Saturn's Children

Saturn's Children
by Charles Stross

Saturn's Children
List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $13.45
You Save: $11.50 (46%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $9.16 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Charles Stross
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-07-01
ISBN: 0441015948
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Ace Hardcover

Book Reviews of Saturn's Children

Book Review: Juliette, Juliette, Wherefore art thou?
Summary: 4 Stars

Stross is back only this time the future is one without people. This is only a technicality however. Humanity disappeared for the usual vague reasons (loss of vigor, environmental destruction, blah blah) but the surviving android/robots picked up where humans left off and since they were built in the image of the Creators, civilization has not really changed. Some androids are rulers - think Dominatrix Natash - and others are slaves, money is still a driving concern, there's lots and lots of sex, crummy space travel and enough political intrigue to put the current campaign for President to shame.

HALTING STATE inquired about the nature of reality, Virtual reality vs. "real" reality and what happens when simultaneous realities mix. Virtual reality pops up again in GLASS HOUSE. The Singularity of ACCELERANDO, a cult favorite, is nowhere to be seen here. Instead we have a rather crude and at times childish romp through the Solar System with a female android who becomes, at one time or another, Freya, Rhea, Juliette, Maria and Kate among others. One problem for the reader is the sometimes daunting task of trying to figuire out which one she is. But the muddled personalities and plot is topped with the intriguing ideas presented. Souls on chips, soul graveyard, the similarities of android societies, the attitudes toward the Creators, sex between machines, slow time - all very exicting yet one gets the idea Stross is simply having fun. He's not really serious about it all.

But even with imaginative inventions, witty and sometimes hilarious dialogue and action galore, nothing can rescue this runaway plot. If Freya, the protagonist, cannot figure out who she is, what's happening, what she's supposed to do and why, how in the world is the reader expected to do so? The fact that Stross had to patiently and repeatedly explain the myriad layers and strings of the "plot" (still unclear at the last) in all its wacky meanderings says volumes.

Stross is a gifted writer - one of the best of this generation. His work is cutting edge, not quite cyber punk, not total space opera, not Asimov or Heinlein or Bradbury. Instead he offers a unique perspective on the current state of sci-fi thought. In SATURN'S CHILDREN (the title is one of the worst) Stross has reverted to older times updated by interesting ideas. My grade: B

Summary of Saturn's Children

Sometime in the twenty-third century, humanity went extinct-leaving only androids behind. Freya Nakamichi 47 is a femmebot, one of the last of her kind still functioning. With no humans left to pay for the pleasures she provides, she agrees to transport a mysterious package from Mercury to Mars. Unfortunately for Freya, she has just made herself a moving target for some very powerful, very determined humanoids who will stop at nothing to possess the contents of the package.

General Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in 5 STAR book reviews by Harriet Klausner, Amazon.com's #1 Reviewer!!
PILATE: A Brutal Bible Tale (Brutal Bible Tales (Harborside)) ImagePILATE: A Brutal Bible Tale (Brutal Bible Tales (Harborside))
by Steven Rage
Outskirts Press; Outskirts Press; Published: 2008-01-05; Kindle Edition; eBooks
Best price: $3.96
Price in other shops: $4.95
Chernobyl Murders ImageChernobyl Murders
by Michael Beres
Medallion Press; Published: 2008-06-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $17.24
Price in other shops: $25.95
All Souls' Night (Blood Ties, Book 4) ImageAll Souls' Night (Blood Ties, Book 4)
by Jennifer Armintrout
Mira; Published: 2008-06-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.93
Price in other shops: $6.99
Blue Smoke and Murder ImageBlue Smoke and Murder
by Elizabeth Lowell
William Morrow; Published: 2008-06-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.91
Price in other shops: $24.95
The Prefect ImageThe Prefect
by Alastair Reynolds
Ace Hardcover; Published: 2008-06-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.81
Price in other shops: $25.95
Codespell (Ravirn, Book 3) ImageCodespell (Ravirn, Book 3)
by Kelly McCullough
Ace; Published: 2008-05-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.14
Price in other shops: $6.99
Spectre (Zoe Martinique, Book 2) ImageSpectre (Zoe Martinique, Book 2)
by Phaedra Weldon
Ace Trade; Published: 2008-06-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.50
Price in other shops: $14.00
Through the Veil (Berkley Sensation) ImageThrough the Veil (Berkley Sensation)
by Shiloh Walker
Berkley; Published: 2008-06-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops: $6.99
Freezer Burn: A C.S.U. Investigation (C.S.U.) ImageFreezer Burn: A C.S.U. Investigation (C.S.U.)
by D.H. Dublin
Berkley; Published: 2008-06-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.57
Price in other shops: $7.99
Mrs. Jeffries Holds the Trump (Victorian Mysteries) ImageMrs. Jeffries Holds the Trump (Victorian Mysteries)
by Emily Brightwell
Berkley; Published: 2008-06-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.26
Price in other shops: $6.99
Similar Books and other products
The Merchants' War: Book Four of the Merchant Princes ImageThe Merchants' War: Book Four of the Merchant Princes
by Charles Stross
Tor Fantasy; Published: 2008-09-30; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.99
The Dreaming Void (The Void Trilogy, Book 1) ImageThe Dreaming Void (The Void Trilogy, Book 1)
by Peter F. Hamilton
Del Rey; Published: 2008-03-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.98
Price in other shops: $27.00
The Prefect ImageThe Prefect
by Alastair Reynolds
Ace Hardcover; Published: 2008-06-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.54
Price in other shops: $25.95
Little Brother ImageLittle Brother
by Cory Doctorow
Tor Teen; Published: 2008-04-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops: $17.95
Incandescence ImageIncandescence
by Greg Egan
Night Shade Books; Published: 2008-07-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.57
Price in other shops: $24.95
Implied Spaces ImageImplied Spaces
by Walter Jon Williams
Night Shade Books; Published: 2008-06-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.75
Price in other shops: $24.95
Matter ImageMatter
by Iain M. Banks
Orbit; Published: 2008-02-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.94
Price in other shops: $25.99
Zoe's Tale ImageZoe's Tale
by John Scalzi
Tor Books; Published: 2008-08-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.47
Price in other shops: $24.95
Halting State ImageHalting State
by Charles Stross
Ace Hardcover; Published: 2007-10-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.05
Price in other shops: $24.95
Anathem ImageAnathem
by Neal Stephenson
William Morrow; Published: 2008-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.25
Price in other shops: $29.95
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories