Review: Orion by Aaron Frale

Blurb:

Orion is dead… again.

Whether death comes from a stab wound, a bullet to the brain, or just plain dumb luck, he always comes back.

He is glad to have the opportunity because a princess in each life seems to be in trouble. Whether she's a nurse in the Vietnam War or medieval English royalty…

…Orion is determined to win her over.

Review:

Orion is a fresh take on a cool premise that's mystery plagues the back of your mind as Orion’s myriad of Groundhog Day style time loops of not-so-glorious deaths will reveal as he tries desperately to change their courses. With intriguing characters that remind me of a D&D game in a well laid out book, I recommend it to anyone looking for a lowkey story with a fun twist, plenty of action and an unraveling plot that takes you right to the end. 

The only constant in Orion’s lives is Stabby and the beautiful blonde he can never quite reach. But as he navigates the multitudes of lives lived over and over, all his efforts to change his fate fall flat. His only solace is in conversations with the less than helpful man trying to kill him at the end of every pass, and the woman he feels called to. Writing a review for this book without spoilers is going to be a feat, but here’s to trying. I thought this was a great story. Though the pace we start with took me a bit to get used to, the story quickly unravels into a clever web of questions that all came together to a fun finale. In the end I had a pretty good idea of the outcome but I still had a good time with the way Aaron worked it all out and brought us full circle.

“I shudder to think of what drivel that version of myself would say if he had access to my twitter account.”

The world building was bonkers in the best way, though I did struggle with a few things. The time loops, though multiple others were mentioned, primarily revolve around ancient Rome, an Arthurian England, and Vietnam (with a fourth life that strengthened its sci-fi promises later revealed). The range of locations, time periods, and struggles were pretty cool, and the added mentions of other lives and scenarios rounded out the plot further and deepened the interest. I loved that we got to have a wide range of combat scenarios, action and peril as Orion explored his recurring worlds, with the constant nagging of something being very very off. Unfortunately that feeling was compounded by some of the believability of the settings, making it a little heavy handed at times. I felt like everything was a bit too cliche and not in an outright intentional way. Though I suppose it does fit the overall conclusions of the story, instead of making me question the character’s experience it pulled me out of the book a few times. It didn’t hurt too badly though, as the banter flowed and characters developed.

“By the time I got to 2.353, my nobleman character had a phony accent and an elaborate backstory about traveling the high seas in search of the lost spice of Arrakis.”

Those quirks weren't a deal breaker and I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that though we were repeating things time and time again, the story didn’t feel dragged out, but kept a nice brisk stroll through Orion’s thought process as he’s faced with his circumstances. And I think that was one of the strongest parts about this book… The characters were pretty fantastic. With helicopter crashes, jousting competitions, ancient wars and active combat, they navigate their fates deftly, learning as they go. Though the princess feels as flat as a pancake at times, that’s kind of the point. But Orion, and oftentimes Stabby, are interesting and relatable. With a casualness only immortality can bring, his calm that juxtaposed the extreme scenarios he faced was really well done. 

Which brings me to Frale’s writing. This story was entertaining, the rationale relatable and it had me turning the pages. I think the pace could have used a little help in the beginning of the book, but I did really love it's structure and the narration of the MC looking back and making his own comments was brilliant. 

“I’d rather live one life well than a mediocre existence many times.”

So if you want a chill sci-fi with an RPG feel with enjoyable characters in pretty cool scenarios, try this book on for size. I don't think you'll be too disappointed.