A review by colossal
Orbital Cloud by Taiyo Fujii
4.0
A techno-thriller with thin but likable characters dealing with hostile action in Earth orbit and an international cast of entrepreneurs, terrorists, government and military.
In Japan in 2020 the proprietor of a small web company dedicated to tracking objects in orbit notices some debris moving very strangely. Across the Pacific, NORAD investigates it as well. Something very strange is going on and as more parties get involved it becomes clear that something is happening in orbit that threatens the whole world.
Wide-reaching, with a cast of characters from Japan, the US, Iran, China and Korea, the book is a hard science espionage thriller with lots of action and politics. There's also a lot of commentary on the state of the aerospace sector, from the careers of engineers in this sector to the roles of JAXA and NASA and how private companies are moving forward into that space and why. Unfortunately all of the commentary and background information (particularly around aerospace and IT) along with a fast-moving plot leaves little space for character. As such, while entertaining and likable, most of the characters here get very little development.
Realistically this is probably a 3.5 star book, but I'm bumping it to 4 because of how much I enjoyed reading it. This is squarely in my wheelhouse of interests so gets a bonus there.
In Japan in 2020 the proprietor of a small web company dedicated to tracking objects in orbit notices some debris moving very strangely. Across the Pacific, NORAD investigates it as well. Something very strange is going on and as more parties get involved it becomes clear that something is happening in orbit that threatens the whole world.
Wide-reaching, with a cast of characters from Japan, the US, Iran, China and Korea, the book is a hard science espionage thriller with lots of action and politics. There's also a lot of commentary on the state of the aerospace sector, from the careers of engineers in this sector to the roles of JAXA and NASA and how private companies are moving forward into that space and why. Unfortunately all of the commentary and background information (particularly around aerospace and IT) along with a fast-moving plot leaves little space for character. As such, while entertaining and likable, most of the characters here get very little development.
Realistically this is probably a 3.5 star book, but I'm bumping it to 4 because of how much I enjoyed reading it. This is squarely in my wheelhouse of interests so gets a bonus there.