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    Venus
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    Venus
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    Venus
    Ebook468 pages6 hours

    Venus

    By Ben Bova

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    The surface of Venus is the most hellish place in the solar system. The ground is hot enough to melt aluminum. The air pressure is so high it has crushed spacecraft landers as though they were tin cans. The sky is perpetually covered with clouds of sulfuric acid. The atmosphere is a choking mixture of carbon dioxide and poisonous gases.

    This is where Van Humphries must go. Or die trying.

    His older brother perished in the first attempt to land a man on Venus, years before, and his father had always hated Van for surviving when his brother died. Now his father is offering a ten billion dollar prize to the first person to land on Venus and return his oldest son's remains.

    To everyone's surprise, Van takes up the offer. But what Van Humphries will find on Venus will change everything--our understanding of Venus, of global warming on Earth, and his knowledge of who he is.



    At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateMay 15, 2001
    ISBN9781429969635
    Unavailable
    Venus
    Author

    Ben Bova

    Dr. Ben Bova has not only helped to write about the future, he helped create it. The author of more than one hundred futuristic novels and nonfiction books, he has been involved in science and advanced technology since the very beginnings of the space program. President Emeritus of the National Space Society, 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.

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    Reviews for Venus

    3.5/5

    131 ratings8 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Thin plot, poor character development, fast read. There is also a trace of sexism and racism. Despite all these faults it is a pace pace story which I read in just a few hours. THis is the first Ben Bova book that I have read and it may be the last. I should add it was good escape from the other books that I am currently reading.
    • 4/5
      Venus by Ben Bova was first released on audio in abridged format in 2002. I reviewed in it 2004, and from what I wrote there I liked it just fine. This unabridged version (no surprise) was a different and better experience.I am a fan of Ben Bova’s didactic Grand Tour novels. I like how I come away from each of these novels with a better understanding of how space travel works at our current level of knowledge. I also like how Bova uses what we know about the planets before he starts speculating.In Venus, eccentric billionaire Martin Humphries summons his son, Van Humpries, to the moon. Prior to the story, Martin’s oldest son Alex had crashed on Venus and was presumed dead. Martin tells Van that he’s offering $10 billion to the person who can retrieve Alex’s remains and that he’s paying for it by cutting Van off financially. Van surprises his father by taking up the challenge himself. There is one other taker, so two teams vie for the prize. Two ships, separately designed and built to withstand the extreme conditions on Venus, race to snag human remains off the surface.The plot is interesting and satisfying (though with a bit of clunky foreshadowing), but the star of the story is Venus. Bova’s characters reach Venus quickly, so the bulk of the novel is spent floating in their ships. It’s incredibly hot, and the atmosphere thick and roiling. Both ships were designed as dirigibles. Once the crafts reached the atmosphere, they floated like airships through the currents, sinking slowly toward the surface. Of course, it’s not that easy. There are plenty of surprises.Stefan Rudnicki narrates, and yet again I enjoyed him. He’s one of the best narrators we have. I’m always pleased to hear him perform a good piece of science fiction.
    • 3/5
      Not everyone's cup of tea...quite pulpy science fiction, but I've become a sucker for Bova's "Grand Tour" series, as I attempt to write a sermon-series on the planets and the mythology that surrounds their names.
    • 4/5
      Fun sci-fi read with family rivalries and loyalties that change as the read progresses. The penetration of Venus was believable and I hung on every word. I have worked for leaders like the captain of the space ship Lucifer--domineering and insecure. On to the next book in the series.
    • 4/5
      Venus by Ben Bova is part of the author’s Grand Tour series, which deals with the exploration of the planets in our solar system. Venus is the nearest planet to Earth and about the same size as Earth. However, it is closer to the Sun than Earth and Bova describes Venus as “the most hellish place in the solar system.” Its atmosphere is dominated by sulfuric acid and carbon dioxide, with only negligible traces of oxygen and nitrogen. The surface temperatures are well above 450 degrees Celsius (nearly 900 degree Fahrenheit) and the atmospheric pressure at ground level is equal to the pressure more than a kilometer below the surface of an ocean on Earth. In addition, Venus rotates around its axis so slowly that a single Venusian day is 225 Earth days. The “hellish” environment has prohibited Earthlings from establishing any colonies on Venus and even from exploring the planet. Unmanned probes have gathered some information, but all of them ceased their data transmission within very short time frames after entering the Venusian atmosphere. However, three years ago Alex Humphries and his crew made the voyage to Venus and he attempted to land on the Venusian surface, but no one survived that voyage. Now Alex’s father, a very wealthy, powerful and ruthless industrialist/business man has offered a reward of ten billion dollars to anyone who succeeds in locating his son’s remains and returning them to Earth. Van Humphries, Alex’s younger brother, accepts the challenge even though he has no realistic experience that would indicate he could be successful in such a venture and he has a serious blood condition that requires regular medication. However Van embarks on the recovery mission to Venus because his father previously informed him that he will no longer support him and Van needs the money because and also because his loved his older brother. As usual, Bova weaves a complex story including much plausible scientific data and action. Van and his crew encounter much hardship, danger, and tragedy in the Venusian atmosphere, beginning shortly after they descend into the upper atmosphere and discover that something is eating away the hull of their ship. During the trip, Van evolves into a strong leader who accepts responsibility for decisions and risks his life for the mission. In addition, he must risk accepting the help of Lars Fuchs, a bitter enemy of his father and a competitor in the competition to retrieve Alex’s body and win the $10 billion reward. Venus is another very enjoyable and well-crafted space exploration adventure. The characters are very well developed, unique, and believable. This book provides much tension and suspenseful action and it kept me reading with enthusiasm until the very satisfying conclusion.
    • 4/5
      No New Morality make an appearance in this book, which makes a nice change. I am still quite unconvinced of Bova's treatment of women, but it seems in this instance the author intentionally makes the main character behave in a sexist manner, to be redeemed later on.That aside, the science (the reason I'm still reading Bova), is entertaining, particularly biologically. The climate change storyline is very heavy handed. I suspect climate science progressed somewhat since the book was written, but unfortunately in the present realm of knowledge, wanting to use Venus to scare people into believing in climate change seems ridiculous.
    • 3/5
      One of the books in the “Grand Tour” series by Hugo award winner Ben Bova, Venus is a novel about space travel and exploring new worlds. It is also a classic “underdog” tale with a bit of the “coming-of-age” genre mixed in. The book itself is set sometime in the future where the moon has been colonized, rejuvenation treatments are common so no one really grows old anymore, and man has tried to explore other worlds in search of life and life-sustainable living environments.Venus has a harsh climate – that much is known. The first attempt to actually explore the planet fails and results in the death of the explorer, Alex Humphries, the elder son of billionaire tycoon, Martin Humphries. Humphries, a cold, hard, domineering man has one son remaining - Van. Unlike the now dead Alex, Van is frail and resented by his father for surviving. Van also has a potentially fatal condition – pernicious anemia, in which the red cells in his blood are unable to replicate. To keep alive Van must inject himself at regular intervals with a life-giving enzyme. Not quite the able, confident son Martin wanted, Van is loathed and mocked by his unloving father as “Runt”. I pulled in a deep breath, then stood as straight as I could manage. “And it’s lovely to see you too, Father.” “Aren’t you enjoying my party?” “You know better.” “Then what’d you come for, Runt?” “Your lawyer said that you’d cut off my stipend if I didn’t attend your party.” “Your allowance,” he sneered. “I earn that money.” “By playing at being a scientist. Now your brother, there was a real scientist.”Van lives a rich socialite’s life, dabbling in science, on the allowance his wealthy father scornfully gives him. The only two people who actually ever loved him, his mother and his elder brother Alex, are now dead, and Van is surrounded by fair-weather friends. When on his 100th birthday, Martin announces that he is cutting off Van’s allowance, Van finds himself almost penniless. When Martin also announces an award of ten billion dollars to any explorer who brings him back Alex’s remains from Venus, Van, tempted by the award money and the desire to explore the inhospitable planet in Alex’s name, decides to launch a mission to Venus. “I’m going to take your prize money,” I said. That popped his eyes open. “What ?” “I’ll go to Venus, I’ll find Alex’s body.” “You?” he laughed. “He was my brother!” I said. “I loved him.” “I had to twist your arm to get you to come up here to the Moon, and now you think you’re going to Venus?” He seemed enormously amused by the idea. “You don’t think I can do it?” “I know you can’t do it, Runt. You won’t even try, despite your brave talk.” “I’ll show you!” I snapped. “I’ll take your damned prize money!” Smirking, he answered, “Of course you will. And elephants can fly.”Van, however noble his intentions, has stiff competition, because there is one other man angling for the award He is Lars Fuchs, Martin’s sworn enemy, a ruthless renegade out to wreak the worst kind of revenge on Martin and his family. . .This is true-blue science fiction, but it is also a “human” story, with lots of drama, emotion and unexpected twists thrown in. Quite a satisfying combination. Told in first person, we see the story unfold from Van’s point of view. Bova fleshes out Van’s character nicely, and really Van is quite the underdog. He has fainting spells (when there is a delay in taking the enzyme), is incapable of exertion, is frightened of new adventures, and mostly takes the easy way out. When faced with true scientists who revel in investigation, he realizes that he has just “been playing” at it.Van is regarded by others, as a wishy-washy character, incapable of accomplishing anything of value. With his impulsive decision to go to Venus, Van surprises others (and himself), but hellish Venus is going to test him as he has never been tested before. As the main protagonist, Van was a bit on the weak side, never quite able to energize me into rooting for him wholeheartedly. Since he is the narrator, we are privy to all his fears, which takes away from his character, because really, don’t most of us want our heroes to stand tall, feeling not even the smallest twinge of fear in the face of grievous danger ?This is the first book by Bova that I have read, and even though a part of a series, stands alone quite well. Bova is good at description, develops arresting characters, and keeps the events in the book moving pretty quickly. This book was an excellent read, un-put-down-able after about a 100 pages. Each book in the Grand tour series is focused on a planet in our solar system. If they’re anything like “Venus” and I’ve heard they all are at least as good, if not better, they go straight on my to-read list.
    • 3/5
      Not everyone's cup of tea...quite pulpy science fiction, but I've become a sucker for Bova's "Grand Tour" series, as I attempt to write a sermon-series on the planets and the mythology that surrounds their names.