Titan

Gaean Trilogy, Book 1

By: John Varley

Narrated by: Allyson Johnson

John Varley's monumental trilogy - Titan, Wizard, and Demon - has achieved cult status, hailed as a modern triumph of the imagination by critics and fans.

It begins with humankind's exploration of a massive satellite orbiting Saturn. It culminates in a shocking discovery: the satellite is a giant alien being. Her name is Gaea. Her awesome interior is mind-boggling - because it is a mind. A mind that calls out to explorers...and transforms all who enter.

Download more titles in John Varley's Gaea series, including book 2, Wizard, and book 3, Demon.©1979 John Varley (P)2008 Audible

old school sci-fi that ages well

takes the best elements out of the greats in the style of Heinlein and the other founders of SciFi but plugs in a bit of psychosocial sexual awareness where you are pleasantly surprised to see women central characters that kick ass and take names. the world and story are engrossing and it's a Non-Stop listen, the narrator does a great job.

A sci fi masterpiece!

I gave read the Gaean trilogy many years ago and loved it. It was creative and very well developed without being overly wordy or overly descriptive. The world is clearly painted without becoming dull in endless descriptions. Very interesting and well developed characters that leave you wanting more. The narrator did an excellent job. Her voice is very clear. The characters voices are distinct and it is not difficult at all to tell which characters are meant to be speaking at the time. I highly recommend this book series.

bit too technical for me

What did you like best about Titan? What did you like least?

i like the creativity however it was too technical for me to listen to while i'm at work bcuz so much of the book was just describing the torus in such a way that i felt i needed to be an architect to really visualize what john varley was trying to to convey

What about Allyson Johnson’s performance did you like?

i liked that she accurately fluctuated her voice depending on which character she was reading from.

Could you see Titan being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

yes. me! (why not?) *shrugs*

Any additional comments?

nope

Always has been

Was a great read in my younger years. And great to listen to 30 years later.

First of Varley's classic Gaean Trilogy

Titan is the first part of the classic Gaea Trilogy; the Lord of the Rings of Sci-fi. (Mild spoilers ahead!) Consider an insane goddess obsessed with Earth religions and Hollywood cinema who creates new kinds of creatures for her amusement, and alleviates her boredom by dropping humans from bottomless elevators, offering miracles to pilgrims in return for heroics, and inciting thermonuclear wars. It has amorous blimps and submarines, holy zombies, smiling cattle, a giant Marilyn Monroe, and a story thread that would honor Joseph Campbell with the rise of the hero, the hero's fall, and the hero's redemption. I've long been convinced that Cirocco Jones had to have been the inspiration for Alien's Ellen Ripley (although both appeared about the same time), and her partner Gaby must have been an inspiration of Xena's Gabrielle. They're just too darn close. Of course I was thrilled when I spotted the series on Audible and I snatched it right up. The narrator has a comfortable voice and does fine work with the voices of Gaby, Cirocco, and the others. Although the books can stand on their own, they work best taken sequentially with Titan giving the introductions, Wizard the tragedies, and Demon the triumphs. Titan starts the series a bit slowly, but they are all worth repeated reads. I recommend them.

A good if dated SciFi Story

My apologies, I wrote my review on book 2 and meant it to be on book 1!

I read a lot of SciFi and this book was a good listen. The narrators voice was a bit difficult for me at first, but once I got used to her, she was actually a very good story teller. The book was written in 1979, so some of the themes are quite dated (The Soviet Union for example), however while dated, it was an entertaining read. I have just purchased the second book and will be listening to it right after I finish Neil Gaiman's latest book.

Loved it when I read it years ago

And loved the entire series again in audio. The characters are compelling and the world of Gaea is inventive and the creatures Gaea made inspired by Earth movies are wonderful. The Titanides are centaurs with a complex reproductive system involving up to 4 parents and they are particularly appealing. They use the names of the Greek musical modes (Aeolian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian) coupled with the words "solo", "duet", "trio" or "quartet" to describe the number of parents the individual has, and the ways in which genetic material is transferred between them. They are also brightly colored with intricate patterns.
I never forgot the Titanides or the Blimps or Cirroco Jones from my early reading of the trilogy and it was great fun to relive the experience in the audio version.

the s sounds are whistley

I haven't read this book, many times, and I love the trilogy. but I can't deal with the whistling s sounds.

great story, mediocre reader

Amazing, thought provoking story, but the reader struggles with characterizing the voices. It could have been much better.

Interesting story but..

The story is a bit slow in places but it's because the author is setting up the rest of the story. There is more sex than I expected but I feel like it's an interesting exploration of sexuality and gender.

That said the production is awful. this is mostly because it starts out with loud music over top of the narrator's voice. It then stops in the middle of the book and reintroduces it like it's starting at the beginning with more music. it's quite jarring and really takes away from the story. the narrator herself isn't bad and it's a shame that those mistakes are there.