Saturn Run

John Sandford · Ctein

Oct 2015 · Sold by Penguin

About this eBook

“Fans of Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers will eat this up.” --Stephen King

For fans of THE MARTIAN, an extraordinary new thriller of the future from #1 New York Times–bestselling and Pulitzer Prize–winning author John Sandford and internationally known photo-artist and science fiction aficionado Ctein. 
 
Over the course of thirty-seven books, John Sandford has proven time and again his unmatchable talents for electrifying plots, rich characters, sly wit, and razor-sharp dialogue. Now, in collaboration with Ctein, he proves it all once more, in a stunning new thriller, a story as audacious as it is deeply satisfying.
 
The year is 2066. A Caltech intern inadvertently notices an anomaly from a space telescope—something is approaching Saturn, and decelerating. Space objects don’t decelerate. Spaceships do.
 
A flurry of top-level government meetings produces the inescapable conclusion: Whatever built that ship is at least one hundred years ahead in hard and soft technology, and whoever can get their hands on it exclusively and bring it back will have an advantage so large, no other nation can compete. A conclusion the Chinese definitely agree with when they find out.
 
The race is on, and an remarkable adventure begins—an epic tale of courage, treachery, resourcefulness, secrets, surprises, and astonishing human and technological discovery, as the members of a hastily thrown-together crew find their strength and wits tested against adversaries both of this earth and beyond. What happens is nothing like you expect—and everything you could want from one of the world’s greatest masters of suspense.

Ratings and reviews

Some disclaimers - before today, i had no idea who john sandford was, and have never read any of his books. further, i have only read the free 39 pages that google offered me. so, that out of the way, i approached the book eagerly, having seen a full page ad in the new york times earlier today, while flying nyc-florida. First contact stories can be some of the finest mind-opening experiences, and i am a great and tolerant lover of science fiction, but this book grated from the beginning. I tried to place myself in the world of 2066 with john, but he kept dragging me back to 2022. This man has no concept of the pace of technology. tablets? cars that you drive and park? scenes in the oval office that conjure up the the provincial attitudes and information density of the 19!20s much less the 2020s. John and Ctein provide an addendum detailing some of their engineering extrapolation, and their efforts to provide a realistic orbital mechanics scenario, but no effort was expended to imagine any significant or believable extrapolation of interfaces, bionics, AI, gender, culture, telepresence, robotics, the list goes on and on. Not an easy thing to do, but something that must at least be attempted to create a believable 2066. Otherwise you have simply overlaid a lot of scientific baggage on a story that sounds much like it happened next year. I will probably read it all, but my hopes for a great story of the future have been dashed, in 39 pages.

This is such an awesome combination of writers. I just couldn't put the book down. Full of political intrigue and suspense as to what will happen next and highly realistic as to the challenge of deep solar system travel and what it might be like. The book is very fascinating right from the start making the characters very real. Full of both excitement and heart ache from disasters it will keep you on the edge of your seat. You won't be able to put the book down it is so real and fascinating. Welcome to our life fifty years in the future!

Loved the balance struck between science fact and science fiction - like Weir's The Martian. If you're looking for fantasy, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a really sharp story that doesn't require a full suspension of disbelief, you've found it.

About the author

John Sandford is the author of twenty-five Prey novels, most recently Gathering Prey; eight Virgil Flowers novels, most recently Deadline; and eight other books, including the Young Adult novels Uncaged and Outrage, written with Michele Cook. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
 
Ctein is an internationally known photographer and expert on photographic printing. The holder of a double degree from Caltech in English and physics, he is the author of more than 500 articles, columns, books, and manuals, and is a well-known member of the science fiction community. He lives in San Francisco.