Titan: A Tale of Cataclysmic Discovery Audiobook

" What can I say? I've been a fan of Mr. Bova for years and always have a good fun with his books of The Grand Tour. "

" Titan is a nice addition to Ben Bova's Grand Tour of the Solar System series. It stands well on its own and its plot grows out of what came before it. Bova's prose is good but not great and his plot and characters are a bit flat. But as near-future sci-fi it is compelling, barely 90 years into the future. Our own solar system is envisioned as a very rich and fertile place and the science isn't too far our of reach making it beleivable and compelling. Also making it even more belivable and compelling is the social and historical setting that could be growing out of our own present; ultra-powerful multinational corporations versus globally organized religious fundamentalists versus reactionary scientists. Unfortunately it takes reading more than one of his books from the grand tour to really grasp the socio-political dynamic. It is all pretty good fun. "

" A bit of a soap opera, but it all came together nicely in the end. "

" There might not really be anything less enjoyable about this book than others in Bova's planets series, but... the same characters again... It just wears thin for me, with some unbelievable drama going on in space too. I also found the AI situation of the robotic craft unbelievable. The most intriguing aspect of the book is only a teaser: the dark life forms which evidently live in Titan's oceans, yet which we never really find out about in this text. Had that part of the plot been developed then the book might have been worth a lot more. I suspect, however, that with Bova's emphasis on "hard science" that he just couldn't find it worthwhile to develop an alien life form concretely enough to satisfy readers' fantasies. If you want alien life, read Clarke or one of the others. Here, it's like Nessie in Loch Ness - it might be there, it might not, but we don't really ever find out what's down there. For an earlier and better book involving Titan's seas try R.A. Lupoff's Galaxy's End. "

" Ben Bova is one of the best scifi writers and this book is excellent reading "

" Saturn continues, to land a stunt man on Titan "

" Solid Bova, probably better read as part of the 'ghrand Tour' cycle. I enjoyed it as I have many other books by the same author, but nothing new here. "

" Good read. The story reminded me of a somewhat realistic twist to B5. The maligned look at faith and morals was disagreeable but I understand the narrow field of vision that most scientist hold. Claiming to regard only the facts they often choose which of those facts to believe and which to dismiss. "

" Great ideas and a generally decent story, but sunk a little by some routine characterisations. The good outweighs the bad (and the cliched). Makes an interesting comparison read with Stephen Baxter's book of the same name. "

" Another road trip audio. Lots of characters for one reader made it tricky but fun. Light but thought provoking scifi. I enjoyed listening. "

" i really liked this one, if i told you how much i liked it id end up giving spoilers away "

" another of the grand tour of the universe series. "

" 10,000 people living in a spaceship orbiting Saturn. A good, solid SF book. "

" I'm officially off Titan. What a slow and agonizing book. "

" Another great sci-fi book that makes you feel like you are there. I love that there is always drama and a mystery going on too. "