Moonwar

Rating:
Summary: Seal this off
Review: "Moonrise", the prequel to "Moonwar" was less than compelling reading - the conception of a workable, and non-government funded, lunar base wasn't enough to back up a plot about the rigors of lunar exploration and the addition of a culture war between foes and friends of the futuristic "nanotechnology" didn't help. Nanotechnology, in which miniature robots either build or demolish in any situation, sparked a war between futuristic visionaries and irredeemably fundamentalist holy-warriors modeled on the Taliban. Bova never hid where he stood on that issue, even though the technology itself remained too vague and exotic - as if his miniature robots existed only to soothe over the technological hurdles that one would expect to confront in building offworld bases and spaceships, light off a Kulturkampf and reveal the hypocrisy of those who piously rail against the technology while secretly exploiting it for themeselves. Gratuitous muder and rape are tossed in in case the greed, insatiable lust for power and pious right-wing extremism aren't enough to make the case for the villains any clearer. The nanite-controversy could have been it's own book. Instead, it provides a mere backdrop to some story about the efforts to build (or destroy) the Stavenger lunar station.

In "Moonwar", Bova eschews the longer time-frame that robbed "Moonrise" of a coherent plot - we get a single generation of heroes, even though they're no more sympathetic than those of the earlier book. A power-mad UN Secretary General (a surprise given the book's all but avowed left leanings) is determined to claim the Stavenger Lunar station by any means neccesary, even if that means hooking up with the resurgent crazed fundamentalists who oppose the moonbase as a symbol of nanotechnology. Called nano-luddites (I would have suggested "Tehnololiban" "dot-com-eKazes" or "Mech-Governites"), these suicide warriors are aimed at the moonbase like smartbombs. But Bova - after two books - has failed to create heroes (targest) worth identifying with. We're supposed to decry the evil UN and it's French-Canadian head (damned Quebecer, the book rails, but it's not up there with stock cold-war labels), but I was never sure why I should bother. The bright line between piety and science seems to infect all the books I've read by Bova (besides "Moonrise", I've read the two Mars novels) like the nanites. "Moonwar" suffers this infection worst of all.

Rating:
Summary: Seal this off
Review: "Moonrise", the prequel to "Moonwar" was less than compelling reading - the conception of a workable, and non-government funded, lunar base wasn't enough to back up a plot about the rigors of lunar exploration and the addition of a culture war between foes and friends of the futuristic "nanotechnology" didn't help. Nanotechnology, in which miniature robots either build or demolish in any situation, sparked a war between futuristic visionaries and irredeemably fundamentalist holy-warriors modeled on the Taliban. Bova never hid where he stood on that issue, even though the technology itself remained too vague and exotic - as if his miniature robots existed only to soothe over the technological hurdles that one would expect to confront in building offworld bases and spaceships, light off a Kulturkampf and reveal the hypocrisy of those who piously rail against the technology while secretly exploiting it for themeselves. Gratuitous muder and rape are tossed in in case the greed, insatiable lust for power and pious right-wing extremism aren't enough to make the case for the villains any clearer. The nanite-controversy could have been it's own book. Instead, it provides a mere backdrop to some story about the efforts to build (or destroy) the Stavenger lunar station.

In "Moonwar", Bova eschews the longer time-frame that robbed "Moonrise" of a coherent plot - we get a single generation of heroes, even though they're no more sympathetic than those of the earlier book. A power-mad UN Secretary General (a surprise given the book's all but avowed left leanings) is determined to claim the Stavenger Lunar station by any means neccesary, even if that means hooking up with the resurgent crazed fundamentalists who oppose the moonbase as a symbol of nanotechnology. Called nano-luddites (I would have suggested "Tehnololiban" "dot-com-eKazes" or "Mech-Governites"), these suicide warriors are aimed at the moonbase like smartbombs. But Bova - after two books - has failed to create heroes (targest) worth identifying with. We're supposed to decry the evil UN and it's French-Canadian head (damned Quebecer, the book rails, but it's not up there with stock cold-war labels), but I was never sure why I should bother. The bright line between piety and science seems to infect all the books I've read by Bova (besides "Moonrise", I've read the two Mars novels) like the nanites. "Moonwar" suffers this infection worst of all.

Rating:
Summary: Best of the 'real' space novels in a long time!
Review: Bova does it again! Not content to rest on his laurels for the finishing books on this series, he has built a web of characterization that leads the reader into the world of the plot. Can't wait for the next one!

Rating:
Summary: Darn good.
Review: Darn good. A good mixture of suspense, action, and logic for a first read. Also "techy" enough to interest many readers(myself included) for another read around.(I'm reading it for the third time right now.

Lots of neat, fancy words like regolith, and high-intelligence of practicality and function of experimental technology.(Take nanotechnology, for instance. Another good example is heavy-duty telescopes in an airless environment.)

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, fast-paced nanotechnology SF
Review: Having never read a Bova novel, I was not sure what to expect. I was not disappointed. This book was filled with good ideas especially those involving nanotechnology. Also developed the characters well along with a sprinkling of politics that go beyond earth, and the story line is easy to follow. So, if you want a fast-paced, exciting SF romp, this book is for you. Moonwar is a good example of what SF should be....pure entertainment:)

Rating:
Summary: Not a compelling read. Bova can do better.
Review: I am a big fan of Bova's work. However, this book was easy to put down.It never grabs the reader. The story is okay, but not great. It's pleasant enough. One complaint is that there are too many characters to keep track of, many in a walk-on appearance. Bova can do better.

Rating:
Summary: Space soap opera at its worst
Review: I am astonished that anyone could give this 5 stars! Come on guys; are you really classing this politically-correct, stereotypical pot-boiler up there with Dune, 2001, Consider Phlebas etc? Moonwar has a very strong "made-for-TV" feel to it and amounts to little more than Dallas or Dynasty in space. The undemanding little yarn may keep you mildly interested for a few hours, but where's the depth or the meaning? I'm afraid I cannot recommend Moonwar, because I truely believe Sci-fi should be more visionary than this.

Rating:
Summary: Not entertaining
Review: I buy books to be entertained. This book has a light, fluffy plot and predictable characters that could be entertaining, but it mixes in some gruesome violence that makes the overall experience sickening rather than entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Politically correct, disappointing sci-fi yarn
Review: I enjoyed Bova's Mars and Moonrise, but found this a huge disappointment. The characterisation is so one-dimentional and stereotypical that after the first few chapters, I was too busy playing "spot the cliche" to get into the story. As soon as we get the description of the chief baddy - the (non-American of course!) "smarmy" "pudgy", "pear-shaped" secretary general of the UN, who sports a villain's moustache and is blatently sexist to boot, I was wondering when he would say "curses, foiled again!". When Ms "Tart with a heart" Elgin trots out the old "got to give some head to get ahead" adage, I'm afraid I groaned out load. Bova's feminist and anti-racist agenda is admirable of course, but when it is rammed down the reader's throat at the expense of any decent plot, it just becomes hard to stomach. For the undemanding reader, Bova certainly pulls all the right strings - there's a fair dose of action and tension here, but I fear that the more discerning reader will find that Moonwar insults the intelligence on more than one occasion. I dunno, maybe I've just been spoiled, having read some excellent Iain Banks sci-fi recently?

Rating:
Summary: Politically correct, disappointing sci-fi yarn
Review: I enjoyed Bova's Mars and Moonrise, but found this a huge disappointment. The characterisation is so one-dimentional and stereotypical that after the first few chapters, I was too busy playing "spot the cliche" to get into the story. As soon as we get the description of the chief baddy - the (non-American of course!) "smarmy" "pudgy", "pear-shaped" secretary general of the UN, who sports a villain's moustache and is blatently sexist to boot, I was wondering when he would say "curses, foiled again!". When Ms "Tart with a heart" Elgin trots out the old "got to give some head to get ahead" adage, I'm afraid I groaned out load. Bova's feminist and anti-racist agenda is admirable of course, but when it is rammed down the reader's throat at the expense of any decent plot, it just becomes hard to stomach. For the undemanding reader, Bova certainly pulls all the right strings - there's a fair dose of action and tension here, but I fear that the more discerning reader will find that Moonwar insults the intelligence on more than one occasion. I dunno, maybe I've just been spoiled, having read some excellent Iain Banks sci-fi recently?