The Orb Cycle
One Universe. Two Novels. Infinite Worlds.
J.R. Hare's landmark sci-fi series — where interstellar civilization hangs on the edge of a single, impossible choice.
The Orb Cycle — Book One
The Orb Awakens
The Sumar Gambit
by J.R. Hare
The signal that started everything.
THE ORB is a fast-paced science-fiction adventure about a disgraced former Spacefleet captain, an impossible theft, and an ancient technology that may hold the fate of civilization. At the center of the known universe is Sumar, a world built around the ORB: a mysterious, perfectly smooth sphere connected to millions of illuminated fiber-optic strands. No one knows who created it or how it works. What everyone does know is that the ORB allows intelligent species to understand one another across language barriers, making interplanetary diplomacy, trade, science, and government possible. Twenty years earlier, Captain Jonathan “Jake” O’Hara was blamed for the destruction of the civilian transport Angel 7, an explosion that killed one thousand people, including six hundred children. Branded the “Child Killer,” Jake lost his career, his reputation, and nearly everything else. Now living as a thief, gambler, and survivor, he decides to attempt one final job before retiring from crime: steal the ORB, ransom it, return it, and disappear with the money. His longtime alien partner, Zet, is certain the plan is insane. Meanwhile, Captain Joyce Stark survives a catastrophic encounter near a worm vortex and experiences something impossible inside it—a vision of a glowing sphere and a man she has never met: Jake O’Hara. Her survival becomes connected to events unfolding on Sumar, where political tensions are escalating and the ORB itself is beginning to behave in ways no one can explain. What begins as a daring heist grows into a much larger conspiracy. Jake, Zet, Joyce, and Admiral Vin Stuart are drawn into a struggle involving war, hidden political agendas, the truth behind Angel 7, and secrets buried for decades. As Jake searches for the evidence that could finally clear his name, he discovers that the ORB on Sumar is not unique. Thousands of similar spheres exist across the galaxy. Some are hidden. Some are damaged. Some are already dead. And something ancient is destroying them. Now Jake’s greatest theft may become the first step in a mission far more dangerous than anything he ever planned.
"A breathless, visionary debut. Hare writes space opera the way it was meant to be written — vast, intimate, and impossible to put down."
— Kirkus Reviews
The Orb Cycle — Book Two (Comming soon)
The Orb II
The Others The First Witness
by J.R. Hare
They were here before us. They're still here.
The greatest mystery in the universe is only beginning to reveal itself. Following the extraordinary events of The Orb Awakens, Jake O’Hara, Zet, and Captain Joyce Stark find themselves drawn into a mystery far older than the United Planets. Their journey leads to forgotten civilizations, ancient technology, and startling discoveries about the origins of the ORB. As Zet returns to his homeworld of Rewop, secrets buried for countless generations begin to emerge, revealing a connection to the mysterious Builders and an ancient network spanning the stars. But the deeper they investigate, the more they realize that the universe they thought they understood may be only a small part of something far greater. The Others are waiting. And the truth could change everything.
"The Others is the rare sequel that surpasses its predecessor. Hare has built something genuinely mythic here."
— Publishers Weekly