Ben Bova Recommendations?

MickeyC · 03-29-2009, 10:11 AM

Any recommendations on Ben Bova fiction? I read his non-fiction 'Faint Echoes, Distant Stars' a while ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. He has published several SciFi novels and I'd appreciate recommendations on which were the best.

HarryT · 03-29-2009, 10:15 AM

His "solar system" novels are excellent. Best to read them in order, which is:

Mars
Return to Mars
Venus
Jupiter
Saturn
Mercury
Powersat
Titan

I've not checked to see if they are available as eBooks.

Nate the great · 03-29-2009, 11:55 AM

I would recommend that you avoid anything published after 1995.

I love his earlier work. I don't like most of Mr. Bova's later novels is that he tied together several of his earlier novels in to the same universe. Several of the novels have mutually contradictory histories; they cannot exist in the same time line.

For example, the Kinsman Saga ends in the year 2k with an independent lunar colony in control of orbital weapons. This could not happen in the history referenced in Privateer, where the USSR controls space and the USA turned insular. Neither of these books could have occurred in the background of Moonrise.

He's pulled those 3 histories together in his later novels, and it bugs the heck out of me.

snipenekkid · 03-29-2009, 05:15 PM

I have to agree with Nate. I first tried reading Bova as a pre-teen, about 11 or 12 with THX1138. Then I saw the movie a short time later when it first came to our ditch-water town, first time I ever saw a nekkid woman on the big screen, and she was NEKKID. The funny part was it was part of a Saturday Afternoon Movie Double Feature here where I live...fyi it should have been R-rated even back then but for some reason it was shown and a matinée for KIDS...I feel I lucked out because it was so good. I had read Heinlein's Stranger not long before seeing the movie so the theme questioning society's attitudes toward sex, sexuality and the vilification natural human behavior was fresh in my mind.

Next I read the Watchman books (there were just three back then) followed by whole Exile series and loved them. Mind that I cut my SF teeth on Heinlein works starting when I was about 8 or 9 yrs old. I read Stranger when I was just 10 and honestly totally missed the message in the story but still, it was so ingrained on my mind that I was constantly ruminating on it for years after until reading it again for the first time in my mid-teens. Anyway, I was ready for stories like the Exile books by that time. Still they were not easy reading for me as a pre-teen to early teen.

If you want a fun lite reading series I highly recommend what is without a doubt the most FUN Bova series and that is the Sam Gunn series. It is actually a collection of not really short stories but what I like to call story vignettes. While cohesive they are not necessarily presented in a proper cronology...but there are FUNNY parts. One of the funniest stories is just so fun, but if I talk about it here it might detract from the fun of the reveal in that story. Needless to say it involves a lawsuit against a rather significant icon of human society. I only found this collection the last part of last year and have not enjoyed a story line that much in a LOOONG time.

You really cannot go wrong with any of Bova's early works but do read each series in order. For some reason it matters a lot, more so that other authors. I tried reading Titan before any of the others in the Grand Tour of the Universe series. I thought it was HORRIBLE but pushed through because I felt I was just not getting it and even at the end I still was wondering what the heck I just read. But after working through the rest, I read it again and felt better with the story line.

If you are looking for FUN, read Sam Gunn but know it's a somewhat different style than most of his other works.

MickeyC · 03-29-2009, 05:19 PM

Thanks all. I'll let you know what I finally get down to reading

snipenekkid · 03-29-2009, 05:46 PM

Just realized the Sam Gunn Omnibus editions are not to be had in any ebook formats that I can locate. I did read them as dead tree editions. I am still getting used to the frustration of finding ebooks in areas that I would just assume ebooks made sense. Sorry for that oversight.

You might find them in various electronic format editions of various SF periodicals where they originally appeared.

Andybaby · 03-30-2009, 02:18 AM

I read Orion, and I liked it, very fun Jaunt though time, though some didnt.

I have both Orion 2, and Mars on my reader which i plan to read some time.

Gaurnim · 03-30-2009, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

His "solar system" novels are excellent. Best to read them in order, which is:

Mars
Return to Mars
Venus
Jupiter
Saturn
Mercury
Powersat
Titan

I've not checked to see if they are available as eBooks.

I've read the first 5 as pbooks, and I've greatly enjoyed them.
Good to know there are some others out now.
I'll check them someday.

03-29-2009, 10:11 AM	#1
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,732 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Ben Bova Recommendations? Any recommendations on Ben Bova fiction? I read his non-fiction 'Faint Echoes, Distant Stars' a while ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. He has published several SciFi novels and I'd appreciate recommendations on which were the best.

03-29-2009, 05:15 PM	#4
snipenekkid Banned Posts: 760 Karma: 51034 Join Date: Feb 2009	I have to agree with Nate. I first tried reading Bova as a pre-teen, about 11 or 12 with THX1138. Then I saw the movie a short time later when it first came to our ditch-water town, first time I ever saw a nekkid woman on the big screen, and she was NEKKID. The funny part was it was part of a Saturday Afternoon Movie Double Feature here where I live...fyi it should have been R-rated even back then but for some reason it was shown and a matinée for KIDS...I feel I lucked out because it was so good. I had read Heinlein's Stranger not long before seeing the movie so the theme questioning society's attitudes toward sex, sexuality and the vilification natural human behavior was fresh in my mind. Next I read the Watchman books (there were just three back then) followed by whole Exile series and loved them. Mind that I cut my SF teeth on Heinlein works starting when I was about 8 or 9 yrs old. I read Stranger when I was just 10 and honestly totally missed the message in the story but still, it was so ingrained on my mind that I was constantly ruminating on it for years after until reading it again for the first time in my mid-teens. Anyway, I was ready for stories like the Exile books by that time. Still they were not easy reading for me as a pre-teen to early teen. If you want a fun lite reading series I highly recommend what is without a doubt the most FUN Bova series and that is the Sam Gunn series. It is actually a collection of not really short stories but what I like to call story vignettes. While cohesive they are not necessarily presented in a proper cronology...but there are FUNNY parts. One of the funniest stories is just so fun, but if I talk about it here it might detract from the fun of the reveal in that story. Needless to say it involves a lawsuit against a rather significant icon of human society. I only found this collection the last part of last year and have not enjoyed a story line that much in a LOOONG time. You really cannot go wrong with any of Bova's early works but do read each series in order. For some reason it matters a lot, more so that other authors. I tried reading Titan before any of the others in the Grand Tour of the Universe series. I thought it was HORRIBLE but pushed through because I felt I was just not getting it and even at the end I still was wondering what the heck I just read. But after working through the rest, I read it again and felt better with the story line. If you are looking for FUN, read Sam Gunn but know it's a somewhat different style than most of his other works. Last edited by snipenekkid; 03-29-2009 at 05:24 PM.

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03-29-2009, 10:15 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	His "solar system" novels are excellent. Best to read them in order, which is: Mars Return to Mars Venus Jupiter Saturn Mercury Powersat Titan I've not checked to see if they are available as eBooks.

03-29-2009, 11:55 AM	#3
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	I would recommend that you avoid anything published after 1995. I love his earlier work. I don't like most of Mr. Bova's later novels is that he tied together several of his earlier novels in to the same universe. Several of the novels have mutually contradictory histories; they cannot exist in the same time line. For example, the Kinsman Saga ends in the year 2k with an independent lunar colony in control of orbital weapons. This could not happen in the history referenced in Privateer, where the USSR controls space and the USA turned insular. Neither of these books could have occurred in the background of Moonrise. He's pulled those 3 histories together in his later novels, and it bugs the heck out of me.

03-29-2009, 05:19 PM	#5
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,732 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Thanks all. I'll let you know what I finally get down to reading

03-29-2009, 05:46 PM	#6
snipenekkid Banned Posts: 760 Karma: 51034 Join Date: Feb 2009	Just realized the Sam Gunn Omnibus editions are not to be had in any ebook formats that I can locate. I did read them as dead tree editions. I am still getting used to the frustration of finding ebooks in areas that I would just assume ebooks made sense. Sorry for that oversight. You might find them in various electronic format editions of various SF periodicals where they originally appeared.

03-30-2009, 02:18 AM	#7
Andybaby Wizard Posts: 1,279 Karma: 1002683 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: New York Device: PRS-700	I read Orion, and I liked it, very fun Jaunt though time, though some didnt. I have both Orion 2, and Mars on my reader which i plan to read some time.

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