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Powersat (The Grand Tour #1)
by
Ben Bova
Two hundred thousand feet up, things go horribly wrong. An experimental low-orbit spaceplane breaks up on reentry, falling to earth over a trail hundreds of miles long. And it its wake is the beginning of the most important mission in the history of space.
America needs energy, and Dan Randolph is determined to give it to them. He dreams of an array of geosynchronous ...more
Mass Market Paperback, 448 pages
Published
October 31st 2006
by Tor Books
(first published 2005)
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This is really bad and normally I wouldn't have finished it. However, its characterization and plot points became so predictably farfetched that it transcended into something amusing and I kept reading just to see what new amazingly clunky thing would happen next. Thus it became good like an Ed Wood movie!
Naive roughneck space cowboys do not become CEO's of multibillion high tech startups.
US senators are not unbelievably beautiful and sexually desirable.
Terrorist masterminds d...more
Naive roughneck space cowboys do not become CEO's of multibillion high tech startups.
US senators are not unbelievably beautiful and sexually desirable.
Terrorist masterminds d...more
This is one of those books I read because I needed to. If it hadn't been for Mars and for the rest of the Grand Tour series I might have quit after 50 pages. It's not that it's a bad book, it is at least above average. However, it isn't very compelling science fiction. It is a suspence thriller. If Bova had made the pPowersat into an experimental medicine or any other of a dozen technology driven enterprises it still would have worked. The story had less to do with space than I like and more to ...more
Bova writes in a straightforward style -- he hits all the craft buttons and the science rings true in this near future techno thriller. It's a man's book, there's emotion in the relationships, but it reads like a man, which translates into not as lush as women write emotion, but that's not the point; it's not that kind of book. He has a lot of threads to weave and he does a good job of tying them all up satisfactorily, even does a good job of foreshadowing the fate of one of the characters, dr...more
Ben Bova is one of the most established writers in science fiction and space exploration, often examining the political challenges and influences facing an advanced future. As a master of expressing the true nature of human existence through realistic characters who strive to succeed for the betterment of man in a world ruled by power hungry individuals, Bova remains true to form in Powersat.
This was my first book by Ben Bova, and after reading it, I'm going to read more of his stuff. As far as thrillers go, it wasn't particularly thrilling, but that didn't stop it from being an enjoyable read with realistic characters and an intriguing plot. I really enjoy this style of hard science fiction with realistic tech and few fantasy elements.
I just couldn't get into this book, Bova has written so many other works that are at least a bit better than this thing. Characters are mostly stereotypes and I just couldn't muster up much caring about the plot line or anything else. Total waste of my time.
Good adventure story firmly rooted in science and current events. Well written. Plot is well crafted, characters well described. Biggest weakness is that there is little suspense toward the end. The evil guys are transparent and the heros win, as usual.
I've enjoyed other Bova books, but this was really disappointing. The main character was unlikeable, the plot really thin. I was expecting science fiction and got a poor attempt at a techno-thriller. Bova should leave that genre to Tom Clancy.
couldn't develop an interest. I started but did not finish. Characters were simplistic, and I am always suspicious when the same characters keep popping up in different situations, as if there aren't 6 billion people on the planet.
Not one of Ben Bova's best. Interesting read though and a good climax. Wish he wouldn't use so many of those "double-damn's". It's really not how people actually talk. If you swear, then swear properly. Just my 2 cents.
Once I started I realized that I'd read this book before. I enjoyed it the second time even though I knew what was comming.
I have this love/hate relationship with Bova's writing. On the one hand, he's got great ideas. On the other hand, I always look back after I finish one of his books and realize that nothing really happened until the last 20 pages or so. Also, all of his protagonists are identical. (Except where they're not and the difference is intended to be a source of Angst.)
Anyway, this was Yet Another Bova Book: readable, entertaining enough, but more heavy-handed than usual, and I felt clubbed...more
Anyway, this was Yet Another Bova Book: readable, entertaining enough, but more heavy-handed than usual, and I felt clubbed...more
A fast pace story of technology, Luddites, and terrorists.
a real page turner- finished all 400pages in 1 week
Dan Randolf is my hero!
Not his best
Decent sci-fi thriller. I'll probably try another of Bova's books at some point.
Candace
added it
Good book. I am just starting the grand tour series. It was a bit long but it gave the basic framework for the other books I am guessing.
I love Ben Bova's books. Of course I am a Sci-Fi geek at times.
interesting, but a little to heavy on the terrorist threat. also his heroes are all the same.
and the women in his books i have read are always done terribly. not really people, and often helpless or useless, or sleeping their way to the top.
Even in this book , the senator is supposedly in a powerful role, but in fact she is still really just subordinate to a more powerful man trying to be president.
and the women in his books i have read are always done terribly. not really people, and often helpless or useless, or sleeping their way to the top.
Even in this book , the senator is supposedly in a powerful role, but in fact she is still really just subordinate to a more powerful man trying to be president.
Powersat is a decent SF thriller. I enjoyed reading it, but was a little disappointed. The plot is good and the main characters are interesting. There's a bit too much stereotyping for my taste,and I found the ending a little flat. The biggest disappointment: Ben Bova is a better writer than he showed in this book.
Typical Bova characters. The storyline is ok, but I didnt quite buy that the main character keep wanting the woman that was his old flame. Get over it. Nothing to great about the book, but not a waste of time either.
It was a bit of a slog but decent. Reading it because I've read one or two others sort of loosely further in this "series" that I like.
What a piece of crap. Everything I hate about cheap, lazy SF.
read 05.14.05
Ricardo
added it
Grig
marked it as to-read
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Ben Bova was born on November 8, 1932 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1953, while attending Temple University, he married Rosa Cucinotta, they had a son and a daughter. He would later divorce Rosa in 1974. In that same year he married Barbara Berson Rose.
Bova is an avid fencer and organized Avco Everett's fencing club. He is an environmentalist, but rejects Luddism.
Bova w...more
More about Ben Bova...
Bova is an avid fencer and organized Avco Everett's fencing club. He is an environmentalist, but rejects Luddism.
Bova w...more
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“As long as we're tied to Middle Eastern oil we're tied to Middle Eastern politics. We're hostages to the terrorists and nutcases who want to wipe out Israel and the United States because we support Israel.”
—
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