I have read a few Bova books and enjoyed most of them. This one was not so good. It was like he joined/edited a few decent short stories together to get a quick novel.
The final premise of this short novel is that we would like to know the real purpose of the fully functioning monolith/machines found on a Saturn moon. This type of story was done much better and by James P. Hogan in his "Inherit the Stars". Hogan went on to write two more novels to complete the adventure.

I'll try other Bova books but this one was poor. ( )

TL;DR: some nice ideas, but pretty badly written. I can’t recommend this in good conscience.

This book reads like three linked stories clumsily-stitched together -- a fixup, in other words, though it isn’t one. In the first story a manned mission is sent to Jupiter to find out more about strange Alien machines on Saturn’s moon Titan; the second story deals with a set of explorers investigating an Earthlike planet around Sirius; and the third deals squarely with the ancient but still functioning machines on Titan. The frame story is a ridiculous “love triangle”.

There’s a few good story-ideas in there: an ancient human space-faring civilization that arose between the Ice Ages is a thrilling what-if prompt (Graham Hancock-style pseudo-science works best as SF), and I also liked the concept of a hunter-gatherer tribe of Neanderthals in space, all that is left of a colony of the aforementioned Ice Age Space Society. Both of these are prominent in the second story, which I thought most amusing.

But whatever enjoyable story ideas this fix-up offers are more than offset by the poor writing: Bova’s style is turgidly perfunctory; his characterization is non-existent; and his imagination concerning Alien motives just isn’t, well, imaginative. The love triangle that Bova tries to tie these stories together with simply doesn’t work: he cannot get his non-characters to act in a manner that would make their troubled relationship believable. ( )

This is the prequel to Bova's debut novel the Star Conquerors. It answers the question what is the purpose of the Great Machines on Titan. These machines get a brief mention in Star Conquerors yet the implications of their presence is the motivation behind the entire trilogy. The story revolves around three central characters involved in a love triangle, scientists Syndey Lee and Marlene Ettinger, and soldier/astronaut Bob O'Banion as they try to uncover the secrets of the Great Machines. The book is a series of vignettes. Each chapter is a separate story highlighting the lives of each of the principle characters. It also functions as a fairly good first contact story. This aspect of the story is by far the best part of the book. The overall feel of the novel is that Bova is experimenting. In some of the chapters all of the plot points come together nicely. In others the reader is left wondering if there should be more than is presented. Its like Bova wanted the reader to fill in the empty spaces on their own. This is particularly true of the ending. This novel serves as a good look at Bova's early writing style, given that was the 10th fiction book of 84 he would write, plus another 34 non fiction books on a wide variety of science topics. The book is a good short novel and worth reading. ( )

Part of a loose series about the presence of a long-standing threat to Earth, this is a fast-moving, three-act story about the mysterious, colossal machinery found on Titan. Scientists seek the answers to why they are there, knowing that the future of the human race could be at stake. Set against it is a love triangle and the effects on it of relativistic travel. Especially liked the midsection story. Excellent story, nice ending, excellent pacing. Works well as a standalone novel. ( )

This book is awful.

I hate to put it so bluntly, especially since I am a writer myself – in other words, I know how tough it can be to write a tightly plotted novel – but this one is just inexcusably bad. An entire dream sequence is accidentally repeated almost word for word in two separate chapters. (Hello, editors?) It has no flow whatsoever. The dialog is embarrassing. Characters do things inexplicably, suddenly, without any precipitating decisions or choices.

Okay, it's just bad, bad, bad. If you want to try reading Ben Bova, don't read this one. It's a stinker. ( )