Saturn Run - Kirjakasa

496 pages

Published Oct. 5, 2015 by G.P. Putnam's Sons.

ISBN:: 978-0-399-17695-1

(2 reviews)

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 …

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.

2 editions

Thom reviewed Saturn Run by John Sandford

Review of 'Saturn Run' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Somewhat similar to [b:Rendezvous with Rama|112537|Rendezvous with Rama (Rama, #1)|Arthur C. Clarke|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405456427s/112537.jpg|1882772] or [b:The Martian|18007564|The Martian|Andy Weir|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1413706054s/18007564.jpg|21825181], but with more people.

Not far removed from [b:The Abyss|40289|The Abyss|Orson Scott Card|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1423648046s/40289.jpg|937985], but much drier.

Has aspects of the [b:2010: Odyssey Two|70539|2010 Odyssey Two (Space Odyssey, #2)|Arthur C. Clarke|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388271989s/70539.jpg|615175] or [b:The Hunt for Red October|19691|The Hunt for Red October (Jack Ryan Universe, #4)|Tom Clancy|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1281995542s/19691.jpg|1112006], but focused on the Chinese.

This science fiction thriller is set a plausible 50 years in the future, and concludes with a few short pages explaining how they extrapolated the technology and outcomes. I enjoyed the characters, I didn't enjoy the early infodumps, but once both were introduced the novel really started rolling. This is a big book, but it kept me coming back for more.

Does it live up to it's glowing blurbs? Maybe. Let's put it this way - don't read the book for these borderline …

Somewhat similar to [b:Rendezvous with Rama|112537|Rendezvous with Rama (Rama, #1)|Arthur C. Clarke|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405456427s/112537.jpg|1882772] or [b:The Martian|18007564|The Martian|Andy Weir|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1413706054s/18007564.jpg|21825181], but with more people.

Not far removed from [b:The Abyss|40289|The Abyss|Orson Scott Card|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1423648046s/40289.jpg|937985], but much drier.

Has aspects of the [b:2010: Odyssey Two|70539|2010 Odyssey Two (Space Odyssey, #2)|Arthur C. Clarke|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388271989s/70539.jpg|615175] or [b:The Hunt for Red October|19691|The Hunt for Red October (Jack Ryan Universe, #4)|Tom Clancy|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1281995542s/19691.jpg|1112006], but focused on the Chinese.

This science fiction thriller is set a plausible 50 years in the future, and concludes with a few short pages explaining how they extrapolated the technology and outcomes. I enjoyed the characters, I didn't enjoy the early infodumps, but once both were introduced the novel really started rolling. This is a big book, but it kept me coming back for more.

Does it live up to it's glowing blurbs? Maybe. Let's put it this way - don't read the book for these borderline unbelievable "quotes".

I understand [a:John Sandford|4610|John Sandford|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1202524015p2/4610.jpg] is really great with characters and often focuses on Minnesota. This book did the former (but contains a chief engineer from the latter) but many reviewers thought these characters were not his best. I liked them enough, and look forward to comparing this writing to something he is really known for. Basically recommended.

dare

rated it

Nov. 29, 2019