So there's this big hunk of rock hurtling through space, see? And it just might be on a collision course with earth. Now, the authorities are skeptical at first, mind you. But thanks to evidence amassed by plucky scientists, they eventually relent (although too late to do much about it) and recognize the impending disaster for what it is. Rock meets earth. Earth meets rock. Panic and calamity ensue.

Forgive him the by-now terribly hackneyed premise, and you'll actually find that the able James P. Hogan has infused this Armageddon scenario du jour with some novel science. The pluckiest of Hogan's plucky scientists are the Kronians, brainy colonists from Saturn's satellites, who try, along with like-minded earthlings, to persuade others that Athena, a white-hot comet ejected from Saturn's core, threatens to cook the earth on a near-miss. And along the way, we get treated to some neat, eye-opening theories, among them that the earth may have orbited Saturn as recently as the Pliocene--with giant humans rubbing shoulders with titanotheres--and that Venus may have been spit out by Jupiter just a few thousand years ago. The workmanlike action in Cradle of Saturn is typical disaster-flick fare (although with more politicking than car chases), but it's these ideas that make the book worthwhile. That, and the fact that at no point does Bruce Willis attempt to blow Athena up. --Paul Hughes

From Publishers Weekly
The author of Bug Park now offers an action-cum-romance-cum-disaster novel-cum-movie, with no tackiness. Some time in the future, when the world is not overrun with machines but machines keep everything running, science has stagnated at the pinnacle of its power. Landen Keene, of Earth, is a nuclear engineer struggling to push science out of its rut and to radically change the establishment's way of thinking. Some of his closest colleagues are people he has never met. They are Kronians, citizens of habitats orbiting Saturn's moons. The original Kronians left Earth a generation before to create a society where science is free of bureaucracy and where one's worth is based on how hard one works. After an Earth-sized asteroid is ejected from Jupiter, Keene and the Kronians present evidence that Venus, a troublingly youthful planet, is also an offshoot of Jupiter. The Terran establishment closes ranks and protects its stable solar system dogma. But as the asteroid's course shifts and it begins heading directly for Earth, panic settles in and Keene must decide whether to abandon his new love and escape to Saturn. The action throughout is dense, with no sentence wasted. Hogan's clearly explained scientific hypothesis presents intriguing questions, and his characters are real and likable. Though the sparse detailing renders the settings less than vivid, the suspenseful plot will keep readers strapped in for the ride. (June) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Churning science fiction disaster yarn involving dinosaurs, the moons of Saturn, the Anthropic Principle, and Emmanuel Velikovsky's theories (though Hogan never mentions him) about the origin of Venus: from the author of Bug Park (1997), etc. The moons of Saturn have been colonized by the scientifically gifted Kronians, who've developed a revolutionary moneyless socioeconomic system. Meanwhile, planet Jupiter has undergone an astounding (and theoretically impossible) convulsion, ejecting a huge incandescent comet, Athena, which presently is whizzing through the inner solar system. Earth engineering genius Landen Keene, having developed his own revolutionary space vehicle, has been cooperating with the visiting Kronians. At an upcoming scientific conference, the Kronians will present compelling evidence of widespread and frequent catastrophes in the solar system, requiring all humans to cooperate in establishing colonies on other worlds as quickly as possible, to ensure the survival of the species. According to the Kronians (and many Earth scientists), Venus originated as a comet ejected from Jupiter as recently as 1500 B.C. But the scientific and military orthodox, seeing their privileges and funding threatened, spurred by the hostile Professor Herbert Voler, unite to reject the Kronians' evidence. The Kronians also found Earth artifacts on Saturn's moon Rhea, a report even Keene has trouble swallowingunless Earth was once a moon of Saturn! Then, as predicted by the Kronians, Athena alters course to head toward Earth. Stimulating and provocative where Hogan stirs up facts and speculations, elsewhere bumping along with boilerplate post-disaster heroics: another erratic outing for this always-unpredictable author. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Book Description
"THAT PLANET HAS NO RIGHT TO BE THERE!" Among the Saturnian moons, farsighted individuals, working without help or permission from any government, have established a colony. They call themselves the Kronians, after the Greek name for Saturn. Operating without the hidebound restrictions of bureaucratic Earth, the colony is a magnet, attracting the best and brightest of the home world, and has been making important new discoveries. But one of their claims -- that they have found proof that the Solar System has undergone repeated cataclysms, and as recently as a few thousand years ago -- flies in the face of the reigning dogma, and is under attack by the scientific establishment. Then the planet Jupiter emits a white-hot protoplanet as large as the Earth, which is hurtling sunwards like a gigantic comet that will obliterate civilization....

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"That planet has no right be there!"

Among the Saturnian moons, farsighted individuals, working without help or permission from any government, have established a colony. They call themselves the Kronians, after the Greek name for Saturn. Operating without the hidebound restrictions of bureaucratic Earth, the colony is a magnet, attracting the best and brightest of the home world, and has been making important new discoveries. But one of their claims—that they have found proof that the Solar System has undergone repeated cataclysms, and as recently as a few thousand years ago—flies in the face of the reigning dogma, and is under attack by the scientific establishment.

Then the planet Jupiter emits a white-hot protoplanet as large as the Earth, which is hurtling sunwards like a gigantic comet that will obliterate civilization...

FROM THE CRITICS

Melinda Helfer - Romantic Times

Fans of extinction even theory should not miss the reprint of Cradle of Saturn. James Hogan weaves together a miscellany of seemingly unrelated curiosities to form an outrageous but thoroughly fascinating theory about our planet, the rise of humanity and a startling fate to come when an eruption from Jupiter hurls a planet-sized object on a near-collision course with Earth. Although a little slow-startling, this intriguing speculation rolls into high gear as the future becomes a scorching reality.

Starlog

...there's no denying [Hogan's] ability to tell a story....The reader who felt that films such as Deep Impact, Armageddon and When Worlds Collide were for wimps might want to jump on this one.

Mysterious Galaxy

A hell of a lot of fun...enjoy the ride!

Publishers Weekly

The author of Bug Park now offers an action-cum-romance-cum-disaster novel-cum-movie, with no tackiness. Some time in the future, when the world is not overrun with machines but machines keep everything running, science has stagnated at the pinnacle of its power. Landen Keene, of Earth, is a nuclear engineer struggling to push science out of its rut and to radically change the establishment's way of thinking. Some of his closest colleagues are people he has never met. They are Kronians, citizens of habitats orbiting Saturn's moons. The original Kronians left Earth a generation before to create a society where science is free of bureaucracy and where one's worth is based on how hard one works. After an Earth-sized asteroid is ejected from Jupiter, Keene and the Kronians present evidence that Venus, a troublingly youthful planet, is also an offshoot of Jupiter. The Terran establishment closes ranks and protects its stable solar system dogma. But as the asteroid's course shifts and it begins heading directly for Earth, panic settles in and Keene must decide whether to abandon his new love and escape to Saturn. The action throughout is dense, with no sentence wasted. Hogan's clearly explained scientific hypothesis presents intriguing questions, and his characters are real and likable. Though the sparse detailing renders the settings less than vivid, the suspenseful plot will keep readers strapped in for the ride. (June) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Churning science fiction disaster yarn involving dinosaurs, the moons of Saturn, the Anthropic Principle, and Emmanuel Velikovsky's theories (though Hogan never mentions him) about the origin of Venus: from the author of Bug Park (1997), etc. The moons of Saturn have been colonized by the scientifically gifted Kronians, who've developed a revolutionary moneyless socioeconomic system. Meanwhile, planet Jupiter has undergone an astounding (and theoretically impossible) convulsion, ejecting a huge incandescent comet, Athena, which presently is whizzing through the inner solar system. Earth engineering genius Landen Keene, having developed his own revolutionary space vehicle, has been cooperating with the visiting Kronians. At an upcoming scientific conference, the Kronians will present compelling evidence of widespread and frequent catastrophes in the solar system, requiring all humans to cooperate in establishing colonies on other worlds as quickly as possible, to ensure the survival of the species. According to the Kronians (and many Earth scientists), Venus originated as a comet ejected from Jupiter as recently as 1500 B.C. But the scientific and military orthodox, seeing their privileges and funding threatened, spurred by the hostile Professor Herbert Voler, unite to reject the Kronians' evidence. The Kronians also found Earth artifacts on Saturn's moon Rhea, a report even Keene has trouble swallowing—unless Earth was once a moon of Saturn! Then, as predicted by the Kronians, Athena alters course to head toward Earth. Stimulating and provocative where Hogan stirs up facts and speculations, elsewhere bumping along with boilerplate post-disaster heroics: another erraticouting for this always-unpredictable author.