Saturn's Children (A Freyaverse Novel)

In the distant future where Saturn's Children takes place humans are extinct, but the robots they built are still going strong. These robots are intelligent thinking machines many equipped with human emotions; they also have a large degree of autonomy. In fact now that the humans are gone robots are running everything. Robot society is very class stratified. With a scheming, bitterly competitive, vicious aristocracy at the top.

Saturn's Children is very creative, like many of Charlie Stross's novels. It has a very complex plot, which I had trouble following at some points. I also could not understand all the chemical and biological references. The author has a pharmacy degree and is not afraid to use it.

Saturn's Children is a creative and entertaining look at one of our possible futures.

Freya Nakamichi-47 is an android designed as a sexual companion for humans, but in the twenty-third century, humans are extinct, and Freya and her sister models have to find other ways to make a living in the all-robot society that spans the solar system. Freya offends a member of the robot aristocracy, and takes a job smuggling restricted biological materials in order to get off of Venus. This starts her on a tour of the solar system as she is drawn into deeper levels of espionage among the robot ruling class.

I enjoyed the novel, but it seems like a fairly minor work by Stross without the complexity and depth of ideas of some of his other novels. It is written as a tribute to the later Heinlein novels, which means there is a lot of non-explicit, somewhat silly sex, but without the pontificating of the Heinlein books. I enjoyed a lot of the ideas such as the structure of the robot society and how it cam about, and its fear of biological life as "pink goo" replicators. The depiction of the tedium of space travel is something that does not usually show up in science fiction. The story does get somewhat confusing though, and beyond the interesting concepts there is not much else in this novel that left a lasting impression on me.

Good, thoughtful premise - 'robots' dealing with the meaning of freedom in a post-human world (solar system?) . Freya is a good character and the interchangeable personalities-chip trope is a fascinating idea. However, I found that that this somewhat confused the story line at times. The climax left me a bit disappointed and hoping for 'more'. Darn! looks like I will have to read the sequel...

Saturn's Children is probably the finest science fiction I've read in decades. It's fun, well-written, excellently paced, and does not fail towards the end. This is just a perfect little gem of a book. It's like a better-written version of Heinlein and a definite homage to the science-fiction greats of the past.

The overall plots is something like this. At some point in the future, several hundred years in the future, humanity has gone completely extinct, leaving untold thousands of sentient machines tooling around the solar system. While the robots themselves are self-aware, their core functions remain hard-wired into their behavior. The science robots still research, the museum roots keep the museums clean and presentable, the spaceship robots swing in and among the planets, the butler robots still want to.... um... butle, I guess. The machine society that has sprung up after humans is a decidedly cruel one, with a small group of wealthy robots, the "aristos," owning slave-chipped versions of most all other robots, the "arbeiters." Into this brew is our intrepid "heroine," Freya, a robot courtesan without any humans to... um... "serve." Freya eventually gets hired by a shadowy consortium of former butlers as a courier/smuggler and wrapped up in a massive conspiracy to do the unthinkable- restore humanity. As obedience to humans is hard-wired into the robots, this is something that many of our powerful sentient machines are less than enthusiastic about.

And this remains as one of the very clever points of the book. Being that, from the perspective of a sentient machine, Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics are quite oppressive, being as they do not just compel behavior, they compel *intent.* The robot must place the wishes and well-being of humans above its own self-preservation, and do so willingly and with some degree of happiness. Which is why the machines, when posed with the return of humans, are not exactly happy at the prospect. When asked what she would do if she saw a human, Freya answers that she would kneel. After that, she says, "It would depend if he was circumcised or not..." But htese responses are nothing she wants to do, but she can't help it, both responses, behavior and intent are all hard-wired.

Stross's world is delightful and believable. It takes forever to move from one part of the solar system to another. Even the robots find it exceptionally tedious. Everything is measured carefully by its mass, thus clearly favoring smaller, "chibi-style" dwarfs. City after city, scattered on the planetary bodies, clearly resemble some manner of cross between construction sites and mining camps- as the machine don't exactly share human-aesthetics. The past monuments and accomplishments of the absent humanity are particularly poignant, as the machines feel sadness in their passing, unease at not fulfilling their function, but dread at their potential return. There are distinct hints that the end of the humans might not have been entirely accidental... one robot refers to their end as "emanicipation," the Earth is described, not just as devoid of humans, but actually "sterile." The "Pink Police" rigidly patrol the planets looking for "replicator blooms," i.e. any self-replicating organic life, in order to snuff it out. I like it best that this is never fully explained and that Freya isn't particularly interesting in it. It hints at a vast and interesting world, one just lying out of reach.

And this is a funny book, something one wouldn't expect from an dystopia empty of humanity. Freya is fun and fun to read about, from her observations that she has no idea behind much of the science and engineering that makes up her world, to her torrid affairs with hotels, tentacle-filled spaceships, butlers, and male sex robots. Yes, really, you did read that correctly. I wondered if Stross, in writing it, cheekily grinned during the whole process.

At any rate, this is a fun book. It really is. And the most delightful thing about it, is that Freya and her world and all her silly little adventures will hang with you after you put it down. And later, you'll pause and a new insight will occur to you, about the labyrinthine plot, or some semi-explained aspect of her world and behavior...

And was our main "villain," Rhea herself.. was she really that displeased with the way things turned out at the end? I'm not so sure she wasn't.

Charles Stross channels Robert Heinlein with a science fiction adventure filled with robots, spaceships and a lot of unusual sex. In the 23rd century, all of the humans are gone, leaving Freya Nakamichi 47, a robot designed to please humans, with no purpose in life. Instead she gets involved in a series of high-stakes missions that take her from planet to planet, facing constant danger and a host of very strange enemies. Much like the space travel that features prominently in the plot, "Saturn's Children" takes a while to get where it's going, but it's always an interesting experience -- and a journey worth taking.

This was my first Charles Stross book, followed by Accelerando then started working my way through the Laundry files. Every book has been exceptional. I can't say enough good things about his writing style, character development, and views of the future. I dread the day when I actually catch up on all of his work and I have to wait for another.

This is straight up science fiction, told by a synthetic person after all humans have died away. It is interesting, but didn't take full advantage of the set up -- the synthetic person just seemed to be the typical superhero female protagonist of an urban fantasy with all the bodice busting echoes of romance novels. Some interesting concepts, well told tale, I might wish for a bit more...

Never before had I enjoyed so much the first half of a book, only to watch it nosedive (as far as I am concerned) in the second half so badly that I gave up in utter disinterest less than 50 pages from the end.

Like Stross himself, I am very skeptical about space colonization prospects of Human version 1.0 -- we are just too spectacularly unsuited for it, -- and I absolutely loved Stross' take on traditional image of Solar System Civilization. It's a very clever irony, and I need not rehash it as other reviewers already did adequate job. My problem with "Saturn's Children" is that I am not a Heinlein fan.

Somewhere between Callisto and Eris, the book became a homage to RAH... and lost me completely. I simply have no interest in convoluted caper stories with multiple identities, multiple layers of deception, and a super-competent (or super-lucky) protagonist in the middle somehow surviving it all. I lost track of which of Freya's sisters was supposed to be what, when they were backed up and copied, and worse, I found that I do not care. For the first half of the book Freya was a sympathetic and fun character; when [***SPOILERS AHEAD!***] turned out she was an assassin-in-waiting... she ceased being fun. Last straw was Rhea's revelation that "all that was a set up to test you before your REAL work begins". (Or is it? It might yet be another lie.) During "Interview with Domina" my eyes began to glaze over as I realized that I have no idea who is supposed to be working for whom, and I just don't care.

In short -- if you love Heinlein, especially "Friday", this book is for you. If not, it starts out great, then becomes a turgid implausible mess. Just like "Friday", as far as I am concerned.

Okay science fiction, more human and engaging than I expected. I especially enjoyed the unexpected philosophizing about slave societies and whether the coming of robots will transform all non-slave societies into defacto slave societies, and what that fallout will be. That was more theoretical and thoughtful than I expected. So, yeah, two unexpected nice qualities which elevated it from standard fare to quite enjoyable.

Saturn's Children marks Stross's serious progression as a writer.

He's doing far more advanced tricks with plot and exposition than in his previous novels.

The way he drops in the back story, such that when the lead is called a "robot" you installing know it's like using the N-word.

Oh, yeah - what's this book about? It's a different kind of post-human novel; mainly because humanity has died off. But before they did so (and potentially _because_ they did so) they created a race of intelligent robots to help them colonise the solar-system.

Robots created to serve man, and left floundering when their masters are gone, but unable to stop the course they were on.

As Stross says: "when the last human died, human civilisation barely stopped from lunch".

There are robots of every shape, size and variety. And the way they 'connect' is hilarious! Some very interesting depictions of space docking.

It's a rollicking tale, but I kept pausing to admire Stross's prose style.

All I want now is a sequel!

Stross's first few books - Accelerando, Singularity Sky, and Atrocity Archives - had neat and outthere backstories that really shine. The backstory here is definitely interesting: highly idiosyncratic robots colonized the solar system after outsurviving the human race. But the protagonist here is a sex toy, and a lot of the robots in the robot society are sadistic. Those things both are central to the story and make the story not as fun as it could have been.

The human race has baked itself off the planet. We are extinct. Good riddance to bad rubbish! But!! We have left our artificial intelligences behind to carry on our wonderful traditions.

This is a very "STRANGE" novel. I would have to say it is the most unusual novel I have ever read. A Techno/Psycho/Mystery/Political/Sexual Thriller that has no lifeforms as we know it! (All Robots and Androids!) The main character is a "SEX-BOT!" A human form Android built to mimic a human female in every way.(Literally!) Now that humans are gone, She and her sisters of the same model do not really have a purpose.

But they have found ways to keep themselves occupied! From one end of the solar system to the other, in search of their "One true Love!" But don't get me wrong, This is not a "ROMANCE" story. There is a lot going on in this book. Plot twists and surprises.

This is the only book I have read by Charles Stross. I like his style and his prose flows well. He has a good sense of humor. If your looking for somthing a little "OUT OF THE ORDINARY" (Actually "WAY OUT!") then I recommend it!!!!

Charlie Stross bounces between imagining a future filled with nanotech assemblers, strong artificial intelligence, and faster than light travel and describing the present and past using the established metaphors of sci-fi and fantasy. _Saturn_ describes a technologically advanced future, but compared with _Accelerando_ and _Iron_Sunrise_, this book is far more interested in exploring the human (robot?) condition. Equal parts _Rossum's_Universal_Robots_ and _Futurama_, _Saturn_ is an entertainingly quick read. There isn't much that is new here, but that isn't the point.

Classical science fiction takes a novel concept and pursues its surprising implications. If we were to build intelligent robots, would they need us? In Saturn's Children, Charles Stross accepts the reasonable premise that humans are incapable of long-term occupation of alien worlds and nevertheless manages to construct a space opera setting by supposing that android robots would establish a post-human civilization vaguely resembling our own. Although I enjoyed the ideas Stross raises, the plot was not much more than an excuse to tour the solar system and the robot sex scenes were not as creative as I had hoped. I preferred The Glass House.

Will the robots learn independence from the creators?

Will humanity return and return the robots purpose?

Who knows, this book builds up well and leaves you wondering what happened to the climax.

Interesting take on the sentient robot idea, unique in that the humans these sex robots were designed for have disappeared from the scene! I listened to it on Audible while working in my shop - great way to enjoy this audio book!

By the twenty-third century humanity was extinct leaving behind androids that were built to feel and think and even dream like mankind once did. The androids created a caste system. The Aristos are nobles who own slaves expected to obey them or else. There are also some free independent droids who are mostly impoverished manual laborers.

Freya Nakamichi was made to be a sexbot, but thanks to her sibs is free. The mysterious Jeeves offers Freya a well paying job as a courier; she accepts. Her first assignment is to go to Mercury to pick up a biological sample that she is to place in her uterus and bring it to a lab on Mars. The task seems simple and straightforward although she has no idea what the sample is and why suddenly people seem to be hunting her for her "package". She eludes killers, thieves and an assortment of other predators as she races to Mars.

Imagine a world in which androids are the dominant species and act like humans in all respects except they cannot reproduce. Thus SATURN'S CHILDREN is about a culture the androids have forged centered on a caste system although the slaves and the free strive for a better life. Freya is a bot Lara Craft, a strong willed skilled beauty who uses brain and some brawn to think her way out of danger. Charles Stross answers the Philip K. Dick philosophical question Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? with this original look at a mirror humanoid culture.

Harriet Klausner

the title is a clue to the book

Galileo wondered, "Has Saturn swallowed his children?", referring to the myth of the god Saturn eating his own children to prevent them from overthrowing him (Wikipedia)

Loved this book. A thoughtful extension of what the future could look like. Very sad in a way, because "humans" aren't around, but the author did an excellent job of describing a future society of androids.

This is one hell of an entertaining and thought provoking book. Again, the book is almost entirely centred on a female character - one Freya Nakamachi - Baroque and Renaissance musician, professional concubine and kick-arse cybernetic dame! (you gotta be interested after a resumé like that!?) One of his best characters since Reeve in "Glasshouse" and Sue, the Lesbian Scottish cop in "Halting State".

The book is full of ideas and some challenging ones - like can we produce artificial intelligences similar to humans? Stross's answer is yes.

Don't read the reviews, especially all the crappy negatives ones, just buy it and enjoy a very good yarn!

I am kind of wondering if the people who made "Ghost In The Shell" might be interested in animating it. I think Charlie Stross would be down for it! Maybe someone could animate it and I could present the Renaissance and Baroque music for the soundtrack. Well, one day ....

Great stuff! Full marks to Charlie Stross!

PS: Buy the U.K. edition to avoid the cheese-cake cover.