Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievable imagination!
Review: I first read the book in 1980, I have a 1979 title. I was absolutely stunned! I read it in 2 days, turned around and read it again! I've read it 6 times now, and the sequels 2 times each. It was one of those books you want to find someone else that has read it to share in it. I think that I am going to order a new printing right now to read, I don't want to put anymore wear on the original.
Rating:
Summary: Varley is the most original author since Heinlein!
Review: I first read the Gaean trilogy as a teenager, more years ago than I want to admit. Whenever I find myself in the book aisle staring at the covers of all the sci-fi books and wondering what happened to Original Thought... I go back home and read Varley's trilogy again. And every time I return to Gaea, I discover something new that my younger eyes missed.Varley's style is similar to Heinlein in that he was light-years ahead of the social culture he wrote in, but I think even Heinlein would be completely blown away by some of the imagery and new morality described in Varley's books! Varley creates a fantasy world which is none-the-less completely believable, with a pandora's box of characters including whale-like creatures filled with helium that float through the sky, centaur-like beings that give a whole new meaning to "free love" and terrifying denizens of the air that soar down to rip and shred their victims. As Varley's human characters make their way through this stunning and sometimes brutal backdrop, we delve into the phsychological and physiological effects this harsh yet beautiful world has on them, we watch them evolve and in some cases, we see them de-volve. If you are ready for a completely mind-blowing experience that will stretch the outer boundaries of your imagination, I highly suggest reading Titan, Wizard and Demon.
Rating:
Summary: Varley is the most original author since Heinlein!
Review: I first read the Gaean trilogy as a teenager, more years ago than I want to admit. Whenever I find myself in the book aisle staring at the covers of all the sci-fi books and wondering what happened to Original Thought... I go back home and read Varley's trilogy again. And every time I return to Gaea, I discover something new that my younger eyes missed. Varley's style is similar to Heinlein in that he was light-years ahead of the social culture he wrote in, but I think even Heinlein would be completely blown away by some of the imagery and new morality described in Varley's books! Varley creates a fantasy world which is none-the-less completely believable, with a pandora's box of characters including whale-like creatures filled with helium that float through the sky, centaur-like beings that give a whole new meaning to "free love" and terrifying denizens of the air that soar down to rip and shred their victims. As Varley's human characters make their way through this stunning and sometimes brutal backdrop, we delve into the phsychological and physiological effects this harsh yet beautiful world has on them, we watch them evolve and in some cases, we see them de-volve. If you are ready for a completely mind-blowing experience that will stretch the outer boundaries of your imagination, I highly suggest reading Titan, Wizard and Demon.
Rating:
Summary: A great beginning to the trilogy
Review: I first read the Gaia trilogy about eight years ago, in college, and was drawn to reread it this past month. I bought the paperback editions and they were just as a remembered, with maps in the beginning, etc. Titan is the most sci-fi of the three, beginning with many details of the interior of a space vehicle and the journey to the moons of Saturn. Titan most resembles an adventure story where the heroine (Cirocco Jones) goes on a quest to discover the nature of Gaia (which they call Titan when they first encounter it). This book introduces some of the characters to be found in the other two books, and begins to hint at some of the deeper plots found in the other two books in the trilogy. If you're going to order this book, you'll want to get Wizard and Demon as well, so you can read the whole trilogy. I highly recommend this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Incredible World Creation and Exciting Adventures
Review: I first read this book (and the other two in the series Wizard and Demon) in the early 80s as a teenager. I bought them at the time based primarily on the comparison to the Dune novels by Frank Herbert. I was a Herbert fan, and wanted more excitement in a similar vein. Of course there is not nearly the depth of socio-political, philosophical core as there is in the Herbert novels, but the world Varley creates is as fantastic and new and exciting as anything in Dune. Cirroco Jones and her crew are sent on a mission to explore the moons of Jupiter, and when they approach the moon Titan, they make an amazing discovery: Titan is not a moon, but what appears to be a gigantic space station in the shape of a wheel. The discovery of what is the actual nature of the wheel is the whole point of the book, and early in the book, the natural defenses of the wheel grab Cirroco's ship and crew out of space. They essentially get absorbed into the machine, only to be "reborn" on the inside of the machine. Each of the crew goes through a metamorphosis in this re-birth, not all survive, some transformed for the better, some transformed with psychoses or neuroses. And along the way they discover a myriad of fantastical creatures much out of mythology, like a race of centaurs, angels, and more than I can go into much detail about. This book is a prime example of what science fiction used to do: tell a compelling story, keep you guessing at what all the details of the universe are (you'll have to read Wizard and Demon, the two sequels to find out all the truth about this world the humans call "Titan") and is well edited, that is, it is not an overblown novel stretched out to some 700 or 800 + pages the way many writers do these days. What ever happened to conciseness? Well, Varley is concise, precise, and very entertaining. I read it recently after almost two decades, as I still have the original paperbacks I bought in the 80s. As an adult, I can now see that there are a few things that I missed as a budding teenager. Yes, I thought back then that it was great to have the main character be a woman, and the co-star is also a female character. There are other female characters at the "core" of the novel as well that I will let the reader discover. Cirroco Jones was a progressive woman who took her sexual encounters for what they were and nothing more: part of life's daily pleasures. What an inspiration: Sexual freedom! No hang-ups about it. The trip to Jupiter is a long journey, so yes, she'll sleep with more than one of the male crew along the way. People are human and have human needs. Revolution! Woohoo! Go Varley! I think we could use a booster shot of these kinds of attitudes. Those who complain about rampant sex throughout the book really must have never read any real erotic fiction. This is not erotic fiction, this is science fiction with a healthy dose of reality throughout. But as an adult now in my mid thirties, I do see that the young hero I saw in Cirroco Jones was not so much a liberated woman, but merely a female character who acted like all of the male characters you'd read about in every other book out there on the market (and still do today.) There is surprisingly little real feminine energy driving this "female" lead. But that only becomes an issue in enjoying the book if you are looking for a feminist journey. The trials and challenges she faces are real and exciting. John Varley is just an excellent storyteller. His narrative is enjoyable, the escapades of the characters are exciting, and the visualization of the world is 100% (or more) complete. You really want for each of the characters to get what they desire, even though their desires don't all coincide as possible or reciprocal.. There is a core value about individuality and identity that permeates this series, something that hints at our suppression of who we really are and creates for some the ability to go through a transforming process, to follow our true hearts about who we really are. There is a belief that we can escape our self-perpetuated oppressions if we have faith in that belief and make effort to be true to ourselves. Ignore all of the bad reviews and read these award winning novels. The series may just change your lives and open new doors for you. There is a world out there that accepts you for who you are and values your own unique qualities. Hope and acceptance. What more could one ask for?
Rating:
Summary: A classic, enormously enjoyable science fiction
Review: I first read this book when I was in sixth grade, then a few years ago I managed to track it down again. I'm glad I did, as this is one of those books that can be appreciated on several different levels. At 11, I was more interested in the descriptions of the fairy-tale aliens, while reading it now, I can appreciate the dynamics between all the characters, the science behind the fiction, and a terrific first-contact story.
A small space exploration stumbles across a fantastic satellite orbiting Saturn. A massive, hollow wheel, 1300 kilometers across, it sucks them inside an incredible, artificial alien world. Captain Cirocco Jones reunites her crew after their crash landing, and they begin to travel around the inside of the wheel - which they name Gaea - in search of a way home. They meet the citizens of Gaea, who are familiar and yet utterly alien. (They include winged humanoids and centaurs.)
Eventually, Cirocco and her friend Gaby make the grueling 600 Km vertical journey up one of the spokes of the wheel to the hub, where they meet the God of Gaea and learn some very interesting things about this alien "planet".
John Varley has done his science homework, which allows you to relax and quit worrying about the "How did they..?" questions that invariable crop up in any sci-fi book. The characters, while not always likable, are well-drawn and human (or not), and the changes they each go through while on Gaea raise thought-provoking questions about the effect of a powerful alien intelligence upon our own - and about our effect on the aliens.
I'd rate it PG-13, for a rape scene, implied incest and other sexual references, as well as some mildly disturbing violence. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Came back to a classic
Review: I first read Titan in 1979 and waited a year or so for Wizard. After Wizard was another year, and by the time Demon came out, I had forgotten the first two, figuring I'd go back and reread them someday. 20 years (and many books) later, I picked up the first two and rediscovered the magic and genius of this series, but now Demon is out of print!! Buy these books, read them, and demand a new edition of Demon! I'm still waiting to find out whatever happened to Cirocco Jones!
Rating:
Summary: This is the best sci-fi novel I have ever read.
Review: I first read Titan, and its two sequels, in the early 90s (I had an original edition). It immediately struck me as a magnificent book, the kind you can reread infinitely, and this has been the case. The main character, Cirocco, is a compelling and fascinating woman, and one I hold up as a personal role model. This is not only the best science-fiction novel I have yet come across, but also my favorite novel period.
Rating:
Summary: Damn good
Review: I found this book on an old second hand books stall, and I have to say it's brilliant! Ever since I read it I have been searching for the others in the trilogy (without success). Then I thought of Amazon.com - oh joy! Sorry to contradict some of the other reviewers, but Titan is not unbelievable. It is because it is strange and so out of the ordinary that is is believable and compelling. I would recommmend it to any sci-fi freak (like me!).
Rating: 
Summary: Send me the Hugo
Review: I guess it's easy to find fault with anything, but I observed two themes with this book that I found unsettling. The first was the sex, which didn't seem to be part of the plot (or maybe I missed that connection) - like who cares who was bonking whom on the ship? The second was the references to movies in the descriptions used - and here I quote - "Gaea looked a lot like Charles Laughton in 'The Private Life of Henry VIII'". Hmmm maybe I should write a book like that... The man who looked a lot like Nicholas Cage in 'Face Off' said to the woman who looked a bit like Uma Thurman in 'Pulp Fiction' "Is that your car? The one that looks a bit like James Bond's in 'Thunderball'"? Where do I pick up the Hugo?
| 
