Ben Bova

Page Updated: 18/07/2006

Page 1

Page 2

Ben Bova - Page 2

The Precipice

Jupiter

Venus

Are We Alone in the Cosmos?

Return to Mars

Paperback - NEL (2001)

First British Edition Hodder & Stoughton (2001)

The Precipice
The Asteroid Wars: I
The asteroids are the richest source of metals and minerals humankind has ever discovered. They hold far more physical wealth than the entire planet Earth: untold megatons of gold, silver, platinum, rare earths; even water and organic chemicals.
These are the stories of the men and women who reach the asteroids, begin to mine their treasures and fight over the incredible wealth they hold . . .
The Precipice
Once, Dan Randolph was one of the richest men on Earth. Now the planet is spiralling into environmental disaster, with floods and earthquakes destroying the lives of millions. Randolph knows the energy and natural resources of space can save Earth's economy, but the price may be the loss of the only, thing he has left - the company he founded, Astro Manufacturing.
Martin Humphries, fabulously wealthy heir of the Humphries Trust, also knows that space-based industry is the way of the future. But unlike Randolph he does not care if Earth perishes in the process. And he knows that the perfect bait to ensnare Dan Randolph and take control of Astro is his revolutionary new fusion rocket propulsion system.
As Randolph - accompanied by two fascinating women who are also brilliant astronauts - flies out to the Asteroid Belt aboard a fusion-propelled spacecraft, Humphries makes his move. The future of mankind lies in Randolph's hands.
The Asteroid Wars have begun.

First British Edition Hodder & Stoughton (2000)

Paperback - NEL (2001)

Jupiter
Jupiter is a boundless ocean, ten times wider than the entire planet Earth. Heated from below by the planet’s seething core, it is the widest, deepest, most fearsome ocean in the solar system.
In his spectacular new novel of space exploration - in the tradition of his bestselling novel Mars - Ben Bova follows a small group of scientists who explore the giant planet in the hope of finding not merely living creatures but intelligent living creatures.
Idealistic young American scientist Grant Archer joins a clandestine expedition to this awesome new world. But Grant does not share the ideals of the scientists he accompanies: he has been planted on their expedition by the New Morality, a religious group, to ferret out what the ‘godless humanists’ have discovered. His mission: to reassure the new religious leaders of Earth that Jupiter holds no intelligent life.
But unknown to the New Morality, Grant, though the son of a minister, is both a believer and a man who sees no reason why science and faith cannot co-exist. He has come to the vast, planet-girdling ocean of Jupiter with an open mind, and he is about to tell his masters something that may shatter their conviction.

Paperback - NEL (2000)

Venus
It is the most desolate place in the universe. With a surface blasted by temperatures hotter than any oven and an atmosphere heavy with sulphur, months from Earth by even the fastest spacecraft, Venus remains almost unknown even after a century of space travel.
But Alex Humphries, son of ruthless space tycoon Martin Humphries, disappeared along with his ship Phosphoros into Venus's infernal atmosphere, and now Humphries has offered ten billion dollars to anyone who can bring his son's body home.
Two ships are soon on their way to Venus, seeking not just the money but also their revenge on Humphries, But when they enter the poisonous hurricane winds of the unknown planet they find something so surprising, so unexpected, that it will change the whole course of space exploration.

British Pbk Original - Ibooks (2000)

Are We Alone in the Cosmos?
Edited by Ben Bova and Byron Preiss
Science Editor: William R. Alschuler
Contributing Editor: Howard Zimmerman
The world's leading scientists confront the ultimate question: are we alone in the cosmos?
Featuring Essays by: Philip Morrison, Ben Bova, Arthur C. Clarke, Donald Goldsmith and Frank Drake.
With the latest information on extrasolar planets and new searches planned for the 21st century!
Never before has so much time and concentrated effort been spent by so many scientists and writers in pursuit of the answer to this fundamental question. In this extraordinary work, major scientists involved in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence known as SETI explain their work and reveal their thoughts. Joining them are some of the best speculative thinkers, from Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov to Gregory Benford, who address the major philosophical questions involved.
Includes a new essay by Dr. Donald Goldsmith, author of The Hunt for Life on Mars and The Ultimate Einstein, and the latest information about the new personal computer search for alien contact via the Internet, and how you can partake in it.
(A substantially different version of this work appeared earlier as First Contact.)
You can share your thoughts about the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence in the new ibooks virtual readers group at www.ibooksinc.com
‘Intriguing… A wide-ranging discussion of mankind's search for alien Life… Inspires as well as informs.’ Kirkus Reviews

Paperback - NEL (1999)

First British Edition Hodder & Stoughton (1999)

Return to Mars
In the story his readers have been awaiting for years, Ben Bova returns to the scene of his most celebrated novel.
Published in 1992, Mars was the story of the thrilling first manned journey to the mysterious planet which has fascinated astronomers since the dawn of time. Arthur C. Clarke called it 'a splendid book'; it was a bestseller throughout the world.
Now, in Return to Mars, a carefully picked international crew of astronauts, engineers and scientists is on its way back. Leading them is Jamie Waterman, the man who defied the accepted wisdom of the scientific community - and the direct orders of his superiors - to discover life on the planet.
But there are those who still resent his success; others who have their own reasons to ensure that Waterman, with his almost mystic idealism, does not make the final decisions about the Second Mars Expedition. And among the crew is someone whose mental instability could lead to catastrophe for them all.
This is the story of a group of men and women whose human secrets will be as explosive as the scientific discoveries they make. It is the most exciting book Bova has written.
An award-winning editor, President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society, Ben Bova is also the author of more than ninety futuristic novels and non-fiction books. Mars, Death Dream, Brothers and the two novels in the Moonbase saga - Moonrise and Moonwar - are the most recent.
'A superb story by a first-class writer' Daily Telegraph
'The science fiction author who will have the greatest effect on the world.' Ray Bradbury
Mars
'A splendid book... of his many books, Mars must be the most important.' Arthur C Clarke
'Extraordinary... this kind of story is the reason science fiction exists in the first place.' Orson Scott Card Death Dream
'The prophetic vision of one of the world's great masters of the genre of science fiction.' Books Brothers
'Plenty of excitement... an effective mix of science, politics and family struggle.' Kirkus Reviews
Moonrise
'Heady oxygen is breathed into old bones as Bova colonises the moon.' Scotland on Sunday
'Bova's picture of life on the moon is highly believable.' Publishers Weekly
Moonwar
'What happens to Moonbase and its inhabitants is as exciting as the future that could be ours.' Tampa Tribune and Times