The Orbital Review
The Orbital Review is a literary journal under Orbital Press that delves into a wide range of topics. Featuring insightful book reviews by D.J. Hoskins, the journal also includes chess analyses, personal essays, reflective pieces, and poems, offering readers a thoughtful blend of literary critique and creative exploration.
Essays
Poetry
Chess
Short Stories
Book Samples
Photography
Videos
Past to Present
I wonder, ponder, think back
at the girl I was; so frail
and fragile -
Soul Searching
Who are we in this world
Where are we going
And what lives do we live
Bastion - Chapter 3
Peeking around a corner, Amma held her shredder at port arms. A short rifle, it was twice the length of a conventional handgun. Pulling back the bolt, she took a quick look inside the ejection port.
A long black needle rested there. Powered by magnetic propulsion, the anti-material spike was built to penetrate armor. Pushing through before fragmenting into an adversaries body.
AC-130 Gunship: Iraq
Shifting right, then shifting left, the chains slapped metal. Crashing the cabin as the giant crates held firm. A hum from hell filled the cabin as the pilots threw the plane into a nosedive.
Infinite Sea: Imagination, Isolation, and Writing
Holding my breath, I dive. Hitting the water, I do not swim, but sink. Down, down into the chasm of thought. Reds and pinks, violets and golds form, giving birth to a realm within. Colors shifting, worlds are born, characters are torn, pulled apart by the treachery of their environments.
A Writer’s Duty
A writer’s only concern is the search for truth.
Mandated Entrapment
And I can feel it,
The sudden mandate approaching
the routing aisle
The roadblock in the way
A Writers Fate
As a writer, it is imperative to understand that you do not write for the current day but for the days beyond your years. Through the might of the pen, writers hold a singular ability. The power to immortalize others.
Playing Pretend In Class
I can't stand school, but it's forced upon me.
The infantilism, stupid group projects, annoying little kids…
I'm too old for this shit. Too old to mold, too old to fool into believing strange things.
Old Dog Inside
My teeth are worn, some are broken. The jaw mangled from tearing flesh and chopping meat.
The organs are old, but still working, Hearts still pumping, pushing the blood, flowing the mud beneath my skin.
Feminine Petals… A Poem Of Womanhood And Age
Women drift like flower petals
Twirling and spinning onto the next
The next lover
The next trick
The next outfit
Attuned Words… A Poem Of Writing And Imagination
i am attuned in my heart
with the word and words
Literary Posers
Thick books and snide looks. They hold an air, a sensibility, a snobbery.
Shakespeare, Van Gogh… they'll never know; they'll never have it, never know their pain.
Autumn Rain… A Poem Of Cold Fall
Leaves fall and twirl
spinning like life fallen,
into death.
Flourished Gold… A Poem Of Birth And Adversity
I didn’t ask to be born into this world
I was forced into it
Like a seed planted
Watered and blessed with sunlight to sprout
Frostbit Wanderers… A Poem Of Feeling Lost
we who were lost
we who were abandoned
lost in the cold, stumbling about in the snow
without friend or guide to find you
A Warning To Tiger Parents
Go ahead, scream and shout. Let it all out… I don't care.
She Made Me Feel…
I hated how she made me feel. That hair, that touch, that lust… her unrelenting fire, persistence, passion…
How could I forget; I cannot… and that's the problem.
I refused to give, to trip… to fall in love with her.
Moment Of Sparkles… A Poem Of Warmth And Long Days
You know that moment
at end of day
when breaths pass lightly from you
such is like the warm breeze of summer day
All Writers Hate Each Other, Chess Players Have Tolerance
It’s an open secret that writers hate each other. We nitpick, critique, judge, and sometimes quietly shit talk one another. All of this is done with class of course. Nasty little slights, strained smiles, subtle queues through body language, and perhaps in private… the occasional eye roll.