Powersat

Rating:
Summary: Hardly worth reading
Review: I'm not sure what book the reviewers who gave this book 5 stars were reading, but it sure wasn't the same one I read. There was hardly in "Science" in this Science Fiction book. I'm not sure what I would call this book - Perhaps a sappy Romance? I found the entire book "double damned", to use Dan's often repeated phrase.

Rating:
Summary: Near Term Space Sci Fi at its Capitalistic Best!
Review: In the vast amount of pages shelved in the local bookstore's "science fiction" section, most is fantasy and what's left is mostly indistinguishable from fantasy. Once the staple of science fiction, the near-term space novel is an endangered species today. Thank goodness for Bova. His "Grand Tour" series is a monumental, if relatively uncelebrated, journey into the human adventure in the solar system that could take place in our lifetimes.
Of course, predating Bova's "Grand Tour" there was Dan Randolph, Bova's industrialist hero in Privateers and Empire Builders. Powersat is a prequel to both Privateers and Empire Builders and in a sense can be seen as the beginning of the Grand Tour series.
Powersat describes the beginning of Astro Manufacturing Corporation, Dan Randolph's attempt to open space to humanity, make America and freedom stronger, and (of course) make billions of dollars in the process! Randolph's first project, a solar power satellite to eliminate American dependence on oil, gives the book its title. The story shares much with Bova's earlier Randolph books... coroprate intrigue, terrorism, boardroom meetings, political philosphy, a pro-space pro-business message, and a good deal of action.
Powersat is, in my opinion, one of Bova's best works. The story is solid, fast-paced, and rewarding stand alone. However, if you have read any of Bova's earlier books on Randolph (Privateers, Empire Builders, or The Precipice) you'll also enjoy scenes played out that are merely alluded to in the other books, including Dan's relationship with Jane, how Scanlon becomes president, the "alliance" between Yamagata and Astro, and the very first hints that Astro may have to move to Venezuela, among others. What is striking is how Bova pulled it off. In Dan's first book he was fighting the Soviet Union's monopoly on space (which looks, uh, unlikely to happen anymore.) Powersat uses the present reality of the war on terror as its historical backdrop. However, past occurences in the earlier books are written first hand in this book and are perfectly consistent with the complete change in geopolitical situation. Not a trivial feat.
Randolph's story is a truly heroic one. Not many science fiction heroes live's may truly be lived. However, there is no reason that someone reading Powersat now may not one day build Astro Manufacturing and serve space, freedom, and the pocketbook in the same way Dan does!

Rating:
Summary: Powerful message of hope
Review: My review, enclosed below, was recently published in the Huntsville (AL) Times.

Now in his early 70s, Ben Bova has been writing classic science fiction for over 40 years. His novels are usually set in the 21st century, chronicling adventures in humanity's early expansion into the solar system. Now, of course, the 21st century has arrived. Rather than becoming depressed that we're still stuck here on Earth, Bova seems to be energized, particularly by events of the last few years.

In his latest novel, "Powersat," Bova gives us a "prequel" for Dan Randolph, the idealistic businessman hero of Bova's Asteroid Wars and other stories - and Randolph looks a lot like a younger version of SpaceShipOne's Burt Rutan. In an almost-believable near future, Randolph's struggling company has sunk billions into something he believes will revolutionize the energy industry: a solar power satellite. But completing it and maintaining it affordably depend on a reusable space plane project, grounded at the last minute.

Those who extract wealth from oil, including a group of Arab terrorists, feel threatened by Randolph's project. Putative supporters come from all directions - but which ones can he trust? Through a surprisingly complex mix of characters, including some major ones who die along the way, Bova builds a predictable but intriguing plot to a suspenseful climax.

"Power" here means more than energy: The power of politics is explored, and the conflict between a man and a woman, sacrificing happiness together in the pursuit of independent ambitions. The ending is well done, but bittersweet.

This novel sometimes feels like a throwback - I suspect at least partly in self-parody - but the conflicts in love, lust and power are eternal, and Bova devotes much more space to them than to the technology the story is nominally about. A memorable page-turner, "Powersat" also provides a powerful message of hope for the future.