Customer Reviews (2)

Great Book
Conflicting military forces are able to work together, to help shape a world freed from economic need and global annihilation, and are ready to colonize the stars. This book will inspirethose who dream of exploringthe vastness of the last great unkown. A great adventure.

Really, almost four stars.....
Interesting reading. A little dated now, but still ok....

It's a group of short stories and articles ranging from 5 pages to 50 pages. The articles are out of date, But Bova came up with interesting stories of what may happen in the future.

The first story is the best of the lot. Battle stations protecting the earth from itself. multi national peace keeping force....Mutiny and destruction...

The next good story is the international baseball teams. Instead of war, play baseball. Nixon is the team manager of USA when they go up against Cuba for influence of the Carribbean.

Anyway, it's an ok read. Ben Bova does a good job of story telling. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Despite an enormous logical flaw, it is still worth reading
Lou Christopher is a computer programmer who is heavily involved in one of the greatest science projects of all time. After years of study, it will shortly be possible for the genetic complement of humans to be altered. Their goal is to eliminate human diseases and create a race of better humans. However, while there is a world government, the state of the world has deteriorated. The large inner cities have become battle zones with various gangs having staked out sections. If any member of a gang crosses over into the territory of another gang, it is cause for war.
The political leader of the world, in consultation with others, has decreed that the new genetic technology will not be implemented. To make sure that it does not happen, he has ordered the roundup of all the eminent scientists and they are to be exiled to a space station orbiting around the Earth. Christopher is one of those designated to be exiled, but he is able to flee and temporarily go into hiding. He escapes into New York City and spends the night fighting for survival among the gangs.
He discovers that the state of the world is even worse than he imagined and he is eventually recaptured but joins an underground group still working on genetic technology. This group is led by a dissident leader, but eventually Christopher discovers that this leader is bent on creating a new breed of superhumans and taking over the world. Christopher and some of his friends manage to foil that plot and they ultimately end up in exile on the satellite. In order to give themselves something to do, the scientists on the satellite come up with a plan to move the satellite to Alpha Centauri, where new Earth-like planets have been discovered.
This story was written for the middle school child and while it has a lot of action, it paints a very dark picture of the future. The vast majority of the people live in violent destructive conditions and they have little hope for the future. While there are some attempts to bring the cities back into civilization, they are very minor and there is little hope that it will work. One puzzling part of the story is how mankind has the resources to place such a massive satellite in space, send up regular shipments of supplies and send probes to other stars and yet nothing is done about the urban squalor. The satellite is capable of housing a few thousand people, which means it must be enormous in size. Other than this obvious, yet enormous logical flaw, this story is well worth reading.

Is this the Future?
There are problems enough in the world without having scientists discover--as they're about to--how to create superhuman offspring: The earth is dangerously crowded and the big cities are cement jungles under the control of lawless, warring gangs.At present, the World Government is in control outside the cities, but the situation is barely stable.It would take little to shatter this fragile condition.The ability and greed to have a superhuman (god-like) child could crumble society into chaos: jealousy, suppression and war.The scientists' research must be stopped.And one can't be sure of that unless the scientists are exiled far away to an orbiting space station.But it's not that simple.Exciting, suspenseful and shocking science fiction!

A Non-Workbook, Non-Textbook Approach to Teaching Language Arts: Grades 4 Through 8 and Up

A review if nothing else
This book is OK.Just OK, it's actually most interesting because it was written circa 1970, so you get the retro-futuristic look at everything.It's funny, especially the references to pocket phones (the author was quite intuitive), but wasn't a shining star in it's time, and is mediocre if you're not looking at the time period aspects of it.I wouldn't personally buy it myself, but finding it in my mom's bookshelf was pretty cool.

Exiled From Earth
Exiled From Earth is a marvelous science fiction. It takes place in the future on earth and outer space. The earth is over populated and the world is in chaos. The government wants to get rid of the top scientists and engineers for their work in genetic engineering. One engineer has managed to escape from the federal marshal who is frantically searching for him. He is chased across half of the United States of America. The remainder of the world scientists and engineers has all been captured. When they are captured they are sent to a livable space satellite in orbit of earth. The satellite is shaped like two giant wheels. Some people in the government want to them continue their work and research. When the government catches the engineer he will be sent to an island with other scientists to finish their work and research. The man in charge of the island wants to take over the earth, but no one else knows. He wants to bomb cities with gigantic bombs. The survivors will be mind controlled and become zombie slaves. The captured engineer found a creative way to solve the problem. This involves computer espionage and swat teams. The engineer is still sent to the satellite. At the end of the book the vote is decided on the satellite to travel to other planets. I recommend this book for ages 10 to 100. . Find out what happens in this agreeably awesome adventure.

Exiled From Earth
Exiled From Earth is a marvelous science fiction. It takes place on earth and outer space. The earth is over populated and the government wants to get rid of the top scientists. One scientist has managed to escape. If they catch him he will be sent to an island. Find out what happens in this exiting adventure. I recommend this book for ages 10 to 100. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Stories By the Fire
I'm in my 60's and these stories take me back.Many of them were read over and over again, imparting a warm feeling as old friends revisited.Years from now, if you are lucky enough to still have this book, you can expect to have those feelings all over again. This is a keeper.

Not Free SF Reader
An anthology of stories chosing by the SFWA, from the sixties and earlier.A pretty good bunch, but given the age of some may not appeal as much now, with the stories set in closer to the present time, like the del Rey example, or Williamson.Even includes Wells' Time Machine, which most people will think of as a novel.The standouts are Campbell's Who Goes there and the ageless Cordwainer Smith's The Ballad of Lost C'Mell.

Still, another book worth having for the SF story fan's collection.

Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2A : CALL ME JOE - Poul Anderson
Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2A : WHO GOES THERE? - John W. CampbellJr.
Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2A : NERVES - Lester delRey
Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2A : UNIVERSE - Robert A. Heinlein
Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2A : THE MARCHING MORONS - C. M. Kornbluth
Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2A : VINTAGE SEASON - Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore
Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2A : AND THEN THERE WERE NONE - Eric Frank Russell
Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2A : THE BALLAD OF LOST C'MELL - Cordwainer Smith
Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2A : BABY IS THREE - Theodore Sturgeon
Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2A : THE TIME MACHINE - H. G. Wells
Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2A : WITH FOLDED HANDS - Jack Williamson

"Psibeams are persnickety"

3 out of 5


A discovery of a lifeform buried in the Antarctic ice causes serious problems for an isolated research team.

5 out of 5


Atomic accident surgery improvisation.

3.5 out of 5


Outside discovery ship mutiny conflict.

3.5 out of 5


Unfrozen average bloke's lemming solution lack of life lesson.

4 out of 5


Past holiday.

4 out of 5


Antigand-a be any authority around here, you crazy people.

4 out of 5


Underpeople Lord assisted deadly punishment escapage.

4.5 out of 5


Gestalt growth.

3.5 out of 5


It will come as no surprise that the protagonist in this story, the traveller, invents a time machine and uses it to venture into the future.

The society that he ends up in seems amazing for a brief time, then he realises that all is not as it seems. There is a large underclass that is terribly exploited to produce all this for the eloi, as they are called.

The underclass are named Morlocks, and it is here that the Time Traveler's sympathies reside.

3.5 out of 5


Robot home help useless.

2.5 out of 5





4.5 out of 5

The Second Part Of The Best Novellas And Long Novelettes
This is the "Science Fiction Hall of Fame" (Volume IIB), edited by Ben Bova; the second half of the second volume.This volume was published in 1973, and as with the Volume I, there were a set of criteria for which stories were selected.In this case the stories that were voted on had to be published prior to 1966, and there could be no more than one entry per author, although this limitation did not exclude authors who were published in Volume I, but was a limitation within Volume II itself.Both volumes IIA and IIB are for works which are longer novelettes and novellas, i.e. stories of more than 15,000 words.Volume I was arranged in chronological order of when the stories were published, but each of the Volume II books are arranged alphabetically by author within each sub-volume.

Not surprisingly, with the longer stories, there is a shorter table of contents than for Volume I, with just 11 stories each in Volume IIA and IIB.But what maybe lacking in quantity is made up for in quality, with such stories as:

* The Martian Way by Isaac Asimov - novella
* Earthman, Come Home by James Blish - novelette
* Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys - novella
* The Specter General by Theodore R. Cogswell - novella
* The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster - novelette
* The Midas Plague by Frederik Pohl - novella
* The Witches of Karres by James H. Schmitz - novelette
* E for Effort by T. L. Sherred - novelette
* In Hiding by Wilmar H. Shiras - novelette
* The Big Front Yard by Clifford D. Simak - novella
* The Moon Moth by Jack Vance - novella

Actually, there is nothing lacking in quantity here either, as this sub-volume is over 550 pages, as was the first sub-volume.

This volume, taken as a whole, does a little better job of balancing out the different eras of Science Fiction than Volume I did.At the same time, the quality of the collection remains at the highest level, with classic stories from start to finish.In addition to the stories themselves, there is an introduction by Ben Bova, but it is the same introduction that was included in Volume IIA.One could argue over whether or not there were other stories which should have been considered, but clearly every story here is very good and worthy of consideration.
... Read more

Product Description
This Halcyon Classics ebook includes two works by sci-fi writer and editor Ben Bova.In a career spanning more than five decades, Bova has published more than one hundred books, including many works of non-fiction.Bova edited the popular science fiction pulp ANALOG from 1972-1978 and OMNI from 1978 until 1982.

Includes an active table of contents for easy navigation.

The Dueling Machine
The Next Logical Step
... Read more

Product Description
THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP
Ordinarily the military least wants to have the others
know the final details of their war plans.
But, logically, there would be times—
BY BEN BOVA ... Read more

Product Description
It's the ultimate adult playground. Cyber World  will use the latest technology in computer produced  virtual reality to provide thrills and chills  beyond any ever experienced at a theme park. Here  children of all ages will live out their wildest  fantasies: fly jet fighters in combat, take part in a  gunfight in the OK Corral, play in the World  Series, or take a walk on the moon or a trip inside the  human body.


From the Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A waste of my time
I read it through, just to see what happened, but I really should have just quit early on.I found it to be a terrible read.The technology was very dated--many sci fi authors are able to write about technology in ways that won't make readers ten years hence laugh.I could even forgive that, honestly, if the rest of it were so damned bad.Perhaps his other works are better, but the characterization in this one is completely juvenile.

Many authors introduce a character, and give little bits and pieces of description and characterization over the course of interactions with them.Bova introduces a character, then spends a paragraph describing that person, then giving them a nickname, then not using that nickname.He also seemed to think we'd forget the character's whole names if he called them by only their first names, because Victoria Kessel was hardly ever seen as just Victoria or Vicky.Same with many of the other characters.

The protagonists were unlikeable.There was actually one passage where it described the woman demanding her job as a reference librarian allow her to work from home because she had a BAAAAAAAAAYBEEEEE...and that if she didn't get her way, she'd to to the press and stomp her feet and tell them that the mean, evil library was discriminating against mothers.They agreed to let her do this, and she then proceeded to start charging people for her services as a reference librarian--even while she was being paid by the library--until she'd built up enough clients for a small business, ditching the library.Nice.

This book may have been significantly better if it had several things:A strong editor, fewer name brands of machines, and more cryptic treatment of the plot exposition.We learn MUCH too early on what is going on behind the scenes, and this makes the resolution very anticlimactic.

One more thing:The sex scenes are pretty juvenile.Considering the rest of the book reads like it's written for a pre-teen audience, they just feel incongruous.

LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHTMARE
This is my first taste of the prolific and lauded Ben Bova.He is a good writer, he is definitely strong on character development.This is one of the drawbacks of this book.We get to know the characters well enough, but in doing so, Bova stifles the pacing of his book.This would work great on the movie screen; there are some really original and exciting virtual "games" going on here.There aren't a lot of characters to like in this book, although Dan certainly goes through hell to best his lifetime friend, Jason.Dan's wife, Susan, is whiny and sometimes I wanted to slap her; the daughter is a typical little brat, and what Uncle Kyle wants to do to her is pretty sick.WE get a lot of background on why Kyle Muncrief wants little Angela so bad, though.
If Bova had cut some of the excess fat off this book, it would have been a stunner!

Very Well Done
This book was written very well. Featuring a slew of fun, dysfunctional characters, it would only take a small stretch of existential angst for me to give it a 5th star. As it is, though, it is merely a precautionary tale of the dangers that virtual reality may bring to the world. Precautionary tales are nice, and sometimes they are fun (like this one is), but they don't really have the meaning to earn that 5th star.

This is the first book I have read by Mr. Bova, and I think that it is good, with some small imperfections. He has a certain writing style that is somewhat stilted to me, and it is sometimes hard to read. I can't place my finger on exactly what it is, though. It may be overusage of the character's names, or it may be the fact that the characters are a bit hackneyed, but whatever it is, it is somewhat annoying, like a tiny piece of flesh hanging from the top of your mouth...you know what it is and you want to fix it, but you can't really get directly at it, so you just worry it around with your tongue.

Other than the lack of any real substance and the small writing annoyance, the book was very good overall, and I am quite impressed. Don't get me wrong, the book is fun to read, and I will read it again sometime in the future, it just won't alter my perceptions of the world in any measurable fashion.

It is an exciting book, though, and it is fun to see Kyle Muncrief's whole world fall down around his sick, twisted feet, and I can't see why anyone should have to face repercussions for the consequences of his last VR sim.

That's just me though. Read it, enjoy it, and pass it on. Definitely a buyer.
Harkius

entertaining...
My initial thoughts when I saw a VR related story made me cringe. All I could think of are all the Late Night B Movies that so make VR an unattractive subject.

I got the audio version from the library on the simple fact that Ben Bova is an established fiction author. Suprisingly I enjoyed this quit a bit. The audio version had me anticipating what would happen next more from the story than from the reading of the story.

If the reading was done a bit more like acting things out I probably would have gave this a five stars. At least they had some different sounding voices for some of the characters but the reader's ability to switch between character voices had some flaws.

This story based on VR technology really did get my thoughts going on the dangers of other pieces of technology. Interesting and entertaining story.

scary
The theme of manipulation through virtual reality is unsettling in that it is so possible, but the book is well done and interesting to read.One of Ben's best efforts. ... Read more

Product Description
The average reader is introduced to the incredible world of subatomic physics: a world of gamma rays, neutrinos, positrons and Z-bosons. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

what it is like to be a physicist
This is only secondarily a book about particle physics.It offers only a little handwaving on the physics, much the way Glashow many have explained what he was doing to his mother.
It is about the people and politics of being a particle physicist.
One of the most interesting chapters is an extremely detailed account of what it was like to win a Nobel prize.He even shows you the menus of the various banquets.

A delightful, fun, must-read for inquisitive minds.
Dr. Glashow presents in a logical progression the seminal ideas oftwentieth century physics. He spices up this tantalizing but often drymaterial with a saucy seasoning of his personal life history, showing thatEinstein was not the only scientist who did his best thinking in cafes andsailboats. The resulting story details the life of a modern crusader, lessdecadent than Petronius's Satyricon, less fanciful than Voltaire's Candide,but a heck of a lot more fun than learning these ideas by getting your ownPhD in physics at Harvard. ... Read more

Product Description
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 transformed: 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 fruition: the preservation and re-invigoration of the fearsome light at the heart of humanity's first solar system...the saving of Earth's Sun.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

To Save the Sun so that you can Fear the Light (or reading the second book)
(This review is for both To Save the Sun and To Fear the Light as they are, together, one story)

Science Fiction veteran Ben Bova and rookie A. J. Austin have crafted a very attractive story idea with To Save the Sun and To Fear the Light: Humanity has spread out among 100 planets and are loosely collected in the Empire of a Hundred Worlds. When the empire's scientists determine that Sol, the sun of mankind's origin and genetic seed planet Earth is likely to start dying with a few centuries, it is a young scientist, Adela de Montgarde, from a frontier world that boldly proclaims that she can save the sun and thus the foundation of the species.

The scientists are all skeptical as their centuries of life have stifled all inquisitiveness and creativity from them. Many a bureaucrat believes the idea to be folly - including the Princess Rihana, wife of the Emperor's son Prince Javas. But Dr. Montgarde wins the support of the Emperor who initiates the grand scheme. In the process, Dr. Montgarde wins the heart of Prince Javas who discards Rihana like excess baggage when the Emperor moves the seat of power from Corinth to Earth's Moon.

This generation spanning tale starts with much promise, the storytelling delivers with a sweeping grand scope of style that sees the progress of the effort to save the sun first from the political standpoint and necessity and then from the scientific viewpoint. But as the first book, To Save the Sun, progresses, the story starts to loose focus; by the end of the first volume, it is apparent that nothing significant will come to pass before the second book.

Unfortunately, another aspect of the plot starts to become very obvious by the end of To Save the Sun: the 700+ pages of these two books is really just about the power struggle - and not a very interesting one at that - between two women, Adela de Montgarde and Rihana, and the the sons that both women have "with" the Prince (I put with in quotations because there is little normal or natural about how any of this plays out). So, by To Fear the Light, this once promising story looses all focus and becomes a book about the struggle between these two women and basically humanity's seemingly unrealistic fear of an alien race.

What does the second half of this story have to do with saving the sun? Only as much as that idea can interfere with the authors' determined attempts to loose all focus. And that is the sad part, because there is real promise buried inside of this story, which could have been one very good book of hard science fiction.

>>>>>>><<<<<<<

A Guide to my Book Rating System:

1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.

One of my Favs
This is the sequel to "To Save the Sun". They are absolutely an awesome pair. I have read both many times, and remember fondly reading them when they came out over 10 years ago now. Hard to find sometimes, but very worth it.

A compelling novel about power and discrimination
Ben Bova wrote an amazing novel in To Fear the Light, although I have not read the first book (To save the sun) the book can stand on it's own right.It starts seeming as your standard run of the mill secret enemy wanting to destroy the empire sci-fi novel; however it ends in a compelling thoughtful story about the power of using our mistrust of each other to destroy somthing greater. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Captivating...
A collection of hard-core science fiction guaranteed to keep you tied up from cover to cover. ... Read more

Product Description
Speculative essays about man's future activities in space based on his present knowledge of astronomy and astrophysics. ... Read more

Product Description
He's passed his college entrance exams with flying colors. He can do pretty much whatever he wants. But what teenager Ron Morgan wants most is for his father to quit telling him what to do. Quit running his life. What better way to unwind than having a last blowout on Labor Day in the domed playground of Fun City: Manhattan.

Inside the dome, however, Ron loses his wallet and identity card. Worse, he's trapped when the dome closes for the season. There's no way out. Gangs roam the street. Food is scarce. Ron is on his own.

All Ron wanted was some fun. He'll be lucky to escape New York alive....
... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Great story, top-notch performance by Harlan Ellison
This is my first foray into Ben Bova's work. I've seen it around but never quite picked it up. If this is typical of the quality of his work, I will be back for more.

The story is set in a future United States in which the cities have been closed. New York City is cut off from the rest of the country except for the summer months - where it becomes a tourist destination away from the unrelenting tedium of suburbia (called "the tracts"). Our protagonist runs away to the city and gets locked in after it is closed at the end of the summer - and he finds out that the city is not empty after all...

Harlan Ellison makes this audiobook seem like a one man radio play. He does a first-rate job at making the story sing and zing. The reviewers who have written complaints below are way off of the mark. Take the word of a listener who has heard more than his share of mediocre readers - Ellison deserves an award.

I give Ellison an A+.
I give the book an A.

Combined score: A+

Great Story, reader [stinks]
This was one of the best sci-fi stories i've listened to in a long while but the person reading the book was awful. If you can overlooks his bad performance the story is worth listening too.

Yuck!Good story, but a horrible peformance.
As I said the story is pretty good, it's a typical action packed adventure story, full of machismo and all the usual stereotypes...the weak but beautiful girl, the "bad" gang member, the innocent hero who manages to do it all etc.It's very entertaining, and excellent if you have a long drive, you won't feel the hours pass, if it wasn't for the reading!

The performer, Harlan Ellison does a horrible job.As he narrates a scene in a smoky room, he coughs, when the hero gets winded, the narration does as well.Most of the "voices" of the various protagonists are downright embarrassing.Evidently Harlan never read the story before narrating it.This is painfully obvious at every turn of the story, where Harlan increases the tension in his voice as a plot is resolving, or heightens the drama to a fever pitch, just as the hero makes it to safety.

Overall, I would have turned it off if the story hadn't been so gripping.Harlans misplaced overacting completely ruins a good work by Ben Bova.

This is the best book ever written.
This is the best book ever written the author, Ben Bova, in my opinion is one of the best authors ever.I read this book in 2 hours I liked it so much, and I am not a person who enjoys reading in fact I hate reading alltogether.This book has totally changed my opinion on reading.READ THISBOOK!!!!!It is a do not miss.

Ellison doesn't just read, he performs!
Author, Harlan Ellison, dons his acting hat for this performance of Ben Bova's CITY OF DARKNESS. With years of practice performing his own short storys and doing voice overs for such cartoons as MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM,PIRATES OF DARKWATER, and several appearences on the live-action, BABYLON5, Ellison has honed his vocal craft to a fine edge. The story is good, butthe main selling point is the riveting performance by Ellison, which ismore then worth the price of admission. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a collection of stories and reflections on politics, business, war, and the current state of space exploration. ... Read more

Product Description
Stoner knew. The fiery object hurtling toward the Earth was an alien spacecraft. But the world might never know. He was trapped in an iron cordon of secrecy, for the discovery had shattered the world power balance, setting off a brutal struggle for supremacy that raged from the sacred halls of the Vatican to the corridors of the Kremlin and the Pentagon. The forces of fear and treachery would use any weapon at their command, from mind war to sabotage, to keep the world in darkness.

Aided by a brilliant Soviet linguist and a lovely young student, Stoner planned a desperate mission, a wild, heart-stopping gamble to preserve the legacy of the star voyager for all mankind. ... Read more