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The Barnes & Noble Review
Saturn is another installment in Ben Bova's epic Grand Tour saga, a set of loosely connected novels that examine the human race's expansion through the solar system. Here, 10,000 political dissidents travel to Saturn in a colossal man-made habitat to study the mysterious ringed planet and its largest moon, Titan.
The undertaking isn't so much a scientific mission as a sociological study. The ship's chief administrator, James Colerane Wilmot, is an anthropologist at heart and considers the two-year journey as a long-term experiment to analyze the ability of a self-contained community to survive and develop a viable social system. But among the ship's population are a small, powerful group who are scheming to systematically gain the support of the populace and create a new order in which they are the supreme rulers -- and they are prepared to kill anyone who stands in their way.
Fans of Bova's previous Grand Tour novels (Moonrise, Moonwar, Mars, Return to Mars, Venus, Jupiter, The Precipice, The Rock Rats) are guaranteed to enjoy this one. Not only does it further ongoing plotlines (specifically that of Pancho Lane's cryogenically frozen sister, Susan) but also plants the seeds for a whole new series of stories. And as is typical with Bova books, I was practically tearing through the last chapters to find out what happens to those aboard the habitat. After reading Saturn (Bova's 62nd novel!), I am reminded once again why he has been a leader in the genre for five decades. Paul Goat Allen
Publishers Weekly
Too many characters with too many agendas vie for prestige and power en route to Saturn aboard the Space Habitat Goddard in Hugo winner Bova's middling follow-up to Jupiter (2001) and Venus (2002). Ten thousand intellectuals and scientists, mostly people who don't agree with the authoritarian regimes controlled by the religious fundamentalists who've taken over Earth's governments, have volunteered, been asked or been forced to leave on the long one-way journey. Among them are Malcolm Eberly, recruited by the Holy Disciples from a prison in Vienna with strict instructions to ensure the population chooses the path of righteousness. Eberly agrees to his covert task, confident he can impose his own rule, but he finds that gaining control is harder than he thought. Holy Disciple spies continually get in his way, while one of his subordinates murders for a promotion. Blackmail, subterfuge and another planned murder pile on top of Eberly's machinations to rig an election. Though Bova thoroughly explores human motivation and desires, readers will have a hard time figuring out who to root for-is Eberly a good guy or a bad guy?-and an even harder time caring about characters insufficiently fleshed out. Most memorable is the setting, the Goddard, with its echoes of the sailing ships that transported convicts to Botany Bay. (June 9) FYI: Bova is a past president of the National Space Society and the Science Fiction Writers of America. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
When Earth's leadership decides to "encourage" its dissidents to leave the planet aboard an interstellar habitat destined for Saturn, Susan Lane joins the expedition, eager to begin a new life. Attracted to Malcolm Eberly, the charismatic director of the habitat, Susan (now calling herself Holly) dedicates herself to the task of helping Malcolm organize life aboard the habitat, remaining blissfully unaware of the sinister politics going on among the habitat's leaders and blinding herself to Malcolm's real agenda. Continuing his planetary novels (Venus; Jupiter), Bova expands his vision of a future where conservative followers of the New Morality struggle against scientists and freethinkers for control of the hearts and minds of the human race. Bova's message is sometimes strident, but his storytelling skills and scientific expertise make this sf adventure a good choice for most collections. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Another in Bova's series about humanity's expansion into the farthest reaches of the solar system. The giant space habitat Goddard blasts off for Saturn; aboard are ten thousand assorted scientists, pioneers, and criminals--the latter mostly people who ran afoul of the repressive, fundamentalist New Morality, which dominates Earth, and now have a chance to make a fresh start far, far away. Chief executive James Wilmot, however, has a secret agenda. Astro Corporation boss Pancho Lane's sister Holly, cryogenically frozen, revived, cured of cancer, has a new personality, a photographic memory--and a painful crush on swindler Malcolm Eberly, who plans to rule the habitat along with New Morality fanatic Ruth Morgenthau and ruthless security chief Leo Kanaga. Soon, Eberly has everyone under surveillance and is plotting to declare a state of emergency and rule by fiat once elections are disposed of. All he needs is a way to impose his will on Wilmot. Meanwhile, stuntman Manuel Gaeta unwittingly distracts the scientists: he intends to be the first man to walk on Saturn's huge moon Titan--but Titan, you see, has native life-forms that must not be endangered or contaminated. Also, unknown to Holly, Pancho has ordered Gaeta to keep an eye on her. As Eberly’s influence grows, though, he finds it more and more difficult to restrain the sometimes-lethal ambitions of his associates. Bova (Jupiter, 2001, etc.) keeps things ticking over with professional skill, but overall there aren't enough surprises to raise this adventure much above routine.
