Grand Tour

21 primary works

Powersat

by Ben Bova

Published 1 January 2005

In the aftermath of a terrible space accident, spaceplane scientist Dan Randolph, who designed the vehicle, realizes that his experiment was sabotaged and must outmaneuver terrorists, the government, and his creditors in order to prove himself.

Mars

by Ben Bova

Published 1 June 1992

To the harsh landscape of Sol's fourth planet travel thirteen astronauts, the best scientists from eleven nations, on a history-making voyage into the unknown. The international crew of the Mars mission have spent nine months in space, crossing 100 million kilometres, to reach the last great frontier. Their voyage is fraught with disputes, both personal and political, and their time on Mars limited to 'footprints and flags'; yet while there they will come face-to-face with the most incredible and shocking discovery of all.

Moonrise

by Ben Bova

Published 7 November 1996

Brilliant, driven, visionary, former astronaut Paul Stavanger seizes his chance to colonize the last frontier, creating a viable, flourishing, nearly self-sufficient community at Moonbase. And when his son Douglas comes of age, his determination to carry on where his father left off brings him to Moonbase, and a crisis that can only be resolved by his triumph - or its destruction.

Harsh, dangerous, strangely beautiful, the Moon becomes a living presence, leading the Stavangers and their enemies onwardds to glory, to disaster and ultimately, to a new future for mankind.

Return to Mars

by Ben Bova

Published 3 June 1999

Published in 1992, "Mars" was the story of the thrilling first manned journey to the mysterious planet which has fascinated astronomers since the dawn of time. Arthur C. Clarke called it 'a splendid book'; it was a bestseller throughout the world. Now, in "Return to Mars", a carefully picked international crew of astronauts, engineers and scientists is on its way back. Leading them is Jamie Waterman, the man who defied the accepted wisdom of the scientific community - and the direct orders of his superiors - to discover life on the planet. But there are those who still resent his success; others who have their own reasons to ensure that Waterman, with his almost mystic idealism, does not make the final decisions about Second Mars Expedition. And among the crew is someone whose mental instability could lead to catastrophe for them all. This is the story of a group of men and women whose human secrets will be as explosive as the scientific discoveries they make. It is the most exciting book Bova has written.

Moonwar

by Ben Bova

Published 4 September 1997

When Moonbase is threatened with closure by technology-hating factions on Earth, its leader Douglas Stavenger - who cannot return to Earth except to die - vows to save the colony which has been his life's work and his father's dream. But if Moonbase uses violence to defend itself, their cause will be lost as surely as if it were destroyed. Only an audacious, nearly impossible combination of military defence and political wisdom can save them.

Privateers

by Ben Bova

Published 11 December 1986

Empire Builders

by Ben Bova

Published 1 October 1993

Dan Randolph never plays by the rules. A hell-raising maverick with no patience for fools, he is admired by his friends, feared by his enemies, and desired by the world's loveliest women. Acting as a twenty-first privateer, Randolph broke the political strangle-hold on space exploration, and became one of the world's richest men in the bargain.
Now an ecological crisis threatens Earth--and the same politicians that Randolph outwitted the first time want to impose a world dictatorship to deal with it.
Dan Randolph knows that the answer lies in more human freedom, not less--and in the boundless resources of space. But can he stay free long enough to give the world that chance?

The Precipice

by Ben Bova

Published 1 February 2001

Once, Dan Radolph was one of the richest men on Earth, but now that the planet is spiralling into environmental disaster, he must look to the wealth of the stars to save the economy. Martin Humphries is also aware of the potential of space-based industry, but he does not care if Earth perishes.

Farside

by Ben Bova

Published 31 December 2013

The Rock Rats

by Ben Bova

Published 7 February 2002

Martin Humphries - the fabulously wealthy, coldly ruthless owner of the greatest space-based industrial giant - has been checked, but his malice and ambition remain. He still dreams of bankrupting the rival space exploration company Astro Manufacturing and bringing the independent prospectors who are beginning to stake claims on large and small rocks of the Asteroid Belt under his control. And most of all, he wants to capture the love of beautiful Amanda Cunningham, the woman who spurned his money, and take his revenge on Lars Fuchs, the space prospector who both defied Humphries and married Amanda. His weapons will be piracy, sabotage and murder. The Asteroid Wars have entered a violent new era.

Jupiter

by Ben Bova

Published 18 December 2000

This novel follows the attempts of a small group of scientists who explore Jupiter in the hope of finding intelligent life forms. Amongst the explorers is Grant Archer who is planted on the expedition by a religious group who want to prove their own theories, but Grant has an open mind.

Saturn

by Ben Bova

Published 10 March 2003

Ten thousand men and women, exiled by the restrictive governments of Earth, are riding a man-made habitat to the planet Saturn. They form a volatile community.

Some are innocents like Holly Lane, or Manuel Gaeta. Others are idealists like Edouard Urbain, or Kris Cardenas and Nadia Wunderly. And some have much more dangerous plans. Malcolm Eberly has been placed aboard the Saturn-bound habitat to take over its government.

As the mammoth spacecraft nears its destination Eberly manoeuvres to take control of the habitat. His manipulations lead to murder and Holly becomes a hunted fugitive in the habitat s maze of tunnels and underground passageways. Meanwhile, frustrated by Dr. Urbain s intransigence, Gaeta prepares to fly solo through the rings, abetted by Wunderly and Cardenas. What he finds there challenges everyone living in the habitat.

The Silent War

by Dr Ben Bova

Published 2 February 2004

In this science fiction novel, Martin Humphries has exiled his rival Lars Fuchs to the depths of space and taken his wife for his own. For Humphries, nothing short of total domination will ever be enough. But another power is building its strength in secret, waiting for its chance to seize the Humphries empire.

Titan

by Ben Bova

Published 15 March 2006

Titan Alpha has landed: the most complex man-made object to reach Saturn's largest moon. The ten thousand men and women of Habitat Goddard are once more at the frontier of science. From their huge, artificial paradise hanging in orbit above Saturn, some of them dream of landing on Titan's surface. Others will do anything to prevent such a landing. And yet others have darker, secret plans. But almost immediately, Titan Alpha goes silent. And minor, inexplicable faults start to affect Goddard. Is there a basic design flaw that could threaten the lives of everyone on board? Or has one of the many malcontents exiled to space decided to sabotage the probe or even the whole expedition?The newest chapter in Ben Bova's epic of space exploration brings to vivid, awe-inspiring life a barren world of swirling smog, frozen methane seas - and perhaps even a new sentient life form.

The Aftermath

by Dr Ben Bova

Published 7 August 2007

The Second Asteroid War climaxed with the brutal destruction of Chrysalis: hundreds of men, women and children on the miners' habitat died terrible deaths in the vacuum of the asteroid belt. But one ship escapes destruction. Low on fuel, her communications destroyed, the ore ship Syracuse flees towards deep space with fifteen-year-old Theo Zacharias at the helm. Three years later, the war long over, Syracuse still drifts through the void. Meanwhile the man who now calls himself Dorn -- the destroyer of Chrysalis -- roams space gathering up the bodies of his victims. He encounters Theo Zacharias in a clash of purposes, hopes and fury ...

Mars Life

by Ben Bova

Published 1 July 2008

Venus

by Ben Bova

Published 14 March 2000

It is the most desolate place in the universe. With a surface blasted by temperatures hotter than any oven and an atmosphere heavy with sulphur, months from Earth by even the fastest spacecraft, Venus remains almost unknown even after a century of space travel. But Alex Humphries, son of ruthless space tycoon Martin Humphries, disappeared along with his ship Phosphoros into Venus' infernal atmosphere, and now Humphries has offered ten billion dollars to anyone who can bring his son's body home. Two ships are soon racing against each other to Venus. But when they enter the poisonous hurricane winds of the unknown planet they find something so surprising, so unexepected, that it will change the whole course of space exploration.

Mercury

by Ben Bova

Published 13 March 2005

The closest planet to the Sun, Mercury is an airless, heat-scorched world where temperatures rise to four times higher than the boiling point of water. But this vision of hell is also a planet with unlimited solar power - worth a fortune to the space tycoon Saito Yamagata if he can find a way to harness it. He has hired the enigmatic Dante Alexios to establish a research station on the surface of the planet and find a way to turn that solar energy into portable power satellites. But Yamagata is secretly also preparing the way to a very different dream: he wants to travel to the stars themselves. And Alexios has his own obsession, a plot to lure an old enemy to this hellhole of a world and take his revenge for one of the worst disasters in human history.

Leviathans of Jupiter

by Ben Bova

Published 4 October 2011

The Return

by Dr Ben Bova

Published 4 August 2009