Titan

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Summary: Titan
Review: This is the first book I've read by Mr. Baxter, and I did enjoy it very much. Very Imaginative, and descriptions of space programs and the SATURN V in particular, I found to be excellent.
The overall pessimism and lack of faith in the ability of America to stay focused as free people was a distraction to me, but he is entitled to his own view points(and predictive [not] history). I would still recommend this book to anyone as it is well written and jam packed with fascinating aspects of life on a shuttle, various tidbits of chemistry, physics, not to mention a description of a pre-biotic Titan.

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Summary: If you're a space novel reader, Here's one for you
Review: This was my first Baxter book. I'm an avid sci fi reader leaning heavily towards space novels. This one started off slow, but showed promise, so I kept on reading. Lots of original thought with a mixture of what could truly come to be if we're not careful. I was afraid for the world after reading this one. Lots of good science which I understand he's known for. For me, a worthy book is one which makes me truly feel as I turn the last page, and this one was one I'd put on that list.

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Summary: Intriguing science, unrelentingly bleak epic
Review: Baxter is the master of this emerging genre--brilliant and endlessly surprising science welded into a sealed tomb of a story. What irritates me are the highly misleading reviews that speak about the "Grand Tradition" of Asimov, Heinlein, and Clark because those masters were all driven fundamentally by hope and optimism whereas Baxter's ethos in both Titan and Moonseed is thoroughly postmodern. In fact Titan documents the collapse of modernism in a just-around-the-bend America that must reach back to the massive, creaking technology of abandoned NASA mega-machines with an achingingly detailed noble attempt to save humanity that ends, quite literally, with a lump of human feces as the seed of a ominous future. Brilliant... but I think that the tool of creative science is only a chimera here. Then again, perhaps it's all an excercise in postmodern irony. If so, I want my money back.

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Summary: Deeply moving book!
Review: I have slowly become a fan of Baxter's books, but must warn the unfamiliar that he can be downright depressing! This book is a good example of that. Never have I felt so in touch with the isolation and blackness of long-term space voyages. I have now concluded that chemical propulsion techniques for exploring the planets are simply no good. We need something like VASIMR or possibly nuclear engines for this to happen responsibly. But read this - it will bring the solar system alive for you!

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Summary: Humanity's Last Adventure. The Anti-2001.
Review: The first several hundred pages of Stephen Baxter's epic, "Titan", details the demise of manned space exploration and the descent of America into Right-Wing hell. None of it would have been half as depressing as I found it had not events in reality begun to imitate the course of those in the novel, but this work is nonetheless a masterpiece of hard science-fiction. Baxter squeezes in every juicy scientific detail he possibly can to magnificent effect, and pointing out the technical shortcomings of artificial gravity from centrifugal spin was the cherry on the sunday. "Titan" exudes reality so thoroughly throughout its pages, you'll be reaching for the Prozac a third of the way through, and sighing relief that it isn't actually real once you've finished, but this story is so incredible you are absolutely REQUIRED to read it if you consider yourself a serious science-fiction reader. If for nothing else, read it as a cautionary tale, it will still be worth the adventure even if you hope it never comes true.

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Summary: Do we really have fifteen years left ?!?
Review: As usual, Stephen Baxter presents us with some challenging questions but his bleak pessimism and lack of humour is enough to make you long for the quirky wit of a Miles Vorkosigian adventure. While the voyage to Titan was grim and at times awe inspiring, watching the Earth lapse into a doomed dystopia was nothing short of depressing.

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Summary: Excellent science in a depressing book
Review: The science in this book is the only thing that deserves any rating at all. The politics shows a penchant toward the absurd. The characters and plot are all depressing and not very realistic. The most realistic part of the book is the consequences that follow from the characters incredibly stupid actions.

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Summary: Epic Sci-fi for grown ups
Review: TITAN tells of the story of Americas last great attempt at interplanetary travel. It also tells the story of the collapse of civilization. Something, I feel, some readers may have found too disturbing.

Out of all of Stephen Baxter's novels, I feel this one may have been the most researched. The level of realism and detail here is astounding.

The style of writing in this book is so vivid, so enveloping, I really felt I was there. He describes a crusty old moon walkers memories, and I feel nostalgia for a period I never lived in. He describes the locations such as Houston, JPL and Kennedy Space Center, and I feel homesick for places I've never even seen.

The description of the loneliness, the squalor, the sheer tedium of space travel is so real, I really felt like I was stuck in that damn space ship with the characters. And when things started to go wrong on earth, I felt their dread and pain.

And as my well thumbed copy can attest to, there are sections that I've read over and over again. The opening sequence in the Shuttle, the launch of the old Saturn V, and the flight of the X-15 for example, are so I vividly written and awe inspiring I remember them more like scenes from a film rather than pages of a book.

The story is a poignant one. It is not a light read, and I must say it affected me deeply. The story of Americas decline is all too believable, and some parts are quite sad. But there are many optimistic bits, in fact Baxter shows us the way how interplanetary travel could be achieved today with the technology we already have.

The is a brilliant story. It serves as a warning. But it also gives us hope.

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Summary: Life Jim - but not as we know it!
Review: As a realtive newcomer to Sci-fi I was pleasantly surprised by the believability of Baxter's writing. This credibility is not on a technical level (because I have to take Baxter's word on all of this) but rather the fact that the (likely) horrors of long-term space travel came over strongly and not in a way that is usually portrayed in the sanitised film-set manner of Star Trek etc. The claustrophobia, the misery, the pain, the sheer terror of a 7-year space flight came over very convincingly.

Baxter also projected well the crass stupidity that is the hallmark of mass humanity with a possible armageddon that has, in all probability, got the right perpatrators but perhaps not the most convincing ending (of life on earth). For me, the actual ending of the book slipped into the realms of tv sci-fi and a totally unconvincing 'hope-for-us-yet' promise. Is there a director's cut where the curtain actually falls on humanity without any possibilities of a 'Titan II - the return to earth'? Depressing as it may be I think I would have preferred it to end this way.

Still, Baxter is one hell of a writer.

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Summary: TITAN a compelling read
Review: TITAN is a book that likely will appeal to only the truly HARD science-fiction fans. His style is wordy and very detailed, and this book will not be turned into the feel-good movie of the summer. For fans of Bova, I would imagine you would find this book equally compelling. Some parts of this work drag; however, I could actually feel the loneliness and fear of the characters. He does not use the stereotypical mix of races, intellects, sexes, etc.; rather, none of this matters in telling this story. Again, a great read if you're in the mood for a slow-moving yet intriguing story.