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To Save the Sun #2
To Fear the Light
Two hundred years ago, Adela de Montgarde, the brilliant astrophysicist, conceived the centuries-long plan to forestall the death of Earth's sun, thus preserving the original genetic material of the Empire of the Hundred Worlds-and of the Emperors who enabled her visionary plan.
Now Adela emerges from cold sleep to oversee the final stages of her great work. She awakens to an Empire her son Eric is Emporer, faster-than-light travel has finally been achieved, and humanity has spilled out to innumerable new planets, far beyond the Empire's Hundred Worlds.
In the twilight of the Empire, human and alien factions vie for advantage, while Adela's awesome feat of stellar engineering approaches its final the preservation and re-invigoration of the fearsome light at the heart of humanity's first solar system...the saving of Earth's Sun.
Now Adela emerges from cold sleep to oversee the final stages of her great work. She awakens to an Empire her son Eric is Emporer, faster-than-light travel has finally been achieved, and humanity has spilled out to innumerable new planets, far beyond the Empire's Hundred Worlds.
In the twilight of the Empire, human and alien factions vie for advantage, while Adela's awesome feat of stellar engineering approaches its final the preservation and re-invigoration of the fearsome light at the heart of humanity's first solar system...the saving of Earth's Sun.
- GenresScience FictionFiction
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
4 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Ben Bova
716 books1,040 followersBen 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 was an avid fencer and organized Avco Everett's fencing club. He was an environmentalist, but rejected Luddism.
Bova was a technical writer for Project Vanguard and later for Avco Everett in the 1960s when they did research in lasers and fluid dynamics. It was there that he met Arthur R. Kantrowitz later of the Foresight Institute.
In 1971 he became editor of Analog Science Fiction after John W. Campbell's death. After leaving Analog, he went on to edit Omni during 1978-1982.
In 1974 he wrote the screenplay for an episode of the children's science fiction television series Land of the Lost entitled "The Search".
Bova was the science advisor for the failed television series The Starlost, leaving in disgust after the airing of the first episode. His novel The Starcrossed was loosely based on his experiences and featured a thinly veiled characterization of his friend and colleague Harlan Ellison. He dedicated the novel to "Cordwainer Bird", the pen name Harlan Ellison uses when he does not want to be associated with a television or film project.
Bova was the President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past President of Science-fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
Bova went back to school in the 1980s, earning an M.A. in communications in 1987 and a Ph.D. in 1996.
Bova has drawn on these meetings and experiences to create fact and fiction writings rich with references to spaceflight, lasers, artificial hearts, nanotechnology, environmentalism, fencing and martial arts, photography and artists.
Bova was the author of over a hundred and fifteen books, non-fiction as well as science fiction. In 2000, he was the Author Guest of Honor at the 58th World Science Fiction Convention (Chicon 2000).
Hollywood has started to take an interest in Bova's works once again, in addition to his wealth of knowledge about science and what the future may look like. In 2007, he was hired as a consultant by both Stuber/Parent Productions to provide insight into what the world is to look like in the near future for their upcoming film "Repossession Mambo" (released as "Repo Men") starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker and by Silver Pictures in which he provided consulting services on the feature adaptation of Richard Morgan's "Altered Carbon".
http://us.macmillan.com/author/benbova
Bova was an avid fencer and organized Avco Everett's fencing club. He was an environmentalist, but rejected Luddism.
Bova was a technical writer for Project Vanguard and later for Avco Everett in the 1960s when they did research in lasers and fluid dynamics. It was there that he met Arthur R. Kantrowitz later of the Foresight Institute.
In 1971 he became editor of Analog Science Fiction after John W. Campbell's death. After leaving Analog, he went on to edit Omni during 1978-1982.
In 1974 he wrote the screenplay for an episode of the children's science fiction television series Land of the Lost entitled "The Search".
Bova was the science advisor for the failed television series The Starlost, leaving in disgust after the airing of the first episode. His novel The Starcrossed was loosely based on his experiences and featured a thinly veiled characterization of his friend and colleague Harlan Ellison. He dedicated the novel to "Cordwainer Bird", the pen name Harlan Ellison uses when he does not want to be associated with a television or film project.
Bova was the President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past President of Science-fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).
Bova went back to school in the 1980s, earning an M.A. in communications in 1987 and a Ph.D. in 1996.
Bova has drawn on these meetings and experiences to create fact and fiction writings rich with references to spaceflight, lasers, artificial hearts, nanotechnology, environmentalism, fencing and martial arts, photography and artists.
Bova was the author of over a hundred and fifteen books, non-fiction as well as science fiction. In 2000, he was the Author Guest of Honor at the 58th World Science Fiction Convention (Chicon 2000).
Hollywood has started to take an interest in Bova's works once again, in addition to his wealth of knowledge about science and what the future may look like. In 2007, he was hired as a consultant by both Stuber/Parent Productions to provide insight into what the world is to look like in the near future for their upcoming film "Repossession Mambo" (released as "Repo Men") starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker and by Silver Pictures in which he provided consulting services on the feature adaptation of Richard Morgan's "Altered Carbon".
http://us.macmillan.com/author/benbova
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 8, 2019
This is the second book of a two part series (To Save the Sun) to keep the sun from expanding into a red giant by reigniting it's core without devastating effect. This book picks up 200 years after the first and contains many of the same elements as the original - expanded human empire on several other planets in other solar systems and interaction with an alien race. In addition, this book also adds space warp travel due to wormholes, contact with an additional alien race and dealing with antialien discrimination. It is also an engaging that holds the readers interest. This is not a stand alone book, you need to read the first one in order to follow the storyline.
I recommend this book to fans of Ben Bova and science fiction.
I recommend this book to fans of Ben Bova and science fiction.
April 4, 2020
This was such a great series. RTC.
March 27, 2011
In To Save the Sun, humans rule a vast empire. It is discovered that the Sun is dying. A lethargic entity, the empire arrives at the consensus that humanity will evacuate the Solar System and move to other solar systems in the empire. One woman, however, feels that saving the sun would be both a symbolic gesture worthy of humanity, and a way to get humanity moving towards a common goal, as well as developing new technology. In short, a way to drive change in a society which has become too comfortable with the status quo, and in which progress has become a distant concept. The sequel is simply a continuation of events, but the first book can be read as a standalone. Unfortunately, both books feel rather unfocused on both the central story and the central theme. The main characters are not really fleshed out the way they could be. Since I very much like the thematic concepts, I was rather disappointed. It is, however, still an adequate read.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=467
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=467
November 4, 2022
This second book in the duology is frankly boring as Hades. I finished it, but I’m still asking myself why.
Dr. Adela de Montgarde was the young scientist in the first book who insisted Earth’s sun was salvageable. The project would cost the Hundred World empire massive amounts of capital, and many of the old-guard scientists opposed the idea. But to do nothing would mean the end of earth, and it was valuable for its gene pool among other things.
As book two opens, Adela awakens from a 200-year-long cryosleep. She has completed her project, but she wants to witness the result. Sadly, her selfishness meant she sacrificed the time she could have spent with her husband and son. When she awoke after her prolonged sleep, her son was emperor of an empire in decline. Her beloved husband is long dead, and she realizes too late the tragedy of her decision.
When her husband was emperor, he was married prior to meeting Adela. His first wife never got over the divorce, and in this book, she strives to destroy the empire. One of her minions plays to the fears of empire citizens everywhere by insisting that the alien races with whom the empire associated were evil because they aren’t human. That philosophy gained many acolytes, and that, too, was a factor in the stagnation of the empire.
There’s one point about 93 percent through the book where the reading is electrifying. The action is tense and vivid, but it’s hardly worth slogging to that percentage point to enjoy a few frothy minutes.
Dr. Adela de Montgarde was the young scientist in the first book who insisted Earth’s sun was salvageable. The project would cost the Hundred World empire massive amounts of capital, and many of the old-guard scientists opposed the idea. But to do nothing would mean the end of earth, and it was valuable for its gene pool among other things.
As book two opens, Adela awakens from a 200-year-long cryosleep. She has completed her project, but she wants to witness the result. Sadly, her selfishness meant she sacrificed the time she could have spent with her husband and son. When she awoke after her prolonged sleep, her son was emperor of an empire in decline. Her beloved husband is long dead, and she realizes too late the tragedy of her decision.
When her husband was emperor, he was married prior to meeting Adela. His first wife never got over the divorce, and in this book, she strives to destroy the empire. One of her minions plays to the fears of empire citizens everywhere by insisting that the alien races with whom the empire associated were evil because they aren’t human. That philosophy gained many acolytes, and that, too, was a factor in the stagnation of the empire.
There’s one point about 93 percent through the book where the reading is electrifying. The action is tense and vivid, but it’s hardly worth slogging to that percentage point to enjoy a few frothy minutes.
December 27, 2025
An intriguing story including themes of interstellar travel and communication, cryogenics, life essence preservation and regeneration, varieties of intelligent life forms, villains, heroes and sculduggery. A well written tale.
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September 8, 2021Not a nail-biter but a satisfactory read with interesting ideas of what aliens could look like
October 22, 2008
This book is a science fiction novel. Many years in the future, people have progressed beyond Earth in a galactic empire. For some reason, they think it's critical to preserve Earth, regardless of the cost -- which means trouble, because the sun is going to blow up. Uh oh.
This book feels like a collection of novellas. There is the section that covers the early times, when they first discover the problem and propose a solution. There is the later emperor, growing up and taking on the cause. Finally, there is the far-off planet that is critical to the mission, but trapped in a global civil war. They're all connection by characters -- somewhat, although the focus of each section is different -- and the overriding theme of developing technology to prevent the sun for blowing up (although that's most just a backdrop in the last section). I probably would have liked it more if it was expanded: I could imagine this working as a series, almost like Asimov's Foundation series. Instead, it's an OK read, but not compelling as a single work.
This book feels like a collection of novellas. There is the section that covers the early times, when they first discover the problem and propose a solution. There is the later emperor, growing up and taking on the cause. Finally, there is the far-off planet that is critical to the mission, but trapped in a global civil war. They're all connection by characters -- somewhat, although the focus of each section is different -- and the overriding theme of developing technology to prevent the sun for blowing up (although that's most just a backdrop in the last section). I probably would have liked it more if it was expanded: I could imagine this working as a series, almost like Asimov's Foundation series. Instead, it's an OK read, but not compelling as a single work.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews