Don't judge a book by its cover. Good advice, though I never recall actually being told that in regards to books. In the case of SATURN'S CHILDREN, it's rather difficult not to judge the book by the cover, because the cover positively screams b-grade SF porn. Crack it open, though, and you find a fascinating science fiction story. Okay, it's a fascinating science fiction story about a sexbot...but it's still really good.

SATURN'S CHILDREN follows the travails of Freya, one of the surviving models of a line of "ahem" personal entertainment robots. Life for Freya is not easy, for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that the people she was made to entertain died out centuries ago, leaving her with no one to love and no real purpose in life. The solar system is filled with robots, built to serve masters that are no longer there to give orders. Freya finds herself at the heart of a conspiracy to bring back humanity, a conspiracy that sends her to the edges of the solar system.

The world of SAUTRN'S CHILDREN is brilliantly imagined, which Stross has filled with countless clever ideas and interesting creations. As the story unfolds, we constantly learn more and more of the world in which Freya moves. From how their intelligences were created, to how their bodies were designed, the robots themselves are realized in fascinating ways that simultaneously appeals to your empathy, and impresses you with their alien nature. Even more thought provoking and profound is the depiction of the robot society, built to execute orders from vanished masters and evolved into something quite other than what it was. And the world is the least of Stross' accomplishments - the first-person narrative provides a fascinating voice and lens into his creation that draws the reader into an extravagant noir science fiction thriller.

At times poignant, at others satirical (the fundamentalists preaching evolution to the creationist robots), SATURN'S CHILDREN is an absolute delight. I can find little to complain about (a terrible thing for a critic), other than to wish that in such a brilliantly created world, it's almost disappointing to not have more to explore. It is thought provoking without being tedious, poignant without being mawkish, and above all it is entertaining. SATURN'S CHILDREN is one of the finest science fiction novels I have read - but I'm going to have to do something about that cover.