Titan [Hardcover]

I've read all of the Planet Novels, and I was really excited to pick up Titan. However, I found the book a let-down. There are definitely some cool ideas in the book, and I like the hard science aspects, but the character development is so bad, it's laughable.

Every character in the story is a stereotype. You've got the stuntman who *must* go on that one last trip. You've got the slimy politician who does everything he can to control/manipulate others. The Head Scientist is nervous and on the verge of a nervous breakdown when his pet project goes awry. And let's not forget the slighted russian who will destroy everything just because he's a tool.

I like the occasional romance in a book, -- but I just couldn't get into the ones in Titan. The romances are a joke -- "Oh, do I stay with the woman I love, or go back to earth? Oh the humanity!" Or how about "How can I let the man I love go on one more mission?" Blech. And of course you have the stereotypical lovers not communicating well, and therefore so sad..

And don't get me started on the futuristic slang used in the book, which just consists of "talkin', thinkin' wonderin' etc" -- I didn't want to read "Yokel soap-opera in Space."

So why did I give the book a generous 2? Despite my dislike of the characters, the book was a fast, entertaining read, and the science aspect was cool.

Titan (2006) is the fifth SF novel in the Planet Novel Series, following Mercury, but is actually a direct sequel to Saturn, the third work in this series. In the prequel, Manuel Gaeta executes Leo Kananga for murder, attempted murder and torture. Malcolm Eberly, the newly elected chief administrator, then exiles Ruth Morgenthau and Sammi Vyborg as accessories to these crimes and as agents of fundamentalist groups plotting to take over the Goddard habitat.

In this novel, Pancho Lane comes to Goddard to reassure herself about her sister's health; Holly had been the subject of Kananga's torture and virtually every bone in her body had been broken. Luckily, Kris Cardenas had pumped her full of medical nanobots and she is healing nicely. Since she was already taking a torch ship to Saturn, Pancho invited a selection of VIPs from the news media and the International Consortium of Universities to accompany her.

The planetary scientists in the Goddard habitat send their first probe, Titan Alpha, to land on the largest moon of Saturn. All is well at first, but then the probe stops uplinking data to the habitat. Since the highest powers in the ICU are present within Goddard at the time, the chief scientist, Edouard Urbain, goes a little crazy at the failure.

Urbain puts his full staff on duty to search for the cause of the failure. The engineers confirm that the probe is still functional and that the uplink hardware is working well. Almost everybody on the team, including computer programmers, thinks the problem is software related. So many on the science staff are trying to diagnose the trouble that the planetary science operation center has to be covered by volunteers from other departments. Then the probe stops sending telemetry or anything else to the habitat and disappears from their screens.

Nadia Wunderly wishes to confirm her discovery that the rings are inhabited by living organisms, but all the resources are being used in the search for the probe. She asks Manny to travel once more through the rings in his special suit, but this time with sampling equipment; Manny refuses to go. Then she decides that the problem is really hers and she starts training with Manny's equipment. Unluckily, she hasn't the right talents and reflexes for the job and is unlikely to acquire enough experience in the available timeframe. So Pancho volunteers and is much better than Nadia, but she still needs a lot of time in the simulator.

Malcolm Eberly is having conniption fits over Pancho being in the habitat. He is sure that the former CEO of Astro Manufacturing is certain to run against him in the upcoming election for the Chief Administrator. He puts out feelers to determine Pancho's itinerary and receives ambiguous answers. Unfortunately, he also starts people thinking about the election and considering whether to run against Eberly, the incumbent.

Holly is visited by Hideki and Tamiko Mishima about decanting their frozen embryo and implanting it within Tamiko. Holly points out that the Zero Population Growth rule is still in effect, but the Mishimas wonder when the ZPG will be lifted. The more she considers the issue, the more Holly herself wonders why ZPG is still in effect. She asks Eberly and receives a null answer. So Holly decides to run against Eberly on the repeal ZPG platform. The women in the habitat are overwhelmingly on her side.

This story is typical of the author: some scientific speculations and lots of politics. The author is a master at extrapolating the effects of new inventions and concepts on human society and individual lives. The author also excels at portraying the motivations of politicians and this work is no exception. The ending even suggests the motivations of media commentators.

The author does seem to think that most scientists (and programmers) are wed more to their work than to their wives. Scientists and technologists do tend to be workaholics, but no more than the average executive. Of course, the chance for a Nobel Prize can focus anyone's attention.

Needless to say, Eberly catches the interest of the habitat residents with his plan to mine Saturn's rings. Manny takes up his venture suit to help Nadia, but Kris builds up a strong head of steam over her lover's reckless behavior. Raoul Tavalera refuses to pilot the transfer vessel and then believes that Holly thinks he is a coward; the resulting romantic squabble is classic adolescent behavior. Pancho and Jake Wanamaker -- former admiral, head of the Astro space navy, and Pancho's current bodyguard and lover -- decide to stay together at Goddard for a while, but then Pancho has a surprise relevation for Jake.

Highly recommended for Bova fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of adventure, political shenanigans and interpersonal relations.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Titan is certainly better than its prequel "Saturn" in which we were treated to the political maneuvering aboard a space colony of 10000 people on its way out to Saturn. This one was more like an extremely tedious soap opera than a science fiction novel.

Titan is a bit but not a lot better. The space colony has now reached Saturn and the scientists on board send a sophisticated probe to explore Titan which immediately falls silent. In the meantime one of the scientists wants to go out to the rings of Saturn to confirm the discovery of life in the ring particles but this is extremely dangerous. Why you wouldn't just send an unmanned probe out there I don't know as we are after all talking about the year 2095! Eberly, the administrator of the colony, wants to mine ice from the rings to act as a source of income for the colony but this wouldn't be allowed on environmental grounds if there was life. It therefore becomes a race to verify the life finding while Holly, the main heroine, runs against Eberly in an election for the administrator position on a platform of removing the zero population growth restriction in the colony.

The main reason that this novel is an improvement on Saturn is that there is a bit of tension introduced as we try and understand what's happened to the probe and there is also some reasonable science. It's mainly typical Bova stuff though with the usual unbelievable characters having their teenage romantic interactions and the resolution of the dangling threads in the story at the end is pretty lame(hey if we can't mine the rings why don't we just mine passing comets?). I don't know if Mr Bova has ever met any scientists but the scientists I know do not behave the way they do in this book.

Not bad as a comic book story but it doesn't meet my standards as a good science fiction novel. Writers like Alastair Reynolds and Peter Hamilton do this sort of thing much better.