Saturn Returns (Astropolis) by Sean Williams Search Amazon for other books by or about Sean Williams. Rating: Reviewed by: John Walsh

In the distant future and on the very edge of the galaxy, mysterious aliens searching for evidence of the intentions of supernatural beings reclaim, molecule by molecule, the remains of a long dead man which have been spread over a wide volume of space by a powerful bomb. Alas, the information they use to rebuild the man is not perfect and they make one mistake in assigning his gender but, what with the technology involved, that can be remedied as well (although not until after the dictum by Tiresias is proved true). However, the aliens, while solicitous, may be too solicitous and perhaps the man/woman, Imre, would be better off returning to the galactic core, from which no information seems to be leaking. These incidents happen in the opening section of this book, which is the best part of the narrative. Subsequently, as the back page blurb makes clear, the action begins to revolve around the man's recovery of his memory and attempt to put together again his team, in scenes which are reminiscent of The Blues Brothers and The Dirty Dozen. These later sections are less successful, since they are less original and, indeed, interesting. Even so, there are some nice touches, including the overclocking concept and some of the commentary on the social and economic development and maldevelopment of the galaxy.

I was unfamiliar with the author's work before picking up this book and, checking the Amazon page to provide the necessary link for this review, I find he has achieved some success with a collaborator and other works. Well, this is the beginning of a series of books and that so often is an off-putting idea. As time's winged chariot begins to warm up in the engine and the pile of unread books at home grows ever bigger (they spawn, you know), I become concerned with the number of books that I will have the chance to read, given current lifestyle and assuming there is not some technological breakthrough in the near future that offers cheap access to an extended lifespan. The point of this is, I am increasingly reluctant to making an open-ended commitment to a series of books of unknown length by an author who I do not really know or trust. There are so many other books I want to read (and so much other material I have to read for work-related reasons) that I am trying to be more disciplined about what I do start.

This is not a bad book--indeed, some parts are really quite good but it does not reach the very highest level of science fiction enjoyment I can find in, for example, Iain M Banks, Stephen Baxter, Charles Stross, China Mieville, or Peter F Hamilton and since those quys are sufficiently proficient to provide a regular stream of additions to the book mountain, I am going to stick with them and say thank you to Sean Williams and good luck with the lifestyle (not trying to be too Slartibartfast-like about it all).