Saturn Run

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.

I thought this would focus more on the science fiction, honestly. And, while there was certainly a lot of science involved, it reads more on the commentary of politics and how it causes harm to individuals and slows the furthering of science/discovery.

Too many fish, and FAR too many in wholly unearned positions. Only the second book I've EVER not finished, and simply because too many characters were female. Oh, it was dull in general as well, at least as far as I got.