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“Orbit ”

written by Harriet Klausner on 31/12/2005

Orbit

John J. Nance

Simon & Schuster, March 2006, $25.00, 278 pp

ISBN 0743250524



In 2009, after winning a contest, Kip Dawson wins a free seat on an American Space Adventures Spacecraft. He is ecstatic, but his wife left him and took the kids with her to her powerful father's mansion in Texas. Five passengers were slated to be on board the flight, but due to varying reasons, only Kip and the pilot make the voyage.



Kip is enchanted by the view of Earth from space, but a micrometeorite hits the ship killing the pilot before the shell works to close off the hole. Kip expects to die up there, because there is no communications from Earth to the ship. The various world space agencies know someone is alive because someone is manually moving the ship, but Kip can't get the rocket thrusters to work. To pass the time he writes a diary of his life on the hard drive of his computer, not knowing that every word he writes is read by the people on Earth. This work makes a profound impact on the people of Earth, as billions listen to the thoughts of an everyman who has them rethinking their priorities about what is important in life, even as he rays this is not his epitaph.



Kip's ordeal changes him, and makes him realize he has to make some changes in his life if he survives his ordeal. He becomes a man hailed as a hero by billions of people on Earth, who expect him to die with grace and courage. Kip Dawson becomes an unforgettable character, one that won't be forgotten anytime soon. John J. Nance always writes an exciting thriller and ORBIT is no exception, but this time he humanizes the character and lays his soul bare through his writings on the computer. Kip is special because he doesn't expect to survive, yet refuses to give in to despair.