Saturn's Race

Rating:
Summary: Science Fiction At It's Best
Review: A very rational and well written novel. It is the year 2020 and biotechnology is well advanced, particularly on the artificial floating island Xanadu, one of several floating islands. This novel has intrigue, terrorism, and a love story mixed in, and the outcome keeps you guessing. It illustrates also that any technology can be used for both good and evil. SATURN'S RACE is a page turner if there ever was one, fast-paced action, a great story in a relatively short novel.

This book would make an excellent movie, but Hollywood seems obsessed with monsters on Mars and other inane sillyness, but I digress. Anyway, this is excellent science fiction from Larry Niven, one of the masters, and Steven Barnes, another superb writer. Now, if I can only get that song by Olivia Newton John out of my mind!

Rating:
Summary: Profoundly Disappointing
Review: As a hard core fan of Larry Niven, I found Saturn's Race to be a huge disappointment. There is little evidence of Niven's hand anywhere in this piece, and none of his meticulous attention to detail, thought out consequences, or neatly tied conclusions. A few Niven-esque technologies are referenced (electric sleep and food yeast), but that's about it.

The plot revolves around a hidden master villan. But the discovery of his existence is lame, the steps to cover the discovery implausible (in that the destruction used is so nicely limited), and the eventual identity of the enemy is unsupported by a decent evidence trail.

The story lurches along with direction and venue changes that seem completely arbitrary. For example, the year plus interlude with the natives in Java adds nothing but pages. There are lots of concepts in the book that could be interesting if exploited, but none are really followed through.

Niven's last several efforts haven't really been up to his prime work, but this may be the most disappointing.

Rating:
Summary: A fascinatingly intricate novel, but not for everyone
Review: Ever since William Gibson rose to fame by creating the sub-genre of Cyberpunk, he has had many imitators. With Saturn's Race, Niven and Barnes throw their hands into the cyberpunk arena. The result, as you might expect from such a time-honored team, is a new creation with a life all its own. Unfortunately I fear it will go over the heads of some readers, and may push emotional buttons for others.

This book is structured like typical Gibson cyberpunk - technology has run amok, governments are being subsumed by evil corporations run by the privilged few that hold vast power over the masses and are challenged only by anonymous freedom fighters hidden amongst the information overload of the global data net. Niven/Barnes go out of their way to include some of the expected plot devices of cyberpunk, as if to say "Make no mistake, we are playing in Gibson's sandbox."

At this point, the similarity ends. The novel does not read like Gibson. Gibson brought us constant action between black-and-white characters; the villains wear suits instead of black hats, but there are few surprises of character to distract us from the flying bullets and bizarre cyberscapes. Not that I'm knocking Gibson; I love his work and I think his techniques are exactly right for the type of novel he writes. But Niven and Barnes have always written their novels around complex questions. In this case they are asking the question "What if Gibson's future were to come true in the real world, with its human personalities and deep, convoluted history?" And that is a complex question indeed.

No sooner do the authors set up a traditional Gibson cyber-world, than they begin to populate it with people that might be your co-workers or neighbors. Just like in a real-life office, some of the corporate "suits" are good and genuine people. Some altruist "freedom fighters" are capable of being petty and self-deluding. Some people fight for senseless causes and some unwittingly support monstrosity for no better reason than the limitations of their own worldview. Half the novel is tied up in uncertainty over who the good guys and bad guys are - much like real life, especially in an election year.

Niven once noted, in the author's note to _Rainbow Mars_, that once he lays an idea on the table he likes to explore every aspect of it he can before he finishes the book. This approach becomes the greatest strength of _Saturn's Race_, but, I fear, will also limit its appeal.

The "evil corporation vs. oppressed masses" paradigm is huge, encompassing many issues within modern society. There is no way the authors could have dealt with every issue in exhaustive detail, unless they wrote a door-stopper the size of War and Peace. Instead, they opt to confront many issues in brief references with little explanation. For example, an episode regarding a group of researchers in Antarctica consumes no more than a few paragraphs throughout the book, but serves to address some of the violent scenes from Gibson that in their native context would raise no questions for us, as well as comment on the agendas of some of the real world's more unreasonable and militant organizations. It is a beautifully economic use of prose - but people who are not already familiar with the issues involved may not understand what the authors are saying.

Whether you like or hate this book will have a lot to do with where you are coming from. If you've read Gibson and have some working knowledge of politics and sociology, you will probably love the broad and intricate web woven by this gold-medal writing team. Otherwise, you will probably be bored by all the seemingly meaningless side-trips and underwhelmed by the central plot.

This book is also unsuited for any with hard-set political views. As many of Niven's prior novels are themed around a science such as physics or speculative biology, this novel's theme science is sociology. As a result, it cannot help but be political! Those who describe themselves as "hard left" may be upset at the book for saying that corporations can do good. Those claiming a "hard right" stance may be upset at the claim they can do evil. The book is not given to needless ideological posturing - but if politics get you irritated, leave this one on the shelf and read something different.

Rating:
Summary: A fascinatingly intricate novel, but not for everyone
Review: Ever since William Gibson rose to fame by creating the sub-genre of Cyberpunk, he has had many imitators. With Saturn's Race, Niven and Barnes throw their hands into the cyberpunk arena. The result, as you might expect from such a time-honored team, is a new creation with a life all its own. Unfortunately I fear it will go over the heads of some readers, and may push emotional buttons for others.

This book is structured like typical Gibson cyberpunk - technology has run amok, governments are being subsumed by evil corporations run by the privilged few that hold vast power over the masses and are challenged only by anonymous freedom fighters hidden amongst the information overload of the global data net. Niven/Barnes go out of their way to include some of the expected plot devices of cyberpunk, as if to say "Make no mistake, we are playing in Gibson's sandbox."

At this point, the similarity ends. The novel does not read like Gibson. Gibson brought us constant action between black-and-white characters; the villains wear suits instead of black hats, but there are few surprises of character to distract us from the flying bullets and bizarre cyberscapes. Not that I'm knocking Gibson; I love his work and I think his techniques are exactly right for the type of novel he writes. But Niven and Barnes have always written their novels around complex questions. In this case they are asking the question "What if Gibson's future were to come true in the real world, with its human personalities and deep, convoluted history?" And that is a complex question indeed.

No sooner do the authors set up a traditional Gibson cyber-world, than they begin to populate it with people that might be your co-workers or neighbors. Just like in a real-life office, some of the corporate "suits" are good and genuine people. Some altruist "freedom fighters" are capable of being petty and self-deluding. Some people fight for senseless causes and some unwittingly support monstrosity for no better reason than the limitations of their own worldview. Half the novel is tied up in uncertainty over who the good guys and bad guys are - much like real life, especially in an election year.

Niven once noted, in the author's note to _Rainbow Mars_, that once he lays an idea on the table he likes to explore every aspect of it he can before he finishes the book. This approach becomes the greatest strength of _Saturn's Race_, but, I fear, will also limit its appeal.

The "evil corporation vs. oppressed masses" paradigm is huge, encompassing many issues within modern society. There is no way the authors could have dealt with every issue in exhaustive detail, unless they wrote a door-stopper the size of War and Peace. Instead, they opt to confront many issues in brief references with little explanation. For example, an episode regarding a group of researchers in Antarctica consumes no more than a few paragraphs throughout the book, but serves to address some of the violent scenes from Gibson that in their native context would raise no questions for us, as well as comment on the agendas of some of the real world's more unreasonable and militant organizations. It is a beautifully economic use of prose - but people who are not already familiar with the issues involved may not understand what the authors are saying.

Whether you like or hate this book will have a lot to do with where you are coming from. If you've read Gibson and have some working knowledge of politics and sociology, you will probably love the broad and intricate web woven by this gold-medal writing team. Otherwise, you will probably be bored by all the seemingly meaningless side-trips and underwhelmed by the central plot.

This book is also unsuited for any with hard-set political views. As many of Niven's prior novels are themed around a science such as physics or speculative biology, this novel's theme science is sociology. As a result, it cannot help but be political! Those who describe themselves as "hard left" may be upset at the book for saying that corporations can do good. Those claiming a "hard right" stance may be upset at the claim they can do evil. The book is not given to needless ideological posturing - but if politics get you irritated, leave this one on the shelf and read something different.

Rating:
Summary: Very good SF!
Review: First, SKIP THE KIRKUS REVIEW!

They do a great job of spoiling most of the plot points, AND getting the details wrong.

This is a good SF story, with interesting people and technologies. The action is fairly believable, as are the tech and political environments.

If you like the Ocean Thermal Energy Converter platforms in this book, check out Greenwar by Gould and Mixon, and Blind Waves by Steven Gould, which also feature OTEC platforms.

Rating:
Summary: Hard to describe
Review: Having read this book, I find myself at a loss in trying to describe what it was about. Simple summaries just don't come to mind.

Still, in spite of a somewhat convulated storyline, the book reads very well, and I had trouble putting it down. As another reviewer noted, this book would make a good movie; the best way I can describe it is as a sci-fi thriller.

Rating:
Summary: Hard to describe
Review: Having read this book, I find myself at a loss in trying to describe what it was about. Simple summaries just don't come to mind.

Still, in spite of a somewhat convulated storyline, the book reads very well, and I had trouble putting it down. As another reviewer noted, this book would make a good movie; the best way I can describe it is as a sci-fi thriller.

Rating:
Summary: Worst Niven book ever
Review: I don't know what to say. I love Niven books, and I loved the previous Niven Barnes collaborations.

But this book was annoying from the first, and ended even worse. If you can call that an ending. It never WENT anywhere. It had some promising kernels of plot and concept, and utterly wasted them.

This is the first Niven book that I can say this about: It was a total waste of my time, and I wish I had never read it. Utterly rotten, with no redeeming value what-so-ever. Ugh.

Rating:
Summary: Sorry to disappoint you, boys, Niven still kicks ...
Review: I see a lot of people complaining that "Niven has lost his sense of wonder." The fact is that Niven is better than ever. How anyone could not like this book is beyond me. I mean, come on! We have an intelligent shark "mind-melded" to a human, and that's not enough for you?

Let me guess, you are the same ones who bitched about _Rainbow Mars_, which, whatever other things you might be able to say about it, was certainly not lacking in sense of wonder.

I will grant that Niven had a weak period for a while there: _The Ringworld Throne_ was definitely subpar. Niven has had dry spells before--for instance, the stories in _Convergent Series_ were mostly rather trite--but he invariably comes up with something to blow us away. (That time it was _Lucifer's Hammer, and later _Dream Park_). Like General Patton outrunning his supply lines, Niven sometimes strip-mines his mind of ideas so thoroughly that he runs out of gas. (Mixed metaphor, I know). But once refueled with new ideas, he is the same author he has always been.

Those of you who say that the book "doesn't end" must be seminar e-mailers, since you obviously haven't read it. The villain is identified and forced into hiding. And what a villain!

The general trend of Niven's work has been UPWARD, not downward--read some of his early stuff. It was fascinating stuff, true, but his plots often lost themselves in the ideas. (Two examples of this were "How the Heroes Die" and "The Ethics of Madness"; in both stories he tried to make points, but lost control of the stories and just ended them when he realized they weren't going anywhere). Now, he has intricately plotted tales with all questions answered. The ideas are still there--but so is excellent plotting.

The anti-new-Niven crowd seems to attack him from three different directions.

First, those who are angry that there aren't as many weird planets and lifeforms. In truth, however, he still has the far-out stuff, such as _Rainbow Mars_, the first half of _Ringworld Throne_, and much of the underrated _Destiny's Road_. But he also has plenty of stuff that extrapolates off of current events, such as _Saturn's Race_ and the overall point of _Destiny's Road_. And this is nothing new! His early story "The Jigsaw Man" was a straight "if this goes on" extrapolation of current events. His story "Cloak of Anarchy" was a critique of libertarianism.

Second, there are those who complain that there is too much politics in his work. I suspect, however, that like Heinlein's critics, these readers are really angry about what those opinions are. Niven for the first ten years of his writing largely avoided political issues (the two stories above can be considered exceptions, although they tackled issues of his own construction and movements which were out of the mainstream of politics anyway). However, once he teamed up with Jerry Pournelle, it was inevitable that, if the two were to continue writing together, they would have to bring politics into the mix. And guess what? It turned out, to the pleasant surprise of right-wing sf fans like me, who had loved him even when he didn't do the politics thing, that Niven, like Pournelle, was one of us. Most of the left-wing sf fans, I suspect, were willing to accept his differences with them, just as I was willing to accept, for old times' sake, Asimov's late-in-life tendency to launch unfair attacks and one-dimensional (and incorrect) caricatures of conservatives; but a few hard-core leftists who want to take over sf and cleanse it of all the kulaks naturally attacked him. (The compiler of the Science Fiction Encyclopedia is an example--and by the way, the SFE SUCKS!) If you don't like what the man has to say, go elsewhere.

The third group of Niven critics has a more valid point. As they point out, he has had an overtendency, since _The Mote in God's Eye_, to collaborate with others in the writing of books. But this isn't entirely fair. The idea in _Mote_ was actually Niven's; Pournelle helped him with the plot and the battle scenes. As both authors have pointed out, it isn't half as hard to collaborate on a book; it's twice as hard, since you have to please two people. And as for the Barnes collaborations--with all due respect to Barnes, who I'm sure is a competent author, does anyone actually think that he was the one who made _The Descent of Ananzi_ or _The California Voodoo Game_ work?

NIVEN STILL RULES.

Rating:
Summary: Tired old potboiler
Review: I think this book has taken me longer to finish than anything I have ever read from the whole Niven/Niven+collaborators stable. The characters are one-dimensional, the plot is tired, the technology is uninteresting, there's no "sense of wonder"...

I've been getting steadily less impressed by Larry Niven's work over the last few years, and about halfway through this book, I started to wonder if all those great stories I remembered were so great after all. I went to the shelf and picked up "World of Ptavvs" - his first novel - and re-read it with delight in a couple of sittings. Sure, one can pick nits, but it's just mind-blowingly better. The man who thought up stage trees and sunflowers is now inventing superhuman AI programs disguised as old computer games?!

And SR is just so blatantly obviously leading to a sequel - perhaps several. There's absolutely no sense of resolution at the end, just a couple of huge great "To Be Continued" neon signs.

The best thing I can say about this book is that I bought it in the US, so I paid less than I would have done back home!

There /must/ be some stories of Known Space still to be told. Please?