Saturn's Children
by Charles Stross
science fiction
copyright 2008
read in September 2016
rated 6/10: read to pass the time
Hang on. Am I missing something? Saturn's Children?! But they never go anywhere near Saturn! Hmmm, well, must be because, "His reign was depicted as a Golden Age of plenty and peace." (from Wikipedia). No, surely not. The universe of this book has neither plenty nor peace. Perhaps it's that reference to Saturn eating his son??
The whole book is like that: confusing.
It's a clever setting. Robots are created to serve Humanity. Then Humanity goes extinct. The robots are forced to follow Humanity's rules while creating their own civilisation. That's clever. There are clever ideas. There are humorous adaptations.
The heroine is likeable. A female sex robot -- what's not to like?! -- who is built to love, obey and "service" human males. Who no longer exist. Oops.
Then it gets confusing.
The heroine has flashbacks. Well explained but hard to follow. Is this a flashback? How are we getting a flashback now, when the flashback "memory" was created before these events? At least, that's the best that I can understand...
At the start the "other person's memories" are unexplained, that mystery is a part of the plot. By the time the author has explained the source of the flashbacks, they are so complicated that I am lost.
The ultimate evil plot (or group of interrelated plots) is revealed, nearly at the end of the book. At that stage I don't really care. Though it is nice to finally know who the villains... probably... are.
One plot is foiled. Various villains are despatched. Most villains just disappear. The heroine rides off into the sunset...
I'm glad she won. I just wish that it was a stronger ending.
Will the villains reappear in book two? Will the heroine ride back out of the sunset?
It's fun. It's clever. It's too complex. The ending is pleasant, just lacks a feeling of completeness.
In my opinion :-)
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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
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"New experiences lead to new questions and new solutions ! Change forces us to experiment and adapt ! That's how we learn and grow !" … Calvin, to Hobbes
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