The novel is set in the future, when human's are extinct and the robots that they created populate the Solar System and beyond. As you would expect from Charles Stross the book is over-flowing with ideas; it's the most complete imagination of a robot future that I've ever read. The details and ideas make entering the book very enjoyable, learning about the Solar System and the society that exists. Also I think it's the best writing, as in style, that Stross has done yet. Often in his books I've longed for a bit more poetic description and in this novel he seems to have taken a step up in that regard.
My interest in the book however waned, directly in proportion to the plot. Initially I enjoyed the seemingly randomness of the plot and the events that occur. But eventually a twisty turny thriller plot emerges, and though there's nothing particularly wrong with it, I found myself starting to not care; about the characters or the plot. And that's the challenge, can we as humans care about characters who are robots. Well maybe, but I didn't feel emotionally engaged and by the end it all felt a bit sterile.
There's a lot of sex in this book, which I found slightly tedious. It's no surprise as the main character is from along line of sexbots, who are struggling to find a purpose since their main aim in life is to provide pleasure to an extinct species. But, it all felt a bit Barbarella at times. Maybe that was the point?
There are issues raised about multiple personalities, slavery, freedom and much fun poked at the tediousness of space travel. but none of them really forced me to think about the world today. They didn't engage me intellectually, they were more like abstract discussions of issues in the past or the future.
So all in all, Saturn's Children is a competent novel, full of ideas and with a complete vision of the future, but the plot and the characters failed to move me.
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