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katkinney's review
4.0
Action-packed space thriller! Humans managed to screw things up in the 21st century (duh!) and the world looks a lot different in 3100. But have we really learned anything from our mistakes? There’s a mission to Titan to mine its resources for the betterment of super-big-corporation and who cares what that does to the planet or the natives, and Viko and his team of cohorts is sent to make sure no harm is done. I rather loved the vivid descriptions of technology, how things worked in space without getting overly clunky. It was snarky at times, dry in others, and worked perfectly.
As Viko, science nerd Kronos, plus Isra and Althea, fight their way through the forest, encountering stampeding mammoths (because, duh, why wouldn’t you approach them? 😊), and then evidence of things far more insidious lurking in the forest. When they find themselves thrust in the middle of a holy war between two Titan tribes, they have to figure out a way to keep everyone from destroying each other, and get out alive. The world building in this was spectacular. Author Jeremy Jones writes like an expert on space tech, weaponry, his science delves just far enough in to the technical without drowning you in details, and the nuances of each side of the warring tribes were well thought-out. Fight scenes are a strong point for sure, and this is definitely an action-heavy tale perfect for sci-fi lovers.
There were a few spots where pacing slowed. One thing I would have loved is to delve even more deeply into character backgrounds and motivations for our main four players. There were little snippets that hinted at backstory and emotion from time to time like Viko’s dialect being different from the others, his drug abuse, Kronos spilling out hints of backstory on Isra, etc, but for the most part, action drove the plot without as much character development. I’m kind of a character-driven, emotional development arc reader, so all these little tidbits left me super curious! All in all, a delightful read, with more to come in this series!
Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
As Viko, science nerd Kronos, plus Isra and Althea, fight their way through the forest, encountering stampeding mammoths (because, duh, why wouldn’t you approach them? 😊), and then evidence of things far more insidious lurking in the forest. When they find themselves thrust in the middle of a holy war between two Titan tribes, they have to figure out a way to keep everyone from destroying each other, and get out alive. The world building in this was spectacular. Author Jeremy Jones writes like an expert on space tech, weaponry, his science delves just far enough in to the technical without drowning you in details, and the nuances of each side of the warring tribes were well thought-out. Fight scenes are a strong point for sure, and this is definitely an action-heavy tale perfect for sci-fi lovers.
There were a few spots where pacing slowed. One thing I would have loved is to delve even more deeply into character backgrounds and motivations for our main four players. There were little snippets that hinted at backstory and emotion from time to time like Viko’s dialect being different from the others, his drug abuse, Kronos spilling out hints of backstory on Isra, etc, but for the most part, action drove the plot without as much character development. I’m kind of a character-driven, emotional development arc reader, so all these little tidbits left me super curious! All in all, a delightful read, with more to come in this series!
Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
bookdrag0n's review
3.0
In this Sci-Fi novel, it is now the 31st century. Civilization as we know it destroyed themselves in the 21st century, and humankind escaped to the stars. Now, most of the technology from the 21st age, as well as its history, has been lost, and those on other planets are cut off from Earth. However, the Corporation–a kind of “evil” government-esque entity akin to our 21st century Big Business–has rediscovered the ability to space travel, and they are set on utilizing any and all resources on other planets–regardless of if there is a colony of humans already living there. An unlikely group of Ministry characters composed of a medic, a leader, a computer scientist, and a Martian warrior, join the Corporation’s journey to Titan. While the Corporation is set on destroying any humans that happen to be there to exploit Titan’s resources, the Ministry group strives to keep them alive.
This novel is very sci-fi with various foreign languages and advanced technology interwoven within a unique setting on Jupiter’s moon, Titan. It is set far enough in the future that any assumptions we readers may have about the way of life are void. Sci-Fi readers should enjoy the action-packed events that transpire, full of advanced weaponry and the utilization of technology not found in our current age on Earth.
However, I was a bit disappointed by both the plot and the characters. All of the characters were flat. They did not grow throughout the story, and I did not particularly care for any of them. As I tend to enjoy character-driven novels, this definitely dampened my view of this particular novel.
The plot was also difficult to understand and suspend my belief. It seemed very unrealistic. Not because of its complexity–which I do enjoy–but because it just didn’t make any logical sense. The Ministry group decided to wage war with the Corporation, then waltzed right back into camp, thinking that everything would be fine. They also–despite all of their whining that they needed to protect the current civilizations on Titan–gave the two different civilizations advanced technology, stoked tensions between them, and manipulated them into attacking the Corporation, where they couldn’t hope to win in the long run. The Ministry group was able to win a minor battle, and then declared the war over. It just didn’t make sense.
Overall, I think sci-fi buffs will enjoy this novel, as long as they are looking for an easy and exciting read, rather than an emotional, character-driven story.
See this and other reviews at thebookdragondotblog.wordpress.com
This novel is very sci-fi with various foreign languages and advanced technology interwoven within a unique setting on Jupiter’s moon, Titan. It is set far enough in the future that any assumptions we readers may have about the way of life are void. Sci-Fi readers should enjoy the action-packed events that transpire, full of advanced weaponry and the utilization of technology not found in our current age on Earth.
However, I was a bit disappointed by both the plot and the characters. All of the characters were flat. They did not grow throughout the story, and I did not particularly care for any of them. As I tend to enjoy character-driven novels, this definitely dampened my view of this particular novel.
The plot was also difficult to understand and suspend my belief. It seemed very unrealistic. Not because of its complexity–which I do enjoy–but because it just didn’t make any logical sense. The Ministry group decided to wage war with the Corporation, then waltzed right back into camp, thinking that everything would be fine. They also–despite all of their whining that they needed to protect the current civilizations on Titan–gave the two different civilizations advanced technology, stoked tensions between them, and manipulated them into attacking the Corporation, where they couldn’t hope to win in the long run. The Ministry group was able to win a minor battle, and then declared the war over. It just didn’t make sense.
Overall, I think sci-fi buffs will enjoy this novel, as long as they are looking for an easy and exciting read, rather than an emotional, character-driven story.
See this and other reviews at thebookdragondotblog.wordpress.com
nooralshanti's review
4.0
Saturnius Mons is an action-packed sci-fi novel about a group of 4 people involved in the Human Reconnection Project. They have come along on a Corporation spaceship as it lands on Titan for the first time in a thousand years. Their mission is to find evidence of an active civilization there and use it to put a legal road block in the Corporation's plan to take over the planet and its resources. This is a great set-up and mixed with some excellent world-building it made a very intriguing story. Unfortunately for me, more focus was placed on the gun-slinging and battles and action than on this fascinating world-building stuff, but if you enjoy action you will love this. I mean, I still thoroughly enjoyed it despite the excessive focus on violence and action, but I'm a little sad about the missed potential.
The novel has so much potential to explore all kinds of deep themes that were raised like the meaning of civilization, the horrors of slavery, drug-addiction, greed, etc, but in my opinion it didn't really delve into these enough. These big themes got lost in the constant, fast-paced action along with the original intent of the main characters. I felt that these characters were just too quick to throw themselves head-long into the battles being fought without much thought for their overarching goal or for consequences. There were a lot of instances of teaming up with someone and helping them start an entire battle just so they could get into a place... this is not how you save a civilization, guys. But aside from this, I really enjoyed the novel.
There were all kinds of little world-building details and hints about the Fall of civilization on Earth that were fascinating. The details about the world's terraforming, the Venganto who maintain the status quo, and the creatures that exist there were cool.
I think that's all I can say without spoilers. Definitely check this book out if you like action-based sci-fi.
The novel has so much potential to explore all kinds of deep themes that were raised like the meaning of civilization, the horrors of slavery, drug-addiction, greed, etc, but in my opinion it didn't really delve into these enough. These big themes got lost in the constant, fast-paced action along with the original intent of the main characters. I felt that these characters were just too quick to throw themselves head-long into the battles being fought without much thought for their overarching goal or for consequences. There were a lot of instances of teaming up with someone and helping them start an entire battle just so they could get into a place... this is not how you save a civilization, guys. But aside from this, I really enjoyed the novel.
There were all kinds of little world-building details and hints about the Fall of civilization on Earth that were fascinating. The details about the world's terraforming, the Venganto who maintain the status quo, and the creatures that exist there were cool.
I think that's all I can say without spoilers. Definitely check this book out if you like action-based sci-fi.
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