Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed Jupiter (Grand Tour of the Universe, Bk 8) on + 1176 more book reviews
I have read a few of Bova's other novels in his Grand Tour of the Solar System including VENUS, POWERSAT, and PRIVATEERS. I have for the most part enjoyed these hard sci-fi looks at future explorations. I have several others in the series waiting patiently to be read and I finally got around to JUPITER which has been on my shelves for over ten years.
The protagonist of the story is Grant Archer who was studying astrophysics and wanted to get his doctorate by spending four years on the moon. But then he is called in by the "New Morality" and told to go to a research station orbiting Jupiter to spy on the scientists working there. Because the New Morality is against finding any form of intelligent alien life because it would be against scripture that "man was made in God's image." The scientists work may lead to such a discovery on Jupiter. So Grant has to forego his wishes and travel to Jupiter leaving his newly married wife behind on Earth. Once he gets there, he eventually gets pulled into the research and goes on a mission to the depths of Jupiter's endless atmosphere and down to its all-encompassing ocean where the missions indeed discovers life. But is it intelligent? And will Grant and the rest of the crew survive?
This was another enjoyable space romp from Bova. Bova brought in some science to make the story more believable including using a thick chemical liquid that the crew must breath and be immersed in during the mission to alleviate some of Jupiter's massive pressure. The crew is also directly connected to the space probe using bioimplants that enable them to control the ship using only their minds. The added peril of the "New Morality" also gave an added boost to the story and reminded me of today's far-right political agendas even though this was originally published in 2001. I would overall recommend this one and I'm hoping to get to more of Bova's series sometime soon.
The protagonist of the story is Grant Archer who was studying astrophysics and wanted to get his doctorate by spending four years on the moon. But then he is called in by the "New Morality" and told to go to a research station orbiting Jupiter to spy on the scientists working there. Because the New Morality is against finding any form of intelligent alien life because it would be against scripture that "man was made in God's image." The scientists work may lead to such a discovery on Jupiter. So Grant has to forego his wishes and travel to Jupiter leaving his newly married wife behind on Earth. Once he gets there, he eventually gets pulled into the research and goes on a mission to the depths of Jupiter's endless atmosphere and down to its all-encompassing ocean where the missions indeed discovers life. But is it intelligent? And will Grant and the rest of the crew survive?
This was another enjoyable space romp from Bova. Bova brought in some science to make the story more believable including using a thick chemical liquid that the crew must breath and be immersed in during the mission to alleviate some of Jupiter's massive pressure. The crew is also directly connected to the space probe using bioimplants that enable them to control the ship using only their minds. The added peril of the "New Morality" also gave an added boost to the story and reminded me of today's far-right political agendas even though this was originally published in 2001. I would overall recommend this one and I'm hoping to get to more of Bova's series sometime soon.
A well told sci-fi story by a master.
One of the best I have read in a while!
