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Venus (The Grand Tour #16)
by
Ben Bova
The surface of Venus is the most hellish place in the solar system. The ground is hot enough to melt aluminum. The air pressure is so high it has crushed spacecraft landers as though they were tin cans. The sky is perpetually covered with clouds of sulfuric acid. The atmosphere is a choking mixture of carbon dioxide and poisonous gases.
This is where Van Humphries must go....more
This is where Van Humphries must go....more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
May 15th 2001
by Tor Science Fiction
(first published April 28th 2000)
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Though I often consider myself more keen on good characterization and dialogue than a fast-moving plot, when it comes to science fiction, I tend to reverse my usual preferences. The unlikely hero in this book is granted with a sort of late bloomer-coming-of-age story, but many of the other characters never really become more than vaguely enigmatic. The plot however, doesn't really stop moving as the characters are catapaulted into one danger after another. Van Humphries must risk his life to emb...more
If there is one thing that I have come to expect of Ben Bova it is that he can take any fantastically unbelievable idea and make it so real that you actually think that it could happen. This is the case with Venus.
Van Humphries is the last living son of Martin Humphries, having outlived his brother who died a few years before on a trek to the venusian surface to try to discover how a runaway greenhouse could explain the sudden warming on Earth. But his father hates him beyond reason. He's the ru...more
Van Humphries is the last living son of Martin Humphries, having outlived his brother who died a few years before on a trek to the venusian surface to try to discover how a runaway greenhouse could explain the sudden warming on Earth. But his father hates him beyond reason. He's the ru...more
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Martin Humphries, a hedonistic and cruel billionaire lost his favorite son to the planet Venus. Alex's remains still lie somewhere on the surface of the planet. Martin offers a $10 billion prize to the person who goes to Venus and returns with his son's body. At the same time he cuts off his other son, Van, whom he detests. With no source of income, Van decides to go after the prize, having a ship built and gathering a crew. Since it's still his father's money paying for the ship, Van has to tak...more
A strange book in some ways. At first, it struck me as very ‘golden age of SF’, by which I mean that from a psychological point of view, the behaviour of the characters is completely unbelievable. A few examples are:
* Would Martin Humphries, a leading businessman, really throw a vast orgy, complete with prostitutes, all the camera lenses of the world’s (or worlds’!) press?
* The whole idea of a private individual planning a manned mission to the surface of Venus is a little hard to swallow - but...more
* Would Martin Humphries, a leading businessman, really throw a vast orgy, complete with prostitutes, all the camera lenses of the world’s (or worlds’!) press?
* The whole idea of a private individual planning a manned mission to the surface of Venus is a little hard to swallow - but...more
Aug 25, 2012
Clark Hallman
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction
Venus by Ben Bova is part of the author’s Grand Tour series, which deals with the exploration of the planets in our solar system. Venus is the nearest planet to Earth and about the same size as Earth. However, it is closer to the Sun than Earth and Bova describes Venus as “the most hellish place in the solar system.” Its atmosphere is dominated by sulfuric acid and carbon dioxide, with only negligible traces of oxygen and nitrogen. The surface temperatures are well above 450 degrees Celsius (nea...more
Another in Ben Bova's 'Grand Tour' series, but this one is pretty much a stand alone and has little relation to other books except the general solar system exploration theme. Some characters are apparently from the Asteroid Wars books, but as I have not read any of them it didn't matter to me.
I'm a sucker for a decent scientific exploration story, so all of this series are pretty fascinating from my point of view. This one is about a mission to Venus (obviously) and a subsequent trip down throug...more
I'm a sucker for a decent scientific exploration story, so all of this series are pretty fascinating from my point of view. This one is about a mission to Venus (obviously) and a subsequent trip down throug...more
(june 2004) i can't believe i actually finished this. it was horribly written, and i barely cared about the hysterical characters--particularly the snivelling protagonist--to bother to turn the pages. still, the science (fiction) kept me reading til the lurid and quite predictable, comic book ending.
I've always seen Bova's books on the shelves in the bookstore, but I've never really had a desire to pick them up. The titles never really drew me in; the synopsis on the back of the books never really caught my interest--in fact, they hinted at plots which were very familiar within the genre written by other authors. Furthermore, I had a tendency to stay away from the veteran hard sci-fi writers (Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, etc.) because their works seemed, to me, dated & out of touch with th...more
This was a good old-fashioned sci-fi adventure story. I really enjoyed it although throughout most of the book, I thought the main character, Van, was somewhat annoying. However, in the end the character changed and the story itself was great adventure. I believe this is the first sci-fi novel I've read about the horrors of the Venusian atmosphere and the planet itself - a real Hell! I read some of the Venus novels of ERB when I was younger and this certainly is NOT the Venus of Burroughs. Overa...more
Bova's contribution to the world of science fiction is well-known, and one can cut him some slack for a work that is not his best. Bova has a plan with this novel, to show the growth of a problematic character while examining the least-appealing planet in the solar system, and he does manage to do both. He also fits in some great quotes of Milton about burning lakes, and some good scenes. On the whole, this book was entertaining enough to finish, but not perhaps enough to recommend. There is one...more
I didn't realize it when I started, but Venus is actually one of an extended series by Ben Bova. This particular installation follows the weak, ineffective, and largely unlikable Van Humphries, son of a powerful billionaire who can't stand his younger son. His older son Alex, Van's beloved brother, was killed on an expedition to Venus, and he places a very large reward for anyone who can bring back his son's body. Van, who will be left penniless without the reward, decides to undertake the missi...more
I am not entirely sure why some readers disliked this book -- It's got a great plot, well developed characters, and is overall a great read. Are there better books out there; sure, but this is a great book in it's own right. It's like a really well made B-movie, a bit cheesy at times, but overall great entertainment. Just suspend some disbelief and enjoy the ride, it is fiction after all. It's a good book to take on a ride or on a trip, it will make the time fly by.
One again, a planet book from Bova and part of his Grand Tour of the Solar System. This one is not quite as good as Jupiter but heroism and high adventure abound. Bova is seemingly attempting to tie many of his works together, just as Asimov did near the end of his career. Neither effort seems particularly well executed, as it is rather difficult to bend old novels into new meanings. Still, Venus as a standalone s not bad.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=489
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=489
Classic sci-fi, you get a nice lot plot, so-so characters but mostly you get to learn somethings you may not have known before, in this case regarding the planet Venus.
This takes place about 50 years in the future, so the technology looks familiear to us but still allows the author room to create the items needed to make this trip of sci-fi fantasy possible.
it reads quick, I think you will like the story, so enjoy
This takes place about 50 years in the future, so the technology looks familiear to us but still allows the author room to create the items needed to make this trip of sci-fi fantasy possible.
it reads quick, I think you will like the story, so enjoy
With all the things he is not, Van, training to deal with it. You who are in opposition against him fight him. That is what he muses in his high adventure. Or a round trip to Venus, at the top of its clouds and certainly its secrets, and a kind of story that tell what is not left to wonder about all the times nor offered. All human beings on the earth and the moon, the future of life in cities without many of the concerns of being sick or immortal, witness indescribable adventures from space, th...more
Good hard SF novel, with a lot of tense drama. The writing is a bit repetitious, though. And, if you are bothered by everyday racism (constantly being reminded that black characters are black, for example), you will be annoyed reading the book. If you're able to filter that sort of thing out, a decent enough read.
This was really more of a 4.5, but I felt it deserved a round up instead of round down. I found myself enthralled by this book and honestly couldn't put it down. I carried it with me everywhere just in case I had time to read. It had me from the first line. I won't bother summarizing it, but it really was a great read. Easy, not a whole lot of thought involved, but it was still very enjoyable, which is why I rounded up. The narrator kind of annoyed me at times, but looking back, that was just hi...more
This was so laughably bad that I refrained from giving it just one star since it had me cracking up so often. Picked this out from the shelf while doing some light weeding (those fiction shelves are getting too crowded!)... The blurb inside the flap caught my attention. It contained what is quite possibly my favorite sentence of the past couple years: "Late in the twenty-first century, Van is the sickly, fearful second son of a tyrannical corporate tycoon." How could I not read this based on tha...more
I almost didn't finish this one. In fact, I only stuck with it because I'd paid for a used copy. It just isn't a very good book. The main character is a typical protagonist, except the fact that he has a debilitating illness; there's your typical skeptical, asshole character, a villain, a love interest, etc... I found myself being able to predict the plot too easily and just not really caring what happened to ANYONE in the book. I got it because I'd heard a bunch of stuff about Bova being one of...more
I haven't read all of the Grand Tour novels yet, but this is one of Bova's best, and I have read a lot of Bova. The main character is more fully defined than in many of his other books, and it's yet another fast, fun romp through the solar system.
This was the first story I've ever read by this author and I was impressed. "Venus" was a good, solid hard science fiction story. It blended a good adventure/exploration story with believable science. A lot of voyage of discovery stories are a bit dull but not this one; it was a real page-turner. If I have a quibble it's that most of the characters were pretty shallow. I give this one a B+.
Van Humphries is his father's unloved second son. He becomes engaged in a race to Venus to recover the remains of his older brother despite a life threatening medical condition. During the expedition he discovers many truths about himself and others.
Not everyone's cup of tea...quite pulpy science fiction, but I've become a sucker for Bova's "Grand Tour" series, as I attempt to write a sermon-series on the planets and the mythology that surrounds their names.
One of the few books where i cant really remember much of what i read. Promising setting of venus but story very bland and not much to remember book by. I liked his other books better. Dissapointing book for me
Bova again creates an exciting, strange world based partly on science. The characters could be fleshed out more (like a lot of sci-fi), but I recommend this as good escapist literature.
The narrator is horrid, but the story is interesting. He shows some character development over the course of the book, but he only becomes less horrid, not likable.
The science is good, The fiction is okay. Story is a bit juvenile, but still fun, even though the twist ending should be obvious less than halfway through.
An easy read. I enjoyed aspects, but found the protaganoist a little whiney and insipid at times. And very predictable.
By far the weakest so far of the Grand Tour books, this one follows a fairly cheesy storyline into the clouds of Venus.
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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 was a technical writer fo...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 was a technical writer fo...more
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