Orbital
Orbital by Samantha Harveyby Samantha Harvey
Shares rank 31 of 122 novels by recommenders
A reader calls it one of the few books they would recommend without qualification. Its slow surface hides a lot going on underneath.
A reader calls it one of the few books they would recommend without qualification. Its slow surface hides a lot going on underneath.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
Other novels people recommend
The four most recommended other novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 39 | 9 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 28 | 8 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Infinite Jestby David Foster Wallace | 26 | 5 | 84% | 9 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald | 24 | 9 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Orbitalby Samantha HarveyThis page | 6 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The control story is much better than a chat.”
“building into Orbital(my own project)”
“Everything is transparent. Everything, from input to output, is on your machine.”
“I was already quite a fan of Orbital when I saw Hackers for the first time.”
“That whole OST is incredible, I still pull orbital and prodigy into my current work playlists.”
“a book were not much happens, but a lot goes on below the surface”
“these are the only books I read this year that I would recommend without qualification”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.