Showing results by author "Ben Bova" in All Categories

In the far reaches of the solar system, the outer planets - billions of miles from Earth, unknown for millennia - are being settled. Neptune, the ice giant, is swathed in clouds of hydrogen, helium, and methane and circled by rings of rock and dust. Three years ago, Ilona Magyr’s father, Miklos, disappeared while exploring the seas of Neptune. Everyone believes he is dead - crushed, frozen, or boiled alive in Neptune’s turbulent seas. 

In his first-ever adventure, Sam Gunn Jr. sets off to fulfill his father’s left-behind mission of interplanetary enterprising. He soon learns his father’s shoes are tough to fill, but he is up for the task. Junior takes a journey through the stars, falling in love with beautiful women and leaving his unique mark everywhere he ventures. Soon, however, this trip through the universe takes a dangerous turn when Junior lands on Saturn and learns about a recent scientific discovery that will change everything, possibly forever.

From the creation of life to the exploration of the heavens and the stars, from the origins of the earth to the possibility of life on other planets, Ben Bova unveils the beauty and science behind this phenomenon. Bova masterfully explains how light affects us every day of our lives, from our religions to our sex drives. He examines how we use light in art, science, industry, entertainment, cosmetics, jewelry, and in a myriad other ways.

John O'Ryan is not a god...not exactly. He is an eternal warrior destined to combat the Dark Lord through all time for dominion of the Earth. Follow him, servant of a great race, as he battles his enemy down the halls of time, from the caves of our ancestors to the final confrontation under the hammer of nuclear annihilation.

In the future as Bova here imagines it, Earth is an ecological nightmare, and humanity may well go the way of the dinosaurs. But overhead orbits salvation. A vast metallic island in space, the Trikon station conducts genetic research too risky to be done on earth - research that could save the planet.

Despite Mercury's desolateness, there are still those who hope to find diamonds in the rough. Saito Yamagata thinks Mercury's position will make it an ideal orbit point for satellites that could someday create enough power to propel starships into deep space.

Master storyteller Ben Bova continues his multi-volume "Grand Tour" saga chronicling humanity's exploration of near space with Titan, a fast-paced thriller focused on the first manned mission to the Solar System's most intriguing world. Skillfully blending high drama, passionate characters, and daring speculation with the latest discoveries from the current Cassini/Huygens probe of Saturn's moon, Bova has crafted a heart-stopping tale of epic adventure on mankind's next frontier.

A group of scientists and other space travelers face life-or-death decisions after their spacecraft is damaged by fire. 

John O'Ryan is Orion - more than human, less than a god, cast away on the seas of Time to do battle among the Creators for the future of mankind. Now the eternal warrior finds himself separated from his great love, Anya, and marooned in Macedonia under the reign of Phillip - fighting alongside the young Alexander, and at the mercy of a Queen Olympias who is far more than she seems.

Acclaimed science-fiction authors Orson Scott Card and Ben Bova, along with their shared audiobook producer and occasional narrator Stefan Rudnicki, discuss audiobooks and their works in a joint interview. The authors touch on their thoughts on audiobooks vs. print editions, the effect of technology on literature, religion, science, and many other fascinating topics sure to intrigue both Card and Bova fans, as well as all audiobook enthusiasts.

Visionary space industrialist Dan Randolph is dead, but his protege, pilot Pancho Barnes, now sits on the board of his conglomerate. She has her work cut out for her, for Randolph's rival, Martin Humphries, still wants to control Astro and still wants to drive independent asteroid miners like Lars Fuchs out of business. Humphries wants revenge against Pancho, and, most of all, he wants his old flame, Amanda, who has become Lars Fuchs's wife.

Dr. Jake Ross came to Washington to make a difference. As the science advisor to a newly elected freshman senator, Jake has crafted a comprehensive energy plan that employs innovative new technologies to make America the world's leader in energy production while simultaneously boosting the economy and protecting the environment.

Earth has been devastated by a massive solar flare. Now a small group of survivors fights to rebuild civilization. Cities became ovens, grasslands seas of flame. As the touch of dawn swept westward across the spinning planet, its fiery finger killed everything in its path. Glaciers in Switzerland began to melt; floodwaters poured down on burning Alpine villages. Paris became a torch, then London. North of the Arctic Circle, Laplanders in their summer furs burst into flame as their reindeer collapsed and roasted on the smoking tundra. The line of dawn raced westward across the Atlantic, but as it did, the sun dimmed as quickly as it had flared. The Americas escaped the sun’s wrath … almost.

For the first time in more than 15 years, Ben Bova returns to the adventures of Orion - hunter, warrior, assassin, and time-traveler. Created by Aten, one of the god-like descendants of the human race 50,000 years in the future, Orion is forced to travel throughout space-time to do his Creator’s malevolent bidding. In this audio exclusive, Aten sends Orion to the Britain of the Dark Ages.

Earth is an old planet, and her teeming masses are running out of resources - and time. It is up to men such as Jeff Holman to discover a haven for Earth’s millions. Altair VI is one such planet, and Holman is determined to transform this world into one where the human race can survive. Star probes long ago informed Earth that Altair VI had a flourishing ecology with one very tough beast at the top of the food chain, one that will have to be dealt with before the human colony ships arrive. The beast is not only tough, it is as smart as a man. Holman is faced with a soul-wrenching decision - for to make Altair VI habitable for humans, all native life must die.

Hero or killer? In a startling future that’s coming closer every year, Chet Kinsman is an astronaut ace who has done everything one can in space—including commit the first murder. It’s a secret he can never escape, not even on the moon, where he’s head of the first US lunar colony.

It is time to start colonizing the solar system. Ex-astronaut, current space advisor, and all-out troubleshooter for the president, Jake, is determined to make it happen. And what better way than to return to America’s glory by returning to the moon and setting up a permanent moon-base which can then serve as the launching pad for Mars and beyond. But as usual, political intrigue and conflicting priorities are threatening the whole program.

Dr. Jake Ross came to Washington to try to make a difference, but he's learned the only way to get something done in Washington, assuming your ideals survive the corrosive atmosphere, is to gather power. Ross has gathered a great deal riding in the wake of Frank Tomlinson. But now Tomlinson has decided to shoot for the moon. If they win, they get it all. If they lose, the game is over for Jake Ross. 

An extraterrestrial colony, in some form, may already exist, just awaiting discovery. But the greatest impediment to such an important scientific discovery may not be technological, but political. No scientific endeavor can be launched without a budget, and matters of money are within the arena of politicians. Dr. Ben Bova explores some of the key players and the arguments waged in a debate of both scientific and cultural priorities.

In Carbide Tipped Pens,over a dozen of today's most creative imaginations explore these frontiers, carrying on the grand tradition of such legendary masters as Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and John W. Campbell, while bringing hard science fiction into the 21st century by extrapolating from the latest scientific developments and discoveries.