Ratings2
Average rating2.5
Hugo Award winner Ben Bova continues his grand tour of the human settled solar system with a fan-pleasing look at life in the Outer Planets, among the moons of Neptune. In the future, humanity has spread throughout the solar system, on planets and moons once visited only by robots or explored at a distance by far-voyaging spacecraft. No matter how hostile or welcoming the environment, mankind has forged a path and found a home. In the far reaches of the solar system, the outer planets—billions of miles from Earth, unknown for millennia—are being settled. Neptune, the ice giant, is swathed in clouds of hydrogen, helium, and methane and circled by rings of rock and dust. Three years ago, Ilona Magyr’s father, Miklos, disappeared while exploring the seas of Neptune. Everyone believes he is dead—crushed, frozen, or boiled alive in Neptune’s turbulent seas. With legendary space explorer Derek Humbolt piloting her ship and planetary scientist Jan Meitner guiding the search, Ilona Magyr knows she will find her father—alive—on Neptune. Her plans are irrevocably altered when she and her team discover the wreckage of an alien ship deep in Neptune’s ocean, a discovery which changes humanity’s understanding of its future...and its past. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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Series
Series
23 primary books#25 in The Grand Tour
The Grand Tour is a 23-book series with 23 released primary works first released in 1985 with contributions by Ben Bova.
Series
2 primary books#2 in Outer Planets Trilogy
Outer Planets Trilogy is a 2-book series with 2 released primary works first released in 2020 with contributions by Ben Bova.
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3 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
The wealthy Ilona Magyr can't accept that her father died researching the oceans of Neptune. So, she's funding a brand new expedition to find out the truth about what happened to him.
Review
While I've enjoyed parts of Ben Bova's Grand Tour series, I found the last entry, Uranus, to be outdated and effectively past its prime. This book, while not great, is happily better, if somewhat summary in execution.
One of Bova's strengths is usually the relative credibility of his science and engineering. Here, it's still fairly believable, but it also feels very rushed, as does the plot. There are loose ends (e.g., a mystery signal under the ocean of Neptune that is mentioned and then never pursued), a lack of character development (which is not a Bova strength), and a certain amount of repetition. All in all, the book felt like it was released well before it was ready. The book will be released in August 2021, and Bova died in November 2020; I'm not sure if that had something to do with it. It's unfortunate that his last book isn't great, but at least he didn't go out with the very weak Uranus, and he did leave a body of genuinely strong work behind.
This book is a poor starting point for an appreciation of Bova's writing. If you are a fan of Bova or the Grand Tour, though, it's an okay – if by no means necessary – place to stop and see him off. And, since this was billed as a trilogy, it's possible there's one more book left in the pipeline. This one certainly calls for a sequel, but based on its state, I suspect any final book would be even less finished.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
