Visionary

Baxter seem current state of the world.s to have used a Time Machine in writing this book. So prescient of the current state of the world. Such a pity about the awful narration.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

"Titan" by Stephen Baxter

A novel of stunning imagination by Stephen Baxter, plunging into a vast alternative future. Believable characters brought to life by an intelligent and scholarly tone.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Not the sequel I was expecting

I first heard Voyage as a BBC dramatisation and very much enjoyed the greater detail and deeper content of the unabridged audiobook. It is a brilliant adventure story and a believable alternative history. So I was really looking forward to this second book in the NASA Trilogy and assumed it would follow on the story from the Moon to Mars and then to Titan, with man's ongoing serch for life in the universe.

Boy was I disappointed! The first book never happened. Natalie York never walked on Mars. The Shuttle beat the Saturn V and everything was the same a real history up to Cassini.

During this book NASA falls apart there's a world war and the Earth is destroyed by the Chinese. I might have some of this wrong because, to be honest, I had it playing, but I lost so much interest that I fell asleep and missed a chunk. I couldn't be bothered to go back and suffer for a second time.

Voyage was exactly how an alternative history should be. It worked from a few decisions in real history being made differently, and in reality, those decisions were actually quite close calls, and the actual history came from the personal choices of a few people.

This book is plane daft. Book Four just couldn't happen. Book Five is just unbelievable, Book Six just reminds me of the end of the film of 2001, but without any of the beauity and art of the film, without any redeeming feature at all.

After submitting this review I'm goning to ask Audible for a refund, and I wouldn't dream of trying Moonseed. I went into this looking forward to the continuation of a good story, and I've been sold a pup.

PS: On a personal note, I was a very, very small wheel in the Cassini program, working at a UK University Space Science department alongside people designing and building one of the Huygens instruments. I know how, if a few of the decisions made during the Cassini/Huygens project had been made differently, it could have changed everything, just like in the first book, Voyage. If this book had followed a similar line to Voyage, it wouldn't have ended up so completely daft.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Ridiculously Stupid

The only Stephen Baxter book I have not enjoyed and was not able to finish because it annoyed me so much!

The story is like a ridiculously stupid B Movie, the type of film Gerard Butler would star in!

To sum up the crazy stupidity without giving too much away I will say only "X-15!"

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Worst narration I have ever heard

I bought this title as I read the book many years ago and really enjoyed it like much of Baxter’s work.

I have not written any reviews on audible previously however I felt I must on this occasion. This is simply the worst narration I have ever heard. I am going to persevere with listening to this as it’s a story I really liked reading previously but seriously I can’t even begin to say how off putting the narration is. This is surely one for the serious fans only z

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful