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Title: Saturn
Author: Ben Bova
Genre: Science fiction
Thingummies: 2
Synopsis: Politics plague a giant research vessel on its way to Saturn.
Thoughts: This is the story ostensibly about a mission that's ostensibly about studying Saturn, but is actually about anthropology. Both the book and the mission. Unfortunately, it kinda sucks at it, on both levels.
They reach Saturn only very near the climax, and make a fantastic discovery that's kind of treated as an afterthought. Most of the book is actually about the people and politics on the mission itself, as the oppressive religious government that's taken over most of the world tries to suborn a crew dedicated to science.
Unfortunately, Bova isn't very good at writing people. Every character is a paper thin caricature, with no arc to speak of. Worse, they're nearly all dislikable. I didn't actually care about the fate of a single one. Particular favorites were the one African character, who is a homicidal maniac whose main goal in life appears to be murder with a side of torture, and the evil repressed lady who, it's hinted, is a lesbian. Yes, that's the only non-straight character. Although we do have another guy who gets off on torture porn.
There are a series of Chekov's guns that never go off--the very wealthy sister, the girl who was physically born 90 years ago and mentally born only a couple years ago (none of which seems to matter), the possibility of landing on Titan, the dramatic rescue of a guy from Jupiter who really could have just started on the ship for all the character arc he gets. Events are repetitive, with very little tension, and a lot of them just seem to happen for no reason other than, "oh, something should probably happen now". The two climaxes don't so much intertwine as collide randomly--there's really no link between them besides physical.
It's not abysmally written, there is a plot that's logical enough even if not super-compelling, and none of the science makes me slam my head against a desk, so it gets two stars. But it's really not worth your time.
Author: Ben Bova
Genre: Science fiction
Thingummies: 2
Synopsis: Politics plague a giant research vessel on its way to Saturn.
Thoughts: This is the story ostensibly about a mission that's ostensibly about studying Saturn, but is actually about anthropology. Both the book and the mission. Unfortunately, it kinda sucks at it, on both levels.
They reach Saturn only very near the climax, and make a fantastic discovery that's kind of treated as an afterthought. Most of the book is actually about the people and politics on the mission itself, as the oppressive religious government that's taken over most of the world tries to suborn a crew dedicated to science.
Unfortunately, Bova isn't very good at writing people. Every character is a paper thin caricature, with no arc to speak of. Worse, they're nearly all dislikable. I didn't actually care about the fate of a single one. Particular favorites were the one African character, who is a homicidal maniac whose main goal in life appears to be murder with a side of torture, and the evil repressed lady who, it's hinted, is a lesbian. Yes, that's the only non-straight character. Although we do have another guy who gets off on torture porn.
There are a series of Chekov's guns that never go off--the very wealthy sister, the girl who was physically born 90 years ago and mentally born only a couple years ago (none of which seems to matter), the possibility of landing on Titan, the dramatic rescue of a guy from Jupiter who really could have just started on the ship for all the character arc he gets. Events are repetitive, with very little tension, and a lot of them just seem to happen for no reason other than, "oh, something should probably happen now". The two climaxes don't so much intertwine as collide randomly--there's really no link between them besides physical.
It's not abysmally written, there is a plot that's logical enough even if not super-compelling, and none of the science makes me slam my head against a desk, so it gets two stars. But it's really not worth your time.
