Saturn: A Novel of the Ringed Planet

Saturn (2003) is the third SF novel in the Planet Novel series, following Jupiter. In this novel, the Goddard habitat is leaving its lunar orbit and traveling to an orbit around Saturn. The largest minority group aboard the habitat is the scientists sent to study the Saturn system, especially the moon Titan. Although the sponsors are happy to see the last of this ungodly crew, the hidden purpose of the mission is really not to gather planetary data, but as an experiment in human society. The anthropologist James Wilmot is the project chief for this experiment and reports back to New Morality headquarters in Atlanta. Malcolm Eberly was recruited by the Holy Disciples to accompany the ten thousand persons on the habitat. He is a former swindler who has been released from prison for the trip. He and others of the fundamentalist cadre are supposed to take over the administration and impose an authoritarian government. His primary assistants are Ruth Morgenthau, Sammi Vyborg and Leo Kananga. Susan Lane, Pancho Lane's sister, decides to leave Selene and travel to Saturn orbit on the Goddard habitat. She is enamored with Eberly. With encouragement from Eberly, she changes her name to Holly Lane. Two other members of the Saturn mission have been sent by Pancho Lane to keep an eye on Holly. Manuel Gaeta is a stuntman who hopes to the first man on Titan. Kris Cardenas is a Nobel Prize laureate for her work on nanotechnology; she was instrumental in the death of Dan Randolph and has been in self-exile in the Belt. Both are accepted by Eberly, but are having problems with Edouard Urbain, the chief scientist. Eberly was appointed as Director of the Human Resources Department of the Goddard habitat, with Holly as his assistant. They screened all ten thousand of the inhabitants from volunteers selected by the project sponsors: the New Morality, the Holy Disciples and the Sword of Islam. For the most part, these volunteers have been released from prisons where they were sentenced for political crimes: secularism, political agitation, and free thinking. While Holly is the main protaganist in this novel, Eberly is the chief character. With his vices and virtues, he is the primary driving force in the storyline. All the other characters are fanatics or show little personal development; for example, Holly is an adolescent fixated on Eberly as a form of rebellion against her sister. Like Hamlet, Eberly never really does anything decisive, yet his feeble attempts at personal freedom set the stage for what little action occurs within the plotline. This novel continues the tale of an Earth devastated by Global Warming and ruled by a coalition of religious fundamentalists. The natives are revolting and the fundamentalists are finding pure force to be less effective. Now they are trying subtle force and planning far ahead. The Goddard habitat is only one aspect of this plan. Recommended for Bova fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of p

I found Ben Bova while browsing through the SciFi section at Barnes & Noble; I had never heard of him or any of his books before. They looked interesting, so I read all of the back covers. What attracted me to "Saturn" was that it seemed to focus heavily on politics, one of my passions. So I bought it and read it in a few days. The book started out slow, and most of the science and exploration involved Titan and Saturn's rings rather than Saturn itself, but the book was overall very well-written and enjoyable. The focus on politics kept it from droning off into scientific observation, but it contained enough space exploration to make it a nifty scifi novel.

solid, carefully crafted REAL Science Fiction written by one of our surviving masters fo the trade. The description of the economics of media to get the stunt man to the planet is worth the read.

i own nearly all of ben bova's works of science fiction and consider myself a hardcore fan of his. although i say not all of his books are that great. i personally didn't like VENUS, but perhaps i need to read that one again. Jupiter was better and the Asteriod Belt war in the trilogy The Precipice, The Rock Rats and SOON TO BE NAMED LAST BOOK will hopefully satisfy me. Ben's recent book SATURN was my favorite of the the planet books. I couldn't put it down and read it in 2.5 days. I don't understand these other customers' reviews who say it was bad, what book were they reading? i can see if you haven't read the other books that lead up to this future of humanity, you wouldn't be able to appreciate Ben's masterful writing. Your ignorance appals me.

The list of superlatives one can use to describe a story by Ben Bova is long. I just like his writing -- always have -- he gives you part adventure, part mystery, part thriller & always good hard science fiction, in a future that is most quite probable.In SATURN, he continues the saga started in JUPITER & THE ROCK RATS -- which is a grand tour of the solar system. You get glimpses of past characters & their lives & how their efforts have affected the efforts of those who came after them.Rebeccasreads recommends Ben Bova as always interesting & thought-provoking.