What do you think?
Rate this book
Astropolis #1
Saturn Returns
In the forty-third millennium of human history, Imre Bergamasc awakens after two hundred years to the realization that he has been the victim of an elaborate murder plot-a plot that also destroyed the intergalactic transport milieu known as the Continuum. But now that Imre has been reborn, he will stop at nothing to help bring forth the rebirth of the galaxy.
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 24, 2007
8 people are currently reading
265 people want to read
About the author
Sean Williams
276 books469 followers#1 New York Times bestselling Sean Williams lives with his family in Adelaide, South Australia. He’s written some books--forty-two at last count--including the Philip K. Dick-nominated Saturn Returns, several Star Wars novels and the Troubletwister series with Garth Nix. Twinmaker is a YA SF series that takes his love affair with the matter transmitter to a whole new level. You can find some related short stories over at Lightspeed Magazine and elsewhere. Thanks for reading.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
June 16, 2008
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)
This is one of four books that recently came in and out of my life without me finishing, which coincidentally enough also kicks off a little mini-series coming here to CCLaP this month; for, you see, by sheer dumb luck, I was able this month to get my hands on half of the ten science-fiction novels nominated this year for either the Hugo or Philip K Dick awards. This one here, for example, Sean Williams' Saturn Returns (book one of the coming "Astropolis" trilogy), was nominated for the PKD award, which honors the best each year in cutting-edge and experimental SF; but I have to confess that I simply didn't find it very well-written at all, and eventually gave up out of frustration around page 50. The storyline is serviceable enough, I suppose, although definitely enjoys wallowing in what's sometimes the most trite cliches of the entire genre; it is One Million Years In The Future!, where in true Accelerando fashion humans have become immortal, precisely through "uploading" their memories into digital storage and then "downloading" them into new bodies whenever they want. The actual plot, then, at least as I understand it, concerns a soldier from a now long-over war, whose digital backup is accidentally discovered in space almost totally destroyed, almost 150,000 years after the destruction originally took place; put back together by an alien race (except accidentally as the opposite gender), he/she basically spends the rest of the book trying to figure out what happened, why the war ended, and what caused the apocalyptic rift that has essentially destroyed what had been a galaxy-wide means of communications.
And I say "as I understand it," of course, because this is the single biggest problem with Saturn Returns: Williams simply takes on too much, too much speculative crap, and tries to cram it all into a story too small to hold it, using writing skills that simply aren't good enough to juggle it all coherently. The book as a result turns into a muddled mess very quickly, with just dozens of references to made-up terminology that still haven't been explained 50 pages into it, as well as constant allusions to a series of interchangeable-sounding galactic wars in this Million Years In The Future! past, a "Chaos War" and "Mad Times" war and "Slow Wave" war with differences that make perfect sense to the characters, but that become a giant headache-inducing chronological cloud to us. Plus, I have to agree with several other online reviewers when I say, "What's with all the pointless softcore pornography, Williams?" Pretty much the only reason to put the main male character into a female body, as far as I could tell, was so the character could regularly think to himself, "Holy crap, I've got titties!," then proceed to play with them; the only reason to have two of these soldiers date each other in the backstory, as far as I could tell, was so Williams could describe the violent sex they had on a regular basis. I was surprised this got nominated for a PKD award, to tell you the truth; it's the kind of book that makes non-SF people roll their eyes when thinking of the genre, not the kind of stuff you'd think the industry would want to celebrate.
Out of 10: 3.8
This is one of four books that recently came in and out of my life without me finishing, which coincidentally enough also kicks off a little mini-series coming here to CCLaP this month; for, you see, by sheer dumb luck, I was able this month to get my hands on half of the ten science-fiction novels nominated this year for either the Hugo or Philip K Dick awards. This one here, for example, Sean Williams' Saturn Returns (book one of the coming "Astropolis" trilogy), was nominated for the PKD award, which honors the best each year in cutting-edge and experimental SF; but I have to confess that I simply didn't find it very well-written at all, and eventually gave up out of frustration around page 50. The storyline is serviceable enough, I suppose, although definitely enjoys wallowing in what's sometimes the most trite cliches of the entire genre; it is One Million Years In The Future!, where in true Accelerando fashion humans have become immortal, precisely through "uploading" their memories into digital storage and then "downloading" them into new bodies whenever they want. The actual plot, then, at least as I understand it, concerns a soldier from a now long-over war, whose digital backup is accidentally discovered in space almost totally destroyed, almost 150,000 years after the destruction originally took place; put back together by an alien race (except accidentally as the opposite gender), he/she basically spends the rest of the book trying to figure out what happened, why the war ended, and what caused the apocalyptic rift that has essentially destroyed what had been a galaxy-wide means of communications.
And I say "as I understand it," of course, because this is the single biggest problem with Saturn Returns: Williams simply takes on too much, too much speculative crap, and tries to cram it all into a story too small to hold it, using writing skills that simply aren't good enough to juggle it all coherently. The book as a result turns into a muddled mess very quickly, with just dozens of references to made-up terminology that still haven't been explained 50 pages into it, as well as constant allusions to a series of interchangeable-sounding galactic wars in this Million Years In The Future! past, a "Chaos War" and "Mad Times" war and "Slow Wave" war with differences that make perfect sense to the characters, but that become a giant headache-inducing chronological cloud to us. Plus, I have to agree with several other online reviewers when I say, "What's with all the pointless softcore pornography, Williams?" Pretty much the only reason to put the main male character into a female body, as far as I could tell, was so the character could regularly think to himself, "Holy crap, I've got titties!," then proceed to play with them; the only reason to have two of these soldiers date each other in the backstory, as far as I could tell, was so Williams could describe the violent sex they had on a regular basis. I was surprised this got nominated for a PKD award, to tell you the truth; it's the kind of book that makes non-SF people roll their eyes when thinking of the genre, not the kind of stuff you'd think the industry would want to celebrate.
Out of 10: 3.8
February 25, 2011
Saturn Returns, the first book of Astropolis, marks a pivotal time in the career of Adelaide author Sean Williams. Like the title metaphor, it seems the author himself is going through a personal homecoming of sorts. After the debacle of the Books of the Cataclysm, Sean has revisited the path where he started – and, dare I say it, where he belongs.
Apart from the humbling cover, I was immediately struck by the title: Saturn Returns. It just gels. From the start, the story rolls off the mind-tongue in much the same way. The term ‘layers are stripped away’ is probably used all too frequently in reviews, but it certainly applies here. Perhaps more than anywhere else. For our protagonist, Imre Bergamasc, is truly lost after awakening in the body of a female hundreds of years after his own murder. His resurrection is overseen by the Jinc – a gestalt hive mind intelligence that seeks God itself on the fringes of space.
One could say this is the premise about the book: After awakening two-hundred years after death, a former mercenary commander tries to recover his own memory and discovers the possibility that he caused the fall of civilization. This, however, cannot quite measure the sum of its parts. In science fiction, ideas have long held sway, often eclipsing characters and their motivations. But Saturn Returns is about people. Real people. Setting itself up as an original and grandiose masterpiece of Space Opera.
During his day, defined by the Continuum (be it the Federation or the Hegemony, one has to name a future galactic empire), Imre Bregamasc led a motley crew of elite super soldiers on campaigns spanning centuries. With great responsibility comes great conscience, and Imre is not immune to the pitfalls of leadership, with burgeoning memories that indicate he, at times, certainly wasn’t a ‘decent man.’
With honesty and aplomb Sean shows us that, unfortunately, wars will never be won: it’s the human condition and mirrors the current global situation. No matter how hard we travel and how hard we evolve, human beings, at their very basic, will always be warring machines …
During the reading of this tome, knowing that he was only a couple of suburbs away when composing, it electrified me.
Apart from the humbling cover, I was immediately struck by the title: Saturn Returns. It just gels. From the start, the story rolls off the mind-tongue in much the same way. The term ‘layers are stripped away’ is probably used all too frequently in reviews, but it certainly applies here. Perhaps more than anywhere else. For our protagonist, Imre Bergamasc, is truly lost after awakening in the body of a female hundreds of years after his own murder. His resurrection is overseen by the Jinc – a gestalt hive mind intelligence that seeks God itself on the fringes of space.
One could say this is the premise about the book: After awakening two-hundred years after death, a former mercenary commander tries to recover his own memory and discovers the possibility that he caused the fall of civilization. This, however, cannot quite measure the sum of its parts. In science fiction, ideas have long held sway, often eclipsing characters and their motivations. But Saturn Returns is about people. Real people. Setting itself up as an original and grandiose masterpiece of Space Opera.
During his day, defined by the Continuum (be it the Federation or the Hegemony, one has to name a future galactic empire), Imre Bregamasc led a motley crew of elite super soldiers on campaigns spanning centuries. With great responsibility comes great conscience, and Imre is not immune to the pitfalls of leadership, with burgeoning memories that indicate he, at times, certainly wasn’t a ‘decent man.’
With honesty and aplomb Sean shows us that, unfortunately, wars will never be won: it’s the human condition and mirrors the current global situation. No matter how hard we travel and how hard we evolve, human beings, at their very basic, will always be warring machines …
During the reading of this tome, knowing that he was only a couple of suburbs away when composing, it electrified me.
January 28, 2015
Well, it's safe to say I will not be reading any more of this series. I just wish I'd listened to good advice from friends and given up at the halfway point. Sadly I didn't as I hate to give up on a book. There is a good story hiding in here somewhere but I just couldn't stand how it has been done.
July 2, 2024
I did like this book, it was interesting in places, not all through the book though. Hopefully the next one will be better
October 13, 2024
I found this book really confusing. It is a short book but it took me ages to get through.
May 23, 2011
I've read the entirety of astropholis, but will be leaving my comments on the whole series until the last book.
Anyway...This book is quite enjoyable, but simply could have been better. It has a fantastic start off point, and the first 50-100 pages is very good and just filled with ideas. The drum was one of the most original ideas I'd read in a while related to an uploaded mind and the scenes with the kinc are interesting in many ways. The gender bending stuff is interesting for all sorts of reasons if you read the entire series, but no spoilers here.
But then, once he leaves the Jinc, the story seems to just go off on rails a bit. And I do mean on rails. It's like it's a video game and you always seem to co-incidently end up in the spot where you best friends all are. The prison in space was more a choice matter, but it still seemed a bit forced in the plot. Kind of Like Sean was saying "Gee, I've got an awesome idea for a space prison, how can I use this."
I had sort of a hint at why render wasn't right, and the whole only talking in songs things was in the back of my mind. I know someone who spoke only in quotes for a year once, but not songs. Still, it never really clicked until I was talking to Sean Williams and he asked me how I dealt with it. Frankly, the whole time render has seemed more like a talking Mcguffin the whole way through the trilogy and This book especially like Sean was trying to work him in just to have that as a running joke.
Anyway...This book is quite enjoyable, but simply could have been better. It has a fantastic start off point, and the first 50-100 pages is very good and just filled with ideas. The drum was one of the most original ideas I'd read in a while related to an uploaded mind and the scenes with the kinc are interesting in many ways. The gender bending stuff is interesting for all sorts of reasons if you read the entire series, but no spoilers here.
But then, once he leaves the Jinc, the story seems to just go off on rails a bit. And I do mean on rails. It's like it's a video game and you always seem to co-incidently end up in the spot where you best friends all are. The prison in space was more a choice matter, but it still seemed a bit forced in the plot. Kind of Like Sean was saying "Gee, I've got an awesome idea for a space prison, how can I use this."
I had sort of a hint at why render wasn't right, and the whole only talking in songs things was in the back of my mind. I know someone who spoke only in quotes for a year once, but not songs. Still, it never really clicked until I was talking to Sean Williams and he asked me how I dealt with it. Frankly, the whole time render has seemed more like a talking Mcguffin the whole way through the trilogy and This book especially like Sean was trying to work him in just to have that as a running joke.
July 15, 2011
I didn't have high hopes for this as I picked it up for £1.99 at one of those bargin bookshops, but I'd liked some of Williams other books so I thought I'd give it a go and was very pleased that I did.
This is a really excellent read which I just ate up in a week. The main character is driven by their need to find out who they are after being re-embodied with gaps in their memory, and the book nicely reveals this in a flashbacks and plot discoveries as the story progresses and you build up a picture of who he was and what he did. It's a book packed with convincing dialogue and well rounded characters, and a backdrop which spans the galaxy.
What was really impressive was the way williams handles a culture and story spread over immense swathes of time (thousands and millions of years), and populated with multiple copies of the same characters running along different personal timelines. This had the potential to be awful, but was handled convincingly and gave a unique flavour to the society that williams has created, setting it apart from the usual space opera fare.
Highly recommended.
This is a really excellent read which I just ate up in a week. The main character is driven by their need to find out who they are after being re-embodied with gaps in their memory, and the book nicely reveals this in a flashbacks and plot discoveries as the story progresses and you build up a picture of who he was and what he did. It's a book packed with convincing dialogue and well rounded characters, and a backdrop which spans the galaxy.
What was really impressive was the way williams handles a culture and story spread over immense swathes of time (thousands and millions of years), and populated with multiple copies of the same characters running along different personal timelines. This had the potential to be awful, but was handled convincingly and gave a unique flavour to the society that williams has created, setting it apart from the usual space opera fare.
Highly recommended.
May 1, 2011
Mind-bending Science fiction set in a universe where there is no FTL and characters fragment themselves into multiple bodies in order to travel between the stars. This book falls somewhere between hard SF and space opera and is a favorite of mine in both genres. The whole series so far has been superb, and I'm really hoping Williams writes more books in this universe...
December 21, 2022
If you’re a frequent or perhaps an infrequent visitor to this blog you’ll have probably noticed the lack of sci-fi. It’s not that I dislike sci-fi as such. It’s more that I don’t go out of my way to read it. I do however watch quite a bit of it and have done for quite a few years. I’ve never left school so fast as when Star Trek: Generations opened. The reason for enjoying watching rather than reading could be that showing something technological might be easier visually than descriptively or it could be that fantasy in fiction is just my thing.
How does this relate to Saturn Returns? I must admit I found it hard going at the start. Where a dead Imre Bergamasc is brought back to life by the Jinc who are hoovering space looking for proof of the existence of god. Imre then makes it his mission to solve the mystery of the Slow Wave and its devastating effect on the galaxy. A disaster he seems to play a very important part in.
But the plot wasn’t the part I was struggling with. It was the world building as Williams uses Imre’s memory loss and flash-backs and revelations to inform the reader as well as move the plot along. I guess I’m on the show not tell side of the fence and there is a little too much tell.
But then about half-way through all the plot/world-building falls away and the story gets going. And at that point I started getting into the mystery and the story that Williams was telling. I’d have preferred this state to have come a few pages earlier but at least it came.
The strange this is that as we’re with a main character who has a Swiss cheese memory we, and neither can he, be sure that what he remembers is 100% how it occurred. And Williams uses this to change the perspective on a key event when he reveals what actually happened. I enjoyed the reinterpretation and it added something to each of the characters. As the story progresses we Imre puts back together and the story is really a quest to find them and put his team back together.
In William’s galaxy humans have diversified both space and the mind. There are now Primes, Forts, Singletons amongst others. And they have more control of their bodies and how time is perceived. All this adds to an interesting and unique mix.
Overall I enjoyed the ideas and world that is presented, what makes it worth reading at the moment is the mystery element and how each of the character is more than they appear.
This is definitely an opening chapter to something deeper and more intriguing from what I can tell of the ending and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to Imre and his little band next.
How does this relate to Saturn Returns? I must admit I found it hard going at the start. Where a dead Imre Bergamasc is brought back to life by the Jinc who are hoovering space looking for proof of the existence of god. Imre then makes it his mission to solve the mystery of the Slow Wave and its devastating effect on the galaxy. A disaster he seems to play a very important part in.
But the plot wasn’t the part I was struggling with. It was the world building as Williams uses Imre’s memory loss and flash-backs and revelations to inform the reader as well as move the plot along. I guess I’m on the show not tell side of the fence and there is a little too much tell.
But then about half-way through all the plot/world-building falls away and the story gets going. And at that point I started getting into the mystery and the story that Williams was telling. I’d have preferred this state to have come a few pages earlier but at least it came.
The strange this is that as we’re with a main character who has a Swiss cheese memory we, and neither can he, be sure that what he remembers is 100% how it occurred. And Williams uses this to change the perspective on a key event when he reveals what actually happened. I enjoyed the reinterpretation and it added something to each of the characters. As the story progresses we Imre puts back together and the story is really a quest to find them and put his team back together.
In William’s galaxy humans have diversified both space and the mind. There are now Primes, Forts, Singletons amongst others. And they have more control of their bodies and how time is perceived. All this adds to an interesting and unique mix.
Overall I enjoyed the ideas and world that is presented, what makes it worth reading at the moment is the mystery element and how each of the character is more than they appear.
This is definitely an opening chapter to something deeper and more intriguing from what I can tell of the ending and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to Imre and his little band next.
August 16, 2017
Not sure about this one. Main character (Imre Bergamasc) is unloveable, even though there are strong themes of redemption (of him, maybe his other selves, and probably the galaxy) throughout the novel. The span of time that the action takes place over is just a little on the unbelievable side - I just can't bring myself to believe that the kind of things that take decades in other stories really take millenia. Plus, the story is on the slow moving side - yes, it is moving across galactic distances at sub-light speed, and the sory does manage to convey this well, but even so.
It feels like the first 3/4 of the book is set up - it takes about that long for all of the 'Corps' to have been located (at least, in one form or another), and then for them to have a purpose. There are several other bits of action prior to this, but really only give the impression of being scene setters. And the denouement was a let down. I'm hoping that it is preparation for the next book - it is certainly my impression of Williams' work that he doesn't write sections of series that work well as standalones. But on the negative side, I'm not going to go searching for the sequel, so I may never know.
It feels like the first 3/4 of the book is set up - it takes about that long for all of the 'Corps' to have been located (at least, in one form or another), and then for them to have a purpose. There are several other bits of action prior to this, but really only give the impression of being scene setters. And the denouement was a let down. I'm hoping that it is preparation for the next book - it is certainly my impression of Williams' work that he doesn't write sections of series that work well as standalones. But on the negative side, I'm not going to go searching for the sequel, so I may never know.
March 27, 2021
I've given this a 3* rating although I'm not sure it deserves as many. I'm not sure it's feasible to set a novel, even a science fiction novel over 875 odd millennia in the future. How long has homo sapiens been around? An 8th of that time? And look how we have changed. What is going to happen if we survive another 100,000 years. Who can tell? As for the writing itself, I found the book hard going and had no sympathy with any of the characters. Not a very satisfactory book. I'm not going to hunt out the other two in the series, even if I could. Volume 2 seems to be unavailable.
September 10, 2017
Sean Williams is clearly a very creative author - the first half of the book was devoted to world-building and was reminiscent (but not too much!) of Reynolds' House of Suns. The second half of the book, unfortunately, felt rushed and somewhat contrived.
January 18, 2023
The world building is absolutely great. The tempo shifting is an interesting solution to the problem of sub-lightspeed interstellar travel. The prose is a bit stale at times, and the plot isn't always internally consistent.
December 5, 2024
Some interesting ideas, but on the whole I just couldn't get into this. A million things crammed into a story that didn't really seem to know where it was going, and not a single character likable or interesting enough to make me feel invested anywhere to be found.
October 3, 2019
slow going, pretty much just introduced characters - didnt really find universe or story engaging enough to continue the series
July 19, 2019
A lukewarm mess that's chock full of unexplained tech and terminology -- even with the aid of an appendix at the end. Therefore, sadly, it's more fantasy than science fiction. But some readers will definitely dig this book more than I did.
It had a few moments. But mostly it felt like reading a super-long amnesia/body dysmorphism joke (not a very funny one, either). And the punch line is even less logical/funny. Then it expects you to be interested in the next book in the series.
Nope.
VERDICT: 1.9 stars, maybe rounded to 2. Not without merit (imagination-wise), but I can't really recommend it, either.
It had a few moments. But mostly it felt like reading a super-long amnesia/body dysmorphism joke (not a very funny one, either). And the punch line is even less logical/funny. Then it expects you to be interested in the next book in the series.
Nope.
VERDICT: 1.9 stars, maybe rounded to 2. Not without merit (imagination-wise), but I can't really recommend it, either.
August 5, 2016
As I’ve said before, Sean is one of Australia’s most prolific,
inventive and successful speculative fiction writers in this
or, probably, any other era. He’s also an incredibly nice
person, which makes him impossible to hate; believe me,
I’ve tried. He’s written thirteen science fiction books (although it’s hard to
keep count, so many have been reprinted), including the excellent Orphans
of Earth trilogy with fellow Australian writer Shane Dix. Saturn Returns
marks a return to his solo SF writing at novel length.
In the 879th millennium, former mercenary commander, Imre Bergamasc,
is brought back to life in curious fashion. His genetic information and personality
had been inscribed in a continuous groove running round and round the
inside of a huge metal drum (much like an inside out phonograph cylinder)
which was in turn destroyed 150,000 years before the book begins and then
painstakingly reassembled (although with some important pieces missing) by
the Jinc, a disseminated personality seeking to find the true expression of God,
the wellspring of the first life in the universe. The Jinc use the information to
recreate Bergamasc as a living being, but with some important differences:
some parts of his memory are missing, due to gaps in the reconstructed drum;
and they make him into a woman, which really messes with his ability to adapt
to this new environment. There’s also the question as to why the drum carrying
Bergamasc’s ‘essence’ was nuked out of existence. Given it was safely orbiting a
thousand light years outside the galaxy and supra-light craft don’t exist, that is
one hell of a grudge someone carried.
In the universe of Saturn Returns, humanity can be divided into three main
types: the Primes who, although they take advantage of genetic manipulation
and anti-agathics, are rugged individuals (when they die, that’s it); the
Singletons who have multiple copies of themselves roaming around acting
independently of each other and—depending on the personality—meeting up
to compare notes or to act in concert; and the Forts, vastly intelligent intellects
disseminated through countless living beings—frags—who act as their hands,
feet, eyes and ears. The Forts are able to control their various ‘appendages’ even
when dispersed across light years by virtue of a ‘Q loop’, perhaps some kind of
quantum entanglement effect, which allows instantaneous contact.
Bergamasc and his mercenaries initially fought against the Forts in the
name of individuality, before acknowledging the important role the Forts
played in bringing order to the Continuum and completing various black ops
on their behalf, like a bunch of kick-arse psychohistorians on steroids.
Bergamasc’s escape from the Jinc and arrival in the lightcone of his
own galaxy brings a sobering revelation: the Slow Wave, a phenomenon of
unknown origin, has propagated across the galaxy destroying the Q loop and
the Forts’ ability to function. Without their civilising influence, much of the
galaxy is reverting to barbarism (echoes again of the Foundation books) and,
it seems, everyone wants a piece of Imre Bergamasc. And as he discovers more
about himself and what he’s supposed to have done, he begins to question
whether he used to be a very nice person at all, and considers what—given a
second chance—he’d like to do about that.
There’s a lot of humour in Saturn Returns, not least the reference to
the spatial anomaly of ‘Cat’s Arse’ — which has been pondered by many of
us for a long time — and the character of Render, who speaks only in the
lyrics of Gary Numan (and very effectively so). There’s also a great deal of
hope, particularly the fact that, despite convergent technology, AI, uploading,
genetic manipulation and so on, there are still recognisably human individuals
in the universe, who continue to play a role in our collective future.
The structuring of the story shows a great deal of skill. The nature of
Bergamasc’s amnesia means that there is a lot of backfilling on previous
events by the other characters he encounters. In the hands of a lesser writer,
this could have slowed the narrative flow, but not here. The other factor is the
way Sean deals with complex scientific concepts effortlessly, accessibly, and
always in support of plot progression.
Sean has produced some good work in the past; he’s had the opportunity
to flex his writing muscles in a wide variety of projects. In Saturn Returns, I
felt a new assuredness, a strength of voice that was compellingly entertaining
and thought-provoking. Saturn Returns is Sean’s best yet—go out and buy it.
inventive and successful speculative fiction writers in this
or, probably, any other era. He’s also an incredibly nice
person, which makes him impossible to hate; believe me,
I’ve tried. He’s written thirteen science fiction books (although it’s hard to
keep count, so many have been reprinted), including the excellent Orphans
of Earth trilogy with fellow Australian writer Shane Dix. Saturn Returns
marks a return to his solo SF writing at novel length.
In the 879th millennium, former mercenary commander, Imre Bergamasc,
is brought back to life in curious fashion. His genetic information and personality
had been inscribed in a continuous groove running round and round the
inside of a huge metal drum (much like an inside out phonograph cylinder)
which was in turn destroyed 150,000 years before the book begins and then
painstakingly reassembled (although with some important pieces missing) by
the Jinc, a disseminated personality seeking to find the true expression of God,
the wellspring of the first life in the universe. The Jinc use the information to
recreate Bergamasc as a living being, but with some important differences:
some parts of his memory are missing, due to gaps in the reconstructed drum;
and they make him into a woman, which really messes with his ability to adapt
to this new environment. There’s also the question as to why the drum carrying
Bergamasc’s ‘essence’ was nuked out of existence. Given it was safely orbiting a
thousand light years outside the galaxy and supra-light craft don’t exist, that is
one hell of a grudge someone carried.
In the universe of Saturn Returns, humanity can be divided into three main
types: the Primes who, although they take advantage of genetic manipulation
and anti-agathics, are rugged individuals (when they die, that’s it); the
Singletons who have multiple copies of themselves roaming around acting
independently of each other and—depending on the personality—meeting up
to compare notes or to act in concert; and the Forts, vastly intelligent intellects
disseminated through countless living beings—frags—who act as their hands,
feet, eyes and ears. The Forts are able to control their various ‘appendages’ even
when dispersed across light years by virtue of a ‘Q loop’, perhaps some kind of
quantum entanglement effect, which allows instantaneous contact.
Bergamasc and his mercenaries initially fought against the Forts in the
name of individuality, before acknowledging the important role the Forts
played in bringing order to the Continuum and completing various black ops
on their behalf, like a bunch of kick-arse psychohistorians on steroids.
Bergamasc’s escape from the Jinc and arrival in the lightcone of his
own galaxy brings a sobering revelation: the Slow Wave, a phenomenon of
unknown origin, has propagated across the galaxy destroying the Q loop and
the Forts’ ability to function. Without their civilising influence, much of the
galaxy is reverting to barbarism (echoes again of the Foundation books) and,
it seems, everyone wants a piece of Imre Bergamasc. And as he discovers more
about himself and what he’s supposed to have done, he begins to question
whether he used to be a very nice person at all, and considers what—given a
second chance—he’d like to do about that.
There’s a lot of humour in Saturn Returns, not least the reference to
the spatial anomaly of ‘Cat’s Arse’ — which has been pondered by many of
us for a long time — and the character of Render, who speaks only in the
lyrics of Gary Numan (and very effectively so). There’s also a great deal of
hope, particularly the fact that, despite convergent technology, AI, uploading,
genetic manipulation and so on, there are still recognisably human individuals
in the universe, who continue to play a role in our collective future.
The structuring of the story shows a great deal of skill. The nature of
Bergamasc’s amnesia means that there is a lot of backfilling on previous
events by the other characters he encounters. In the hands of a lesser writer,
this could have slowed the narrative flow, but not here. The other factor is the
way Sean deals with complex scientific concepts effortlessly, accessibly, and
always in support of plot progression.
Sean has produced some good work in the past; he’s had the opportunity
to flex his writing muscles in a wide variety of projects. In Saturn Returns, I
felt a new assuredness, a strength of voice that was compellingly entertaining
and thought-provoking. Saturn Returns is Sean’s best yet—go out and buy it.
March 17, 2011
A complex yet entertaining sci-fi novel, that begins with Imre Bergamasc waking up on board a strange ship with huge gaps in his memory. Not only that he is now a woman, thanks to the reconstructive efforts of the Jinc, a group of people governed by one personality. We follow Imre as he tries to piece his life/lives back together beginning with getting his physical self back to some kind of normality. As Imre pieces his galaxy back together we learn of the epic battles he has been involved in, the conspiracies he contributed to and the firends he betrayed. An epic opera of a sci-fi novel this should have grabbed my attention and kept it throughout, but for some reason it didn't until the last third of the book. Williams's writing is descriptive and vivid and, despite the complexities of the subject matter, is very readable. Yet it felt as if something was missing, not sure if it was empathy for the characters involved (as even Imre is not the nicest of people), which is the only thing I can put my finger on, or the ever present tease of the Forts, the supreme galactal beings who were wiped out by the Slow Wave. Still a good start and a series I will keep an eye out for in future.
June 29, 2013
Imre Bergamasc has been brought back to life from a storage drum containing his DNA and memories, and he has been remade as a women. That is just the beginning of his problems as as people start to see that he is alive again they want to kill him, properly. He is trying to remember what happened before he was almost killed last time.
This story is set on huge time scales, and across a vast galaxy. He seems to spend a lot of time just evading being killed again, and meets up with some characters from his past life. Whilst this is herd SF, and has all the appropriate factors for that, ships, derelict habitats, super advanced humans, and so on, the story line is not that strong, and i was not always sure quite what was going on and how he had got to that point. The other main characters in the book came across as complicated people with differing loyalties to Imre and other members of the story. I felt the ending was a little weak, as i was not sure how that guy fitted into the story.
Overall, I liked the writing, and the universe that he has created, but felt that plot let it down.
This story is set on huge time scales, and across a vast galaxy. He seems to spend a lot of time just evading being killed again, and meets up with some characters from his past life. Whilst this is herd SF, and has all the appropriate factors for that, ships, derelict habitats, super advanced humans, and so on, the story line is not that strong, and i was not always sure quite what was going on and how he had got to that point. The other main characters in the book came across as complicated people with differing loyalties to Imre and other members of the story. I felt the ending was a little weak, as i was not sure how that guy fitted into the story.
Overall, I liked the writing, and the universe that he has created, but felt that plot let it down.
March 23, 2009
A little disappointing. Perfectly acceptable big-screen wham-bang far future space opera, but it felt like it was missing... something. Starts out promisingly enough as a main-character-with-amnesia-who-must-figure-out-whats-happening story, but I lost enthusiasm half way through (though it was good enough that I finished it and will probably read the sequel). I've been thinking the fault lies with the entirely unlikable cast of characters (the "Corps" members). Is it nuts to say that my favorite character for a good stretch of the book was a semi-intelligent space-ship? Well, anyhow, I longed for one of the trans-post-human "Forts" to come back to life and liven things up a little.
July 31, 2011
Enjoyed this first book in the trilogy. Imre is reconstructed from data found at one end of the Milky Way, but some of the details are wrong (eg. female not male) and missing (lots of his memories). He begins a quest to find his missing memories and his friends who were split up when the Universe was overtaken by the Slow Wave, which killed many of the leading figures in the galaxy and crushed whole civilisations. Intriguing
December 22, 2012
This book is ok in parts but just did not have enough meat for me to consider it a space opera. As another reviewer put it, it was missing something. Also, the male stuck in a female body idea was poorly done and I consider this a wasted opportunity.
It is unfortunate because I love multi-book scifi series, but it just didn't give me enough to want to invest any further.
It is unfortunate because I love multi-book scifi series, but it just didn't give me enough to want to invest any further.
February 10, 2010
Space opera novel one of a series. The protagonist is a man, or a woman, but not really either because mankind has moved beyond such restrictions, which makes it hard to understand or care. The first two hundred pages were all recollection of events that had already happened.
January 25, 2011
Just loved it from the get-go, especially loved the opening chapter. Was looking forward for the other parts. I didn't have the feeling that it was missing something at all, I believe the sequels will fill in the blank spots.
August 10, 2012
I loved every second of this book right up until the very end. It seemed like the author just ran out of steam suddenly and decided to rie up the loose ends and go home without a real climax. I'd still recommend it though.
June 27, 2007
far-future post-apocalyptic. another recent one on the importance of telecommunications for the persistence of modern civilization.
September 13, 2008
I liked this book a lot. Mr. Williams loves the F word.
January 25, 2009
Quite a mind-boggling concept, but very worthwhile once you've got to grips with it.
July 20, 2010
Interesting ideas in this book.
Not related: p. 29: "simply speak the code 'luminous'. I will answer, no matter the circumstances."
Not related: p. 29: "simply speak the code 'luminous'. I will answer, no matter the circumstances."
January 30, 2017
Definitely let me keen to read the rest of the trilogy!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews