Orpheus Nine, Chris Flynn
Orpheus Nine, Chris Flynn
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Orpheus Nine

Author: Chris Flynn

Narrator: Eva Seymour

Unabridged: 6 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/26/2025


Synopsis

WINNER OF THE AUREALIS AWARD FOR BEST HORROR NOVEL 2025

An unputdownable supernatural thriller about a mysterious global event, set in an Australian rural town.

It began in every town and city at the same time, in every dark and twisted corner of our world. One third of the earth's citizens were asleep at the time. Their awakening was marked by horror and confusion. Just about everyone else had their routine interrupted as they witnessed the event with eyes wide open. They prayed it was a dream.

In the small, sleepy town of Gattan, population 7448, it happened at eleven o'clock on a Saturday morning. At the local soccer field, only one boy, aged ten years and one week, remained standing as the brothers, sisters and parents of his teammates realised the horror they were witnessing. Their screams split the sky.

One hundred and thirty million died that first day.

Every day since, on the morning of a child's ninth birthday, it happens again. No one knows why. The ongoing horror becomes known as Orpheus Nine and bereft parents cruelly labelled Orpheans. Global leaders have no answers as chaos takes hold. Conspiracy theories and violence spread as scientists wrestle with the ongoing toll and anxious citizens and militant Orpheans try to take matters into their own hands.

In Gattan, the chasm between life before and after grows wider for three old friends, now parents. They struggle with waves of grief at the loss of one child, guilt at one child's survival and anger as another child edges closer to their birthday. No matter the cost, each of the friends attempt to fight the unfathomable in their own way. But the reality is, the clock keeps ticking, the world order is crumbling and the gods are watching ...

From the bestselling author of Mammoth comes a propulsive and spine-chilling thriller that prompts the question: is this the end of days or the start of something new?

'mysterious, comedic, terrifying and unexpectedly moving' ELIZABETH GILBERT

'Chris Flynn is the fifth horseman of the apocalypse. He'll decimate us with his words and we'll thank him for it.' SIANG LU

About Chris Flynn

Born in Belfast, Chris Flynn now lives in a small town in regional Victoria. He is the author of Mammoth, The Glass Kingdom and A Tiger in Eden, the story collection Here Be Leviathans, and three books for children in association with Museums Victoria, Horridus and the Hidden Valley, Horridus and the Night Forest and The Quest for Kool.His work has appeared in Spinning Around: The Kylie Playlist, Griffith Review, Kill Your Darlings, Monster Children, McSweeney's, The Paris Review, Meanjin, The Guardian, The Age, The Australian, The Big Issue, Australian Book Review and many other publications.Chris's books have been shortlisted for and won prizes such as the Indie Book Award, Commonwealth Book Prize, Russell Prize for Humour, Queensland Premier's Literary Award and Aurealis Award. His mum and dad were foster parents. He grew up with more than 100 brothers and sisters, all aged under nine.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ellie (What Ellie Reads) on March 24, 2025

I find myself drawn to speculative fiction more and more in the climate we’re living through. I find it oddly comforting, if not a little dark. Orpheus Nine is one of the most original ideas in this genre that I’ve read in a while. It tackles some pretty big topics around over-population and pandemi......more

Goodreads review by Benjamin on December 17, 2024

Ooft. It starts out with a bang, literally, and then proceeds to blow your mind. Flynn captures the essence of small town rural Australia beautifully, the intricate relationships in a place where everyone knows everyone else's business. A place where friends come together in a flash and fall apart j......more

Goodreads review by Inex on May 06, 2025

This book is the kind that makes me think both while reading and after finishing it. It raises questions such as: Is it better to love than never to have loved at all? How meaningful is life? What gives it meaning? Does it suggest that people will die regardless of how healthily they live? If you kn......more

Goodreads review by Skye on March 16, 2025

When I first heard Chris Flynn talk about the strange yet intriguing premise of this book, I simply had to find out what happened for myself! This book—from start to end—wasn't at all what I expected, and in many ways, that became my favourite part. Set in the small Australian town of Gattan, the sto......more

Goodreads review by Lisa on March 30, 2025

Chris Flynn has written an incredible thriller, but, wonderfully, instead of hauling out some of the thriller tropes - hardened/broken ex-cop/CIA/FBI agent is dragged into a cataclysmic event and manages to save the day, with his girl by his side - Flynn sets this in a small Australian town. The prem......more