Metaphorosis Reviews
Written on Oct 12, 2023
Summary
On their way to explore Saturn's moon Iapetus, a small crew encounter an unexpected object that looks to be a huge, complex spaceship. And then it grabs them.
Review
I remember Titan and its sequels (when I read them as a teen) as slow-moving, philosophical, and a bit disordered. I was therefore very surprised, this time around, to find a pretty straightforward adventure story – albeit one with more sex and drugs than I was probably used to at the time (though it’s from the 70s, so maybe not). Equally surprising was that it has a pretty rocky start. Until the crew actually reaches the world/object they’ve found, it’s unclear an not really very appealing.
Once they arrive, though, Varley finds his footing and plunges ahead. He name checks any number of SF classics, including a Dune movie that never got made (presumably Jodorowsky’s intended film), which is kind of fun, though he never mentions Rendezvous with Rama, with which Titan has a lot in common. Maybe he felt a reference to (in my copy), 2000 [sic]: a Space Odyssey was enough (some commonality there too).
In any event, the book’s nowhere near as weird as I remember, but it does have the centaurs. And much less concern for the team’s environment than I’d thought; they kind of slash and burn their way through in typical human fashion without much thought for consequences.
Despite its somewhat derivative feel, the story works because a) the world is interesting, and b) the characters are fairly strong and engaging. If you haven’t read it, it’s not quite the classic I recall, but it is a fun read.