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Books : Science Fiction & Fantasy : Authors, A-Z : B : Bova, Ben
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In Ben Bova's 1992 bestselling book Mars, geologist Jamie Waterman and his crewmates discovered the existence of primitive lichen on the floor of the great Martian canyon known as the Valles Marineris. In Return to Mars, Waterman is headed back to the Red Planet, this time in charge of an expedition that hopes not only to study Martian life, but also to prove that exploring Mars can be profitable. Waterman also wants to revisit a part of the canyon where he thought he spotted a primitive cliff dwelling during the first Martian mission. The second voyage to Mars runs into trouble right away, however, as Waterman clashes with Dex Trumball, the son of a billionaire who's backing the expedition. Dex wants to turn Mars into a tourist attraction, while Waterman wants to preserve the planet for scientific research. Both men are also attracted to the expedition's beautiful psychologist, Vijay Shektar, who can't seem to decide which of the two she likes best. As if that weren't enough, one of the Mars team maybe trying to sabotage the mission, while back home the elder Trumball is pulling strings in order to force Waterman to step down as the expedition's leader. Like Jamie Waterman, Bova takes on a lot of responsibility in this second Mars book. He's trying to create a complex story that relies equally on science, characterisation and politics, mixed in with a healthy dose of mystery and a dash of thriller. As usual, Bova nails the science but fares less well--though by no means poorly--with his characters. He pulls off the politics with confidence, but the thriller sub-plot seems forced. Finally, the mysteries (there are several) all succeed reasonably well, though some are more compelling than others. The whole makes up a thoroughly enjoyable novel about both what life might be like on an expedition to Mars and what Martian life might be like. It's a better book than its predecessor and it can be read entirely on its own thanks to Bova's carefully interwoven details about the back story that took place in Mars. --Craig E. Engler, Amazon.com
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In The Rock Rats, Ben Bova continues the melodramatic saga that began in The Precipice, with a gold rush to exploit mineral (and other) resources of that vast new frontier the asteroid belt.Independent "rock rat" prospectors trying to get rich out there face not only the bleak hazards of space but ruthless claim-jumping and piracy from hissable bad guy Martin Humphries. Though exposed for murderous sabotage in book 1, this wicked industrialist and his giant corporation Humphries Space Systems remain major players. Soon HSS minions bring murder and arson to the Ceres asteroid base.
Also, with the enjoyable implausibility of a TV soap, Humphries is emotionally involved. Though consoling himself with mistresses he has the hots for lovely Amanda Cunningham, currently married to leading rock rat Lars Fuchs, who's determined to track down HSS's sadistic hitman Harbin... Man the lasers! Space-pirate ahoy!
Meanwhile on an Earth ravaged by the greenhouse effect and fundamentalist government, diplomatic overtures to the now independent Moon have a positively Ruritanian flavour:
Jatar Pahang was not only the world's most popular video star, she was also the mistress of Xu Xianqing, chairman of the world government's inner council, and his secret envoy to Stavenger and the government of Selene.
It adds up to pleasantly unlikely and over-the-top adventure, with Humphries and Harbin repeatedly and literally getting away with murder, while Fuchs isn't so lucky when innocent rock rats die in a revenge strike by his own privateer ship. The resulting cliff-hanger finale is a sure-fire hook for further mayhem amid the asteroids in book three.--David Langford
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A popular US author and Hugo-winning editor, Ben Bova has written many, many SF books since his 1959 debut novel. In The Precipice, set several decades in the future, the human race is in the process of falling off the metaphorical "greenhouse cliff" as runaway global warming brings devastating floods and storms. Time for another look at that old SF dream of moving Earth's polluting industries into outer space and mining the inexhaustible wealth of the asteroids...Idealistic space industrialist Dan Randolph of Astro Manufacturing gets his chance when his amoral multibillionaire rival Humphries offers a fusion drive that will allow economical spaceflight to the asteroid belt. It's a setup, of course: Humphries wants Randolph to fail and Astro stock to plummet, ready for an easy buy-out. Meanwhile, despite the benefits of power satellites and a functioning Moon colony where miracles of nanotechnology are performed, Earth's rulers (European bureaucrats in unholy alliance with Chinese commies) are fanatically opposed to space development and invoke every tiresome regulation they can to hamper Randolph's project.
Eventually our hero snaps, breaks all the rules, and heads for the Belt in an untried fusion craft with a small, trusted crew--little knowing that villainous Humphries, twirling his moustachios and probably stroking a white cat, has arranged a spot of sabotage.
The Precipice is an exciting, fast-moving blend of hard SF and technothriller, if sometimes a shade too melodramatic for credibility. It's billed as book one of "The Asteroid Wars", and there's more to come. --David Langford