The Barnes & Noble Review
This installment of Ben Bova's Grand Tour saga (Venus, Jupiter, et al.) takes place on Saturn's largest moon, Titan. There, in the midst of what could be the biggest scientific discovery in the history of humankind, political and philosophical conflict threaten to destroy everything the 10,000 inhabitants on the space habitat Goddard have spent years working toward.
As the annual election of chief administrator draws near, Goddard's incumbent head honcho, Malcolm Eberly, is doing everything possible to gain one more year of control. Eberly's intentions are anything but honorable; he's a ruthless con man pursuing a lucrative dream of mining Saturn's rings for water ice. Opposing him are people like Nadia Wunderly, a maverick scientist who believes that there is life within the rings; Holly Lane, the head of the ship's human resources department, whose agenda revolves around lifting the ban on childbirth; and Edouard Urbain, the tightly wound chief scientist whose wayward exploratory vehicle is trekking across Titan incommunicado. They are desperate to stop Eberly's wild get-rich-quick scheme before extraterrestrial life forms are destroyed, the inhabitants of the space habitat are killed -- or something much worse...
The prolific Bova has been a mainstay in the genre for more than five decades, in large part due to his masterful blend of visionary hard science themes and deeply moving, character-driven plotlines. Titan is no different, featuring an impressive cast of passionate and courageous characters, as well as some jaw-dropping scientific speculation -- vintage Ben. Paul Goat Allen
Titan: A Tale of Cataclysmic Discovery
Narrated by Gabrielle de Cuir, Stephen Hoye, Amanda Karr, Stefan Rudnicki
Ben BovaUnabridged — 16 hours, 14 minutes
Titan: A Tale of Cataclysmic Discovery
Narrated by Gabrielle de Cuir, Stephen Hoye, Amanda Karr, Stefan Rudnicki
Ben BovaUnabridged — 16 hours, 14 minutes
Overview
Master storyteller Ben Bova continues his multi-volume "Grand Tour" saga chronicling humanity's exploration of near space with TITAN, a fast-paced thriller focused on the first manned mission to the Solar System's most intriguing world. Skillfully blending high drama, passionate characters and daring speculation with the latest discoveries from the current Cassini/Huygens probe of Saturn's moon, Bova has crafted a heart-stopping tale of epic adventure on mankind's next frontier.
The gigantic colony ship Goddard has at last made orbit around the ringed planet Saturn, carrying a volatile population of more than 10,000 dissidents, rebels, extremists and visionaries seeking a new life among the stars. Chief scientist Edouard Urbain's avowed mission is to study the enigmatic moon called Titan, which offers the tantalizing possibility that life may exist amid its windswept islands and chill black seas.
But when the exploration vessel Titan Alpha mysteriously fails after reaching the moon's surface, long buried tensions surface among the colonists. Torn by political intrigue, suspicious accidents, and an awesome discovery that could threaten human space exploration, a handful of courageous men and women must fight for the survival of their colony, and the destiny of the human race.
Editorial Reviews
In the latest planetary saga from Hugo-winner Bova (Mercury, etc.), the solidly hypothesized science enthralls, especially down on the surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. On Christmas Eve 2095, the exploring vehicle Titan Alpha lumbers around that mysterious minus-183-degree Celsius world of black snow, seeking traces of life. Meanwhile, the human story-chiefly centered on the space habitat Goddard, in orbit above Saturn-lurches along as laboriously as Alpha, the tensions among the various stereotypical characters simmering fitfully but rarely coming to a savory boil. Chief scientist Edouard Urbain makes predictable compromises to save his brainchild, Alpha. Retired CEO and gee-whiz astronaut Pancho Lane takes off on a hairy deep-space jaunt to save Saturn's rings from exploitation from "slimy SOB" Malcolm Eberly, Goddard's power-hungry leader, once lover to Pancho's reborn sister, Holly. The novel resolves the many personal conflicts in a flurry of silly political maneuvers as old as Aristophanes' Lysistrata-bring 'em to heel by denying 'em sex-but the result is not half as entertaining or so thought provoking. (Mar.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
In Titan, Bova returns to his group of novels based on solar system exploration that began with Mars (1992) and continued with Mercury (2005). In his classic style, Bova uses the latest in hard scientific facts mixed with sf and a talent for storytelling to weave a tale of political intrigue and drama. In 2095, the human-made space habitat Goddard is in orbit around Saturn. An explorer spacecraft named Titan Alpha is sent to the surface of Titan seeking evidence of life forms in the methane-rich atmosphere, frozen seas of black ice, and encrusted islands that make up Saturn's largest moon. However, as soon as Titan Alpha lands, a mysterious programming subroutine blocks all transmission back to the Goddard, leaving chief scientist -Eduoard Urbain to save the mission. Meanwhile, the Goddard's leader, Malcolm Eberly, initiates a game of politics designed to keep himself in power. The use of four narrators (Amanda Karr among them) makes Titan hard to follow at first, but then listeners will get used to the distinctly different voices. Recommended for libraries with strong sf collections.-Tim Daniels, Georgia State Univ. Lib., Atlanta Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940169484427 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Macmillan Audio |
| Publication date: | 02/21/2006 |
| Series: | Grand Tour Series , #15 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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