Saturn Run by Ctein, John Sanford Narrator: Eric Conger
Published by Penguin Publishing Group on October 6th 2015
Length: 16 hours 35 minutes
Genres: Action & Adventure, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thrillers
Pages: 496
Format: Audiobook
Goodreads
The year is 2066. A Caltech intern inadvertently notices an anomaly from a space telescope—something is approaching Saturn, and decelerating. Space objects don’t decelerate. Spaceships do.
A flurry of top-level government meetings produces the inescapable conclusion: Whatever built that ship is at least one hundred years ahead in hard and soft technology, and whoever can get their hands on it exclusively and bring it back will have an advantage so large, no other nation can compete. A conclusion the Chinese definitely agree with when they find out.
The race is on, and an remarkable adventure begins—an epic tale of courage, treachery, resourcefulness, secrets, surprises, and astonishing human and technological discovery, as the members of a hastily thrown-together crew find their strength and wits tested against adversaries both of this earth and beyond. What happens is nothing like you expect—and everything you could want from one of the world’s greatest masters of suspense.
Lynn’s Review:
Saturn Run is serious Sci Fi, emphasis on the Sci. And exactly what I needed. A complete break from all of the sub-par fantasy that I’ve been reading lately.
The science was definitely beyond me. I took it on faith that the authors knew what they were writing when it came to those scenes. And if not, oh well. I’m not a rocket scientist. I don’t think a reader needs to be to enjoy Saturn Run. I did find the unfolding of the solar sails super cool though. I NEED space travel with solar sails!
The package unzipped. And the parasol unfolded exactly like a metallic flower.
As descriptions in books go, that one is pretty impressive. Learn more about Solar Sails here. And Here.
The plot for Saturn Run consists of a race to Saturn, between the Americans and the Chinese. An alien ship is found orbiting Saturn. The two super-powers are racing to get there first. The Americans have a considerable lead, until someone sabotages their ship. The Chinese crew is mostly military; the American crew is mostly scientists. We learn little of the Chinese crew until the end, as the book focuses mainly on the Americans. As for these characters, I enjoyed getting to know each and every one of them. From the crew of the Richard M. Nixon to the president and her staff on earth, I felt a connection with each of the characters. The action of the book followed the characters enough for me to empathize with each of them. Especially when catastrophe hits. One of the characters I enjoyed most was Sandy Darlington. He is the crew videographer. And undercover soldier. I understood Sandy’s scenes better than the scientists. And I could easily imagine watching him float through space from the ship window. Recording everything. And enjoying every minute.
The one minor fault I had with Saturn Run was the audio narration. There are a lot of characters. And a lot of science. The narrator did not differentiate much between the distinct character voices. And it took me more than 4 hours into listening to figure this out. Once I accepted that there would be no separate voices for the characters (and slowed the speed down to 1.0 from my usual 1.25), I was able to follow the story much more easily.
I completely enjoyed Saturn Run. And highly recommend it. Even to non-rocket scientists. And who knows, you might even learn a thing or two!
Thanks, Ramona! I hope you enjoy it, as well!
This has been on my list for months – and I’ve got every intention of making my way to it. Good to know about the subpar narration – thanks for that 🙂 I was expecting science-heavy, so this is in no way a deterrent for me. I think it’s wonderful that you enjoyed it so much – I sure hope I will too! Great review.