Saturnius Mons, by Jeremy. L. Jones

Story

Saturnius Mons, by Jeremy L Jones follows a team of space explorers as they explore Titan (one of the many moons of Saturn), to see if a lost civilization still resides there. If so, the money grabbing Corporation will be urged to stop their resource farming, once and for all.

However, nothing is ever so simple, and the team soon find themselves in a war between natives.

Characters

Four characters dominate the novel, forming a team that hopes to find out what’s really going on, on Titan.

Viekko Spade is a Martian tactician, a strong man with plenty of dark memories hiding beneath his skin. An addiction to a particular mind-enhancing drug plagues him, sharpening his tactician skills, but also putting his entire group at risk. I found him fascinating, interested to figure out what made him tick.

Isra is by far the least agreeable member of the group, although she does have the useful ability of reading people, easily picking up on people’s deceptions, and more. She is stern and logical, often keeping the group on track.

Althea is a world-class medic, the best at what she does. She often acts as a voice of reason for the impulsive Viekko. I felt a romantic tension between the pair, that I hope will become a relationship in the future.

Finally, we meet Cronus, the group’s resident technology expert and know it all Brainiac. He works hard, dedicated to his passion for technology and the search for the truth. I really liked his character but also found him to be untrustworthy at times.

Writing

I loved the snippets the author used at the beginning of each chapter, from a created history of post-space-exploration humanity. Each snippet had me thinking deeply about the nature of humanity and our future, shooting for the stars.

Jeremy. L. Jones’ style hooked me from the start. I loved how he steadily built up the world of Titan, making it easier to visualize the main setting as a whole. He builds tension well and creates interesting characters that each have their own vibe.

A Memorable Quote

Although there were many memorable quotes throughout, I found myself drawn to this one in particular:

‘Nature provides our species with everything it needs. Civilization provides it with everything it wants. History shows us that it is important while we develop the latter, we do not destroy the former. That way leads to inevitable ruin.’

This quote made me think in depth about how we use the Earth’s resources. The entire story hinges on how the Corporation extracts Titan’s resources to the point of causing true chaos. If we want civilization to continue (unlike previous civilizations that fell), then we need to think hard about our actions and refer to history, so we don’t continue repeating the same mistakes.

Overview

Overall, I enjoyed Saturnius Mons. It was different and made me think deeply
about humanity and the current path we are travelling on.

Would I recommend? Yes, if you like Sci-Fi books that make you think.
My rating: 4 stars.

Thank you for joining me for my review of Saturnius Mons.

If you’d like to learn more about the book, please visit it’s Goodreads page.
If you’d like to know more about the author, please visit his website here.

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Until next time, take care,
Dax. xoxo