Titan

_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 both

It's funny how passionate readers can be. For some who didn't like this novel, you'd get the impression that the author has committed some sort of crime against humanity. Truth be told, TITAN is a fine adventure story and it kept me interested all the way through. It's true that TITAN is a sort of sequel to SATURN, but where SATURN bogs down in several subplots relating to the new theology that haunts the background to the Grand Tour novels, TITAN does not. This is one of Bova's strengths. When he is dealing with people working in space, he succeeds remarkably. He is less adroit in dealing with religion and its social causes and effects. This isn't a crime (though it's clear that some reviewers think it is). Religion isn't handled all that well in science fiction, but when it is (as in Blish's A CASE OF CONCIENCE, Miller's A CANTICLE FOR LIEBOWITZ and Del Rey's ELEVENTH COMMANDMENT) it's handled extraordinarily well. I found it hard to believe than any human in space (in the Grand Tour Novels) would let themselves be influenced or commanded in any way by a religious group on the earth. (I understand the fear of nano-technology by the people on the earth in these novels. Bova renders that real and palpable.) I just don't see humankind becoming more obedient to religious groups; I see just the opposite. But that's just me. This is SATURN's only failure. I couldn't believe that the religious zealots on the orbiting colony ship around Saturn could hold sway in a cultural climate where people are heading off to the planets. Still, TITAN is an excellent book and I recommend it. (And you needn't, really, to have read SATURN). Bova is one of the most dependable authors in the science fiction field, a field that's slowly being taken over by the alternate-history novel (a form of fantasy, though no one wants to admit it) and the multi-novel saga which is designed only to make money. The OTHER thing that recommends Bova's Grand Tour are the covers which are done by John Harris. He's one of the very best science fiction cover illustrators and a genuine artist. For no other reason than getting the Harris covers, I'd recommend Bova's books to you.

I liked this book and the presentation so much that I listened to the whole book twice in three months, and enjoyed it immensely both times. The four narrators keep the story interesting and the action is easy to follow, despite the book's length. Now that I've heard this book, I want to order all of Ben Bova's books in the Planet series. I recommend this audiobook to anyone who enjoys a good tale.

I'm usually not a fan of the SF genre, but Ben Bova's "Titan" kept me interested from start to finish with a fast moving novel, realistic possibilities, real human relationships, and lots of cliffhangers. I took it on a trip to Chicago, and spent so much bus and train time immersed in this book that I didn't see much of the neighborhood sights. The combination of Saturn's moon and ring exploration trips, the actions and thoughts of a lost Titan probe and the actions and dilemmas to retrieve its information, politics and elections of a 10,000 person outpost, interpersonal relationships and love interests, along with fine scientific plots and explanations make this book of short chapters hard to put down. There is truly not a boring part to this read - recommended for science guys not in love with normal SF.

This one shows Bova's direction to get us out of this neighborhood! If you've read his other stuff and know of the 'Artifact' the last chapter or two will really run a chill up your spine. It's long but it takes time to setup the scenario! Wonderful fun!