If you ignore the rather shallow and comic-book treatment of US politics and then the human-influenced bolide impact, this book makes sobering and gripping reading.

Baxter's ability to gleefully yet plausibly destroy Mankind is very much on show here. There's a lot to hate about this book (trawl through some of the other reviews - they're on the money), but there's three times as much to like.

Compare what happens to the crew as they float their way to Titan with that of a later effort of Baxter's: Ark.