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The Orphan Ship Kindle Edition

by Sterling R. Walker (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 283 ratings
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The Orphan Ship by Sterling R. Walker Stranded 225 million kilometers from home on Mars Station, cousins Jake O’Brien and Lorina Murphy are drawn into a fledgling effort to help the hundreds of abandoned street children who call the station home. Jake becomes a medical apprentice in an outreach clinic, while Lorina volunteers at a juvenile shelter. They soon discover that their efforts may be in vain because something much more serious than poverty plagues Mars Station. Also stranded on Mars Station, ship’s captain Danae Shepherd faces the difficult task of hiring replacement crew after an alien virus claims the lives of four in her employ, including her husband. She stumbles upon the same problem that has Jake and Lorina stumped: why are homeless children disappearing without a trace? What reviewers are saying about The Orphan Ship: "Authors have the ability to open a reader's eyes to the situation around them as well as the situations possible in the future. The trick here is captivating the reader to the point that the severity of the situation resonates to the reader. If you don't care enough about a character to begin with, when the big events happen you kinda just shrug your shoulders and say "eh." However, this is not the case with The Orphan Ship. The characters are woven so intricately together with the plot that it is impossible not to care about them, especially when they begin to see past their own concerns in order to benefit the lives around them. I will always be the first to tell you that fantasy or science fiction stories aren't typically my deal. But the humanistic interest in this book made reading worth it. This is a solid read that isn't just fluff. And for those science-fiction buffs, you are guaranteed an enjoying read." - Mari Jensen (Bookrated.com) "The Orphan Ship is Sterling R. Walker's first sci-fi book. Spaceships? Check. Humans living on other planets? Check. Advanced technology? Check. In other words, it has all the elements you'd expect in a sci-fi book. However, it also has something that you may not expect: heart. Walker introduces and develops many wonderful characters that bring this story alive. For example, Danae Shepherd, captain of the spaceship Ishmael, is complex. She struggles between being the rational, take charge captain while at the same time, dealing with a significant loss in her life. And she is only one of several compelling characters in the story. The book can be enjoyed for the surface level story. There is plenty of action, intrigue, and humor for The Orphan Ship to be satisfying. However, it is the deeper look at poverty, greed and inhumane behaviors which give the book weight--especially when Walker skillfully portrays how children are impacted. Did I enjoy the book? Yes. Very much so. It was engaging with enough sci-fi gadgets to bring out the inner tech geek in me. But it was the characters and the story than kept me coming back for more. It's a clean read with no bad language or sex scenes. There is some violence, but it's not graphic and it's needed to fully give the impact this story requires. While it can be read as a stand-alone book, it leaves the door wide open for one, if not more, books--much to my delight." --J. Lloyd Morgan, award-winning author of The Hidden Sun The Orphan Ship was awarded a 2012 silver medal from Children's Literary Classics. It's a great read for ages 12 to adult.
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  1. Reading age
    12 - 18 years
  2. Book 1 of 3
    The Orphan Ship
  3. Print length
    405 pages
  4. Language
    English
  5. Publication date
    May 19, 2013
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Author Sterling R. Walker has been writing since she was old enough tospell, filling notebooks and -- more recently - laptops, with herstories. She earned a BA in English from North Carolina StateUniversity, with an emphasis in Creative Writing. The Orphan Ship is her first published young adult science fiction novel. It's received goodreviews and was awarded a 2012 silver medal from Children's LiteraryClassics.

Walker's exciting sequel to The Orphan Ship, TheLost Sheep, was published in October, 2013. The final book in thetrilogy, The Last Orphan, was published in December, 2014. In February,2016 she released The Orphan Ship Trilogy on Kindle, which combines allthree books into one volume. She is currently working on book one in anew YA SF series.

Sterling R. Walker lives in North Logan,Utah, with her husband of 29 years and four of her six children. Heroldest son is married, and she has one grandson. He attends NC StateUniversity, along with her oldest daughter. Sterling is a Christian(Latter-day Saints), listens to metal and alternative rock music, likesto travel internationally, and is addicted to dark chocolate with seasalt. She is also launching an editing business in fall, 2017, calledSterling Edits. (Website under construction.) Visit her blog atSterlingRWalker.blogspot.com.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00CW60ZPK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rachel L. Walker (May 19, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 19, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2351 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 405 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1484980360
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 283 ratings

About the author

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Sterling R. Walker

Sterling R. Walker

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Author Sterling R. Walker has been writing since she was old enough to spell, filling notebooks and -- more recently - laptops, with her stories. She earned a BA in English from North Carolina State University, with an emphasis in Creative Writing. The Orphan Ship is her first published young adult science fiction novel. It's received good reviews and was awarded a 2012 silver medal from Children's Literary Classics.

Walker's exciting sequel to The Orphan Ship, The Lost Sheep, was published in October, 2013. The final book in the trilogy, The Last Orphan, was published in December, 2014. In February, 2016 she released The Orphan Ship Trilogy on Kindle, which combines all three books into one volume. She released book one in a new YA SF/paranormal romance series called Vesta Exiled in June, 2018, and book two, Vesta Divided, in October, 2019. The third book in the trilogy, Vesta's Survival, was released in February, 2021. She is currently working on book four for The Orphan Ship and a standalone post-apocalyptic book.

Sterling R. Walker lives in North Logan, Utah. Recently divorced, she lives with two of her six adult children. Her oldest son is married, and she has one grandson. Sterling is a Christian (Latter-day Saints), a substitute English teacher in the Cache County (Utah) high schools, likes to travel internationally, sews Harry Potter quilts when she's not writing, and is addicted to dark chocolate with sea salt. She launched a development editing business in fall, 2017, called Sterling Edits. Visit her blog at SterlingRWalker.blogspot.com and her website, http://sterlingrwalker.com/

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
283 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jay
5.0 out of 5 stars Thrilling, with an admirable theme and well-developed characters.
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2023
Verified Purchase
An engaging, drama-filled story. Interplanetary intrigue, heroes and villains, adventure, and moral dilemmas. I like space sci fi, and enjoyed reading it.
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linettalee
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable tale!
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2014
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Quite an easy flow and great characters, that I did get vested in; enough tension and action that I did not want to put it down. Read this in two afternoons. If I were to say, "If you liked ...., then you will like 'The Orphan Ship' ", I would refer to the "Serenity" series or movie because of the relatable crew and the scrapes in which they were always embroiled. Although this is a stand alone book, I am assuming there is a sequel planned in which we will see the directions their lives take. Very well edited.
3 people found this helpful
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elfaliasjoy
5.0 out of 5 stars The Orphan Ship is a delightful surprise
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2014
Verified Purchase
After over fifteen years as an arts reviewer/reporter I have encountered many things that support a good cause but fail artistically. Thankfully Sterling R. Walker 's The Orphan Ship is not one of these. It is with great pleasure that I give it a five-star rating.
The characters are believable- showing a variety of strengths and failings as they deal with greater and greater difficulties that tie them together in a challenging situation. Even as I found myself cheering for some characters, snarling at others and hating a few, I thrilled at their rainbow of possibilities.
Every good story needs heroes and villains, but Walker gives us human beings who make choices. Some choices work out well and others don't. Such is life. We have to follow the story to find which is which.
The setting is believable and interesting. It offers a future that is very possible and a warning. We begin with a devastated Earth where hope seems to be a fantasy. Colleges are shut down so that those who want to help are denied necessary training. Few children are born and most don't survive due to dangerous mutations.
Escape becomes a dangerous dream. One must use deceptions and empowered their families to go to space, where many of the problems on Earth follow those who try. The weaknesses and flaws of humanity are still ready to take advantage of the least guilty and the most helpless.
When a recently widowed spaceship captain discovers an undeniable evil, she gathers her crew and some unexpected strangers to help right this wrong. This leads to an escalating adventure and unexpected love. Let yourself follow their quest and discover unexpected possibilities.

Elf alias Joy Lynn Rosser
ElfsHome@netscape.com
12 people found this helpful
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Donna Hopkins
5.0 out of 5 stars What a wonderful ride this book took me on!
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2021
Verified Purchase
I absolutely loved this book and I had a hard time putting it down and found myself thinking about it often when I wasn't reading it. It was well written and highly entertaining! I loved the characters and felt that they were well developed. I ordered the next two books as I was getting close to finishing this first one and I am now reading the second one and it is amazing too. I highly recommend this author and this series. I also love that this book did not end on a cliffhanger and I read a review of book two that said the reader hadn't read the first book but after finishing book two was going to order it. They also said it did not interfere with the story that they did not have the background from book one. I am choosing to read these in order but it is great to know that I don't have to.
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Riveting
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2018
Verified Purchase
This novel was so interesting and had such a well written plot that allowed me to follow along each chapter with ease. I read it through in one sitting; it kept my interest easily. I am glad I had the chance to read it.
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Kindle Customer Barbara Wall
5.0 out of 5 stars Fast paced Space opera
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2019
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This story moved along quickly and I had a hard time putting it down to go to work. I read it in 2 days. Great premise involving children living in poverty, homeless on Mars and corrupt officials who take children and sell them into slavery. When the plot to drug the children and put them on a "livestock" spaceship comes to light to a ragtag crew of a passenger/cargo spaceship and the small staff of a medical clinic that works with the homeless, things get hairy very fast. This story works because child slavery exists now and probably will in the future. Both the best and the worst of human nature is shown in the characters and is central to this story. It also has a tentative HEA. There are 2 more books in the series so not all the loose ends are wrapped up.
One person found this helpful
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Cheryl Schmittou
3.0 out of 5 stars I actually enjoyed this story very much but was turned off of ...
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2018
Verified Purchase
I actually enjoyed this story very much but was turned off of reading anymore of the series by the author's note at the end. I read to escape every day like and its stresses. I do not want the social injustices around the world to be thrust into my face by an author on their soapbox, I know about them already and do what i can.
8 people found this helpful
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Patricia L. Diehl
5.0 out of 5 stars The Lost Sheep
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2018
Verified Purchase
Set in a future time, The Orphan Ship, is filled with with interesting characters and a fascinating plot. Using the plight of homeless children on Mars Station, which was an instant attention-grabber for me, the difficulties and heartbreak of Captain Shepard and others, and the quirky personality traits of others on board made for a story that held my attention to the end. The characters were developed well as the story progressed; some of the dialog was a little out of character but not enough to knock the book down a star as I really enjoyed it. Appreciated the "clean" romance and humor.
I obtained this book at no charge from The Fussy Librarian.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Pamela Watson
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 27, 2015
Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this book. It is a sci fi story set in a dystopian human future. The story centers around the plight of homeless children as well as the lives of the likeable and quirky main characters. The characters are well developed and the story continues at a good pace. It has quite a bit of action and suspense, I found it quite a page turner. It is book one of a trilogy and I certainly wanted to immediately download the next in the series. It is an exciting read as well as thought provoking and I would definitely recommend it.
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