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Titanborn
“No more death.”
In Titanborn, Schutter weaves the vivid world of Shangri-La — a colony living in isolation on Saturn’s moon, Titan — and the genetically-engineered humans known as Titanborn, whose task is simply to prove they can survive.
Meera is just one cog in the wheel of Shangri-La. Assigned to fulfill a role, Meera struggles to find a place for herself and overcome the trauma of loss as Titan casually takes the lives of her fellow colonists.
When a friend goes missing, Meera must choose to face her fears to save not just him, but all of the Titanborn, as the colony begins to unravel.
Can Meera and her people overcome the dangers of the inhospitable moon, or will the Titanborn fall to an enemy closer to home?
In Titanborn, Schutter weaves the vivid world of Shangri-La — a colony living in isolation on Saturn’s moon, Titan — and the genetically-engineered humans known as Titanborn, whose task is simply to prove they can survive.
Meera is just one cog in the wheel of Shangri-La. Assigned to fulfill a role, Meera struggles to find a place for herself and overcome the trauma of loss as Titan casually takes the lives of her fellow colonists.
When a friend goes missing, Meera must choose to face her fears to save not just him, but all of the Titanborn, as the colony begins to unravel.
Can Meera and her people overcome the dangers of the inhospitable moon, or will the Titanborn fall to an enemy closer to home?
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 8, 2020
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28 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 30, 2022
Disclaimer: Don't trust this review! This book was written by a personal friend, so I can't help but gush!
I was worried about reading Titanborn so soon after rereading Dune because they both feature intrigue and sand dunes prominently. But this is both a very different story and setting than Dune. My favorite parts of the plot were mystery and suspense, the book kept me guessing, while Dune had the cathartic joy of a Saturday morning cartoon, all of the wheels within wheels were laid quite bare. Also, the hard sci-fi core of Titanborn is much stronger than the wild fantasy ramblings of Dune, no Kwisatz Haderach future memories here, which is to my taste. I think the book was most enhanced by its pacing, its setting and its choice in protagonist representation.
The pacing of Titanborn was particularly strong, particularly through the second and third acts. Even though it's Schutter's first outing, it had the character of a page-turner, and the creeping sense of dread, ratcheting stakes and wear on the protagonists were all palpable. This was enhanced by having a good set of hints about what was happening, but no concrete resolution until very late in the book. I enjoyed guessing at whodunit.
The setting of Titanborn (Saturn's moon, Titan, perhaps unsurpsingly) is rendereed with much more concrete detail than you'd expect. Schutter's research of the geology of the planet paid off, and golden sand dunes, organic tar and methane rain all feel plausible and real. Much of the tension comes from the hostile terrain the characters traverse, so this is energy well spent. Making the planet feel real made the stakes feel real.
Finally, the main cast is an interesting representational cross-section. Schutter is clearly interested in recovering from trauma and coping with emotional / mental disorders, and the majority of the cast is dealing with a significant trauma. This is particularly interesting in a hard sci-fi setting where productivity, intellectual acumen and rationalty are prized because it mirrors some of what I've seen in STEM higher education. Those experiences are rendered faithfully, and seeing so many mentally ill protagonists is somethingn new. The cast also has a spectrum of sexual identities -- I think there's maybe one straight person in the book -- which largely go without comment. Diverse gender representation taking a calm back seat to the plot is a statement unto itself.
The book isn't perfect -- I think it substitutes the word calloused for callous, some of the emotional notes get repetitive, and some of the character arcs feel a bit flat or muddled -- but this is a tense ride through a corner of the universe that you probably haven't visited yet. Schutter's Titan is worth checking out!
I was worried about reading Titanborn so soon after rereading Dune because they both feature intrigue and sand dunes prominently. But this is both a very different story and setting than Dune. My favorite parts of the plot were mystery and suspense, the book kept me guessing, while Dune had the cathartic joy of a Saturday morning cartoon, all of the wheels within wheels were laid quite bare. Also, the hard sci-fi core of Titanborn is much stronger than the wild fantasy ramblings of Dune, no Kwisatz Haderach future memories here, which is to my taste. I think the book was most enhanced by its pacing, its setting and its choice in protagonist representation.
The pacing of Titanborn was particularly strong, particularly through the second and third acts. Even though it's Schutter's first outing, it had the character of a page-turner, and the creeping sense of dread, ratcheting stakes and wear on the protagonists were all palpable. This was enhanced by having a good set of hints about what was happening, but no concrete resolution until very late in the book. I enjoyed guessing at whodunit.
The setting of Titanborn (Saturn's moon, Titan, perhaps unsurpsingly) is rendereed with much more concrete detail than you'd expect. Schutter's research of the geology of the planet paid off, and golden sand dunes, organic tar and methane rain all feel plausible and real. Much of the tension comes from the hostile terrain the characters traverse, so this is energy well spent. Making the planet feel real made the stakes feel real.
Finally, the main cast is an interesting representational cross-section. Schutter is clearly interested in recovering from trauma and coping with emotional / mental disorders, and the majority of the cast is dealing with a significant trauma. This is particularly interesting in a hard sci-fi setting where productivity, intellectual acumen and rationalty are prized because it mirrors some of what I've seen in STEM higher education. Those experiences are rendered faithfully, and seeing so many mentally ill protagonists is somethingn new. The cast also has a spectrum of sexual identities -- I think there's maybe one straight person in the book -- which largely go without comment. Diverse gender representation taking a calm back seat to the plot is a statement unto itself.
The book isn't perfect -- I think it substitutes the word calloused for callous, some of the emotional notes get repetitive, and some of the character arcs feel a bit flat or muddled -- but this is a tense ride through a corner of the universe that you probably haven't visited yet. Schutter's Titan is worth checking out!
May 21, 2020
The Titanborn are a colony of genetically-engineered humans living on Saturn's moon, Titan. Their mission is to prove that they can survive in isolation without contact from Earth or other colonies. Shangri-La is run by an AI called AVA, who controls everyone's schedules and rotas - and a recent patch seems to have caused strange bugs in AVA's system. We follow Meera, a neuro-engineer who is struggling with her own mental health. When her friend Torvram goes missing, she is part of the search party looking for him, alongside Matyom, Chase, Fei and her boss, Lakshmi.
I loved Titanborn! It is really immersive and I didn't want to put it down. My mind continued racing about the plotline and what might be causing the strange malfunctions. The pace and suspense continued to the very end.
The world that Brian has created is so immersive. I really liked the telepathic messages that the genetically enhanced characters send to each other. They each have their own personal flourishes and touches. For example, Torvram's messages are accented with his capital Ts and :3, while Lakshmi has lots of emotes in hers like D: and :). The artificial eyes of many of the characters also play an important part, with everyone's eye colours individual and described throughout the story.
Titanborn talks a lot about mental illness and the importance of mental health, which is really refreshing. Despite the story being set on one of Saturn's moons, their struggles all felt very relatable. There is also an acknowledgement that it is hard to look after someone with depression — even if you love them very much, it can be exhausting and very hard work. There are lots of positive messages of hope from several of the characters which I really appreciated.
Here is one of my favourite quotes from Anya, Meera's therapist:
In addition, there is a mix of same-sex and opposite-sex relationships and there are characters who use 'they/them' pronouns. I really appreciated this diversity.
I would have liked to have more descriptions about what the characters were seeing. Some areas of Shangri-La and the outside world had no real visual descriptions so I had to imagine it without any cues. Timescales are also not immediately obvious! It feels like the journey from Shangri-La to the Aztlan Waystation takes just a few hours, so I was surprised when later it's mentioned that actually it was four days!
Again, I really loved this book. The story carries through the personal relationships of each of the characters and the wonderfully written conversations between them. It moves along at a perfect speed and I felt totally lost in this world. I loved all of the characters (even the less likeable ones!) and enjoyed seeing their personal growth throughout the story. The ending left me wanting more, and I look forward to reading more about the Titanborn colony in future instalments!
I loved Titanborn! It is really immersive and I didn't want to put it down. My mind continued racing about the plotline and what might be causing the strange malfunctions. The pace and suspense continued to the very end.
The world that Brian has created is so immersive. I really liked the telepathic messages that the genetically enhanced characters send to each other. They each have their own personal flourishes and touches. For example, Torvram's messages are accented with his capital Ts and :3, while Lakshmi has lots of emotes in hers like D: and :). The artificial eyes of many of the characters also play an important part, with everyone's eye colours individual and described throughout the story.
Titanborn talks a lot about mental illness and the importance of mental health, which is really refreshing. Despite the story being set on one of Saturn's moons, their struggles all felt very relatable. There is also an acknowledgement that it is hard to look after someone with depression — even if you love them very much, it can be exhausting and very hard work. There are lots of positive messages of hope from several of the characters which I really appreciated.
Here is one of my favourite quotes from Anya, Meera's therapist:
"All we can do is just try. Try to speak up, try to catalog your fears in a journal, try to find time to study, or try to so something entirely unexpected, even. It's not all going to work, and sometimes it'll feel like you're just putting yourself out there only to fail, but we all have to keep trying. We all have to keep moving forward."
In addition, there is a mix of same-sex and opposite-sex relationships and there are characters who use 'they/them' pronouns. I really appreciated this diversity.
I would have liked to have more descriptions about what the characters were seeing. Some areas of Shangri-La and the outside world had no real visual descriptions so I had to imagine it without any cues. Timescales are also not immediately obvious! It feels like the journey from Shangri-La to the Aztlan Waystation takes just a few hours, so I was surprised when later it's mentioned that actually it was four days!
Again, I really loved this book. The story carries through the personal relationships of each of the characters and the wonderfully written conversations between them. It moves along at a perfect speed and I felt totally lost in this world. I loved all of the characters (even the less likeable ones!) and enjoyed seeing their personal growth throughout the story. The ending left me wanting more, and I look forward to reading more about the Titanborn colony in future instalments!
June 18, 2020
What a unique, compelling read! A definite page-turner, and I'm not even a Sci-Fi fan!
Can't wait for Volume 2.
Can't wait for Volume 2.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews