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The Grand Tour #15
Titan
Hugo Award-winning editor, author, scientist, and journalist, Ben Bova is a modern master of near-future science fiction and a passionate advocate of manned space exploration.Ìý For more than a decade, Bova has been chronicling humanity's struggles to colonize our solar system in a series of interconnected novels known as "The Grand Tour."
Ìý
Now, with Titan, Ben Bova takes readers to one of the most intriguing destinations in near space: the extraordinary moon of Saturn which made international headlines last year when the Huygens probe sent back remarkable images of its strange landscapes.
Ìý
2095. After long months of travel, the gigantic colony ship Goddard has at last made orbit around Saturn, carrying a population of more than of 10,000 dissidents, rebels, extremists, and visionaries seeking a new life. Among Goddard's missions is the study of Titan, which offers the tantalizing possibility that life may exist amid its windswept islands and chill black seas.
Ìý
When the exploration vessel Titan Alpha mysteriously fails after reaching the moon's surface, long buried tensions surface among the colonists. Eduoard Urbain, the mission's chief scientist, is wracked with anxiety and despair as he sees his life's work unravel. Malcolm Eberly, Goddard's chief administrator, takes ruthless measures to hold onto power as a rash of suspicious incidents threaten to undermine his authority. Holly Lane, the colony's human-resources director, must confront the station's powerful leaders to protect the lives of its people. And retired astronaut Manuel Gaeta is forced to risk his life in a last, desperate attempt to salvage the lost probe.
Ìý
Torn by intrigue, sabotage, and an awesome discovery that could threaten human space exploration, a handful of courageous men and women must fight for the survival of their colony, and for the destiny of the human race.
Ìý
Now, with Titan, Ben Bova takes readers to one of the most intriguing destinations in near space: the extraordinary moon of Saturn which made international headlines last year when the Huygens probe sent back remarkable images of its strange landscapes.
Ìý
2095. After long months of travel, the gigantic colony ship Goddard has at last made orbit around Saturn, carrying a population of more than of 10,000 dissidents, rebels, extremists, and visionaries seeking a new life. Among Goddard's missions is the study of Titan, which offers the tantalizing possibility that life may exist amid its windswept islands and chill black seas.
Ìý
When the exploration vessel Titan Alpha mysteriously fails after reaching the moon's surface, long buried tensions surface among the colonists. Eduoard Urbain, the mission's chief scientist, is wracked with anxiety and despair as he sees his life's work unravel. Malcolm Eberly, Goddard's chief administrator, takes ruthless measures to hold onto power as a rash of suspicious incidents threaten to undermine his authority. Holly Lane, the colony's human-resources director, must confront the station's powerful leaders to protect the lives of its people. And retired astronaut Manuel Gaeta is forced to risk his life in a last, desperate attempt to salvage the lost probe.
Ìý
Torn by intrigue, sabotage, and an awesome discovery that could threaten human space exploration, a handful of courageous men and women must fight for the survival of their colony, and for the destiny of the human race.
418 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
32 people are currently reading
928 people want to read
About the author
Ben Bova
691Ìýbooks1,008ÌýfollowersBen Bova was born on November 8, 1932 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1953, while attending Temple University, he married Rosa Cucinotta, they had a son and a daughter. He would later divorce Rosa in 1974. In that same year he married Barbara Berson Rose.
Bova was an avid fencer and organized Avco Everett's fencing club. He was an environmentalist, but rejected Luddism.
Bova was a technical writer for Project Vanguard and later for Avco Everett in the 1960s when they did research in lasers and fluid dynamics. It was there that he met Arthur R. Kantrowitz later of the Foresight Institute.
In 1971 he became editor of Analog Science Fiction after John W. Campbell's death. After leaving Analog, he went on to edit Omni during 1978-1982.
In 1974 he wrote the screenplay for an episode of the children's science fiction television series Land of the Lost entitled "The Search".
Bova was the science advisor for the failed television series The Starlost, leaving in disgust after the airing of the first episode. His novel The Starcrossed was loosely based on his experiences and featured a thinly veiled characterization of his friend and colleague Harlan Ellison. He dedicated the novel to "Cordwainer Bird", the pen name Harlan Ellison uses when he does not want to be associated with a television or film project.
Bova was the President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past President of Science-fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
Bova went back to school in the 1980s, earning an M.A. in communications in 1987 and a Ph.D. in 1996.
Bova has drawn on these meetings and experiences to create fact and fiction writings rich with references to spaceflight, lasers, artificial hearts, nanotechnology, environmentalism, fencing and martial arts, photography and artists.
Bova was the author of over a hundred and fifteen books, non-fiction as well as science fiction. In 2000, he was the Author Guest of Honor at the 58th World Science Fiction Convention (Chicon 2000).
Hollywood has started to take an interest in Bova's works once again, in addition to his wealth of knowledge about science and what the future may look like. In 2007, he was hired as a consultant by both Stuber/Parent Productions to provide insight into what the world is to look like in the near future for their upcoming film "Repossession Mambo" (released as "Repo Men") starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker and by Silver Pictures in which he provided consulting services on the feature adaptation of Richard Morgan's "Altered Carbon".
Bova was an avid fencer and organized Avco Everett's fencing club. He was an environmentalist, but rejected Luddism.
Bova was a technical writer for Project Vanguard and later for Avco Everett in the 1960s when they did research in lasers and fluid dynamics. It was there that he met Arthur R. Kantrowitz later of the Foresight Institute.
In 1971 he became editor of Analog Science Fiction after John W. Campbell's death. After leaving Analog, he went on to edit Omni during 1978-1982.
In 1974 he wrote the screenplay for an episode of the children's science fiction television series Land of the Lost entitled "The Search".
Bova was the science advisor for the failed television series The Starlost, leaving in disgust after the airing of the first episode. His novel The Starcrossed was loosely based on his experiences and featured a thinly veiled characterization of his friend and colleague Harlan Ellison. He dedicated the novel to "Cordwainer Bird", the pen name Harlan Ellison uses when he does not want to be associated with a television or film project.
Bova was the President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past President of Science-fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
Bova went back to school in the 1980s, earning an M.A. in communications in 1987 and a Ph.D. in 1996.
Bova has drawn on these meetings and experiences to create fact and fiction writings rich with references to spaceflight, lasers, artificial hearts, nanotechnology, environmentalism, fencing and martial arts, photography and artists.
Bova was the author of over a hundred and fifteen books, non-fiction as well as science fiction. In 2000, he was the Author Guest of Honor at the 58th World Science Fiction Convention (Chicon 2000).
Hollywood has started to take an interest in Bova's works once again, in addition to his wealth of knowledge about science and what the future may look like. In 2007, he was hired as a consultant by both Stuber/Parent Productions to provide insight into what the world is to look like in the near future for their upcoming film "Repossession Mambo" (released as "Repo Men") starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker and by Silver Pictures in which he provided consulting services on the feature adaptation of Richard Morgan's "Altered Carbon".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
March 11, 2023
Modern science fiction the way it OUGHT to be!
In Earth's past, Australia was effectively a prison colony, a place for transportation of convicted felons to get them out of sight and out of mind, a place where misfits, recluses and hard-nosed independents could live or die on the strength of their own efforts, a place to which people with intractable problems could run away and start over. In Earth's future, Ben Bova has imagined a distant space habitat orbiting above the surface of Saturn's icy moon, Titan, which has much the same demographic - a ragtag motley crew of misfits and dissidents, sick and tired of a ham-fisted dictatorial theocratic government on earth, willing to pull up stakes and courageously start over in a bleak environment where the future is a blank slate waiting to be written.
Long-time fans of Bova's GRAND TOUR OF THE UNIVERSE series may remember the weakness in MERCURY, a rock-em, sock-em screenplay that was little more than a soap opera force fit into the environment of Mercury that gave scant attention to the science part of science fiction. TITAN is the polar opposite, thankfully returning the theme of a tour of the solar system to center stage.
The complex, almost insurmountable engineering difficulties of managing a space-faring habitat such as the Goddard - shielding, food, insulation, waste and communication - are all examined in detail. The extreme hazards of navigation through Saturn's rings and landing on the surface of Titan are described with breathtaking foresight. Both the hardware and the software involved in a robotic surface rover, the Titan Alpha, are described with painstaking attention to the minutiae of problems that such a vehicle would be likely to encounter in its scientific explorations and data gathering mission.
But Bova hasn't neglected to examine the softer philosophical people issues of such an environment either. Just as with any revolutionary group that breaks away from their beginnings, the inhabitants of space habitat Goddard deal with issues of governance, democracy and the creation of a new constitution that is appropriate to their needs and their unique circumstances. Of course, they must perforce continue to deal as best they can with a continuing relationship with their progenitors, the governments that remain behind on the earth and the moon. On a more micro-level, Titan deals realistically with the day to day squabbles that would inevitably arise between differing groups in the habitat - men vs women, scientists vs engineers, governments vs citizens, the doers vs the grunts that are along for the ride, and so on.
One of the most interesting soft people issues that Bova injected into the story was the controversy surround a policy of "zero population growth". Clearly, Goddard's ability to handle a population has a distinct maximum determined by limited resources such as space, food, oxygen, waste turnover and so on. The conflict between the necessity for a ZPG policy and the natural drives of humans to procreate makes for some interesting philosophical discussion and debate.
Last but not least, there is that positively brilliant ending (Is it possible to smile and be slack-jawed with amazement at the same time?) Anyone who reads and enjoys both science and science fiction knows that the reality of the universe is far more complex and bizarre than any mere science fiction writer could possibly create. But Bova has done his best to hypothesize a future for mankind beyond imagining when a discovery is made in Saturn's rings that dwarfs the speculations of the best scientists that Goddard has to offer.
Truly, TITAN is modern science fiction written the way the science fiction should be - hard, soft, exciting, cutting edge and thought provoking. Well done, Ben Bova.
Paul Weiss
In Earth's past, Australia was effectively a prison colony, a place for transportation of convicted felons to get them out of sight and out of mind, a place where misfits, recluses and hard-nosed independents could live or die on the strength of their own efforts, a place to which people with intractable problems could run away and start over. In Earth's future, Ben Bova has imagined a distant space habitat orbiting above the surface of Saturn's icy moon, Titan, which has much the same demographic - a ragtag motley crew of misfits and dissidents, sick and tired of a ham-fisted dictatorial theocratic government on earth, willing to pull up stakes and courageously start over in a bleak environment where the future is a blank slate waiting to be written.
Long-time fans of Bova's GRAND TOUR OF THE UNIVERSE series may remember the weakness in MERCURY, a rock-em, sock-em screenplay that was little more than a soap opera force fit into the environment of Mercury that gave scant attention to the science part of science fiction. TITAN is the polar opposite, thankfully returning the theme of a tour of the solar system to center stage.
The complex, almost insurmountable engineering difficulties of managing a space-faring habitat such as the Goddard - shielding, food, insulation, waste and communication - are all examined in detail. The extreme hazards of navigation through Saturn's rings and landing on the surface of Titan are described with breathtaking foresight. Both the hardware and the software involved in a robotic surface rover, the Titan Alpha, are described with painstaking attention to the minutiae of problems that such a vehicle would be likely to encounter in its scientific explorations and data gathering mission.
But Bova hasn't neglected to examine the softer philosophical people issues of such an environment either. Just as with any revolutionary group that breaks away from their beginnings, the inhabitants of space habitat Goddard deal with issues of governance, democracy and the creation of a new constitution that is appropriate to their needs and their unique circumstances. Of course, they must perforce continue to deal as best they can with a continuing relationship with their progenitors, the governments that remain behind on the earth and the moon. On a more micro-level, Titan deals realistically with the day to day squabbles that would inevitably arise between differing groups in the habitat - men vs women, scientists vs engineers, governments vs citizens, the doers vs the grunts that are along for the ride, and so on.
One of the most interesting soft people issues that Bova injected into the story was the controversy surround a policy of "zero population growth". Clearly, Goddard's ability to handle a population has a distinct maximum determined by limited resources such as space, food, oxygen, waste turnover and so on. The conflict between the necessity for a ZPG policy and the natural drives of humans to procreate makes for some interesting philosophical discussion and debate.
Last but not least, there is that positively brilliant ending (Is it possible to smile and be slack-jawed with amazement at the same time?) Anyone who reads and enjoys both science and science fiction knows that the reality of the universe is far more complex and bizarre than any mere science fiction writer could possibly create. But Bova has done his best to hypothesize a future for mankind beyond imagining when a discovery is made in Saturn's rings that dwarfs the speculations of the best scientists that Goddard has to offer.
Truly, TITAN is modern science fiction written the way the science fiction should be - hard, soft, exciting, cutting edge and thought provoking. Well done, Ben Bova.
Paul Weiss
December 27, 2024
This book is a solid follow up to Saturn. Not quite as good overall, but a solid follow up nonetheless. It's probably the most direct "sequel" that I've read thus far in the Grand Tour universe.
The political intrigue in this book featuring the election was exciting throughout. I thought that Bova has a good grasp of what makes a political thriller.
For the beginning and middle of the book, the science/exploration part of the book was quite dull for me. However, this subplot gets substantially better at the end and was just so satisfying.
The book also deals with some worldview and political ideas about abortion vs life that I thought was just fascinating. Bova completely flips the script and examines the story from the opposite point of view.
The book also has a tiny subplot about AI that I really enjoyed and liked how Bova dealt with it.
The characters here, particularly Holly, Gaeta, Cardenas, and Pancho were quite exciting, as was the villain Eberly. But I still think they are handled better in book 1.
The book did get a little predictable at a few points. But it didn't ruin the book by any means.
Overall, I give the book a 7.5 out of 10. Another good entry by Ben Bova.
The political intrigue in this book featuring the election was exciting throughout. I thought that Bova has a good grasp of what makes a political thriller.
For the beginning and middle of the book, the science/exploration part of the book was quite dull for me. However, this subplot gets substantially better at the end and was just so satisfying.
The book also deals with some worldview and political ideas about abortion vs life that I thought was just fascinating. Bova completely flips the script and examines the story from the opposite point of view.
The book also has a tiny subplot about AI that I really enjoyed and liked how Bova dealt with it.
The characters here, particularly Holly, Gaeta, Cardenas, and Pancho were quite exciting, as was the villain Eberly. But I still think they are handled better in book 1.
The book did get a little predictable at a few points. But it didn't ruin the book by any means.
Overall, I give the book a 7.5 out of 10. Another good entry by Ben Bova.
February 23, 2019
Reading this one out of order as book #14 Mercury is a stand alone and I wanted to read this one while the events of 'Saturn' were still fresh in my mind.
Another good adventure yarn and a lot more exploration and scientific study takes place in this book. There are several sub plots and various relationships between the main characters and although none of the book was particularly slow paced the last 100 pages were edge of the seat material.
Overall this book comes off as being on the light, entertaining side of hard science fiction. There is some good speculation and ideas, but also some plot holes. As with many of the other books in this series, there are a few unanswered questions at the end that could be spun off into additional stories. Some of them already may have been as I still have several books to go in the series.
Another good adventure yarn and a lot more exploration and scientific study takes place in this book. There are several sub plots and various relationships between the main characters and although none of the book was particularly slow paced the last 100 pages were edge of the seat material.
Overall this book comes off as being on the light, entertaining side of hard science fiction. There is some good speculation and ideas, but also some plot holes. As with many of the other books in this series, there are a few unanswered questions at the end that could be spun off into additional stories. Some of them already may have been as I still have several books to go in the series.
January 12, 2014
Classic Bova. First, you got your space stuff, an asteroid hollowed to form a space habitat, and flown out to Saturn. Next, there's an angry antagonist, two in this book, who terrorize their subordinates and all the people around them. I think the main character is Titan Alpha, a rover with the mission of exploring the surface and sending back data. Only, it has a glitch and doesn't send any data back.
The subplot is about life in the icy rings of Saturn.
At least there were a couple of strong female characters in this book, two sisters, and some others. But that was spoiled by idiotic sexism in the second sub-plot of the book, the politics of child bearing.
The subplot is about life in the icy rings of Saturn.
At least there were a couple of strong female characters in this book, two sisters, and some others. But that was spoiled by idiotic sexism in the second sub-plot of the book, the politics of child bearing.
July 22, 2016
I understand that this book won an award.
What I don't understand is why.
It is bad. The dialog is frequently jarringly awful, the plot drops through the floor of credibility repeatedly, the cardboard characters behave in obvious plot-manipulative ways, and it's repetitive repetitive repetitive...
Any novel this deeply flawed will naturally seem too long. Here, it succeeds.
I don't want to say Ben's a bad writer. He absolutely is with this effort, but maybe he got better down the line. I'm not going down there to find out, though. I've had more than enough.
What I don't understand is why.
It is bad. The dialog is frequently jarringly awful, the plot drops through the floor of credibility repeatedly, the cardboard characters behave in obvious plot-manipulative ways, and it's repetitive repetitive repetitive...
Any novel this deeply flawed will naturally seem too long. Here, it succeeds.
I don't want to say Ben's a bad writer. He absolutely is with this effort, but maybe he got better down the line. I'm not going down there to find out, though. I've had more than enough.
January 21, 2013
Titan is another excellent science fiction novel in Ben Bova’s Grand Tour series. Goddard, a permanent space habitat containing 10,000 people from Earth, is in orbit around Saturn in the years 2095-2096. The unethical Chief Administrator of Goddard is planning to extract the water from the rings of Saturn to sell it to other earth space colonies, which would make the population of the habitat very wealthy. However, the scientists in the habitat are concerned that the mining operations will harm the living organisms that may live in the rings. In addition, a robotic science probe/lab on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, has gone rogue and severed communication with the scientists in the habitat. There is also a political struggle within the habitat to replace the Chief Administrator and end the Zero Population Growth policy to make it possible for women to have children. I found this to be a very engaging novel that meets all the expectations of a definitive work of science fiction. The science is totally plausible, there is plenty of it, and it is presented within a very interesting and entertaining storyline. However, the reader does not need extensive scientific knowledge to enjoy the book. In addition, Bova provides and very interesting group of many appealing and some unsavory characters who support, love, argue, clash, conspire, and/or are deceptive with each other while attempting to enhance their own lives while influencing the sociopolitical environment of the habitat. Bova also provides compelling, life-or-death, outer-space action in the rings of Saturn and on the surface of Titan that certainly made this reader anxious. Of course, Titan is also very well written by one of the great science fiction writers of our time. It was first published in 2006 and it won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel of the year in 2007. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes science fiction or anyone who wants to sample some.
July 31, 2021
_Titan_ by Ben Bova is the sequel to his earlier novel _Saturn_, part of his Grand Tour series of novels set in the solar system of the late 21st century. It picks up about a year or so after the events of _Saturn_ and it would be helpful if not essential for a reader to have read the earlier novel first.
Much like with _Saturn_, much time is spent on the politics, intrigue, and personal lives of people on the station _Goddard_ though unlike with the novel _Saturn_ the intrigue this time is more closely tied in with the science of the mission. Some might be frustrated by the book's concentration on story elements not directly related to science but they do tie in well with the science and the pace of the book is very brisk.
Essentially, there are four main story elements though other characters do have arcs of their own. Malcolm Eberly, the power-hungry, suave, and manipulative chief administrator, is trying to sow up the next election and is working hard to buy off or counter any potential rivals. Holly Lane, the station's chief of human resources (in addition to contending with romantic issues and a visit by her sister from the colony of Selene, Pancho Lane) is trying to come to grip with issues of the station's future - specifically, whether or not people on the station can start having children. Dr. Edouoard Urbain is obsessed with trying to get his malfunctioning robotic rover on the surface of Titan, named _Titan Alpha_, up and running again after some mysterious complete and total break in communications with the probe occurred after it landed. Finally, Nadia Wunderly, the scientist who made the amazing discovery in _Saturn_ of the apparent existence of life in Saturn's rings, is desperate to try to follow up on her experiments and stop proposals to mine the rings for water.
If you liked _Saturn_, you will like _Titan_, as the pace is similar and nearly all of the characters from the first novel return in the second. As I mentioned, the pace is brisk, the book is quite readable, and this time there is a good bit more science in the novel. It wasn't the best of his Grand Tour series however (_Venus_ and _Jupiter_ were I think the best installments). Some of his characters, even by their own admission, were single-mined to the point of being almost one-dimensional characters (chiefly Dr. Urbain and Eberly), I think some of the writer's views on the differences about men and women when it comes to children was a bit antiquated feeling (but then who really knows what people will think on such matters a hundred years from now), and Holly Lane's slang ("I click," "'Kay," "prob'ly," "nossir", etc) while not constant, was frequent enough to be irritating, particularly since some of the contractions didn't make much sense to me and none of the other characters spoke like that (well, sometimes Pancho did). Bova might have been trying for local color with Holly, maybe going for a youthful sounding individual, I don't know, but it really bothered me sometimes. I am trying to remember if she sounded that way in _Saturn_ or not. In the end though a pretty minor complaint, I don't mention it to drive away potential readers of the book, just something I had to get off of my chest.
Overall I did enjoy the book though and it did have an interesting twist at the end.
Much like with _Saturn_, much time is spent on the politics, intrigue, and personal lives of people on the station _Goddard_ though unlike with the novel _Saturn_ the intrigue this time is more closely tied in with the science of the mission. Some might be frustrated by the book's concentration on story elements not directly related to science but they do tie in well with the science and the pace of the book is very brisk.
Essentially, there are four main story elements though other characters do have arcs of their own. Malcolm Eberly, the power-hungry, suave, and manipulative chief administrator, is trying to sow up the next election and is working hard to buy off or counter any potential rivals. Holly Lane, the station's chief of human resources (in addition to contending with romantic issues and a visit by her sister from the colony of Selene, Pancho Lane) is trying to come to grip with issues of the station's future - specifically, whether or not people on the station can start having children. Dr. Edouoard Urbain is obsessed with trying to get his malfunctioning robotic rover on the surface of Titan, named _Titan Alpha_, up and running again after some mysterious complete and total break in communications with the probe occurred after it landed. Finally, Nadia Wunderly, the scientist who made the amazing discovery in _Saturn_ of the apparent existence of life in Saturn's rings, is desperate to try to follow up on her experiments and stop proposals to mine the rings for water.
If you liked _Saturn_, you will like _Titan_, as the pace is similar and nearly all of the characters from the first novel return in the second. As I mentioned, the pace is brisk, the book is quite readable, and this time there is a good bit more science in the novel. It wasn't the best of his Grand Tour series however (_Venus_ and _Jupiter_ were I think the best installments). Some of his characters, even by their own admission, were single-mined to the point of being almost one-dimensional characters (chiefly Dr. Urbain and Eberly), I think some of the writer's views on the differences about men and women when it comes to children was a bit antiquated feeling (but then who really knows what people will think on such matters a hundred years from now), and Holly Lane's slang ("I click," "'Kay," "prob'ly," "nossir", etc) while not constant, was frequent enough to be irritating, particularly since some of the contractions didn't make much sense to me and none of the other characters spoke like that (well, sometimes Pancho did). Bova might have been trying for local color with Holly, maybe going for a youthful sounding individual, I don't know, but it really bothered me sometimes. I am trying to remember if she sounded that way in _Saturn_ or not. In the end though a pretty minor complaint, I don't mention it to drive away potential readers of the book, just something I had to get off of my chest.
Overall I did enjoy the book though and it did have an interesting twist at the end.
March 25, 2020
Ben Bova's "Grand Tour" of the solar system is full of life. Two things especially distinguish the life his characters discover on other worlds from life on our own world.
One is that, unlike traditional science fiction, the inhabitants of Bova's planets and moons are rarely at all like us. That is the case with Titan. I enjoyed that the discoveries on Titan and Saturn's rings in this book challenge our understandings of the complexities of life and our understanding of what life actually is. Single-celled or microbial life is almost certainly more common than life like us -- after all, it's more common on Earth as well. But I suspect we haven't yet appreciated how complex the behavior and even the social organization of such life can be. The depictions of the variety of life in Titan build on Bova's credentials as a writer of "hard" science fiction.
The other distinction between life on our world and Bova's other worlds is how much humanity manages constantly to get in its own way. Most of the action in Titan takes place aboard the Goddard colony ship (from Bova's earlier book, Saturn), populated by refugees from an Earth dominated by the "New Morality." On Goddard, though, conflicts between the scientific mission and the effort to establish a thriving colony and between personal and collective ambitions recreate themselves. This is what we do.
It may be that I've read too many of Bova's Grand Tour books too quickly, but this one struck me as a bit flat, compared to some of the others. Jupiter and Venus, in particular, gave me a greater sense of suspense and involvement. The characters in those books seemed more complex, more built of battling passions and motivations. Here, the characters seem to fit more easily into their places in the story -- sure, they make decisions, they confound one another, but they seem more to slide together like pieces in a puzzle than to produce a picture that only becomes what it is when it emerges from the mix.
One is that, unlike traditional science fiction, the inhabitants of Bova's planets and moons are rarely at all like us. That is the case with Titan. I enjoyed that the discoveries on Titan and Saturn's rings in this book challenge our understandings of the complexities of life and our understanding of what life actually is. Single-celled or microbial life is almost certainly more common than life like us -- after all, it's more common on Earth as well. But I suspect we haven't yet appreciated how complex the behavior and even the social organization of such life can be. The depictions of the variety of life in Titan build on Bova's credentials as a writer of "hard" science fiction.
The other distinction between life on our world and Bova's other worlds is how much humanity manages constantly to get in its own way. Most of the action in Titan takes place aboard the Goddard colony ship (from Bova's earlier book, Saturn), populated by refugees from an Earth dominated by the "New Morality." On Goddard, though, conflicts between the scientific mission and the effort to establish a thriving colony and between personal and collective ambitions recreate themselves. This is what we do.
It may be that I've read too many of Bova's Grand Tour books too quickly, but this one struck me as a bit flat, compared to some of the others. Jupiter and Venus, in particular, gave me a greater sense of suspense and involvement. The characters in those books seemed more complex, more built of battling passions and motivations. Here, the characters seem to fit more easily into their places in the story -- sure, they make decisions, they confound one another, but they seem more to slide together like pieces in a puzzle than to produce a picture that only becomes what it is when it emerges from the mix.
June 26, 2008
Titan is a nice addition to Ben Bova's Grand Tour of the Solar System series. It stands well on its own and its plot grows out of what came before it. Bova's prose is good but not great and his plot and characters are a bit flat. But as near-future sci-fi it is compelling, barely 90 years into the future. Our own solar system is envisioned as a very rich and fertile place and the science isn't too far our of reach making it beleivable and compelling. Also making it even more belivable and compelling is the social and historical setting that could be growing out of our own present; ultra-powerful multinational corporations versus globally organized religious fundamentalists versus reactionary scientists. Unfortunately it takes reading more than one of his books from the grand tour to really grasp the socio-political dynamic. It is all pretty good fun.
March 11, 2018
Ben Bova really needs to work on the characterization of his female characters. To be fair, at least they exist in this book and are more or less real characters, whereas the two female characters in were tokens to be sought by the male characters. Beyond that, I enjoyed this novel but did not find it nearly as compelling as Mercury, which was the first Grand Tour book I've ever read and the first Bova book I read since "End of Exile." I think I'm sort of walking into a series halfway through. The Grand Tour series has various sagas within it, and this Saturn one is in progress as of this book, so maybe that contributed to the unsatisfying feeling I got reading it. Even so, I enjoyed it somewhat.
July 7, 2020
My hate-read of Ben Bova continues. This is not the worst thing I’ve read of his, but that’s not saying much.
Bova’s standard one-dimensional interchangeable characters combine once again with his trademark cringe-inducing romantic scenes. This book has a mystifying and awful subplot that revolves around the idea that all women want is to have babies.
So, really not great. Yet somehow not his worst.
Bova’s standard one-dimensional interchangeable characters combine once again with his trademark cringe-inducing romantic scenes. This book has a mystifying and awful subplot that revolves around the idea that all women want is to have babies.
So, really not great. Yet somehow not his worst.
August 19, 2019
On one hand, it's better than . At least this time around, we spend the entire book around Saturn and Titan, with a bit more exploration into the rings of the former and on the surface of the latter. There are essentially three plotlines: a robotic probe sent to Titan is refusing to phone home, someone has to go back to rings to verify that they're alive, and it's election season again--this time with Zero Population Growth as the main issue.
The first--going into the rings to collect samples to prove that they actually found life-- doesn't make the least bit of sense. There are arguments back and forth about who is going to go and how dangerous it is. But... why? Couldn't they just use a probe? It honestly fills like filler, although there are some hints of something much bigger going on here, since the life in the rings now seems to be (which: why? couldn't they just be different?) After the plotline doesn't seem to have gone anywhere, there are at least hints on more of a story to tell.
The storyline about the probe on Titan is actually pretty cool. It's a fairly standard 'unexpected conflict in programming story that comes up all the time in science fiction, but it's done fairly well. It's interesting to see a the robot as a point of view--given that it's not actually sapient (although that's an arguable point, Titan doesn't really get into that).
The third plotline annoyed me the most though. The characters remain remarkably stupid. Everyone else is gone, but somehow Malcolm Eberly remained not only on Goddard, but in charge. It's a potentially interesting story to explore how bad people can take and hold power through manipulation and charisma and if that's the sort of thing you like to read, you'll likely enjoy Titan more than I did. He's just so very unlikable, I found myself wanting to skip large chunks of the book. And the entire election plotline really revolves around a sexist 'women only want babies / only women want babies' mess. Oy.
It's nice to see Pancho Lane again at least!
Saturn and Titan together are certainly among my least favorites of the Grand Tour, but if you liked Saturn, you'll probably like Titan as well.
Onward!
The first--going into the rings to collect samples to prove that they actually found life-- doesn't make the least bit of sense. There are arguments back and forth about who is going to go and how dangerous it is. But... why? Couldn't they just use a probe? It honestly fills like filler, although there are some hints of something much bigger going on here, since the life in the rings now seems to be (which: why? couldn't they just be different?) After the plotline doesn't seem to have gone anywhere, there are at least hints on more of a story to tell.
The storyline about the probe on Titan is actually pretty cool. It's a fairly standard 'unexpected conflict in programming story that comes up all the time in science fiction, but it's done fairly well. It's interesting to see a the robot as a point of view--given that it's not actually sapient (although that's an arguable point, Titan doesn't really get into that).
The third plotline annoyed me the most though. The characters remain remarkably stupid. Everyone else is gone, but somehow Malcolm Eberly remained not only on Goddard, but in charge. It's a potentially interesting story to explore how bad people can take and hold power through manipulation and charisma and if that's the sort of thing you like to read, you'll likely enjoy Titan more than I did. He's just so very unlikable, I found myself wanting to skip large chunks of the book. And the entire election plotline really revolves around a sexist 'women only want babies / only women want babies' mess. Oy.
It's nice to see Pancho Lane again at least!
Saturn and Titan together are certainly among my least favorites of the Grand Tour, but if you liked Saturn, you'll probably like Titan as well.
Onward!
November 6, 2024
La vie dans l'"habitat" Goddard en orbite autour de Saturne. Un peu fourre-tout avec plusieurs subplots. Ne m'a pas complètement emballé. Saturne et Titan sont bien présentes mais la psychologie des personnages est vraiment très sommaire. Curieusement, ce livre a obtenu le John W. Campbell Memorial Award 2007, en compétition avec des livres de (entre autres) James Morrow, Peter Watts, Jo Walton, Charles Stross, Jack McDevitt ou Venor Vinge. J'ai peine à croire que c'était le meilleur. En tout cas ce n'est pas le meilleur du Grand Tour, même si, comme toujours, Ben Bova excelle à raconter une histoire et à construire un suspense. Il reste que ce livre m'a été gentiment dédicacé par Ben Bova avec la mention AD ASTRA !, à la demande de deux amis, Anouk et Eric, qui l'ont rencontré lors d'une convention US de SF. Qu'ils en soient tous remerciés.
May 31, 2018
Grand Tour sexism is strong here.
Another intersting and forward thinking book. It Further develops a cast of characters from the grand tour series which is nice. I believe the book stands on it's own as well, but it does help to know Doug Stavenger and Pancho Lane etc
As forward thinking as Mr Bova is in science and putting women in power positions, I do wish he was a little more forward thinking in terms of relationships (marriage is the only acceptable end goal), mores (only the women want the 0 population ban lifted so they can make babies), and it would be nice to have more minorities in his future.
Another intersting and forward thinking book. It Further develops a cast of characters from the grand tour series which is nice. I believe the book stands on it's own as well, but it does help to know Doug Stavenger and Pancho Lane etc
As forward thinking as Mr Bova is in science and putting women in power positions, I do wish he was a little more forward thinking in terms of relationships (marriage is the only acceptable end goal), mores (only the women want the 0 population ban lifted so they can make babies), and it would be nice to have more minorities in his future.
November 25, 2019
This is the 15th book in the Grand Tour series addressing various planets, moons, etc. in our solar system and what could happen in the future. This is the fifth one that I have read. My understanding is that they do not have to be read in order and this was a definite stand alone novel. It is a solid read, not a page turner, that was ahead of its time by featuring strong women characters in lead roles. Unfortunately, the author fell back to sexist stereotypes that somewhat deluded the strong women approach.
I have also posted my review on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, Amazon and my review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook page.
I have also posted my review on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, Amazon and my review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook page.
October 8, 2021
Yet another exciting adventure of Pancho, Kris, Wannamaker, Holly (Suzie) and the rest of the gang from the habitat Goddard. The Grand Tour continues to the orbit of Saturn. The habitat seems to be right out of the space settlement concept proposed by American physicist Gerard K. O'Neill in his 1976 book The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space. Alien nanomachines communicating with their maker causes blips in the habitat's power grid. All in all a good read with connections to all of the other Grand Tour books.
March 29, 2022
Okay...I am so happy that this book was a success. This series from Bova is very long and I want to read all of it. Before this book, I'd read two others. One I loved and one I hated...so me loving this one means there's a reason to continue picking these up.
After all the thick fantasy I've been reading, a thick science fiction was REALLY fun to dive into. The plot moved quickly, and the characters were all really well done. This was a good mixture of political intrigue and scientific discoveries. I was rooting for a lot of different people.
Definitely one worth picking up.
After all the thick fantasy I've been reading, a thick science fiction was REALLY fun to dive into. The plot moved quickly, and the characters were all really well done. This was a good mixture of political intrigue and scientific discoveries. I was rooting for a lot of different people.
Definitely one worth picking up.
May 8, 2019
Another great Space Opera from Bova. This continues the story from "Saturn", good plot (with a nice twist near the end, and a great ending where everyone's happy -- and which, despite that, is nonetheless very believable). It is still not on par with "Mars" (in my opinion the best book of Bova's "Grand Tour" arch I've read so far), but anyway deserves a 4.5, which I'm rounding up to 5 due to GoodReads still not allowing fractional ratings.
January 20, 2021
This book is dreadfully boring. I've read many books from the Grand Tour series and enjoyed them all until I read this one. This book has way too many characters in it. Too difficult to keep up with who's who. There didn't seem to be a clear protagonist in the book until well into the story. There were also way too many disparate (and dull) plotlines that took forever to come together. I like Ben Bova, but this one's a dud!
August 30, 2018
All of its plots are so inter-connected that a few of them end up coming to rather abrupt conclusions, even as it tries to avoid crumbling under the weight of so much story. That it survives and prospers in exciting fashion is a testament to Ben Bova's skill. It's certainly quite the ride, reading this monster-sized web of plots and character shenanigans.
May 29, 2020
Workmanlike later entry in Bova's "Grand Tour" novels. I enjoy Bova's hard science and his sense of wonder. When I want to travel through space, he's a reliable guide. In this book the plot feels a little bit by the numbers, but in at least two climactic scenes, the tension was palpable and fun to read. My favorite "Grand Tour" novel remains "Mars."
May 3, 2019
Gripping story, fast moving
Terrific story, with both hard science and great character development. An unbeatable combination for a terrific read. Not just a traditional science fiction yarn.
Terrific story, with both hard science and great character development. An unbeatable combination for a terrific read. Not just a traditional science fiction yarn.
June 27, 2018
This was the first Ben Bove book I read. I was hooked.
July 19, 2018
Bova mixes intriguing space exploration moments with a flood of dated, often chauvanistic, political drama. Titan deserves better. Andy Weir, got anything?
November 11, 2018
The characters make the book. A good read.
January 9, 2019
My first Ben Bova book, but not my last!
Very enjoyable book!
Very enjoyable book!
December 28, 2019
Humans find nanites in Saturn's rings while in orbit around Titan
October 6, 2020
Excellent follow-up to Saturn. Although not as exciting and dramatic as the former, it was still a solid 5/5 for me! It was nice to see old characters return and their stories expanded upon.
February 7, 2021
Bova is a prolific writer. His writing is not masterpiece material. But you are always guaranteed an enjoyable and solid read.
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