Can an experimental defense system stop North Korean missile strikes?

Nobody foresaw that millions would watch on real-time TV when people first walked on another world. And next time…?

En l’an 2008… Loin de la Terre, Ile Un — riche et heureuse colonie spatiale, d’une technologie si avancée qu’un homme y a été « créé » en laboratoire : David Adams. Beauté d’archange, intelligence souveraine. Pourtant cet être « invulnérable » s’est épris d’une journaliste de passage, la belle Evelyn Hall... et veut la retrouver. Tout comme il veut, parce qu’il se sent solidaire des hommes, sauver la Terre qu’une guerre bactériologique menace et dont le Gouvernement mondial vacille… Bravant l’interdiction de quitter Ile Un, David se lance dans le plus fantastique des voyages, passager clandestin d’astronefs en fusées, traqué de satellites en planètes… N’arrivera-t-il pas trop tard sur une Terre où déjà règnent la violence et l’anarchie ? Londres brûle, on se bat dans New York…

Born and brought up on a space ship that is slowly deteriorating, Linc discovers its secrets and the way to get the remaining occupants to their ultimate destination

Computer engineer Lou Christopher’s life falls apart when the World Government decrees that the project he is working on is too dangerous to continue. Thus, he and thousands of other scientists and their families are sentenced to permanent exile from Earth on a space station. But Lou and several others decide to escape—by converting the space station into a starship setting off for the interstellar journey

A group of scientists and other space travellers face life and death decisions after their spacecraft is damaged by fire

Essays by space scientists and engineers teamed with a collection of tales by an all-star assortment of award winning authors all taking on new methods of star travel.Some humans may be content staying in one place, but many of us are curious about what's beyond the next village, the next ocean, the next horizon. Are there others like us out there? How will we reach them? Others are concerned with the survival of the species. It may be that we have to get out of Dodge before the lights go out on Earth. How can we accomplish this?Wonderful questions. Now get ready for some answers. Here is the science behind interstellar propulsion: reports from top tier scientists and engineers on starflight propulsion techniques that use only means and methods that we currently know are scientifically possible. Here are in-depth essays on antimatter containment, solar sails, and fusion propulsion. And the human consequences? Here is speculation by a magnificent array of award-winning SF writers on what an interstellar voyage might look like, might feel like - might be like. It's an all-star cast abounding with Hugo and Nebula award winners: Ben Bova, Mike Resnick, Jack McDevitt, Michael Bishop, Sarah Hoyt and more

Una storia che Bova scris­se per «Again Dangerous Visions», la famosa antologia di Harlan Ellison dedicata alle vicende più «scioccanti» che fece seguito all'altrettanto celebre «Dangerous Visions». È anche la prima storia, in termini cronologici, di una serie dedicata a Chet Kinsman, astronauta americano: qui Bova descrive la sua perdita di innocenza e i suoi primi passi verso la maturità, il suo risveglio nel mondo reale, un mondo che non è affatto lontano dal no­stro… anzi…

Suppose that elves, gremlins, and leprechauns are really tiny aliens marooned on Earth for hundreds of years. They want to go home, and human technology finally can make it possible—if they can get aboard NASA’s Mars rocket and hijack it! Pity the poor human who has to help them with the big heist…

Grant Archer merely wanted to work quietly as an astronomer on the far side of the moon. But a coalition of censorious do-gooders who run 21st century America sends him to a research station in orbit around Jupiter to spy on the scientists who work there. What they don’t know is that Grant’s loyalty to science may be greater than his loyalty to the New Morality

INTELLIGENTES LEBEN AUF DEM JUPITER … … vermutet Direktor L. Zhang Wo, Leiter der wissenschaftlichen Beobachtungsstation im Orbit des Riesenplaneten. Und tatsächlich lassen Erkenntnisse einer Tauchexpedition in den Tiefen der Jupiter-Atmosphäre darauf schließen. Doch solche Forschungsvorhaben können nur heimlich durchgeführt werden, weil die christlichen Kreationisten und islamischen Fundamentalisten, die auf der Erde das Sagen haben, in der Suche nach außerirdischen Lebewesen eine Blasphemie sehen und alle Maßnahmen in dieser Richtung mit allen Mitteln unterbinden. Grant Archer, ein idealistischer junger Astronom, wird als Spitzel auf die Station entsandt, um Beweise für gottlose Aktivitäten zu sammeln. Doch schon bald überwiegt seine Neugier und sein Forscherdrang die Loyalität zu seinen inquisitorischen Auftraggebern

Era notte nell'emisfero occidentale quando il Sole emise la sua grande fiammata, e questo salvò il continente americano dalla combustione totale. Ma non lo salvò dalle atomiche sovietiche che cominciarono subito a piovere. Perché, chi avrebbe potuto dar torto ai pochi russi superstiti sottoterra, nella stanza dei bottoni, se pensarono che l'attacco fosse venuto dall'America?

In Ben Bova’s novel JUPITER, physicist Grant Archer led an expedition into Jupiter’s hostile planet-wide ocean, attempting to study the unusual and massive creatures that call the planet their home. Unprepared for the hostile environment and crushing pressures, Grant’s team faced certain death as their ship malfunctioned and slowly sank to the planet’s depths. However one of Jupiter’s native creatures—a city-sized leviathan—saved the doomed ship. This creature’s act convinced Grant that the huge creatures were intelligent, but he lacked scientific proof. Now, several years later, Grant prepares a new expedition to prove once and for all that the huge creatures are intelligent. The new team faces dangers from both the hostile environment and from humans who will do anything to make sure the mission is a failure, even if it means murdering the entire crew

Jamie Waterman, a Native American geologist, is chosen at the last minute for the first manned exploration of the planet Mars. On touchdown, he is so overwhelmed with the emotion of the moment that he utters a Navajo phrase instead of the political statement he is supposed to read. This sets off a chain reaction among the leaders and politicians on Earth. Thus starts Bova’s sprawling space opera. The expedition, seen from Jamie’s point of view, is really the protagonist here. The story is filled with lots of characters of different nationalities and there’s plenty of political intrigue. Of course, there are obstacles to overcome: a meteor almost destroys the lab, the doctor neglects his duty and nearly kills them all, crew members come down with mysterious “Martian flu,” and through it all is the never-ending search for evidence of life on this planet. Bova has done extensive research and his descriptions of Mars and the conditions under which the study is conducted are very plausible. All in all, a satisfying story. The novel is a part of currently 17-volume series “Grand Tour” that presents the theme of exploration and colonization of the Solar System by humans. Written in 1992 “Mars”, according to the internal in-universe chronology, stands 4th in the series and is immediately continued by “Return to Mars” published in 1999 which stands 7th. Events depicted in “Moonrise” (1996) and “Moonwar” (1998) take place between those of “Mars” and “Return to Mars” and are loosely related to them

Jamie Waterman discovered the cliff dwelling on Mars, and the fact that an intelligent race lived on the red planet sixty-five million years ago, only to be driven into extinction by the crash of a giant meteor. Now the exploration of Mars is itself under threat of extinction, as the ultraconservative New Morality movement gains control of the U.S. government and cuts off all funding for the Mars program.Meanwhile, Carter Carleton, an anthropologist who was driven from his university post by unproven charges of rape, has started to dig up the remains of a Martian village. Science and politics clash on two worlds as Jamie desperately tries to save the Mars program and uncover who the vanished Martians were

A tale of revenge and technological endeavor set on our solar system’s most desolate stage. The closest planet to the sun, Mercury is a rocky, barren, heat-scorched world. The planet’s surface faces the sun for nearly sixty earth days at a time, and the only places that stay cool are the ice caches at Mercury’s poles

Kosmiczna winda wywożąca na orbitę towary i ludzi to projekt inżynieryjny istniejący od XX wieku, teraz wreszcie staje się rzeczywistością. Dla inżyniera Bracknella jest ona dziełem życia, ale dla wielkich korporacji, które na tanim transporcie na orbitę stracą majątki, oraz dla Nowej Moralności, dla której budowa wieży w niebo jest obrazą Boga, stanowią cierń w boku. Zostaje zawiązany spisek i wieża runie w dół, grzebiąc w globalnej katastrofie miliony ludzi. Winnym zostanie uznany Bracknell, karą jest wygnanie Ziemi. Inżynier traci dorobek całego życia, ale przypadkiem dowiaduje się o sabotażu i spisku i od tej pory całe swoje życie podporządkowuje jednemu — zemście na osobach winnych zniszczenia wieży i jego osobistej tragedii

El tema de esta novela es el aterrador mundo del futuro: la gente y la política mundial en el año 1999. La población de la tierra ha llegado a ocho mil millones de seres humanos. La escasez creciente de recursos naturales ha conducido a.las dos grandes potencias al borde del conflicto nuclear. A pocos cientos de kilómetros sobre la superficie terrestre, en sus respectivas colonias lunares, los Estados Unidos y la Unión Soviética luchan afiebradamente por completar sus propias redes de satélites que los protegerán de un ataque atómico. Ambas potencias saben que quien complete primero la red protectora quebrará en su favor el largo equilibrio de fuerzas. Así se ganaría una ventaja decisiva. Dos hombres están vitalmente comprometidos en este posible holocausto: el jefe ruso y el jefe norteamericano de las bases lunares. Afortunadamente para la humanidad, ambos hombres son idealistas de buena voluntad, decididos a luchar juntos por conquistar un mundo donde sea posible la coexistencia. ¿Triunfarán los idealistas? ¿Qué fuerzas luchan contra ellos? ¿Podrán sobrevivir? Este es el dramático nudo de esta magistral novela de suspenso

Former astronaut Paul Stavenger is driven by his vision of colonizing space. His dream becomes a reality with the creation of a viable, flourishing, nearly self-sufficient community at Moonbase. But Paul has made an implacable enemy; one who will carry his vendetta to the frontiers of space

The sequel to “Moonrise”. Douglas Stavenger and his dedicated team of scientists are determined to defend their life’s work, but technology-hating factions on Earth want to close the flourishing space colony, Moonbase. Can a combination of military defence and political wisdom save the colony?

It’s not easy running a hotel, and some of the most challenging problems are little ones!

The exciting beginning of Bova’s popular “Orion” saga, this is the story of John O’Ryan, a man who awakens one day to discover that he is the leader of a race of beings so far beyond humanity that they are almost gods. And, like a god he is locked in an endless struggle with an enemy whose powers are so far beyond the merely human that they seem demonic. Their eternal battle spans time itself

More than human and less that a god, John O’Ryan is Orion, made by the Creators who rule outside of time. His purpose is to do their bidding. Now, Orion has becomee a key piece in a cosmic game between two of the Creators—Anya, the goddess he loves, and Aten, the god who toys with his destiny

Ben Bova’s timeless hero returns . . . at the nexus of myth and history! More than human, less than god, Orion has fought across time and space at the whims of his Creators, god-like beings from the future who toy with human history like spoiled children playing with dolls. From the frozen wastes of the Ice Age to far-flung interstellar empires, Orion has been both assassin and hero, all the while striving to be reunited with Anya, the ageless goddess who is his one true love. Now Orion finds himself in Britain in the dark years after the Romans abandoned the island kingdom. Minor kings and warlords feud amongst themselves even as invading hordes of Saxons and Angles threaten to sweep over the land. There Orion befriends a young warrior named Arthur, who dreams of uniting his quarreling countrymen and driving the invaders from their lands. Along with a few brave comrades, Arthur hopes to the stem the tide of barbarism and create a new era of peace and prosperity. But Orion’s vainglorious Creator, Aten the Golden One, has other plans for the timeline. Arthur’s noble ambitions interfere with Aten’s far-reaching schemes to reshape history to his own ends. He wants Arthur dead and forgotten---but Orion does not. Defying his own creator, and risking his own immortal existence, Orion will battle the gods themselves to see that Arthur fulfills his destiny. But can even he save Arthur from the tragedy that awaits him? Orion and King Arthuris a thrilling new chapter in Ben Bova’s unforgettable cosmic saga

John O’Ryan is Orion—more than human, less than a god, cast away on the seas of time to do battle among the Creators for the future of mankind. Now the eternal warrior finds himself separated from his great love, Anya, and marooned in Macedonia under the reign of Philip—fighting alongside the young Alexander, and at the mercy of a Queen Olympias who is far more than she seems

Orion the Hunter, an eternal being made by the Creators to battle their greatest enemy, and Anya, a Creator who has abandoned her power to accompany him, come closer than ever to understanding and defeating their foe

Powieść będąca prequelem do całego cyklu „Droga przez Układ Słoneczny”. Ambicją młodego inżyniera, Dana Randolpha, jest zapewnienie uzależnionej odbliskowschodniej ropy Ameryce alternatywnego źródła energii. Eksploatacjazbudowanego przez Dana satelity energetycznego będzie jednak opłacalnatylko pod warunkiem wykorzystywania taniego środka transportu na orbitę, aprototyp wahadłowca ulega katastrofie podczas lotu próbnego. Wiele poszlakwskazuje, że ktoś dokonał sabotażu. Kto stoi za tą zbrodnią? Międzynarodowekoncerny naftowe czy arabscy fundamentaliści? Firma Dana, AstroCorporation, stoi na skraju przepaści. Skąd może nadejść ratunek? Czy od Saito Yamagaty, którego koncern również inwestuje w energię ze Słońca? Amerykańskich koncernów naftowych, które zastawiają się nad inwestowaniem winne źródła energii?

Akcja powieści rozgrywa się w sześć lat po „Marsie”. Politycy, zobligowani swoimi obietnicami i odkryciem przez pierwszą ekspedycję marsjańską prymitywnych form życia, wyrażają zgodę na kolejną misję. Tym razem koszt wyprawy ma się nie tylko zwrócić, ale i przynieść zyski. To determinuje harmonogram — wśród załogi szerzy się niezdrowe współzawodnictwo, chęć zarobku przesłania rzeczywisty cel — badanie czerwonej planety. Jamie Waterman, półkrwi Nawaho, zostaje dowódcą grupy badawczej i musi stawić czoła partykularnym interesom naukowców oraz spełnić wymagania mecanasów projektu i polityków. Ale najważniejsze dla Jamiego jest dotarcie do niesamowitych obioektów, które odkrył na ścianie marsjańskiego kanionu. Przez sześć lat męczy go pytanie: czy to był miraż, czy budowle skonstruowane przez inteligentnych budowniczych

Saturn — fascynująca i tajemnicza planeta z wielkimi pierścieniami i księżycami, z których Tytan jest najprawdopodobniej obdarzony życiem. Wreszcie możliwe jest zbadanie Saturna i nie będzie to zwykły lot załogowy, a wyprawa jakiej dotąd nie było. Wielki habitat „Goddard” to olbrzymi statek, samowystarczalna arka z dziesięcioma tysiącami ludzi na pokładzie. Naukowcami, dysydentami i ludźmi niepokornymi, którym nie podobają się rządy religijnych fanatyków na Ziemi. Płonne są jednak ich nadzieje, że Nowa Moralność czy inni fanatycy nie zechcą mieć kontroli nad habitatem. A wśród uczestników wyprawy jest siostra Pancho Lane, szefowej Astro Corp, i laureatka Nobla za osiągnięcia w dziedzinie nanotechnologii — Kris Cardenas

Die   nicht   allzu   ferne   Zukunft:   Christliche   und   islamische  Fundamentalisten haben einen so großen politischen Einfluss  auf   der   Erde   erlangt,   dass   Wissenschaftler   und   andere  »Säkularisierte«  gezwungen sind, den Planeten zu verlassen.  Im   Mondorbit   ist   für   sie   ein   riesiges   Habitat,   die  Goddard,  entstanden, das mehr als zehntausend Menschen aufnehmen  kann   und   zum   Saturn   gesteuert   werden   soll,   um   dort   als  Außenposten der menschlichen Zivilisation und als Basis für  die   Erforschung   des   Ringplaneten   und   seiner   Monde   zu  dienen. Doch niemand ahnt, dass eine Gruppe von religiösen  Fanatikern mit an Bord ist, die nur ein Ziel kennt: Die Macht  im Habitat zu  übernehmen, die Wissenschaftler kaltzustellen  und die Ungläubigen zu bekehren — und sei es mit Gewalt. Als  die Goddard den Jupiter passiert, sehen sie die Zeit gekommen,  um loszuschlagen…

Second in size only to Jupiter, bigger than a thousand Earths but light enough to float in water, home of cushing gravity and delicate, seemingly impossible rings, it dazzles and attracts us: Saturn. Earth groans under the rule of fundamentalist political regimes. Crisis after crisis has given authoritarians the upper hand. Freedom and opportunity exist in space, for those with the nerve and skill to run the risks. Now the governments of Earth are encouraging many of their most incorrigible dissidents to join a great ark on a one-way expedition, twice Jupiter’s distance from the Sun, to Saturn, the ringed planet that baffled Galileo and has fascinated astronomers ever since. But humans will be human, on Earth or in the heavens — so amid the idealism permeating Space Habitat Goddard are many individuals with long-term schemes, each awaiting the right moment. And hidden from them is the greatest secret of all, the real purpose of this expedition, known to only a few…

Cities became ovens. Grasslands became seas of flame. As the touch of dawn swept westward across the spinning planet Earth, its fiery finger killed everything in its path. Glaciers in Switzerland began to melt, floodwaters poured down on the burning, smoking villages dotting the Alpine meadows. Paris became a torch, then London. North of the Arctic Circle, Lapplanders in their summer furs burst into flame as their reindeer collapsed and roasted on the smoking tundra. The line of dawn raced westward across the Atlantic Ocean, but as it did the brightness diminished. The sun dimmed as quickly as it had brightened. The Americas escaped the Sun’s wrath. Almost. A hard, dark book, the story of mankind after the fall… compulsive reading… the battle to rebuild Earth after its almost total destruction by a gigantic solar flare. Part of this novel was published separately, in substantially different form, as ‘When The Sky Burned’, copyright © 1973 by Ben Bova

In the wake of the Asteroid Wars that tore across the solar system, Victor Zacharius makes his living running the ore-carrier Syracuse. With his wife and two children he plies the Asteroid Belt, hauling whatever cargo can be found. When the Syracuse stumbles into the middle of a military attack on the habitat Chrysalis, Victor flees in a control pod to draw the attacker’s attention away from his family. Now, as his wife and children plunge into the far deeps of space, Victor has been rescued by the seductive Cheena Madagascar. He must do her bidding if he’s to have a prayer of ever seeing his family again. Elverda Apacheta is the solar system’s greatest sculptor. The cyborg Dorn was formerly Dorik Harbin, the ruthless military commander responsible for the attack on Chrysalis. Their lives and destinies have been linked by their joint discovery of the alien artifact that had, earlier, profoundly affected industrialist Martin Humphries. Similarly transformed by the artifact’s mysterious powers, Apacheta and Dorn now prowl the Belt, determined to find the bodies of the many victims of Harbin’s atrocities so that they can be given proper burials. Kao Yuan is the captain of Viking, owned by Martin Humphries, who’s determined to kill Dorn and Elverda because they know too much about the artifact and its power over him. But Viking’s second-in-command, Tamara Vishinsky, appears to have the real power on board ship. When Viking catches up to Apacheta and Dorn, their confrontation begins a series of events involving them, the Zacharius family, and Martin Humphries and his son in the transformation of the human solar system…

Just in time for spring training, two power hitters return to our pages. Ben Bova not only writes about the future, he has helped create it. The author of more than eighty-five futuristic novels and nonfiction books, he has been involved in science and high technology since the very beginnings of the space program. President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past president of SFWA, Dr. Bova is a frequent commentator on radio and television, and a widely popular lecturer. He has also been an award-winning editor and an executive in the aerospace industry. Rick Wilber has sold about a hundred short stories and poems, and over one thousand nonfiction articles. He is the SF reviewer for the St. Petersburg Times, and he edits the Fiction Quarterly for the Tampa Tribune. Mr. Wilber is a faculty member of the School of Mass Communications at the University of South Florida. He is also administrator of the Isaac Asimov Award for excellence in undergraduate writing that is co-sponsored by the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts and by this magazine

Here are the deadliest warriors in the universe—awesome gladiators caught in the ultimate one-on-one battles of all eternity. These explosive tales of future combat are collected here for the first time—featuring today’s acclaimed masters of science fiction

Lukka, a Hittite warrior, returns to the Hittite capital city to find it engulfed in civil war, his father murdered, and his wife and two young sons taken away by slavers. Along with a small cadre of soldiers under his command, Lukka launches an epic search for his family, which leads him to the gates of Troy as it is beseiged by the army of Agamemnon. Bova then proceeds to an original retelling of the final stages of the legendary Trojan War. In this account, Lukka serves as a literary mirror, revealing the personalities of some well-known characters, with a few surprising results. Odysseus, predictably, is practical, crafty, and a natural survivor in treacherous waters. Achilles is a born killer, but he is shown as short and ugly, and his death is decidedly unheroic. Helen is, of course, the babe of all babes, but she is also petty and whiny

The dynamic new President of the United States, James J. Halliday, seems determined to singlehandedly turn an embittered nation around from economic, political, and social ruin. No one could be prouder than his devoted press secretary Meric Albano. But is the President accomplishing this monumental task alone? After one of the President’s rare public appearances, a derelict is found dead nearby. A derelict who not only looks like the President, but whose blood, retinas, even fingerprints match those of the man in charge. Is the real President, the man Albano swore loyalty to, still in office? Is this part of a plot to topple American democracy? That’s what Albano has to find out—if he doesn’t, his life, as well as his country, will be destroyed…

Once, Dan Radolph was one of the richest men on Earth, but now that the planet is spiraling 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

Brimming with memorable characters and human conflict, rugged high-tech prospectors and boardroom betrayals, The Rock Rats continues the tale of our near-future struggle over the incalculable wealth of the Asteroid Belt. Before it ends, many will die—and many will achieve more than they ever dreamed was possible

The irrepressible Sam Gunn. A hero without peer or scruples, Sam Gunn has a nose for trouble, money, and women--though not necessarily in that order. A man with the ego (and stature) of a Napoleon, the business acumen of a P. T. Barnum, and the raging hormones of a teenage boy, Sam is the finest astronaut NASA ever trained…and dumped. But more than money, more than women, Sam Gunn loves justice. (And he really *does* love money and women.) Whether he's suing the Pope, helping twin sisters entangled in the "virtual sex" trade, or on trial for his life on charges of interplanetary genocide, you can be sure of one thing: this is one space jockey who'll meet every challenge with a smile on his lips, an ace up his sleeve…and a weapon in his pocket. Now, for the first time between covers, Hugo-winner Ben Bova presents all the tales of Sam Gunn to date, including three never before collected in book form. Here is the entire chronicle of Sam Gunn, trailblazer and scoundrel, as he scams his way from one end of the Solar System to the other, giving bold new meaning to the term “venture capitalist.”

When corporations go to war, standard business practice goes out the window. Astro Corporation is led by indomitable Texan Pancho Lane, Humphries Space Systems by the rich and ruthless Martin Humphries, and their fight is over nothing less than resources of the Asteroid Belt itself. As fighting escalates, the lines between commerce and politics, boardroom and bedroom, blur—and the keys to victory will include physics, nanotechnology, and cold, hard cash. As they fight it out, the lives of thousands of innocents hang in the balance, including the rock rats, who make their living off the asteroids, and the inhabitants of Selene City on Earth’s moon. As if matters weren’t complicated enough, the shadowy Yamagata corporation sets its sights on taking advantage of other people’s quarrels, and space pirate Lars Fuchs decides it’s time to make good on his own personal vendetta… It’s a breakneck finale that can end only in earth’s salvation—or the annihilation of all that humankind has ever accomplished in space

Pink scented smog, 3-D TV and earthquake-proof aluminium skyscrapers capable of hurtling themselves and their occupants to a safe Pacific splashdown should tremors exceed desired tolerances. This is the twenty-first century of Ben Bova’s hilarious novel, where the Vitaform Process grants nubile new bodies to the aged and a new 3-D TV series offering the illusion of almost live entertainment in the home is all that Bernard Finger, the cigar-chewing loudmouth mogul of Titanic Productions needs to save his company from the brink of financial disaster. Enter one Bill Oxnard, inventor of the 3-D holographic system, Brenda Impanema, Finger’s sexy lady assistant, Ron Gabriel, hot-tempered hot-shot script writer who hates Finger nearly as much as Finger hates him, and you’ve got the winning formula for a smashing new family series guaranteed to bring 3-D to the heart of the viewing public and make a fortune for Titanic. Or will it? Stay tuned as the whole sick crew of Titanic Productions struggles to bring you the greatest intergalactic show on earth… THE STARCROSSED

The Trikon Deception opens up the next frontier in technothriller excitement with a page-turning novel of intrigue and assassination in high orbit—co-written by the former commander of Skylab. 1998: Trikon is a vast steel island in the vacuum of space, the first industrial research laboratory to be built in orbit, designed as the only risk-free environment for genetic experiments too controversial—or dangerous—to be performed on Earth. Devised by a visionary scientist and industrialist, Trikon is a shared project of North America, Japan, and United Europe. In theory, the international companies that make up the Trikon consortium are supposed to be working together for the betterment of all humanity; in reality, espionage and sabotage are Trikon’s major projects. Mankind has gone to space, but he has brought all his greed and deceit, all his lust and violence, with him—and the hidden conspiracies aboard Trikon may bring the gigantic space station crashing down upon the innocent and the guilty alike. No one can write about space like someone who’s been there, and The Trikon Deception is an authentic space age thriller on the cutting edge of tomorrow

Dalla sceneggiatura originale di George Lucas e Walter Murch. Ecco il nuovo film del regista di Guerre Stellari, nel magistrale romanzo scritto da Ben Bova. Siamo nel XXV Secolo e la Società, per il suo bene, naturalmente, è totalmente controllata. I cittadini vengono concepiti in provetta, sviluppati in recipienti, battezzati con una sigla, educati per via intravenosa e mantenuti in stato di innocenza mediante l’uso obbligatorio di droghe. Tutti poi, le precauzioni non sono mai troppe, sono sottoposti a costante controllo elettronico. Non si vede dunque come una certa scandalosa e antichissima storia potrebbe ripetersi. E invece, puntualmente, si ripete. Solo che l’Adamo di questo Eden sociale si chiama THX 1138, mentre la sua bella compagna di stanza che lo induce in tentazione (“Tanto” dice, “chi se ne accorgerà?”) risponde al nome di LUH 3417

A novelization of the 1971 film directed by George Lucas. The perfectly controlled society. Its citizens are conceived in test tubes, nourished in vats, educated intravenously, watched by monitors, made docile by drugs. The Adam of this 25th century Eden is THX 1138; the Eve is his beautiful roommate LUH 3417. Having yielded to the temptation not to take her state-prescribed drugs, she lures THX into committing the same crime. How could anyone know? she argues. But the electronic monitor is all-seeing; instead of archangels with flaming swords there are police robots with cattle prods—and if there are any gates to this Eden, no one knows where…

2095. After long months of travel, the gigantic colony ship Goddard has at last made orbit around Saturn, carrying a population of more than of 10,000 dissidents, rebels, extremists, and visionaries seeking a new life. Among Goddard’s missions is the study of Titan, which offers the tantalizing possibility that life may exist amid its windswept islands and chill black seas. When the exploration vessel Titan Alpha mysteriously fails after reaching the moon’s surface, long buried tensions surface among the colonists. Eduoard Urbain, the mission’s chief scientist, is wracked with anxiety and despair as he sees his life’s work unravel. Malcolm Eberly, Goddard’s chief administrator, takes ruthless measures to hold onto power as a rash of suspicious incidents threaten to undermine his authority. Holly Lane, the colony’s human-resources director, must confront the station’s powerful leaders to protect the lives of its people. And retired astronaut Manuel Gaeta is forced to risk his life in a last, desperate attempt to salvage the lost probe. Torn by intrigue, sabotage, and an awesome discovery that could threaten human space exploration, a handful of courageous men and women must fight for the survival of their colony, and for the destiny of the human race

A young woman approaches the Emperor of the Hundred Worlds with a plan to save Earth—through astrophysics and engineering—before the Sun explodes and wipes out the last genetically unaltered humans in the universe

Habitat Goddard — kosmiczna arka z dziesięciotysieczną załogą na pokładzie — wchodzi na orbitę Saturna. Naukowcy wysyłają sondę na Tytana, ale zaraz po wylądowaniu przestaje ona wysyłać sygnały. Jednocześnie doktor Wunderly robi wszystko, żeby doszło do jeszcze jednego lotu przez pierścienie planety; podejrzewa, że żyją w nich mikroorganizmy

Ben Bova, author of Earth, continues his exploration of the future of a human-settled Solar System with the science fiction action adventure Uranus, the first of his Outer Planets trilogy. On a privately financed orbital habitat above the planet Uranus, political idealism conflicts with pragmatic, and illegal, methods of financing. Add a scientist who has funding to launch a probe deep into Uranus’s ocean depths to search for signs of life, and you have a three-way struggle for control. Humans can’t live on the gas giants, making instead a life in orbit. Kyle Umber, a religious idealist, has built Haven, a sanctuary above the distant planet Uranus. He invites “the tired, the sick, the poor” of Earth to his orbital retreat where men and women can find spiritual peace and refuge from the world. The billionaire who financed Haven, however, has his own designs: beyond the reach of the laws of the inner planets Haven could become the center for an interplanetary web of narcotics, prostitution, even hunting human prey. Meanwhile a scientist has gotten funding from the Inner Planets to drop remote probes into the “oceans” of Uranus, in search of life. He brings money and prestige, but he also brings journalists and government oversight to Haven. And they can’t have that

Na Ziemi następuje przełom efektu cieplarnianego: zatapianie kontynentów, wybuchy wulkanów i ruchy sejsmiczne. Przeludnienie, głód, brak surowców powodują, że dla Ziemi nie ma już chyba nadziei. Są jednak obrotni ludzie, którzy uważają, że ratunek tkwi w kosmosie, w Pasie Asteroid, z jego bogactwem we wszystkie surowce. Naukowcy dokonują odkrycia napędu fuzyjnego, który pozwoli tę ideę zrealizować. Potrzebne są jednak olbrzymie inwestycje, rozpoczyna się przepychanie korporacji, które doprowadzi do pierwszej wojny w kosmosie, Wojny o Asteroidy. W Urwisku czytelnik ponownie spotka się z bohaterami innych książek Bovy — Martinem Humphriesem (Wenus) czy Dougiem Stavengerem (Wojna o Księżyc). Wyśmienita, trzymająca w napięciu od pierwszej do ostatniej strony fantastyka

Orion finds himself thrust back to the ancient world of Greece and must prevent the Greek army from destroying the citadel of Troy. If he fails, he will lose the only woman he has ever loved. But if he succeeds, the history of the world will be changed forever. The stunning sequel to Orion

Keith Stoner, ex-astronaut turned physicist, knows the signal that his research station is receiving from space is not random. Whatever it is, it’s real. And it’s headed straight for Earth. He’ll do anything to be the first man to go out to confront this enigma. Even lose the only woman he’s ever really loved. And maybe start a world war

Sześciokrotny laureat Nagrody Hugo prezentuje wspaniały cykl powieści o eksploracji przez człowieka Układu Słonecznego, o pionierskiej walce z przeciwnościami losu, eksperymentalną technologią i grozą pustki kosmicznej. Baza Księżycowa nie może się obejśc bez nanotechnologii — dzięki niej rozrasta się, otrzymuje tlen, wodę i diament, z którego budowane są rakietowe klipry. Ale nanotechnologia zostaje zakazana przez Ziemię i ruch bigotów, zwany Nową Moralnością. Sterowana przez nich ONZ postanawia wysłać na Księżyc siły „pokojowe”, celem zamknięcia Bazy. Lunonauci odpowiadają ogłoszeniem niepodległości

Albo jesteśmy sami we wszechświecie albo nie jesteśmy;każda z tych możliwości jest zaskoczeniem dla umysłu. Lee Dubridge