Saturn by Ben Bova
01/09/2003 . Source: Paul Skevington 
pub: TOR. 412 page hardback. Price: $24.95 (US), $34.95 (CAN). ISBN: 1-312-87218-6. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.tor.com
and www.benbova.com
As has been previously noted I do like
a bit of action with my SF. You know what I mean, a few space
battles, some bola-wielding teddy bears here and there and perhaps
a 'nameless monstrosity from beyond the realms of mankind's imagination'
(who is known as Geoffrey to his friends). ‘Saturn’ has none of
that malarkey.
It is a very serious book. Its shiny silver book-jacket positively
oozes solemnity. So is this novel an example of the straight-faced
Science Fiction we are so familiar with. Well in a way yes, yet
mercifully in many other ways, absolutely not.
‘Saturn’ tells the story of humanity's first manned
mission to the aforementioned planet. It is set in a bleak future
where the world is ruled by the stabilising forces of several different
oppressive theocratic regimes. The New Morality is the regime that
controls America and a large portion of the storyline concerns their
attempts to infiltrate the planned mission.
You see, the crew will not be travelling in a fully
air-conditioned, faster-than-light bubble ship. No sir, this is
proper SF country you be a'traipsing in now, boy! The 'ship' is
actually a vast revolving cylindrical habitat, a space commune with
the population of a mid-sized town. The novel charts the journey
of this great craft and the effects living in such an environment
has on its citizens.
So to refer back to my earlier comments, yes we've
certainly got all the trappings of hard Science Fiction on show
but Bova's true interests lie in the depiction of the fledging society
struggling within the giant shiny toilet roll they call home. This
is definitely a good thing, as in Bova's hands this topic is a wonderful
source of drama and thought-provoking ideas.
The structure of the book is virtually faultless.
I particularly appreciated the way in which each 'book' in the novel
was prefaced by a quote from Galileo concerning Saturn itself. Galileo
was, of course, persecuted by the Catholic Church for his Copernican
beliefs (the belief that the Sun is the centre of the universe rather
than the Earth).
As previously mentioned, one of the main plot-lines
concerns the New Morality's attempts to make sure that this new
colony does not form without a heavy amount of guidance from themselves.
The link between Galileo and the attempted suppression of thought
and deed by the New Morality is just one example of the seamless
thematic construction that Bova creates in this book.
So no, there are no space battles but there is a huge
amount of wonderfully Machiavellian political manoeuvring. Malcolm
Eberly is the New Morality's plant, an ex-con given his freedom
in exchange for a pledge to bring the habitat under the direct dominance
of the oppressive religious faction.
There is a huge amount of pleasure to be gained in
watching this sociopath build up his power base as he slowly wraps
the crew of the ship around his little finger. The majority of the
people making the long journey are free-thinking outcasts and rebels.
As a liberal-minded kind of guy it gave me chills to read of the
ease with which Malcolm slowly cons them out of their freedom and
their liberty.
These are exactly the sorts of fears that Bova seeks
to engage with. The novel itself is a warning: a reflection on how
progressive thinking can be hampered by dictatorial doctrine, be
it religious or otherwise.
This doesn't mean that the scientists get off easily
though! As the craft is eventually due to set up permanent orbit
around Saturn it carries a full compliment of boffins. Many of them
are characterised as having motivations that are not always (or
even often) rooted in scientific discovery for science’s sake.
They are desperate for glory and unwilling to take
any action that could possibly result in losing out to one of their
colleagues. As the novel progresses, it is obvious that their isolationist
tendencies and their self-obsessed lifestyles are the very things
that allow people like Eberly to prosper.
Breaking up these heavy sociological musings are several
sub-plots designed to bring this political story back down from
the macro to the microcosmic scale. Susan is a girl who was terminally
ill, then was frozen awaiting a cure. When resurrected, she remembered
nothing of her former life, she was effectively a child again.
Her story of naiveté and hopeless love adds
an element of humanity to a tale that could so easily have been
much colder. Manuel Gaeta is an intergalactic stuntman who has joined
the expedition for his latest trick. Bova places him as the outside
observer. Once his stunt is over he will leave, so he is not an
official member of the community. This awards him a position that
allows Bova to add yet another fresh perspective on the events of
the colony.
OK, so it is severely lacking in aggressive teddy
bears but who cares! For a great examination of society under a
microscope or for a highly entertaining yarn of political backstabbing
look no further. Bova's rings rocks and that's a fact.
Paul Skevington
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