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Summary: This story rocked my world!
Review: Have you ever been intrigued by the thought of life on other planets, no matter how primitive? Would you be willing to say goodbye to all you knew and loved on Earth to spend 10 years or more in the crampt confines of a much-modified space shuttle Discovery to explore the possibility? What if you could never come back? The story begins in November of 2004 A.D. After seven years, the Cassini/Huygens space probe has finally reached Titan, one of Saturn's moons, and the most Earth-like planet in the Solar System. It was believed by scientists that Titan had an environment that might support some form of life. The data sent back to Earth would soon trigger mankind's greatest and last adventure. This book, especially the ending, literally blew my mind and changed my perception of humankind's place in the universe. It is important to keep in mind however, that science plays a major role in this story and reader may get bogged down in technical information (like Tom Clancy sometimes does). Also, the plot drags sometimes and may seem implausible at others. But the ending made it all worthwhile. Baxter has an extremely fertile imagination.
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Summary: A good read - with the exception of the ending...
Review: Titan was as spellbinding as any of Baxter's fact based books. Those who get "offended" by the minute descriptions of what a body has to go through in space flight should send the book back, just as the ones who have no understanding of the reality and limitations space flight presents to humankind within our lifetime. Especially those readers who prefer high-flying inventions and technologies which really make no sense should not even pick up this book - go and read a science fiction/fantasy book instead. However, if you are into NASA and know a little about the space probes and other programs launched within the last decades, you will enjoy this book. The only draw back is the ending - I did not like the sudden "jump" of a billion years and other "magical" happenings (I won't spoil it for you by giving details). Yes, I know, it is to signify hope for humankind but it does not match the style nor the reality driven character of the rest of the book.
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Summary: The best science-fiction novel I have ever read
Review: Some of your readers found this book extremely dull. Hmmmm... I read it in virtually one sitting and then lent it to a friend who did likewise. Titan is a harrowing read at times, there's no doubt about it. The desperate lonely struggle for survival of the marooned astronauts against the background of social collapse on a dystopic earth makes for grim but powerful reading. I was close to tears in the last 100 pages but then comes an incredibly uplifting ending. Baxter presents us with the unthinkable then takes us beyond it. I thoroughly recommend this wonderful, thought-provoking and deeply moving book.
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Summary: A great book, I don't know how you can think otherwise.
Review: This is a great book, highly entertaining, and VERY plausible. If you disagree, I hate to say it, but you are wrong. First of all, a great book. That one is obvious once you read it. Second, highly entertaining. This book has good characters, lots of action, space, and lesbians! Third, VERY plausible. I'm sorry, but if you disagree about this one, you know nothing about world politics or the space program. That's all their really is to it. Now, I'll admit it, the ending is very odd, like 2001, but not as well done. I thought the last ten pages were a bit iffy, but loved the last two. So, don't listen to everybody else, read this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Get this guy an editor!!
Review: This book was a real disappointment. I haven't read any of Baxter's other works, but I was looking forward to this one, based on his reputation. When I later discovered that it was his eighth novel I realised what was going on - the publishers dare not cut him any more. The first half of the book, 300 pages, are dull as ditchwater. Clearly, he has done a lot of research on what the inside of shuttles/Saturns/orbiters look like, and he's determined to share it with us. All of it! At the expense of plot, characterisation, narrative flow, everything. There ought to be tension during the launch when there's a sabotage attempt, but even that falls flat, because we know from the back of the book that the attempt must have failed. If you cut 150 of those pages, you'd have a reasonable intro into what should be the main part of the story. This being the way in which the world changes while the mission is en route to Titan. There are some good ideas here, but I found myself checking back several times to see if I'd accidentally skipped a load of pages. The action moves on far too quickly (in my opinion) to give the ideas room to be expressed, which is a shame. The best part of the book is the mission itself, which seems very realistic. I won't spoil it for you (on the off-chance that you're still considering reading this book), but it's very well done. Once again though, the ending is rather unsatisfactory, and seems hastily done. Perhaps the publishers finally became impatient and told him to finish it. After all, his research into space shuttle propulsion systems must have taken quite a while, and they probably had to print it straight away without worrying about whether it was any good.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor and crass, pass on this one
Review: The highly detailed descriptions of shuttle operations at the beginning hint of an enjoyable read to come. The "reviews" likening the author to Clarke or Asimov are luring... Forget it. This repetitive (how many times must we use silver stubble as a stand in for old man or the texture or Titan slush at each footstep) and crass (is it truly necessary to detail human defecation and urination dozens if not hundreds of times?). Bleak, dull, improbable and fatalist. Run, run fast, run far... away from this book!
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Summary: A damned fine book without a happy ending!
Review: Titan is a downer at times. Don't get me wrong, the book starts off with the crash of the space shuttle Columbia leading to the end of the manned space program. At the same time the shuttle crashes life is discovered on Titan and out of the ashes of the manned space program a six year long mission to Titan using cast off space technology is conceived. The mission is launched and the book alternates between describing the trip and describing what is going on back on Earth where the US is taken over by fundamentalists who kill the space program and reinstitute Aristotelian thought and the doctrine of Geocentrism. At the same time tensions are heating up between China and the Western world leading to a potential catastrophe. This book is a downer at times and that seems to make a lot of the reviewers on Amazon unhappy, they should grow up and get over it. Good literature does not always need a happy ending and Baxter's dystopic visions make you think about what the future might be as opposed to what we want it to be. If you want happy endings pick up a Star Trek novel and let your brains dribble out your ears, if you want an excellent read check out this book and Baxter's other What-If about the space program, _Voyage_.
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Summary: A triumph of scientific detail, but culturally incongruous
Review: The most gripping read I have had in quite a while came from the pages detailing the wreck of the Columbia in this book that kickstarts the whole plotline. Fascinating in its level of detail, but frankly offputting in its overly negative view of the future of earth, and quite absurd in its oxymoronic lumping together of Roman Catholic Church, Islamic and Protestant Fundamentalism. The level of depth of understanding of the cultural differences between these differing world views that would utterly deny the revival of St Thomas Summa in an America dominated by Fundamentalist Bible Christians wouldn't come up to the gumbo level on Benaceraff's heel... Otherwise bold in vision and scope.
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Summary: 2001: A Bowel Odyssey
Review: One of the worst SF books I have ever read. The author displays the mentality of a 14 year old in constructing his future - the entire western world is collapsing because of lack of interest in the manned space program. Okay. Then we have to somehow believe in his cobbled-together scheme of flying a space shuttle to Titan (gee, the astronauts go crazy!! Who would have thought??) The last part of the book is pretty much the same as "Into Thin Air" as the explorers go on a pointless slog through Titan slush to find... something to do with chemistry. The descriptions of every bowel movement and pus-filled blister are given more detail than any of the scenes on Titan or the space voayge. Oh yeah, and in keeping with the adolescent spirit there are also two lesbian astronauts. By the time Baxter introduces them you can almost hear the porn-movie soundtrack in the background... Amazon.com needs an "no-stars" option. This book certainly deserves it.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointment?
Review: After reading Voyager I was eagerly awaiting the Titan paperback, boy was I disappointed. The beginning was good, with the Columbia Shuttle crash, the middle: boring and fragmented detail. And what was that ending all about? brought back to life? billions of years into the future? I like Baxter's writing style and was a big fan of Voyager but this was way short of the expectations I had set for this book. Maybe I'm being too critical but I had expected so much more from this book.
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