Red Dwarf: Titan

Red Dwarf #0.5

by Rob Grant, Andrew Marshall

Before the beginning...
The mining ship Red Dwarf is in orbit around Saturnian moon Titan, and the bulk of the crew is heading down for their shore leave A strangely reluctant hen party; a relaxing cheaty golfing break; a terminally-boring cultural Odessey; a marathon drinking and fighting binge; a stomach-challenging culinary beanfeast and an invigoratingly violent tour of Shore Patrol...
Menial chicken soup machine repairmen Dave Lister and Arnold Rimmer have slightly less noble ambitions.
Rimmer is in search of some illicit exam-cheating tech, to land a much-lusted-for promotion, and Lister plans to acquire a cat to smuggle back on board as part of a nefarious scheme to return to Earth. Mainly they just want to get as far away from each other as possible. However, their objectives are scuppered when they receive a cryptic message... from the future.
The two feuding crewmen are catapulted into a breakneck race to save not only this, but every other Reality.
Along the way, they'll find themselves united again, for the first time, with some new, but somehow old friends, as they embark on a labyrinthian quest through the seediest, most dangerous underbelly of humankind's furthest outpost, where lurk bizarre off-worldly dangers and one mysterious hidden nemesis with an obscure, yet clearly lethal agenda.
So strap yourself into your Holly Hop Drive, and set your bazookoids to "thrill" - the Dwarfers are taking on TITAN.
'Don't tell my mother I died with my arm up a gorilla's bottom.'
'But sir - it will be on the death certificate.'

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook, Science Fiction

406 pages, Hardcover

Published July 16, 2026

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Grant

Writes under the name Grant Naylor when collaborating with Doug Naylor

Reviews

[Bella Phillipson]

My boys are meant to be together and this book did nothing to dissuade that sentiment

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

NON-SPOILER REVIEW FOLLOWED BY SPOILERS! I do say when, but I don't think the HTML spoiler function works in-app, so look out.

I'm a Red Dwarf fan to an embarrassing degree. It's one of those sitcoms, along with Bottom, that I can't remember my first time watching, because they've been part of my life from such an early age. I'll spare you my spiel on how you can say any random quote and I'll give you the exact episode, my DVD collection extends even to The Bodysnatcher Collection, despite mostly despising Naylor's solo work on the show I'm a strong defender of Chloë Annett and THAT scene in Blue and the Jane Austen parts of Beyond A Joke, and that I was the brand of teenage girl that took to Wattpad to read and no less write fanfiction regarding THAT scene in Blue, and just tell you that I was very excited upon the announcement of this book.

I've read all the Red Dwarf books a few times, strongly disliking Last Human, wishing Grant would do another solo. And he did!

And then he went and died.

I remember exactly where I was when I found out, I remember crying on the bus home, I remember watching his favourite episodes and raising a cocktail to him when I got home . . .

We miss you, Rob.

My pre-order of Titan arrives (with its hideous cover that I so hoped was a prototype!) as planned on publication day, and I get stuck in.

The dedication to Paul Jackson made me aww.

This is Rob Grant's Red Dwarf at its best. I'm not familiar with Marshall's work so I'm afraid I can't extend much specific credit to him, but I took every delight in Craig Charles and Chris Barrie's mannerisms of Lister and Rimmer being down to a T here. I could really see and hear every conversation.

Little changes are made, like Hollister's first name being Randy, and Krissie coming from Yorkshire (not that I'm complaining!), which may well be to distinguish this book's reality from the show's, or it may well have been this way in the original books that I haven't read for a long time.

This book is essentially a Red Dwarf special, but with a decent writer finally behind it.

Of course this is a prequel, so you're going to grieve that Cat and Kryten are absent - but then you're going to AWWWWWW at the appearance of our beloved Frankenstein, and accept that mechanoid Carzon is essentially what Kryten would have been before his trauma, aging, corrupted files, and humanisation.

Just brace yourself for the fact that they can namedrop things like Amazon now, because Red Dwarf was already set beyond us, before the three-million-year timeskip.

Enjoy!

*

SPOILERY REVIEW:

This is going to be very stream-of-consciousness that I write as I read. Brace.

Little nods are made to Red Dwarf itself here, some better than others; Frankenstein's affinity for preening herself made me chuckle, and the scene where she moonwalked made me ugly laugh.

Rimmer's comment of "You might as well get attached to a talking toaster." made me grit my teeth a bit, but I appreciate the effort.

Then we reach the end of Part One, and Kryten pops up. The Kryten we as the viewers know, because Titan is set in a slightly off reality to the one that becomes the show (he explains this). Complete with Bobby Llwellyn's version of a Canadian accent and overcompensatingly charming adoration of Lister, but I can't quite tell which iteration of Kryten he's supposed to be. Best bet is series 6. Thankfully the writers had the good sense to make him disappear just as quick. I don't hate him by any means, but the whiplash was incredible.

Part Two:

I don't want to harp on my petty gripes too much, like Lister and Rimmer's status quo being chicken soup machine repair men, when they repair all sorts of machines, that standard was only set in the first episode where Rimmer just happens to order chicken soup . . . so I'll leave it at that.

I love how much Krissie gets to do here, she's cleverly not described as bearing much resemblance to either actress (likely to be kind to Chloë Annett and yet not upset the misogynists - I love Clare Grogan too, but the unfounded hate Chloë Annett gets is a whole different conversation) and is very practical and witty and MERCIFULLY UNOBJECTIFIED. You see what happens when the better half of the duo is left to it? Her bravery and self-sacrifice are awesome too.

We also get to see more of Petersen, which is fun! And thankfully not overdone.

I know Red Dwarf never shies away from its cultural references, but I'm a bit on the fence about a long list of Stephen King novels being pratted off. The War Of The Worlds references amused me though, especially after watching last year's shitty adaptation. I wonder if Rob Grant watched it.

After the Kryten fiasco, I saw Frankenstein's transformation into Danny John-Jules's Cat coming. He's written brilliantly here, perfectly authentic to the show, but I can't help feeling a bit disappointed by this book's inability to detach itself from the show. I quite enjoyed the dissonance in the first half, it was interesting to see what life was like for Rimmer and Lister pre-episode one, therefore much pre-Cat and Kryten. Frankenstein's little nods to her eventual descendant and Carzon's likeness to Kryten as his in-universe manufacturers might have intended him were fun to see, lumping the the actual characters in here feels a bit pandering.

But hey, enough complaining, much like everyone else, Cat is at his best here, his mannerisms authentically translated to page and often making me wheeze.

Rimmer's Terrorform-remimiscent imprisonment and twist rescue were a nice spin, a great testament to how free an IP is without the limitations of a budget.

Finally getting a look at Lister's affections for Krissie pre-accident (and her unexpected lingering reciprocation!) is bittersweet, and things finally falling into place at the end of Part Two is very cathartic.


Part Three:

It had been Krissie's face, and Krissie's lips. But it hadn't been Krissie's kiss. BEAUTIFUL.

Part Four:

Rimmer finally getting some true happiness to spite his past really made me smile. It made remember Kryten's original wish in his introductory episode about having a grown garden and that's how I've always wanted his story to end . . . Dammit now I'm almost wishing Kryten had been utilised! I almost expected Rimmer's wig to be an allusion to Ace, and the man with the same hairstyle but not a wig to genuinely be Ace. I'm glad neither was true.

I'm trying to remember the Norman character from the other books! I'm sure there was one! Obviously the character Norman having become Holly is a deliberate meta call to his actor. But why him and not the others? Also BOO I wanted to see Hatty Hayridge's Holly in a book.

The explanation of what leads to the faulty drive plates is very interesting, and I'm dearly thanking both authors for not harping on the Everybody's dead, Dave shtick.

Cat being wiped out was sad, I like how even Lister's "Ohh, ayy . . ." is so true to him. Cat's predictable survival at least made me chuckle, and the persistent theme of the Destiny Engine provokes some thoughts about Gods and religious delusions and powers at be and it may just be an author's reflection of oneself and the uncontrollable impact of their work and fame.

Rimmer's (at first amusing) flashbacks contrasting his own devastating life flashing before his eyes and him giving up was quite something. Heavy emotion that's often laughed off in Red Dwarf.

Ingrid falls in love with Rimmer. Aww.

AND RIMMER IS IN LOVE WITH LISTER YESSSS THIS IS WHAT I'VE ALWAYS WANTED, RIMMER ISN'T PRETENDING, THIS IS REAL, YESSSSSSS!!!

Okay, Kryten's comeback makes me much less cynical about the addition of him and the Cat.

Part Five:

Oh, Duane Dibbley. Okay that was a good one that I didn't see coming.

I really thought that Lister and Kristine would get their happy ending in this one. I love the final Themis dupe.

Rimmer's weird similies got a bit grating by the end, but the twists made up for it.

Aww. A nod to Lister's claustrophobia. Aww.

The open ending is very very sad. Was this perhaps planned as a gateway into something bigger? Rob Grant's death was so sudden, less than a week after this book was announced.

Thank you, Rob Grant.

[Curtis Threadgold · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of reading an early edition of this, and as I lifelong fan I was not disappointed. No spoilers from me but Red Dwarf fans are in for a treat.

[ad_astras · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t really review this now - just know that it’s funny but also kind of broke my shipper heart a little, and now I need to go rewatch The Promised Land and cry.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly liked it but disliked part of the plot towards the end which I can't reveal because of spoilers.