The Orion Conspiracy

Rating:
Summary: Interesting premise but preposterous end
Review: Hypnotized by the prospect of a group of men aboard a tramp freighter with murder and mayhem on board, I bought a copy of The Orion Conspiracy. However, the amateurish writing, overheated descriptions, and lack of realistic dialog quickly wore me down. There is an inexplicable lack of proofreading with an embarassing display of many misspelled words and missing punctuation, (although this is the trend in the industry these days). Then in the middle of the novel, the author commits the mortal sin of mortal sins: he has his protagonist see something which devastates him, but hides what it is from the reader until the end of the book. If an author is inside the head of his protagonist, it is a terrible mistake to hide things from the reader. Infuriating the reader is the result. The time period is tough to pin down. The characters talk a lot about "the war" which connotes WWII, but also talk about GPS navigation and the Gulf War. One character is a WWII veteran which would make him about mid 70s with a 55 year career! After a long tedious buildup with a tremendous amount of complaining from the crew about the condition of their ship, the climax comes quickly and what a disappointment it is! Edwards obviously was never in the U.S. Navy and his writing shows it. The CNO, head of the Navy, would never risk the lives of dozens of sailors for ... Well, I'm not supposed to say. The mission could have been done any number of more intriguing ways and more realistically besides.

Rating:
Summary: Adventure at sea
Review: I have just finished reading The Orion Conspiracy and my only criticism is that it was too short. As a retired Master Chief Quartermaster in the Navy I was captured by the story and impressed by the author's knowledge of the old Liberty ships. Like the crew aboard the Orion I was once aboard an attack transport on a classified cruise. We were all kept in the dark and never did learn what cargo was in the holds. We didn't have a fire but we did tangle with a rough Pacific storm much like the one that nearly sank the Orion. Readers who were in the Navy will appreciate the author's attention to accuracy regarding shipboard protocol and procedures. Anyone who enjoys a fascinating mystery about secret missions will enjoy this book.