Showing results by author "Ben Bova" in All Categories

No matter what strange forms the future takes, says Ben Bova in his introduction, crime and criminals will always be with us - and with them, the need for law enforcement. Included in this collection of short stories are the full-length novel City of Darkness and "Brillo" - the famous collaboration between Bova and Harlan Ellison.

A new installment in the military science-fiction series by a Hugo Award-winner finds the superhuman, outer-space warrior John O'Ryan caught in the middle of a dangerous contest between a goddess and a god.

Six-time Hugo Award winner Bova likes to tell big stories in a small way. This approach both helps and hurts in this collection of stories, excerpts and outtakes from his "Grand Tour" novels (Saturn, etc.), which explore the colonization of the solar system. Despite his vast subject, Bova focuses tightly on the heroes and villains whose striving makes up his future history. While some characters are standards of the SF genre (megalomaniac capitalist, lone-wolf entrepreneur, love object caught between them), Bova imbues each with Homeric virtues and flaws.

In the next century, the United States and Russia have joined forces to form the International Peacekeeping Force. The IPF is charged with controlling the satellite network and preventing nuclear missile launches. But many factions resent this orbital police force - and attempt to seize control of the satellites.... and the IPF itself.

The first immortals are already living among us. You might be one of them. At first glance, that arresting statement sounds as if it might come from a science fiction story. But it is an astonishing, exciting fact - as explained clearly and cogently by Dr. Ben Bova. Here is a compelling, startling, understandable, and vitally important study of the greatest challenge - and the most tantalizing opportunity - ever faced by humankind.

From the creation of life to the exploration of the heavens and the stars—from the origins of the earth to the possibility of life on other planets, Ben Bova unveils the beauty and science behind the phenomenon of light. Bova masterfully explains how light affects us every day of our lives—from our religions to our sex drives. He examines how we use light in art, science, industry, entertainment, cosmetics, jewelry, and myriad other ways. Using accessible language, Bova provides easy-to-understand examples that explain even the most difficult and mind-bending concepts.

In Carbide Tipped Pens,over a dozen of today's most creative imaginations explore these frontiers, carrying on the grand tradition of such legendary masters as Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and John W. Campbell, while bringing hard science fiction into the 21st century by extrapolating from the latest scientific developments and discoveries.

Imagine a machine that would end all wars and bloodshed. A machine that can create a virtual world so real, so complete, where all conflicts are waged, but where no one ever dies or gets hurt. The dueling machine is just that...until a madman dictator of a small empire finds a way to bend virtual reality to his will - and uses the dueling machine to take over the galaxy! It's up to the machine's creator and a rather inept Star Watchman to discover the plan and stop it.

This new Mars adventure is a gripping story of danger and exploration that is as timely as tomorrow's headlines and as scientifically accurate and up to date as anyone can make it. "Mount Olympus" is a part of Ben Bova's most recent novel, Return to Mars.

Frontiers can be found in all directions - frontiers of timeand space, as well as frontiers of courage, devotion, love, hate, and the outer limits of the human spirit. This outstanding collection of stories by one of science fiction's premier talents spans the length and breadth of history and the universe while exploring thought-provoking new ideas and dilemmas.