y Thoughts on "Saturn Run" by John Sanford
I very much enjoyed the majority of this book.
It is 'hard science fiction' or all plausible with what we
know of physics in the next 50 years. If you enjoy Arthur
C. Clarke, but wish for more character development you will
probably also enjoy this. In fact this has some similarities
with Clarke's Star Glider * and Rama, with a trading post thrown in.
It was written in 2015.

It starts in the year 2066 and both the US and China have a
very large presence in Earth orbit. China is preparing to
launch a very major ship to colonize Mars. In the US, a very
competent but seemingly unmotivated slacker doing a chance
camera check, spots an object, decelerating to go into
orbit around Saturn. Yes, decelerating! Double check all,
it is definitely an alien starship!

The US quickly starts gearing up to go check this out.
Then that earlier spotted alien starship lights up to
exit our solar system and everyone takes notice, and
the very competitive race is on!

This appears to be Sanford's only Sci-Fi book but he
has done a bunch of mystery books.

Here is the Amazon cite on it:
(you can get it delivered used to your door for $5.23 !)
https://www.amazon.com/Saturn-Run-John-Sandford/product-reviews/1101987529/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews

They rate it a 4.1. ??

One of the reviewers " Asptsman said,
5.0 out of 5 stars Sanford just doesn't miss.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 16, 2023
Verified Purchase
Couldn't put this book down. Have read everything else that Sanford has
written and am a big fan. I think this is one of his best. Very fast
pace and thought provoking story of how we might travel in space and how
humans can invariably screw it up.

One reviewer that I totally agree with said, "Once the book moved
away from the neat technical stuff into more character driven stuff,
things got less interesting for me. It's like, can the Chinese get a
ny stupider? Huh, yeah they can."

Here is the Goodreads cite on it:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24611668-saturn-run
(they rate it a 3.91.)

Reviewer Bradley said, "
AStrong points: Characterization and the science. We can classify this
pretty easily as a realistic SF, even including the the scenes of "Meet
The Aliens". It's a Go To Saturn and Come Back novel, after all. No real
need for anything truly out of the ordinary. After all, the novel's
strong points are in its characters.
I like Sandy and Crow. What can I say? The hooks were fantastic and
strange and they just kept coming, adding some truly oddball mixes to
the MCs. I never once got bored with any of the peeps."

Reviewer Rachel said, "
This was an engrossing near-future science fiction thriller that held my
attention from start to finish. The premise was SO just intriguing. I
was dying to know what they would find on Saturn. I thought the
characters were decent, if a little stereotypical, ---"

Here is the Kirkus Review:
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-sandford/saturn-run/

An excerpt, "Sanders Heacock Darlington may be nothing more than a
wealthy, handsome intern assigned to the Sky Survey Observatory, but
he’s the one who accidentally notices the evidence that something’s
approaching the gravitational field of Saturn and decelerating. Heavenly
bodies don’t decelerate that way, but spaceships do, and soon President
Amanda Santeros (hey, it’s 2066) is pulling out all the stops to send a
mission to Saturn to investigate. The stakes are so high ---"

The Barnes and Noble cite is:
Saturn Run - by John Sandford, Ctein

Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com › Books
John Sandford is an amazing, protean writer, and Saturn Run is a
terrific story of alien first contact. It's a book Michael Crichton
would have enjoyed, but ..."

*
Meanwhile as to Starglider *
https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/198046/sci-fi-story-about-an-alien-ai-satellite-passing-through-the-solar-system
The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke (Wikipedia, ISFDb)
features Starglider, a craft that enters our solar system.

That is a background story to the story of the construction of the first
space elevator.

The power of the signal was no longer surprising; its source was already
well inside the solar system, and moving sunward at six hundred
kilometres a second. The long-awaited, long-feared visitors from space
had arrived at last.

The Fountains of Paradise, chapter 12, "Starglider"

It's flying rapidly through the solar system and is just on a course to
utilize the gravity of the sun to be flung off somewhere else.

Matches:

And since - like our own early Pioneers and Voyagers - it employs the
gravitational fields of the heavenly bodies to deflect it from star to
star, it will operate indefinitely, unless mechanical failure or cosmic
accident terminates its career. Centaurus was its eleventh port of call;
after it had rounded our sun like a comet, its new course was aimed
precisely at Tau Ceti, twelve light years away. If there is anyone
there, it will be ready to start its next conversation soon after AD 8100.

The Fountains of Paradise, chapter 14, "The Education of Starglider"

The story ends with something like the AI giving the location from where
it was sent, and (maybe?) noting that it has sent a signal there, [...]

Sort of.

For Starglider combines the functions both of ambassador and explorer.
When, at the end of one of its millennial journeys, it discovers a
technological culture, it makes friends with the natives and starts to
trade information, in the only form of interstellar commerce that may
ever be possible. And before it departs again on its endless voyage,
after its brief transit of their solar system, Starglider gives the
location of its home world - already awaiting a direct call from the
newest member of the galactic telephone exchange.

Ibid.

But not as far, since it is noted that

Now we have only to wait 104 years for an answer. How incredibly lucky
we are, to have neighbours so close at hand.

Ibid.

[...] it doesn't even know if the alien civilization who sent it still
exists.

That doesn't match. It ends its conversation in a different way.

Starholme informed me 456 years ago that the origin of the universe has
been discovered but that I do not have the appropriate circuits to
comprehend it. You must communicate direct for further information.

I am now switching to cruise mode and must break contact. Goodbye.

The Fountains of Paradise, chapter 16, "Conversations with Starglider"

S

I made a mistake on the Subject Line, and on the post's first line.
The author's name is "SANDFORD", not Sanford. I'm sorry.

On 4/18/23 16:03, a425couple wrote:
> My Thoughts on "Saturn Run" by John Sandford
> I very much enjoyed the majority of this book.
> It is 'hard science fiction' or all plausible with what we
> know of physics in the next 50 years.  If you enjoy Arthur
> C. Clarke, but wish for more character development you will
> probably also enjoy this.  In fact this has some similarities
> with Clarke's Star Glider * and Rama, with a trading post thrown in.
> It was written in 2015.
>
> It starts in the year 2066 and both the US and China have a
> very large presence in Earth orbit.  China is preparing to
> launch a very major ship to colonize Mars.  In the US, a very
> competent but seemingly unmotivated slacker doing a chance
> camera check, spots an object, decelerating to go into
> orbit around Saturn.  Yes, decelerating!  Double check all,
> it is definitely an alien starship!
>
> The US quickly starts gearing up to go check this out.
> Then that earlier spotted alien starship lights up to
> exit our solar system and everyone takes notice, and
> the very competitive race is on!
>
> This appears to be Sanford's only Sci-Fi book but he
> has done a bunch of mystery books.
>
> Here is the Amazon cite on it:
>   (you can get it delivered used to your door for $5.23 !)
> https://www.amazon.com/Saturn-Run-John-Sandford/product-reviews/1101987529/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews
>
> They rate it a 4.1.   ??
>
> One of the reviewers "    Asptsman said,
> 5.0 out of 5 stars Sanford just doesn't miss.
> Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 16, 2023
> Verified Purchase
> Couldn't put this book down. Have read everything else that Sanford has
> written and am a big fan. I think this is one of his best. Very fast
> pace and thought provoking story of how we might travel in space and how
> humans can invariably screw it up.
>
> One reviewer that I totally agree with said, "Once the book moved
> away from the neat technical stuff into more character driven stuff,
> things got less interesting for me. It's like, can the Chinese get a
> ny stupider? Huh, yeah they can."
>
> Here is the Goodreads cite on it:
> https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24611668-saturn-run
>    (they rate it a 3.91.)
>
> Reviewer Bradley said, "
> AStrong points: Characterization and the science. We can classify this
> pretty easily as a realistic SF, even including the the scenes of "Meet
> The Aliens". It's a Go To Saturn and Come Back novel, after all. No real
> need for anything truly out of the ordinary. After all, the novel's
> strong points are in its characters.
> I like Sandy and Crow. What can I say? The hooks were fantastic and
> strange and they just kept coming, adding some truly oddball mixes to
> the MCs. I never once got bored with any of the peeps."
>
> Reviewer Rachel said, "
> This was an engrossing near-future science fiction thriller that held my
> attention from start to finish. The premise was SO just intriguing. I
> was dying to know what they would find on Saturn. I thought the
> characters were decent, if a little stereotypical, ---"
>
> Here is the Kirkus Review:
> https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-sandford/saturn-run/
>
> An excerpt, "Sanders Heacock Darlington may be nothing more than a
> wealthy, handsome intern assigned to the Sky Survey Observatory, but
> he’s the one who accidentally notices the evidence that something’s
> approaching the gravitational field of Saturn and decelerating. Heavenly
> bodies don’t decelerate that way, but spaceships do, and soon President
> Amanda Santeros (hey, it’s 2066) is pulling out all the stops to send a
> mission to Saturn to investigate. The stakes are so high ---"
>
> The Barnes and Noble cite is:
> Saturn Run - by John Sandford, Ctein
>
> Barnes & Noble
> https://www.barnesandnoble.com › Books
> John Sandford is an amazing, protean writer, and Saturn Run is a
> terrific story of alien first contact. It's a book Michael Crichton
> would have enjoyed, but ..."
>
>   *
> Meanwhile as to Starglider *
> https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/198046/sci-fi-story-about-an-alien-ai-satellite-passing-through-the-solar-system
> The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke (Wikipedia, ISFDb)
> features Starglider, a craft that enters our solar system.
>
> That is a background story to the story of the construction of the first
> space elevator.
>
> The power of the signal was no longer surprising; its source was already
> well inside the solar system, and moving sunward at six hundred
> kilometres a second. The long-awaited, long-feared visitors from space
> had arrived at last.
>
> The Fountains of Paradise, chapter 12, "Starglider"
>
> It's flying rapidly through the solar system and is just on a course to
> utilize the gravity of the sun to be flung off somewhere else.
>
> Matches:
>
> And since - like our own early Pioneers and Voyagers - it employs the
> gravitational fields of the heavenly bodies to deflect it from star to
> star, it will operate indefinitely, unless mechanical failure or cosmic
> accident terminates its career. Centaurus was its eleventh port of call;
> after it had rounded our sun like a comet, its new course was aimed
> precisely at Tau Ceti, twelve light years away. If there is anyone
> there, it will be ready to start its next conversation soon after AD 8100.
>
> The Fountains of Paradise, chapter 14, "The Education of Starglider"
>
> The story ends with something like the AI giving the location from where
> it was sent, and (maybe?) noting that it has sent a signal there, [...]
>
> Sort of.
>
> For Starglider combines the functions both of ambassador and explorer.
> When, at the end of one of its millennial journeys, it discovers a
> technological culture, it makes friends with the natives and starts to
> trade information, in the only form of interstellar commerce that may
> ever be possible. And before it departs again on its endless voyage,
> after its brief transit of their solar system, Starglider gives the
> location of its home world - already awaiting a direct call from the
> newest member of the galactic telephone exchange.
>
> Ibid.
>
> But not as far, since it is noted that
>
> Now we have only to wait 104 years for an answer. How incredibly lucky
> we are, to have neighbours so close at hand.
>
> Ibid.
>
> [...] it doesn't even know if the alien civilization who sent it still
> exists.
>
> That doesn't match. It ends its conversation in a different way.
>
> Starholme informed me 456 years ago that the origin of the universe has
> been discovered but that I do not have the appropriate circuits to
> comprehend it. You must communicate direct for further information.
>
> I am now switching to cruise mode and must break contact. Goodbye.
>
> The Fountains of Paradise, chapter 16, "Conversations with Starglider"
>
> S
>

On 4/19/2023 11:23 AM, a425couple wrote:
> I made a mistake on the Subject Line, and on the post's first line.
> The author's name is "SANDFORD", not Sanford.  I'm sorry.
>
His son will be by with a bag of sand shortly to discuss it with you. :P

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

a425couple wrote:

>y Thoughts on "Saturn Run" by John Sanford
>I very much enjoyed the majority of this book.
>It is 'hard science fiction' or all plausible with what we
>know of physics in the next 50 years. If you enjoy Arthur
>C. Clarke, but wish for more character development you will
>probably also enjoy this. In fact this has some similarities
>with Clarke's Star Glider * and Rama, with a trading post thrown in.
>It was written in 2015.

I read this some months back. In fact, I got it because YOU sort of
reviewed it in November 2022.

https://groups.google.com/g/rec.arts.sf.written/c/esFrQClBduU/m/vxkZ_jl4BQAJ

Anyway, basically enjoyed it.

Brian

On 4/20/23 23:39, Default User wrote:
> a425couple wrote:
>
>> Thoughts on "Saturn Run" by John Sanford
>> I very much enjoyed the majority of this book.
>> It is 'hard science fiction' or all plausible with what we
>> know of physics in the next 50 years. If you enjoy Arthur
>> C. Clarke, but wish for more character development you will
>> probably also enjoy this. In fact this has some similarities
>> with Clarke's Star Glider * and Rama, with a trading post thrown in.
>> It was written in 2015.
>
> I read this some months back. In fact, I got it because YOU sort of
> reviewed it in November 2022.
>
> https://groups.google.com/g/rec.arts.sf.written/c/esFrQClBduU/m/vxkZ_jl4BQAJ
>
> Anyway, basically enjoyed it.
> Brian

That is nice to hear.
I am quite surprised that nobody cars to discuss this, and this book.