Schrodinger's Bookshelf

After taking us beyond Earth’s orbit, to the Moon, and then to Mars, Ben Bova is back with yet another extraordinary exploration of our near neighbors. This time, it’s a journey to the inhospitable greenhouse of Venus, a place he describes as “the most hellish place in our solar system.” Bova spends several pages telling us just how impossible it would be to survive on a planet whose atmosphere is poisonous, whose surface could melt aluminum, whose air pressure can crush spacecraft landers, and whose overall nature is so foreboding that “by comparison, the Moon is easy and Mars is a picnic.”

Now that we understand just how foolish and inadvisable it would be to try and set foot on Venus, if at all possible to begin with, the true adventure can begin. Once upon a time, Alex Humphries, beloved elder son of the billionaire Martin Humphries, was part of the initial exploration of Venus. He died, the expedition lost somewhere in the hellish environment of the planet. Now his father is offering a reward of ten billion dollars to the first team to journey to Venus and bring back Alex’s remains. Who steps up to the plate? Van Humphries, younger son, as despised by his father as Alex was loved. Sickly and something of a wastrel, Van is a most unlikely choice for a hero or an adventurer. Nevertheless, he takes the challenge, as much to defy his father’s expectations as to make something of himself. He’ll join the crew of the airship Hesperos as they attempt to survive one of the most hostile places alive. He’ll deal with crew members who hate him, one of whom is a spy for his father, overcome his own insecurities, and come face to face with his mortality more than once.

And just when things can’t get any worse, Van and the crew will discover why the previous expedition failed, and just what sort of life can survive on Venus. The knowledge may just kill them all. Only a deadly, distrusting alliance with his father’s worst enemy, Van’s rival for the ten billion dollar prize, will enable anyone at all to escape alive. From the dangers of Venus’ atmosphere to the threat of mutiny within, from the failure of his own body, to the man who hates him, Van will be forced to master his own destiny and potential if he wants to see home again.

I love Ben Bova’s writing for two main qualities. The first is the rich and enjoyable characterization. His characters are intensely human, full of flaws and foibles and goals, capable of anything, and as realistic as anyone you’ll meet on the street. The second is his intimidating scientific knowledge of the mechanics of space travel, exploration, and what it’ll take to conquer and survive those environments. Venus delivers on both counts, and doesn’t disappoint in the least. Like any new Bova novel, I couldn’t stop reading Venus until the last page, and it left me wanting more. If we could only put him in charge of our space exploration program, we’d be mining asteroids and living on the Moon in no time at all. Ben Bova is a must-read for anyone who likes their SF hard and complex, and all-too-possible.

Originally published twenty years ago, The Sardonyx Net helped to mark Elizabeth Lynn as a noteworthy author, a distinction she soon lived up to by winning the World Fantasy Award twice in one year, for her novel Watchtower, and her short story, “The Woman Who Loved the Moon”. Now we’re treated once again to her talents as a science fiction author, with this tale of romance, revolution, slavery, and intrigue.

The planet Chabad is unique among the Federation of Living Worlds, for being the only world where slavery is legal. The human-settled worlds of the Sardonyx Sector chose to banish their criminals to one place, the desolate Chabad, much like the English used Australia to harbor their own unwanted criminals. Over time, Chabad become something more than a prison planet. It became a resort, a paradise built on the backs of the undesirables expelled from the rest of the sector. A resort maintained by keeping the slaves addicted to the euphoric drug, dorazine. A drug that is illegal to actually ship or sell, but upon which the entire social system of Chabad now depends

It’s into this treacherous world that Starcaptain Dana Ikoro is unwillingly drawn, after his initial forays into drug smuggling leave him broke, and his cargo stolen by another smuggler. In his attempts to recoup his losses, he lands on Chabad, and is immediately arrested for even having the intention to smuggle. It seems that the new head of the Narcotics Division of the Federation police has a particular hatred for dorazine smuggling, and will do anything to crack down on it. Even set up poor Dana for a ten year sentence as a slave.

It’s Dana’s subsequent luck to be picked out by the sadistic commanded of the Yago Net, the starship which transports prisoners to Chabad. Zed Yago, a cunning and cruel man, sees Dana as the perfect gift for his sister, Rhani Yago, Domna of the family and one of the most powerful women on the planet. Soon acting as Rhani’s bodyguard, companion, servant and confidant, Dana is drawn into a deadly and explosive plot to destroy the Yagos and the entire way of life on Chabad. And all he wants is to be free, to roam
between the stars once more.

As the stakes are raised, and Dana discovers that there’s more between him and Rhani than master and slave, secrets are revealed, secrets which threaten to tear the Yagos apart and destroy everything they hold dear. Their way of life, their system, even their beliefs will be called into question. And in the end, Dana may be forced to choose between loyalty, love, and his own desires, and to save the man he hates most or to escape while he has the chance. Honor will only take you so far on the world of Chabad.

Compelling and richly-detailed, The Sardonyx Net is a powerful story, one that plays its cards close and never reveals too much as once. It launches surprises with a ruthless sharpness, just when the reader thinks they know what’ll happen next. The characters are fascinating and three-dimensional, sensual and intoxicating and frightening in turn. Zed’s cruelty masks a deeper desire, Rhani’s sultry exterior is the front for unexpected loneliness, and Dana’s own self-sufficiency is pushed to the limits as a slave.

This is a book that well-deserved to be brought back in print, and shouldn’t be missed now that it’s on the shelves once more.

It seems as though I’m reviewing a new Ben Bova book in every column these days. There are several reasons for that. Not only is he one of science fiction’s best writers, he’s still a prolific one, releasing books with a pleasant frequency of late. With each new release, his system-spanning saga of the near future expands and ties together all the more intricately. Now, with The Precipice, Bova finally ties together a number of previously independent threads in that ongoing saga.

Once again, we’re introduced to the dynamic businessman and entrepreneur, Dan Randolph, last seen as the hero of Privateers and The Empire Builders. The ecological catastrophes predicted in those books have finally begun to strike in full force, and Dan’s years of work trying to prevent the worst seem to have failed. Floods and earthquakes are tearing civilization apart. As Randolph suffers an intensely personal loss, he also stands to face a financial defeat, as his company, Astro Manufacturing, stands on the brink of bankruptcy. Determined to save the world, Randolph is tempted into making a deal with the devil, who appears in the form of Martin Humphries, whose fabulous wealth and access to highly advanced technologies could turn the tide with a fanciful scheme to mine the asteroids for their mineral wealth. The plan could revitalize the industries, moving many of them off Earth altogether. Our future lies in the stars, and we might be able to correct the greenhouse effect after all.

Randolph is wise to Humphries’ ways, distrusting any such alliance or partnership with the greedy young tycoon. He fears for Astro Manufacturing’s independence, and his own personal safety. He pursues other possible avenues, to no avail. It looks like the partnership is a done deal. Randolph and Humphries will send a ship to the asteroids, and prove once and for all to a skeptical world that salvation can be found out there, not by blindly focusing on Earth alone. Even as the deal is concluded, Randolph is finding a way to get around it. It’s no problem for the man who once defied law as a space privateer. Aided by the inhabitants of the moon colony Selene (last seen in Moonrise and Moonwar), and backed by a pair of beautiful astronauts (one of whom is a spy for Humphries), he’ll hijack the fusion-propelled Starpower I and risk his life on one last gamble.

Espionage, financial maneuvering, sabotage, sacrifice, technological marvels, the drive of the human spirit, complex characterization, and the fate of the world all combine to make this a gripping, fast-paced and well-told addition to a much larger story. It’s billed as Book One of The Asteroid Wars, so clearly the story’s just begun. Dan Randolph will give his all to save a planet that has very little use or desire for him, and Martin Humphries will sacrifice anyone and anything to escape the hold of his tyrannical father, even Earth itself. Meanwhile, Pancho Lane wants nothing more than to protect her sister and make a living, and she’ll play both sides against the middle if she has to. Together, these three will change everything.

The Precipice is notable in part for connecting so many elements from other books in the same setting. Not only do we have Dan Randolph and the moon colony of Selene, but Martin Humphries has appeared before, or rather will appear as Van Humphries’ father in Venus, the catalyst for that book’s events. It contains Bova’s customary attention to detail, mixing richly-developed characters with hard science fiction action and adventure. Certainly, Ben Bova hasn’t lost any of his edge, and I recommend this book as highly as I do any of his other releases. I’ll be looking forward to the next in The Asteroid Wars to see how it all comes together.

In 2054, the world is a very different place, but not so far removed from the society we know today. Technology has improved in leaps and bounds with holography andcomputer intelligence, social studies has taken slightly different leanings, the government is a bit more corrupt, and homosexuality has been deemed illegal. A war is brewing between France and Germany, and skin cancer is on the rise. All this is overshadowed, however, when Professor Aurora “Rory” Bell, an astronomer with the University of Florida at Gainesville makes a stunning discovery. An alien object has appeared out of nowhere, traveling near the speed of light. Its destination: Earth. Date of arrival: Jaunary 1st, 2055. Its message: “We’re coming.” Nothing else.

Overnight, the worldbegins to spin out of control, and a rich ensemble of characters take the stage to present an intensely human, personal drama about the end of the world as we know it, the fear of the unknown, and the anticipation of what humanity dubs, “The Coming.” With three months until the alien ship arrives, people prepare in different ways, embracing science, religion, fear, and hope. Rory and her musician husband Norman struggle to stay together as outside forces try to tear them apart. Political pressure coming from as far on high as the President herself seeks to silence Rory, or usurp her vision into a political and military advantage. Criminal elements seek to take advantage of the commotion, looking to blackmail the couple over Norman’s proclivities, an affair of passion that, if revealed, could destroy their careers. Meanwhile, Rory’s colleague may not be all that he seems, another is perfectly willing to sell her out, and everyone has a different opinion on what to do with the aliens. Embrace them? Destroy them?

As the Coming draws closer, war seems imminent, a shocking development cripples the American government, and the aliens’ power demonstrates their overwhelming superiority. But is it all just an elaborate hoax, as some suspect, or are the aliens for real? Or is the truth even stranger than that? The answers will come only on January 1st, when they make their first -and last, maybe- appearance.

The Coming is without a doubt Haldeman’s best book in quite a while, combining a keen grasp of social politics with a thorough understanding of human nature. This isn’t so much a story of aliens or First Contact, as it is a story about people, and how they react. Utilizing a subtle, yet effective literary technique of linking narratives, in which each character hands off to the next as they encounter, talk to, deal with, and observe one another, Haldeman places the reader in the distinctly unique perspectives of over a dozen different people. And while some roles are less than others, they nevertheless serve as cunning links between events and experiences. Rory hands off to reporter Daniel Jordan who gives over to Normal Bell, who bumps into mobster Willy Joe Capra, who observes reporter Marya Washington conducting an interview on the ‘cube’, who meets Rory’s assistant Pepe Parker, who’s in the room when Rory gets a call from Gainesville’s Mayor, and so forth, round-robining to tell a complete story about humanity.

Ultimately, The Coming manages to throw just enough curve balls to make the ending both unpredictable and not as obvious as it seems, just enough questions left unanswered to cast doubt on even the most concrete of character conclusions. But what’s genuine is the message delivered at the end, and the process in which characters and readers alike get there. Sharply told, easily grasped without a PhD in physics, with believable characters and a plausible plot, this is a highly satisfying book, one that was over far too soon.
While Haldeman has delivered books in the same vein before, with Forever Free and Forever Peace both dealing with the ideas of humanity, war, and peace, this is by far a superior story. This is definitely a don’t miss for any reader of science fiction.