Saturn Run

By: John Sandford Ctein

Narrated by: Eric Conger

Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

For fans of The Martian, an extraordinary new thriller of the future from number one New York Times - best-selling and Pulitzer Priz - winning author John Sandford and internationally known photo-artist and science fiction aficionado Ctein.

Over the course of 37 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 100 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.

©2015 John Sandford (P)2015 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

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

"Three things to know: First, I’m the world’s biggest John Sandford fan. Second: I saw this book and thought...what? Third: I needn’t have worried. It’s vintage Sandford all the way, with all his trademark strengths and insights, except set in the future, not the present. You won’t be disappointed." (Lee Child)

"Utterly captivating! With the heart of a breakneck thriller and the mind of the best science fiction (Bradbury and Heinlein come to mind), Saturn Run keeps us enthralled from beginning to end. Sandford and Ctein have brilliantly pulled off the difficult task of making a very different world very familiar, proving that a born storyteller is a storyteller, whether he sets his books on mean streets or in deep space. I, for one, want more." (Jeffery Deaver)

way to do first contact, humans

This is a bit hard to rate and review. The science is great in this book, even if lots of things are skipped over. There's a whole chapter at the end explaining how the propulsion works. Sanford wanted real (quantum) science, not "wanton" science. No problems there.

The story's premise is that we have spotted a ship arrive and then leave Saturn's orbit. So there is a race to get out there to see what there is. The presumption is that there is something left there to see, since the ship is gone. I missed that reasoning, but okay. Ends up the Chinese and the Americans are the only ones ready to launch anything that could get there. It's a very interesting story, but with some long gaps between points of interest. Some aspects of the travel are glossed over, others are quite detailed. Both nations' ships experience some problems, but they work them out.

The narrator does the accents well, although there's not a lot of male/female distinction. The only accents are Chinese other than this one guy who surprises you with his voice, oh he must be black. Other than that, the narration is still okay. However, I still don't think Chinese people speaking among themselves should have a Chinese accent as this accent only shows up when they speak English! Speaking of English, some emphasis is placed on the fact that one of the Chinese crew can speak English, but we already knew that the captain could converse very well in English, and so could others, so what was the point?

The "hard to rate" part comes in here. Several events at different times on the American ship lead several people to believe there is a traitor on board. This is never resolved. To me, this is a huge hole that mars the story. I kept wondering how they could find out who the traitor was and how that person was communicating off the ship. If the plan is to have sequels, this might get resolved, but this story wobbles alone for now. Another rating difficulty comes with the mutual treatment of the two nationalities. The Americans knowingly screwed the Chinese regarding the alien tech, and so the Chinese retaliated in the only way they could. There's a lot of politics going on here, which actually outweighs the alien factor in the story. Maybe that's what the authors are trying to say--we'd be so intent on fighting each other, we'd mess up our first contact. Humans can not act as a species since we are still fighting our petty little planet-side wars.

The alien contact is wonderful. It is very plausible, and very titillating. This is going to change everything! We want more! Unfortunately, this part of the story is very small.

This story is engaging all the way through, with some excitement, but it left me unsettled and unsatisfied. I hope there is a sequel to ease some of this.

Real as it gets.

The reality and science behind the story was really cool and seemed like something we could reach for in reality. I didn't really have any favorite characters, the book follows along as if the reader is a fly on the wall.
Overall, good story.

Great stand alone sci fi

This is hard science fiction and a stand alone novel. This book was not what I expected from the description - it was much more realistic in regards to the limitations of space travel - but that's not a complaint. The science was well researched and that made it all the more interesting.

The characters were great. Several were very likable and I was able to root for them. I was afraid that what they found at Saturn would be disappointing, but it wasn't for me. There was great suspense and intrigue that gave it an action feel at times, but it is solidly sci fi.

Thrilling space exploration mystery

It’s 2066 and a CalTech intern accidentally notices an anomaly from a space telescope that shows something approaching Saturn, and decelerating. A flurry of government activity determines it is a spacecraft, with technology at least 100 years in our future, so the race begins. Which country can get their first – the U.S. or China? Whoever does stands to gain tremendous technological knowledge. This space adventure has fascinating characters, who you really come to know and like – or hate, mystery, sabotage, and a host of thrilling events

Love it - just a tad formulaic Loved the story

Loved the story and performance. I want more!
You could see the "second party" situation coming. Disappointed in not finding "something". Trying not to give it away.
Recommended highly.

Great book

Fun to listen to ! My favorite narrator! Sanford has a great writing style with sarcasm abd humor

Great sci fi

I love sci fi, and I think this book has a unique perspective on first contact. I liked the twists in the plot. The voice actor is excellent.

Excellent!

Superb story, great science! I found it most enjoyable. Especially the mechanical issues and what it takes to overcome them.

Decent story, but very slow pacing

I want to like this book, but found myself frequently wishing it would move along faster. It felt like there was far too much buildup and too little of substance. I did appreciate the time spent on keeping the physics realistic though. The narrator did a solid job.

Awesome

An awesome book filled with science that is very believable. I loved this book. Narrator was on point and very easy to listen to.