158 books
—
267 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Titan (The Grand Tour, #15)” as Want to Read:
Titan
(The Grand Tour #15)
by
Hugo Award-winning editor, author, scientist, and journalist, Ben Bova is a modern master of near-future science fiction and a passionate advocate of manned space exploration. For more than a decade, Bova has been chronicling humanity's struggles to colonize our solar system in a series of interconnected novels known as "The Grand Tour."
Now, with Titan, Ben Bova takes re ...more
Now, with Titan, Ben Bova takes re ...more
Get A Copy
Mass Market Paperback, 418 pages
Published
March 6th 2007
by Tor
(first published 2006)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Titan,
please sign up.
Popular Answered Questions
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of Titan (The Grand Tour, #15)
Reading this one out of order as book #14 Mercury is a stand alone and I wanted to read this one while the events of 'Saturn' were still fresh in my mind.
Another good adventure yarn and a lot more exploration and scientific study takes place in this book. There are several sub plots and various relationships between the main characters and although none of the book was particularly slow paced the last 100 pages were edge of the seat material.
Overall this book comes off as being on the light, en ...more
Another good adventure yarn and a lot more exploration and scientific study takes place in this book. There are several sub plots and various relationships between the main characters and although none of the book was particularly slow paced the last 100 pages were edge of the seat material.
Overall this book comes off as being on the light, en ...more
Classic Bova. First, you got your space stuff, an asteroid hollowed to form a space habitat, and flown out to Saturn. Next, there's an angry antagonist, two in this book, who terrorize their subordinates and all the people around them. I think the main character is Titan Alpha, a rover with the mission of exploring the surface and sending back data. Only, it has a glitch and doesn't send any data back.
(view spoiler) ...more
(view spoiler) ...more
I understand that this book won an award.
What I don't understand is why.
It is bad. The dialog is frequently jarringly awful, the plot drops through the floor of credibility repeatedly, the cardboard characters behave in obvious plot-manipulative ways, and it's repetitive repetitive repetitive...
Any novel this deeply flawed will naturally seem too long. Here, it succeeds.
I don't want to say Ben's a bad writer. He absolutely is with this effort, but maybe he got better down the line. I'm not going ...more
What I don't understand is why.
It is bad. The dialog is frequently jarringly awful, the plot drops through the floor of credibility repeatedly, the cardboard characters behave in obvious plot-manipulative ways, and it's repetitive repetitive repetitive...
Any novel this deeply flawed will naturally seem too long. Here, it succeeds.
I don't want to say Ben's a bad writer. He absolutely is with this effort, but maybe he got better down the line. I'm not going ...more
Jan 20, 2013
Clark Hallman
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction
Titan is another excellent science fiction novel in Ben Bova’s Grand Tour series. Goddard, a permanent space habitat containing 10,000 people from Earth, is in orbit around Saturn in the years 2095-2096. The unethical Chief Administrator of Goddard is planning to extract the water from the rings of Saturn to sell it to other earth space colonies, which would make the population of the habitat very wealthy. However, the scientists in the habitat are concerned that the mining operations will harm
...more
My hate-read of Ben Bova continues. This is not the worst thing I’ve read of his, but that’s not saying much.
Bova’s standard one-dimensional interchangeable characters combine once again with his trademark cringe-inducing romantic scenes. This book has a mystifying and awful subplot that revolves around the idea that all women want is to have babies.
So, really not great. Yet somehow not his worst.
Bova’s standard one-dimensional interchangeable characters combine once again with his trademark cringe-inducing romantic scenes. This book has a mystifying and awful subplot that revolves around the idea that all women want is to have babies.
So, really not great. Yet somehow not his worst.
Ben Bova's "Grand Tour" of the solar system is full of life. Two things especially distinguish the life his characters discover on other worlds from life on our own world.
One is that, unlike traditional science fiction, the inhabitants of Bova's planets and moons are rarely at all like us. That is the case with Titan. I enjoyed that the discoveries on Titan and Saturn's rings in this book challenge our understandings of the complexities of life and our understanding of what life actually is. Sin ...more
One is that, unlike traditional science fiction, the inhabitants of Bova's planets and moons are rarely at all like us. That is the case with Titan. I enjoyed that the discoveries on Titan and Saturn's rings in this book challenge our understandings of the complexities of life and our understanding of what life actually is. Sin ...more
Titan is a nice addition to Ben Bova's Grand Tour of the Solar System series. It stands well on its own and its plot grows out of what came before it. Bova's prose is good but not great and his plot and characters are a bit flat. But as near-future sci-fi it is compelling, barely 90 years into the future. Our own solar system is envisioned as a very rich and fertile place and the science isn't too far our of reach making it beleivable and compelling. Also making it even more belivable and compel
...more
Ben Bova really needs to work on the characterization of his female characters. To be fair, at least they exist in this book and are more or less real characters, whereas the two female characters in Bova's Mercury were tokens to be sought by the male characters. Beyond that, I enjoyed this novel but did not find it nearly as compelling as Mercury, which was the first Grand Tour book I've ever read and the first Bova book I read since "End of Exile." I think I'm sort of walking into a series hal
...more
Modern science fiction the way it OUGHT to be!
In Earth's past, Australia was effectively a prison colony, a place for transportation of convicted felons to get them out of sight and out of mind, a place where misfits, recluses and hard-nosed independents could live or die on the strength of their own efforts, a place to which people with intractable problems could run away and start over. In Earth's future, Ben Bova has imagined a distant space habitat orbiting above the surface of Saturn's icy ...more
In Earth's past, Australia was effectively a prison colony, a place for transportation of convicted felons to get them out of sight and out of mind, a place where misfits, recluses and hard-nosed independents could live or die on the strength of their own efforts, a place to which people with intractable problems could run away and start over. In Earth's future, Ben Bova has imagined a distant space habitat orbiting above the surface of Saturn's icy ...more
On one hand, it's better than Saturn. At least this time around, we spend the entire book around Saturn and Titan, with a bit more exploration into the rings of the former and on the surface of the latter. There are essentially three plotlines: a robotic probe sent to Titan is refusing to phone home, someone has to go back to rings to verify that they're alive, and it's election season again--this time with Zero Population Growth as the main issue.
The first--going into the rings to collect samp ...more
The first--going into the rings to collect samp ...more
Grand Tour sexism is strong here.
Another intersting and forward thinking book. It Further develops a cast of characters from the grand tour series which is nice. I believe the book stands on it's own as well, but it does help to know Doug Stavenger and Pancho Lane etc
As forward thinking as Mr Bova is in science and putting women in power positions, I do wish he was a little more forward thinking in terms of relationships (marriage is the only acceptable end goal), mores (only the women want the ...more
Another intersting and forward thinking book. It Further develops a cast of characters from the grand tour series which is nice. I believe the book stands on it's own as well, but it does help to know Doug Stavenger and Pancho Lane etc
As forward thinking as Mr Bova is in science and putting women in power positions, I do wish he was a little more forward thinking in terms of relationships (marriage is the only acceptable end goal), mores (only the women want the ...more
This is the 15th book in the Grand Tour series addressing various planets, moons, etc. in our solar system and what could happen in the future. This is the fifth one that I have read. My understanding is that they do not have to be read in order and this was a definite stand alone novel. It is a solid read, not a page turner, that was ahead of its time by featuring strong women characters in lead roles. Unfortunately, the author fell back to sexist stereotypes that somewhat deluded the strong wo
...more
Yet another exciting adventure of Pancho, Kris, Wannamaker, Holly (Suzie) and the rest of the gang from the habitat Goddard. The Grand Tour continues to the orbit of Saturn. The habitat seems to be right out of the space settlement concept proposed by American physicist Gerard K. O'Neill in his 1976 book The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space. Alien nanomachines communicating with their maker causes blips in the habitat's power grid. All in all a good read with connections to all of the othe
...more
Another great Space Opera from Bova. This continues the story from "Saturn", good plot (with a nice twist near the end, and a great ending where everyone's happy -- and which, despite that, is nonetheless very believable). It is still not on par with "Mars" (in my opinion the best book of Bova's "Grand Tour" arch I've read so far), but anyway deserves a 4.5, which I'm rounding up to 5 due to GoodReads still not allowing fractional ratings.
...more
This book is dreadfully boring. I've read many books from the Grand Tour series and enjoyed them all until I read this one. This book has way too many characters in it. Too difficult to keep up with who's who. There didn't seem to be a clear protagonist in the book until well into the story. There were also way too many disparate (and dull) plotlines that took forever to come together. I like Ben Bova, but this one's a dud!
...more
Aug 30, 2018
Daniel Kukwa
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
other-sf-fantasy
All of its plots are so inter-connected that a few of them end up coming to rather abrupt conclusions, even as it tries to avoid crumbling under the weight of so much story. That it survives and prospers in exciting fashion is a testament to Ben Bova's skill. It's certainly quite the ride, reading this monster-sized web of plots and character shenanigans.
...more
Workmanlike later entry in Bova's "Grand Tour" novels. I enjoy Bova's hard science and his sense of wonder. When I want to travel through space, he's a reliable guide. In this book the plot feels a little bit by the numbers, but in at least two climactic scenes, the tension was palpable and fun to read. My favorite "Grand Tour" novel remains "Mars."
...more
Gripping story, fast moving
Terrific story, with both hard science and great character development. An unbeatable combination for a terrific read. Not just a traditional science fiction yarn.
Terrific story, with both hard science and great character development. An unbeatable combination for a terrific read. Not just a traditional science fiction yarn.
This was the first Ben Bove book I read. I was hooked.
Bova mixes intriguing space exploration moments with a flood of dated, often chauvanistic, political drama. Titan deserves better. Andy Weir, got anything?
The characters make the book. A good read.
My first Ben Bova book, but not my last!
Very enjoyable book!
Very enjoyable book!
Humans find nanites in Saturn's rings while in orbit around Titan
...more
Oct 05, 2020
Kyle Carroll (i_fucking_love_books)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Excellent follow-up to Saturn. Although not as exciting and dramatic as the former, it was still a solid 5/5 for me! It was nice to see old characters return and their stories expanded upon.
Bova is a prolific writer. His writing is not masterpiece material. But you are always guaranteed an enjoyable and solid read.
These books seem to be building to something. Lots of sexism on the parts of the characters that expect all women to want children and men to only want sex. That was really strange.
I loved that the entire novel was really a letter, in a way. There’s a mystery at the center so I can’t say too much more. But this YA book was short and sweet. I really liked it.
_Titan_ by Ben Bova is the sequel to his earlier novel _Saturn_, part of his Grand Tour series of novels set in the solar system of the late 21st century. It picks up about a year or so after the events of _Saturn_ and it would be helpful if not essential for a reader to have read the earlier novel first.
Much like with _Saturn_, much time is spent on the politics, intrigue, and personal lives of people on the station _Goddard_ though unlike with the novel _Saturn_ the intrigue this time is more ...more
Much like with _Saturn_, much time is spent on the politics, intrigue, and personal lives of people on the station _Goddard_ though unlike with the novel _Saturn_ the intrigue this time is more ...more
This is the first book in Ben Bova's Grand Tour series that I've read. While this book did not particularly impress me, I will say that I enjoyed it enough to read more of his work.
First I'll start out with the good. The pacing of the story worked fairly well for me. In particular, it quite deftly avoided one of the biggest issues plaguing hard scifi books: the massive info dump. This isn't to say that it doesn't try to give you some scientific background on what's going on, but that it is in g ...more
First I'll start out with the good. The pacing of the story worked fairly well for me. In particular, it quite deftly avoided one of the biggest issues plaguing hard scifi books: the massive info dump. This isn't to say that it doesn't try to give you some scientific background on what's going on, but that it is in g ...more
Like most of Bova's planetary titles (sorta,) with some great ideas but bogged down by irritatingly shallow characters, frustrating political machinations, and the usual smattering of clumsy sexism, while actual paradigm-shattering discoveries are reduced to a footnote.
...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodreads Librari...: Titan (The Grand Tour #15) by Ben Bova | 4 | 12 | 03. September, 04:19 Uhr |
Readers also enjoyed
Ben Bova was born on November 8, 1932 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1953, while attending Temple University, he married Rosa Cucinotta, they had a son and a daughter. He would later divorce Rosa in 1974. In that same year he married Barbara Berson Rose.
Bova was an avid fencer and organized Avco Everett's fencing club. He was an environmentalist, but rejected Luddism.
Bova was a technical writer ...more
Bova was an avid fencer and organized Avco Everett's fencing club. He was an environmentalist, but rejected Luddism.
Bova was a technical writer ...more
Other books in the series
The Grand Tour
(1 - 10 of 24 books)
Related Articles
"Do you want to write a sci-fi short story?" Blake Crouch asked Andy Weir.
This is how Forward, the brand-new collection from...
69 likes · 14 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
