Tracing The Stars

While the first Orbs book was about survival, the theme running through Orbs II: Stranded is 'desperation'. The odds are stacked high against the human race and the survivors at Cheyenne Mountain. In fact, one has to question if the human race has any hope of survival at all. The 'Organics' aliens continue to rob Earth of all its water and kill any living thing they can find. Their numbers seem endless, while the number of humans remaining alive continues to dwindle. In the face of such odds against survival, many characters are led to desperate acts and last-resort choices.

The book picks up where the first one left off, with Sophie and her team at the Cheyenne Mountain biosphere, trying to survive and trying to understand exactly what the aliens are. New teams and perspectives are added into the mix, including a lone survivor from another biosphere and an undersea vessel that seems to be the last remaining bastion for the U.S. government and its armed forces. Stories weave in and out, peppered with both personal and alien conflicts.

There is a great deal of military-style action mixed with scientific ingenuity, for those who like sci-fi adventures. There's also a bit of horror, with these aliens seeming to act without conscious or remorse. There is a touch of romance, which offers hope and a reprieve from all the violence, and there is some mystery involving Sophie and her continued dreams about the aliens. It is a well-rounded science fiction thriller, and I am very much looking forward to book 3.

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy by the publisher in request for honest feedback