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A review by apostrophen
Saturn by Ben Bova
4.0
This is another of the "Grand Tour" novels. This time, the tale is about a group of free-thinking scientists and folks who were sent off in a starship (which is going to be a space station once they arrive), and the various failures of sociology that accompany such a trip.
There's the religious nut contingent (who want to make sure the starship/space spacestation end up a firmly New Morality place to be), the power-hungry individuals, the sadists, the murderers, the freaks, the glory-hunters... well, you get the idea.
All in all, this wasn't my favourite Ben Bova "Grand Tour" book to date, but I did enjoy it. Certainly, the murder plot is quite vivid, and some of the main characters are quite interesting. I've read this one out of order, too, and have learned that the series is actually:
1. EMPIRE BUILDERS (Tor Books, 1993)
2. MARS (Bantam Books, 1992)
3. MOONRISE (Avon Books, 1996)
4. MOONWAR (Avon Books, 1998)
5. RETURN TO MARS (Avon Books, 1999)
6. JUPITER (Tor Books, 2001)
7. THE PRECIPICE (Tor Books, 2001)
8. THE ROCK RATS (Tor Books, 2002)
9. SATURN (Tor Books, 2003)
10. THE SILENT WAR (Tor Books, 2004)
11. VENUS (Tor Books, 2000)
There's the religious nut contingent (who want to make sure the starship/space spacestation end up a firmly New Morality place to be), the power-hungry individuals, the sadists, the murderers, the freaks, the glory-hunters... well, you get the idea.
All in all, this wasn't my favourite Ben Bova "Grand Tour" book to date, but I did enjoy it. Certainly, the murder plot is quite vivid, and some of the main characters are quite interesting. I've read this one out of order, too, and have learned that the series is actually:
1. EMPIRE BUILDERS (Tor Books, 1993)
2. MARS (Bantam Books, 1992)
3. MOONRISE (Avon Books, 1996)
4. MOONWAR (Avon Books, 1998)
5. RETURN TO MARS (Avon Books, 1999)
6. JUPITER (Tor Books, 2001)
7. THE PRECIPICE (Tor Books, 2001)
8. THE ROCK RATS (Tor Books, 2002)
9. SATURN (Tor Books, 2003)
10. THE SILENT WAR (Tor Books, 2004)
11. VENUS (Tor Books, 2000)