When former mercenary commander, Imre Bergamasc, awakes in the 879th Millennium, 200 years after he died, he understandably has a few questions, such as: why are large chunks of his memory missing? And why is he now a woman? Resurrected from information stored in a partially destroyed time capsule, he finds that things have changed during the two centuries he was dead. Now, following a galaxy-wide disaster known as the Slow Wave, the Continuum has collapsed, the bright galactic empire reduced to millions of disparate systems in various states of disarray. Reunited with his old team-mates - or, at least, reasonable facsimiles thereof - Imre must piece together both the fragments of his memory and the story of civilisation's fall. The more he digs the more suspicion dawns that the two issues are far from separate. Was the Imre Bergamasc he no longer remembers an unwitting pawn in the fall of civilisation? Or was he, in fact, the architect? And if unknown parties have gone to such extreme lengths to resurrect him, why are they now trying to kill him? Again.
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"In SATURN RETURNS, Sean Williams has created a compelling story of personal bravery and loyalty set against a huge backdrop of galactic disaster and the very end of civilization" -- Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times bestselling author of HUNTERS OF DUNE 'Imre Bergamasc wakes to find himself aboard a starship belonging to the Jinc, independent components of a human hive-mind which is searching for God on the edge of the Milky Way. Bergamasc has little recollection of his previous life, other than that he was a man. He's now a woman, rebuilt from DNA and memory downloads the Jinc salvaged from his partially destroyed life-raft. On learning that he was a soldier of fortune before his death, and fearing the Jinc's motives, he escapes and locates his former colleagues-in-arms and his lover. Only then can he piece together his former identity and work out what happened to the human race while he was dead. In the first book of the Astropolis trilogy, Williams renders the passage of aeons, and the rise and fall of civilisations, with cosmic poignancy.' GUARDIAN 'Adelaide author, Sean Williams writes exceedingly good space opera. He's a master storyteller, carefully crafting tales that keep readers on the edge of their seats. Saturn Returns, his latest and the first in an exhilarating trilogy, is scientifically credible, ambitious, adventurous and thrilling. Williams' characters reside within complexly ornate social structures and in societies as elaborately elegant as a computer chip. The passion shows. The characters are wonderfully realised including one who speaks only in Gary Numan's song lyrics. With darkly brooding suspense and stylish plot twists, Williams shows his talent for placing his protagonist in impossible situations, where his worst enemy may be a portion of his own missing memory. Was Imre Bergamasc responsible for the fall of civilisation? Why did they resurrect him from information stored in a time capsule only to try and kill him again? Determined to learn the truth, Bergamasc puts his life - and the lives of his friends- in jeopardy. Saturn Returns is a wildly original, totally convincing, all-round wonderful novel.' THE INDEPENDENT 'Well-written, exciting and surprisingly smart despite being very accessible, it is genuinely difficult to find fault with Sean Williams' Saturn Returns but I think that maintaining the perfectly balanced lightness of touch will become increasingly difficult as the series goes on. The fact that the book's plot relies so much on conspiracies wrapped up in concepts of personal identity means that Williams faces a real challenge in trying to keep the series both intelligent and fun without either fudging the plot or bogging the whole thing down in endless exposition. This concern aside, Saturn Returns is a great little book and I honestly look forward to the rest of the series.' SF DIPLOMAT 'Sean has produced some good work in the past; he's had the opportunity to flex his writing muscles in a wide variety of projects. In Saturn Returns, I felt a new assuredness, a strength of voice that was compellingly entertaining and thought-provoking. Saturn Returns is Sean's best yet--go out and buy it.' AUREALIS
About the Author
New York Times-bestselling author Sean Williams lives in Adelaide. He is the author of over sixty published short stories and eighteen novels, including the Books of the Change and (with Shane Dix) the bestselling Evergence and Orphans trilogies. He has co-written three books in the Star Wars: New Jedi Order series and is a multiple recipient of both the Ditmar & Aurealis Awards. For a change of pace, he likes to DJ and cook curries.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By M. Wilkins
Format:Paperback
This book was clearly meant to be exactly what it is and appears to be. Unlike the author of the first user review of this book I am very much interested in science fiction and I feel it deserves a little more credit.
This is a solid and entertaining sci-fi. It's like a good episode of a decent show or a film of the same genre. Aside from one or two inexcusably cheesy lines in the first couple of chapters I was thoroughly entertained throughout.
The light speed barrier hasn't been broken, so everything is on a huge time scale, there are different versions of the same people, there are hive minds, super human abilities, a vast decaying communications ring, fights, chases, interstellar journeys, a little sex, a lot of anger, big ships, little ships, dusty planets and even some gender re-assignment. We even get treated to a little realism in terms of the physics of space flight and orbital mechanics, to keep the uber geeks happy. What more do you need in a sci-fi?
If you're into this kind of thing, it's a good read. I'll be buying the next books in the series ("Cenotaxis" is on order).
This is a solid and entertaining sci-fi. It's like a good episode of a decent show or a film of the same genre. Aside from one or two inexcusably cheesy lines in the first couple of chapters I was thoroughly entertained throughout.
The light speed barrier hasn't been broken, so everything is on a huge time scale, there are different versions of the same people, there are hive minds, super human abilities, a vast decaying communications ring, fights, chases, interstellar journeys, a little sex, a lot of anger, big ships, little ships, dusty planets and even some gender re-assignment. We even get treated to a little realism in terms of the physics of space flight and orbital mechanics, to keep the uber geeks happy. What more do you need in a sci-fi?
If you're into this kind of thing, it's a good read. I'll be buying the next books in the series ("Cenotaxis" is on order).
By decco999
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is my first read of a Sean Williams novel. It was recommended to me, way back in 2008, having been nominated for a Philip K Dick award in 2007. I've enjoyed reading it. Its what I would classify as hard science fiction, with little compromise for the casual reader: I certainly wouldn't be recommending it as a place to start for anyone beginning to take an interest in the genre. The ideas covered in the book are not particularly new but the expert writing takes those ideas to a level that other writers have often failed to achieve.
The book is let down a little by the storyline running through it. It just wasn't that interesting a tale. It was a bit slow in pace, in contrast to the vast timeline that is covered in the novel; in fact, the story almost seems at odds with the extraordinary universe that Sean Williams has created. Overall, this is a worthy nominee for the prestigious sci-fi Award. This is the first in a trilogy, and I will be reading the next in the series.
The book is let down a little by the storyline running through it. It just wasn't that interesting a tale. It was a bit slow in pace, in contrast to the vast timeline that is covered in the novel; in fact, the story almost seems at odds with the extraordinary universe that Sean Williams has created. Overall, this is a worthy nominee for the prestigious sci-fi Award. This is the first in a trilogy, and I will be reading the next in the series.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Mark Chitty
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
The Slow Wave has hit the galaxy and has wrecked the Continuum in its wake. The Forts are no more and the line is in chaos as information travelling along it is trawled to find information on this disaster. What was once a united galaxy is now in turmoil as individual systems take control for themselves, resulting in more fighting for power.
When the Jinc find pieces of debris from a large artefact on the edge of the galaxy they painstakingly gather all of them together to reveal a drum, one with a back-up of Imre Bergamasc contained inside as data. After they re-create his body and mind using all this data, Imre awakens 150,000 years after his last memories, in a brand new body, unfortunately the wrong sex, and a patchy memory. Although the Jinc try and reassure him it could be due to the recreation of the drum, he has other thoughts and wants answers.
A former mercenary for the corps, Imre remembers his team and plans on finding them. After escaping the Jinc with the help of a mysterious object and the key phrase `luminous', he heads for the familiar: the Mandala Supersystem. On entering this system he sees first hand how the Slow Wave has affected the galaxy, no united front and a nagging feeling that he shouldn't just go straight to the first planet he comes across.
We follow Imre on a journey to reclaim his past life, to uncover the memories he is convinced are buried and to find out what exactly the Slow Wave is and who is behind it.
Firstly, I enjoyed Saturn Returns quite a lot. It's a widescreen space opera with elements of military sci-fi thrown in, which is almost always a good combination.... Read more ›
When the Jinc find pieces of debris from a large artefact on the edge of the galaxy they painstakingly gather all of them together to reveal a drum, one with a back-up of Imre Bergamasc contained inside as data. After they re-create his body and mind using all this data, Imre awakens 150,000 years after his last memories, in a brand new body, unfortunately the wrong sex, and a patchy memory. Although the Jinc try and reassure him it could be due to the recreation of the drum, he has other thoughts and wants answers.
A former mercenary for the corps, Imre remembers his team and plans on finding them. After escaping the Jinc with the help of a mysterious object and the key phrase `luminous', he heads for the familiar: the Mandala Supersystem. On entering this system he sees first hand how the Slow Wave has affected the galaxy, no united front and a nagging feeling that he shouldn't just go straight to the first planet he comes across.
We follow Imre on a journey to reclaim his past life, to uncover the memories he is convinced are buried and to find out what exactly the Slow Wave is and who is behind it.
Firstly, I enjoyed Saturn Returns quite a lot. It's a widescreen space opera with elements of military sci-fi thrown in, which is almost always a good combination.... Read more ›
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
First in a new series of science fiction novels set in the far future sometime after something called the slow wave has caused the collapse of human civilisation across the galaxy.
Our main character Imre is awakened by an alien race who have found his consciousness drifting in the middle of nowhere. consciousness only because they've grown him a new body. Which happens to be female. Imre has very few memories of life before and has to slowly piece them back together.
After a few pages of getting used to being alive again, trying to remember things, and getting used to the aliens, he gets away from them and sets out to do just that. Reunited with former comrades he then sets out looking for answers as to what happened to humanity and why.
But he may not like what he finds...
Far future fiction presents a world unlike anything we know. Where people will talk and think differently. And technologies that we would find beyond our comprehension are commonplace to them. That's certainly the case of the world we see here. Yet it also manages to be pretty readable with it. None of the characters are desperately deep but they all have their moments. And there's no faster than light travel so the prospects of how many years a journey will take are never forgotten.
The loss of Imre's memories does mean the plot can unfold at a decent pace and spring surprises on the reader. And there are a few towards the end that really may make you gasp.
The book runs for 356 pages and is divided into six long chapters. There's a glossary and a timeline at the end to back it all up.... Read more ›
Our main character Imre is awakened by an alien race who have found his consciousness drifting in the middle of nowhere. consciousness only because they've grown him a new body. Which happens to be female. Imre has very few memories of life before and has to slowly piece them back together.
After a few pages of getting used to being alive again, trying to remember things, and getting used to the aliens, he gets away from them and sets out to do just that. Reunited with former comrades he then sets out looking for answers as to what happened to humanity and why.
But he may not like what he finds...
Far future fiction presents a world unlike anything we know. Where people will talk and think differently. And technologies that we would find beyond our comprehension are commonplace to them. That's certainly the case of the world we see here. Yet it also manages to be pretty readable with it. None of the characters are desperately deep but they all have their moments. And there's no faster than light travel so the prospects of how many years a journey will take are never forgotten.
The loss of Imre's memories does mean the plot can unfold at a decent pace and spring surprises on the reader. And there are a few towards the end that really may make you gasp.
The book runs for 356 pages and is divided into six long chapters. There's a glossary and a timeline at the end to back it all up.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
What the...?
The book has a great concept: a man wakes up to discover that he has just been restored to life by a strange hive mentality who reassembled him from the component atoms of a... Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2009 by Shivari
3.0 out of 5 stars
So-so start to new series
Sean's futuristic tale that really did leave me wondering exactly what it was intended to do throughout each chapter and whilst this may seem a bit of an odd way to start off a... Read more
Published on 7 July 2008 by Gareth Wilson - Falcata Times Blog
3.0 out of 5 stars
Average Sci-Fi fare
Sean's futuristic tale that really did leave me wondering exactly what it was intended to do throughout each chapter and whilst this may seem a bit of an odd way to start off a... Read more
Published on 18 Sep 2007 by Gareth Wilson - Falcata Times Blog
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