ORION: Heavenfall

ORION was formed to protect the world, but when an improbable siege becomes a conspiracy with ties to the stars, it may not survive the night…and neither may humanity's trust in them.Decades after an alien refugee's arrival gave rise to superpowered beings (parahumans), ORION—the Orbital Reconnaissance and Interceding Operations Nest—humanity's orbiting crisis response organization, faces its darkest hour as the world's protector.When religious extremists calling themselves "e;The Sworn"e; seize The Bastion, the Western Hemisphere's most advanced research center, ORION's elite tactical team deploys to break the siege and rescue the hostages. But the mission goes sideways—fast.Cynder, the team's smoldering leader, is haunted by his missing brother and discovers the terrorists have ties to his own family that threaten to unravel everything he believes about his brother's legacy and his own place in ORION. Strident, his lover and ambitious second-in-command, fights to hold the team together while suppressing her growing conviction that she should be leading it. And Rapid, the youngest member of the squad, is desperate to prove she belongs, even as the mission demands more than she's ever been tested for.As the siege unfolds, nothing is what it seems. The Sworn's attack is not random zealotry but a calculated move in a larger game. Behind the crisis, a vengeful shadow faction hunts for a top-secret ORION project—one connected to the catastrophic event that changed the world twenty years ago and deep ties to the very reason parahumans exist. The conspiracy reaches into the highest levels of power, and the team begins to realize the enemies inside The Bastion may be less dangerous than the ones already inside ORION.With enemies closing in from every direction, the United Nations poised to destroy ORION's orbital headquarters, and the team fracturing under the weight of ego, grief, and dark secrets, ORION's heroes must decide what they're willing to sacrifice to survive. But even if they win the battle, they may have already lost humanity's trust in them.And in the darkness of space, something alien looms…with Earth now square in its sights.---For readers of James S.A. Corey's The Expanse and George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards, and fans of Watchmen, the X-Men, and Mass Effect.ORION: Heavenfall is a story of grief, vengeance, ambition, and institutional betrayal - where found family is forged under impossible pressure and no one emerges unchanged. A blockbuster sci-fi debut for readers who want their superpowered science fiction to hit as hard emotionally as it does cinematically. A 524-page cinematic sci-fi epic with a large ensemble cast, superpowered military action, political intrigue, space opera feel, and a universe that rewards the reader who pays attention.WINNER: Cygnus Sci-Fi Award (First Place) (Chanticleer International Book Awards), PenMasters Global Book Award for Genre Fiction, Firebird Book Awards for Cross-Genre Fiction.