A novella set aboard an International Space Station, Orbital (2023) by Samantha Harvey is an enthralling ode to the beauty of our Earth. The team of six astronauts is conducting scientific experiments and observing the Earth as they orbit around, sixteen times a day. Besides detailing their daily lives in space, the narrative gives good insight into the four astronauts from America, Britain Italy and Japan, as well as the two Russian cosmonauts. A rich imagery of an International Space Station is revealed, with its daily routine, characters’ life on earth and philosophical reflections. There is also a listing of life events, historical characters and mentions of space exploration history. Although a Sci-Fi tale, this novella graphically captures life in space and the need to care for our planet in a four star read rating. With thanks to Grove Atlantic and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without inducement.

Orbital by Samantha Harvey is a truly lyrical work of stream-of-consciousness fiction. Six astronauts on an orbiting space station are revealed to the reader through their innermost thoughts. Harvey deftly builds tension and suspense by way of more and more intimate thoughts and memories, allowing us to both understand more and also invest more emotionally in the characters and their plight. The descriptions of earth, of space, of their orbit are so beautiful and evocative that I would swear I could hear the music of space as I was reading. An absolutely transcendent read.

I loved this lyrical, intimate novel about six astronauts as they circle the world and watch a catastrophic storm form and make landfall. Its circular form--how could it have anything but?--moves the reader from protagonist to protagonist, learning their habits and passions and dislikes as the world below shifts and changes in small and dramatic ways, all of them profound and compelling. What will remain when they return to earth? What will they desire, shun, dismiss? This single day--sixteen orbits--will leave them all changed.

Orbital by Samantha Harvey is a slender, though profound, novel that uses the tale of six astronauts inside a claustrophobic spacecraft to explore themes like relations, perspectives, points of view, and the temporal and spatial effects that different points of view exert on a viewer.

This book is lyrical and poetic and so beautiful. It's also not like other books. It tells the story of it's six characters (I was going to call them protagonists, but I think that's too strong a word ), their present situation on board the International Space Station (although I don't think it's ever actually named) their pasts, though snippets and memories. It'a deeply intensely personal, but it's also about humanity and out relationship with the earth, why we do what we do. It's about everything and nothing, This would be a great book club book because it is literary, but still really readable and has themes running on so many different levels.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this Advanced Readers Copy of Orbital by Samantha Harvey

Wow. Orbital isn't really like anything I've read, and I don't think I'll stop thinking about this book, maybe...ever. This tiny book (novel somehow doesn't feel like the right word) gives us a glimpse into one day in the lives of six astronauts from five different countries as they live together, circling their collective planet.

A meditation perhaps is the right word for this book. It is a meditation on the fragility and wonder that is life. It is about what it means to inhabit our planet more so than anything about space. There's no plot here, but the language is what made this unputdownable for me. We get a glimpse into what it might be like for the world to be going on below you, lives being given, lives being taken, and how it might feel to be outside of it all yet still part of it. Yes, this sent me into a bit of an existential crisis…

If you read this you’ll think about what it might be like to be a human with a “godly view”. How’s that’s both a blessing and a curse. You’ll think about what new perspectives you might gain by seeing the vastness of it all while still knowing the minutia of it all. This won’t be for everyone, and it wouldn’t have been for me if I read it in the wrong mood. But it hit just right! Thanks to @fictionmatters for the rec and @groveatlantic for the arc. Orbital publishes 12.5!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A stunning and captivating look at our planet from above through the eyes of six astronauts. This is a lyrical, poetic story that captures the beauty of the world in such a remarkable way.

Six astronauts circling earth- completing the circle every 90 minutes- contemplate life and earth in this slim volume. Know that it's not either plot or (surprisingly) character driven but that it's still compulsively readable for all the small details of life in space and for the meditations of the individuals. The language is gorgeous. This wasn't at all what I expected but I'm glad to have read it. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of literary fiction.

This novel focuses on a day in the life of 6 astronauts and cosmonauts who serve aboard a space station. Beautifully written, but a book with absolutely no plot whatsoever. So, if that’s your jam, grab this one. But, if a propelling is what you seek, look elsewhere.

Orbital is a relatively short book that explores a day (and sixteen orbits) in the life of six fictional astronauts aboard the International Space Station. It tends to lean heavy on looking down at the earth, where human drawn boundaries are invisible, and the presence of humans themselves aren’t noticeable in the daylight. This is a powerful thing to observe, but is something where a picture (and in this case, the real perspective) is worth a thousand words. It’s like hearing the Grand Canyon described, versus seeing an image of it, versus standing there in person and viewing the enormity and complexity of it in person. The parts where this story shone for me was exploring how the astronauts felt, how they could miss home so much, and yet feel like they never wanted to leave. How they could ache for their loved ones and at the same time feel the people with them in orbit were a family too, and the only ones who were relatable because of their shared experience. How things could feel routine and mundane and suddenly be interrupted by a moment of awe that shifts their perspective. Harvey steps out of bounds of reality by having a super tycoon form and make landfall, and a launch of four other astronauts to the moon happen in the same day. The likelihood of two events this significant on the same day are low, but allow the reader to explore the emotions of the astronauts as they feel the helplessness of watching a place or people they know experience a natural disaster, along with the envy of their colleagues that are journeying to somewhere they all aspire to but don’t know if they’ll have the personal opportunity to experience. As a space geek and follower of things happening on the ISS, it was enjoyable to read this and imagine the experiences and emotions an inhabitant of the station might experience. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Samantha Harvey’s new novel Orbital is an extended love letter to the Earth. It charts the sixteen orbits of the international space station over the course of one station day. In doing so Harvey explores the lives of the six astronauts on board and the things they see and experience as they progress around the globe. There is very little in the way of plot or conflict or personal movement in Orbital. Instead Harvey presents a prose poem - a meditation on life, its tenacity and its fragility.
The primary narrative arc of Orbital is set around the sixteen orbits of the space station around the Earth. Through the novel, the craft, and in turn the narrative, passes over every country, some at night and some during the day. An overarching story is the track of a giant typhoon making its way across the Pacific that the crew are recording as they pass over. A key aspect of this eye view of the world is the continual reflection of the unity of the Earth. But also coming to the realisation that everything that they see is somehow shaped by these political and very human forces:
This consideration is epitomised by the tracking of the typhoon, a mega storm driven by warming oceans and possessing a greater destructive force due to rising sea levels. Harvey takes readers down into the storm through the eyes of a Filipino fishing family who have a connection with one of the astronauts. This provides a dual view of the event – the majestic space station eye view and the chaotic ground level struggle for survival.
The other main thread of this narrative is the lives of the six multinational crew members – two Russian cosmonauts and four from America, Japan, Britain and Italy - ”sailors on a ship on a deep, dark unswimmable sea”. Early on Harvey observes that the crew are not sticking to the ground-control enforced Russians v the Rest edict but rather work together as a single unit. And the narrative often slips between their individual thoughts, their histories and their work as if they are a single being.
A third, more minor aspect of the narrative but one that drives a reflection of the craft’s inhabitants is the launch of a new manned lunar mission and a reflection of the Voyager missions. This brings in larger considerations of humanity’s place in the universe but also the future of space exploration. As the lunar mission passes them, the astronauts on the space station see that their time is coming to an end. They see the potential of lunar colonies and later colonies on Mars. All this builds to a reflection of the life of the universe told as if it was a single year from the big bang through to the rise of man in the final few seconds of New Year’s Eve and then a contemplation of what comes next.
In the end, Orbital is a book to sink into. The richness of the language, the startling nature of the imagery, a contemplation of nature, and an insight into lives that only a handful of people ever get to live. The narrative runs on the orbital track of the space station, constantly providing new views and new reflections of different parts of the planet. In doing so it gives readers a new way of looking at the world and at our place on it and a way of thinking about our impact on the environment. But Harvey also provides plenty optimism for the future, chronicling a day in the life of an indomitable planet and reflecting on the human spirit of inquisitiveness and cooperation.

<i>Orbital</i> is about six astronauts (one each from the US, England, Italy, and Japan, and two from Russia) orbiting around Earth for six months. The book is short and broken into 16 sections, each to represent the 16 times the ship orbits the Earth each day.

At its core, this book is a love letter to Earth. Most of the book is spent describing Earth's beauty and its magnificence as a planet/object/being/rock drifting through space. Harvey definitely has a way with words. Overall, the excellent sentence phrasing produced such vivid imagery that I was hooked for the entire book.

However, there is also barely a plot. I thought I saw one at some point, but then it wasn't touched on again as the ship continued to drift past another continent. A plot would have made this book have a structure, which would have been great.

I think that <i>Orbital</i> for a very niche type of reader - the reader who wants a literary fiction book with philosophy and a touch of science fiction.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

Major thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts:

"𝘐𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘰."

If Terrence Malick did 2001: 𝘈 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘖𝘥𝘺𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘺, without the running time.

In this meditative sci-fi slowburn, we look at life from a distance. How precious it is. If anything, this very much feels like a pandemic book, except the self is so far removed from the here. Harvey wanted out for her characters, and she chose to fling them far into space, musing on life on earth. Though futuristic, there is no future. Rather the story and sentiments are amberized in communication between the past and the present.

"𝘕𝘰 𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦-𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦; 𝘯𝘰, 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘺, 𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤. 𝘈 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵-𝘚𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺."

Though there is no future, Harvey explores hope in the beauty of the world and how we leave it behind.

Hope in beauty. Is that how I've lived? Moved through the days? Does it help? What else helps? Who knows?

Who knows in this meat suit crunching through hours on a floating rock.

Who knows.

While I agree with some other reviewers on some of their comments about Orbital, I actually loved the wild mix of genres and writing styles throughout this novel. It kept me on my toes and paying attention. The story was unique and I found myself excited to get back to it whenever I had to put it down. We will be purchasing for our library.

Reminiscent of Virginia Woolf’s spiraling style, Orbital is the no plot, all vibes science fiction novella I didn’t know I needed. This quiet yet expansive novel is filled with gorgeous reflections on the plight of our planet and revelatory observations about humanity. I included this title in my fall reading guide.

This short novel follows one day, 16 orbits, in the life of six astronauts living in the International Space Station. They contemplate life, Earth, space and humanity while existing in perpetual motion. I think that if you go into this book expecting it to go quickly, as it is under 200 pages, than you will not get much from it. This cannot be read fast, but needs to be read in short spurts to be completely enjoyed. The writing is beautiful and some of the statements are incredibly profound. This is a book that I will be thinking about for a while. I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

“Orbital” is a thoughtful and thought provoking examination of one brief moment in time. Nominally focusing on one day aboard the International Space Station shortly before its importance is eclipsed by a new moon landing, this book portrays the lives and thoughts of six crew members as they go about their daily, often mundane, tasks while passively observing the earth and the threats it is facing from a massive storm in the Pacific and ongoing environmental degradation. The narrative effortlessly drifts from the minuscule to the massive and back juxtaposing themes of deep time and the colossal expanses of the universe against the seemingly trivial events of one day. Sometimes sad, often hopeful and always poignant this book reads as a love letter to earth and its inhabitants from on high.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Grove Atlantic, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I bailed early on this book. I saw no signs of a plot. I saw no information about the characters. There was no character interaction at all. There weren’t even coherent sentences. It looked like random pieces of thoughts; not even a full potion of said thought. I reread sentences but couldn’t understand what it meant. Honestly, it looks like someone threw a bunch of words at the wall and called it a book.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you are looking for a sci-fi novella featuring a stream of consciousness narrative from astronauts exploring space, then this book is for you. "Orbital" follows six astronauts and cosmonauts as they orbit around Earth during a 24-hour period. Sharing their feelings and observations, we catch a small glimpse of the wonder and isolation that astronauts experience while in space.

"Orbital" is not a novel in the traditional sense: there isn't much plot, character development or arc, or even conflict. It is still worth the read if you are interested in books that simply allow you to catch a glimpse into how other people live. We came, we saw, and now we will go somewhere else while these space explorers carry on with their business as though we were never there.

This book is a great slump buster, as it requires very little from the reader other than to just be present.

This review is possible thanks to NetGalley who provided the digital arc so that I could provide an honest review.