while ago, the second book takes it easy on you by giving subtle reintroductions to the characters.However being a book in the middle doesn't mean it needs to be bad. For instance the "The Empire Strikes Back" is a proper sequel of the old Star Wars trilogy. The same can be said for "The Orphaned Worlds". The author, Michael Cobly, continues with his appreciated story telling, meaning he keeps up the pace in his science-fiction opera, doesn't go too far in details, but continues to supply you with story details to enrich the adventure. The story picks up where it left, but new characters are also introduced, while some (sadly) die. No doubt the story continues with the stages of the awakening of the Legion, bio-mechanical hybrids that once ruled the galaxy (think Reapers from Mass Effect). Without spoiling the story any further, there are some very nice portions within the story, where I especially liked the interaction between Robert, the ship "Plausible Response", and an agent of The Construct.All in all a very good read, if you read the first one and liked it, you'll definitely like this one. It's solid read, proceeding the path laid out by the first, some of the plot events were predictable, but not all. However, none were disturbingly "thought so" and the good story telling and the good pace really make up for any minor flaws in the book. If you got stuck in the usual space operas, well, this one is really worth an attempt because of it's pacing.
What do You think about Waisen Des Alls (2000)?
Took a while to get going - the last 2/3 were great
—JJsang
