Colony

by Ben Bova

In the Future, Everything is Different.
But Nothing Has Changed.

"The Earth has been poisoned by pollution, choked by overpopulation, and ravaged by the mindless greed of power-hungry corporations. A fragile peace is threatened by landless revolutionaries and global anarchy seems imminent.

Yet a single ray of hope remains..."

Island One is a celestial utopia, and David Adams is its most perfect creation—a man with a brain as advanced as any computer and a body free of human frailties. But David is a prisoner—a captive of the colony that created him—destined to spend the days of his life in an island-sized cylinder that circles a doomed and desperate home planet. Thousands of miles below him, a world trembles; its people cringe in terror and despair in anticipation of an impending apocalypse. And as Earth's boundaries, fate has cast one extraordinary human in the role of savior. For David Adams has a plan—one that will ultimately ensure the salvation of his species... or its annihilation.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ben Bova, six-time Hugo Award winner and author of more than eighty futuristic novels and nonfiction books, has been involved in science and high technology since the beginning of the space program. Formerly president of Science-fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and President Emeritus of the National Space Society, Bova is a frequent commentator on radio and television, and a popular lecturer. He has also been an editor and an executive in the aerospace industry.

His novels, such as Mars, The Exiles Trilogy, and The Grand Tour series, combine romance, adventure, and scientific accuracy to explore the impact of technological developments on individuals and on society as a whole. His nonfiction books, such as Welcome to Moonbase and Assured Survival, show how modern technology can be used to solve economic, social and political problems.

Bova has taught science fiction writing at Harvard University and at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City. He lectures regularly on topics dealing with the space program, energy, the craft of writing, and the art of predicting the future. His audiences have included the National Geographic Society, government and corporate executive groups. He has worked with film makers and television producers, such as Woody Allen, George Lucas and Gene Roddenberry.

Bova has appeared on hundreds of radio and television broadcasts. He was a regular guest on CBS Morning News, and has appeared frequently on Good Morning America and the Today show.


Hurry, don't let humanity die out -- lift off for the colony of Island One immediately!

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Space

516 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 1978

About the author

Ben Bova was born on November 8, 1932 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1953, while attending Temple University, he married Rosa Cucinotta, they had a son and a daughter. He would later divorce Rosa in 1974. In that same year he married Barbara Berson Rose.

Bova was an avid fencer and organized Avco Everett's fencing club. He was an environmentalist, but rejected Luddism.

Bova was a technical writer for Project Vanguard and later for Avco Everett in the 1960s when they did research in lasers and fluid dynamics. It was there that he met Arthur R. Kantrowitz later of the Foresight Institute.

In 1971 he became editor of Analog Science Fiction after John W. Campbell's death. After leaving Analog, he went on to edit Omni during 1978-1982.

In 1974 he wrote the screenplay for an episode of the children's science fiction television series Land of the Lost entitled "The Search".

Bova was the science advisor for the failed television series The Starlost, leaving in disgust after the airing of the first episode. His novel The Starcrossed was loosely based on his experiences and featured a thinly veiled characterization of his friend and colleague Harlan Ellison. He dedicated the novel to "Cordwainer Bird", the pen name Harlan Ellison uses when he does not want to be associated with a television or film project.

Bova was the President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past President of Science-fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).

Bova went back to school in the 1980s, earning an M.A. in communications in 1987 and a Ph.D. in 1996.

Bova has drawn on these meetings and experiences to create fact and fiction writings rich with references to spaceflight, lasers, artificial hearts, nanotechnology, environmentalism, fencing and martial arts, photography and artists.

Bova was the author of over a hundred and fifteen books, non-fiction as well as science fiction. In 2000, he was the Author Guest of Honor at the 58th World Science Fiction Convention (Chicon 2000).

Hollywood has started to take an interest in Bova's works once again, in addition to his wealth of knowledge about science and what the future may look like. In 2007, he was hired as a consultant by both Stuber/Parent Productions to provide insight into what the world is to look like in the near future for their upcoming film "Repossession Mambo" (released as "Repo Men") starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker and by Silver Pictures in which he provided consulting services on the feature adaptation of Richard Morgan's "Altered Carbon".

http://us.macmillan.com/author/benbova

Reviews

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the cover blurb and artwork this is less a story about life on an orbiting space station than a story of population explosion, revolution, and conflict between corporations and the World Government. As such it's more of a novel of ideas, politics and sociology than I was expecting, which was a pleasant surprise. It's sometimes a little clunky, characterisation is kept to a minimum, and Bova throws in some incongruous explicit sex and violence (and sexual violence) towards the end in order to keep our attention, but it still just about works as an SF thriller with a refreshingly optimistic ending.

[Margaret Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad read, engaging characters, definitely a work of its time period with dated views on women, politics, and technology, but that's to be expected. The real interesting part, to me, was Bova's insight on the selfishness of megalomaniacs, and how to believably engage them in a manner such that their behavior works for you. Bova really understands human motivation and creates very believable conflicts and resolutions. He's truly a master craftsman and his book consistently held my attention.

[Ricky Patten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had a really good stream of great books recently, and Colony by Ben Bova is no exception.

I was recommended this book in one of those Youtube videos probably by Bookpilled who I find to have quite an objective view. I thank him for that as I had never read a Ben Bova before and it has opened up a whole new world of excellent hard core Science fiction for me.

What's GREAT!

I really like what in my youth was simply referred to as science fiction. These days where there are a multitude of sci-fi streams, it is commonly grouped under the heading of hard core science fiction. More exactingly this era is "The Second Golden Age of Science Fiction" which dominated the late 60's through to 80's and was typified by hard, technical, idea driven sci-fi.

As I read I also explored who Ben was, which is just as interesting, and which also told me lots about why I found Colony so much fun to read.

Besides being the author of a whole big range of books, including many multi-volume series, Bova was also the editor of Analog from 1972-1978. Analog was one of the pivot publishers of sci-fi short stories, and as a teenager I revealed in picking up copies and immersing myself in these fantastic stories.

I also discovered that Bova published several books on how to write sci-fi, which I have ordered one, as I think the words of the sage will be very interesting to read.

Bova is a total page turner!

Number one criteria to judge any book is whether the pages keep turning in front of your eyes and you never tire reading a book. Bova totally maxed that for me, I found myself sneaking away for little breaks to suck in a few more dozen pages. Woweee what a book!

This in itself should recommend Colony to any and everyone who enjoys reading books.

Who should read Colony?

Just about anyone interested in sci-fi I reckon reading a Bova is a must do. I researched that there are a few books by Bova which are thought to be better, I've ordered two, so read Colony or research something that you think will suit your fancy more. Bova provides you with many choices.

YES this is science base sci-fi .... that's what's meant by hard core sci-fi. It's not so much in your face that someone who's not interested in the engineering and science will be affronted by it.

Anyone who really likes a good story. Here, I think, is where Bova really makes his mark. The author is such a good story teller, well balanced humanistic as well as science based approach to weaving a tale worth reading.

Who should not read Colony?

If you're not into sci-fi don't read Colony, you'll have a much better time with the genre of your choice.

Wrap Up

Colony is an excellent example of the best that science fiction can offer. Ben Bova's writing style is really good, he really knows his stuff. If you enjoy sci-fi, a good adventure story, or just love reading well written books ... Ben Bova's Colony is for you.

[Mick · Rating 1 out of 5]

This has nothing to do with a colony. It is all about the politics of a space station orbiting the sun that is a place for the rich elite to go to escape the earth. Meanwhile earth is on the verge of collapse.

Contrit. Predictable. And racist to boot (the blacks start all the trouble). Skip this one.

[Tymothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good look into a near future with permanent space colonies and slightly better over-all technology. The only thing that detracted from it was the outdated look at class/ethnic divisiveness. I would like to have read more about people off-Earth, but it was still a good read.

[Dollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this novel about a young engineered, advanced human, David Adams, who lives in a giant cylinder (Island One) orbiting the Earth with 10,000 other humans. On Earth there is widespread pollution and overpopulation, leading to disease and massive starvation. There's lots of political and social unrest. When Island One is highjacked by a terrorist group, the high-jackers obtain control of the solar power satellites which provide power to Earth. They start shutting them down. David, who knows everything about Island One, must figure out how to get back control of the station and get the power back on before millions on Earth freeze to death. Although the is language is not politically correct (and really surprised me) this was a good story with characters I liked. However, it was very outdated, written in 1978 and the events in the book take place in 2028. Unless there’s a giant tube up there that I don’t know about, the story didn’t have as much impact as it might have if I’d read it 40 years ago.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty typical Bova: an interesting concept marred by poor follow-through, trite dialogue that reads like a novelization, and ever worsening racial and gender stereotypes. Ben was a product of his time and never escaped it.

Still, this is better than other books he wrote.

[Samuel Lubell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bova is often criticized for his lack of characterization but I found several of the characters interesting -- just not the main character David Adams. But the idea of a group of superich manipulating everyone to keep Earth impoverished except for their cabal on a space station rings all too true today.

[Margaret Unger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh, this read like a really, really bad Hollywood movie. If it weren't so old, I'd think it was a parody of the many similar crappy Hollywood sci-fis. The only reason I'm not giving it 1 star is because some of the world described by the book was creative.

[Jimbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book about the future of the earth. with over population and a government about to have civil war the only hope is a colony in space called Island one.
i really liked this book alot.

[Nolan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Three big issues sink this book for me, and getting them out upfront clears the way for the rest.

First, it's easily 50% too long. The story could pack twice the punch at half the length—trim the padding, and it'd feel far sharper.

Second, it's so steeped in late-'70s anxieties that it comes across as quaint, outdated, and unintentionally funny now. Bova delivers wide-open sermons on the "population bomb" and its doomsday horrors. Anyone who lived through that era recalls the panic peddled by forecasters back then. Today, with fertility rates plummeting worldwide, those warnings land like punchlines. The earnest preaching just doesn't age well.

Third—and this one hits hard if you're a guy—Bova's handling of women drags the reader straight back to awkward high-school days. Male characters fixate on breasts and hips far more than on talent, skill, or intellect. It's that unfortunate trio—length, dated worldview, and sexist lens—that caps this at two stars for me.

That said, I don't hate it. I'll pick up more Bova soon (probably in days rather than weeks), but the plot couldn't quite overcome those core problems.

David Adams is a genetically engineered man living on Island One, the gleaming headquarters of a massive corporate conglomerate that manipulates Earth through engineered weather shifts and diseases. Nations are rebelling against the one-world government, yearning to reclaim old national borders, while the global authority fights back.

David meets Evelyn, a sharp British journalist who arrives to profile him. His handlers quickly ship her back to Earth, leaving him grieving. Determined to find her, he heads planetside by any means possible.

There, he crosses paths with a striking Arab woman who's become a leading terrorist. Furious at the one-world regime—especially after it destroyed the man she loved—she escalates her fight. Soon she hijacks an Earth-bound shuttle from Island One, with David among the passengers.

From that point, my attention drifted. I'd reread sections I'd zoned out on, then question if it was worth the effort to keep going.

What did hold my interest, though, was the book's undercurrent of angst about big corporations pulling strings from on high. We feel the same unease today—we just swap in "big tech" or "AI" for the faceless conglomerate. Different labels, same old anxiety. It's oddly fascinating to see how little the fear has changed in fifty years.

Overall, you might think I disliked the book. I didn't hate it, but it left no real emotional mark. Avid readers know that feeling: finishing a truly great book brings a quiet, lingering goodbye—a mental hug, a firm handshake, a pause before hitting delete as you savor what it stirred in you. With “Colony”, I managed only a half-hearted wave goodbye. No hovering, no reverence—just moving on.

[Margot · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the year 2028, a corporation-owned, space-station colony, Island One, circles in orbit around the moon. Downside, on Earth, the formation of the World Government, twenty years earlier, saved the planet from destruction through all-out war. But now their tenuous control of the planet is slipping, no thanks to the greedy corporations who have developed weather-modification technologies to sabotage the economies of already struggling countries, making them easier to overthrow by the revolutionary groups who are cropping up like weeds. David Adams, the first "test tube" biologically enhanced baby, born and bred on Island One, is now a man and ready to leave the colony to embark on a new adventure on Earth. He instead finds himself in the hands of the People's Revolutionary Underground (the PRU), and a sometimes ally, sometimes enemy of its beautiful Arab princess leader Scheherazade. Now he must choose whether to help the revolutionaries or protect his home of Island One.

Ben Bova is a peer of the father's of science fiction, and wrote this novel in 1978. Sci-fi novels of that time are really hit or miss for me, and this one unsurprisingly was just okay. I knew nothing about it, going in, other than my mom used to own a copy and that's how it ended up on my To Read list. So I really read it more to get it off my to list than for any particular interest. However, I do enjoy reading sci-fi books from the 1970s and seeing how their predictions turned out or didn't. I doubt we're going to found some kind of space-station colony within the next ten years. However, I found the politics aspects of the story pretty believable. The idea and characters were interesting(ish) but not super captivating or sympathetic. In the end, I bumped up the speed on the audiobook just to get this one wrapped up.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so interesting to read, I picked it up randomly not knowing anything about it (including when it was written) and after a few chapters I had to find out WHEN it was written, and found it was from 1978. Suddenly so many of the attitudes in the book made more sense. It's set just a decade from now, but history since 1978 has been vastly different.
From the aspect of how the world has evolved, kinda of an alternative history, it was interesting, and I found myself thinking about themes in the book a lot. The way women characters are treated in the book was hard to not find annoying, it was pretty much just about their love lives. Even the character who was a lead revolutionary, only did things that related directly to who she loved. It's like women didn't progress in any way since the 70's.
Setting that aside, I thought it was interesting both how close and how far apart our technological advances were. When computers were referred to, it was a pre-PC world, where central computers have terminal access. Though regular people were in space! In some ways the people in the book were far advanced, and in others, we are.
The world population spoken about in the book is comparable to actual world population now, but in our world it's not causing global famine (thankfully!) though a few corporations holding a lot of power rings true.
I'm interested in reading something more recent from the author, and curious to see if the way he writes women has changed.

[Mircea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh boy where to even start with this one.

This is a sociological analysis with malthusian influences set "five minutes into the future" written in 1970s US of A. This comes with a bunch of cultural baggage in and of itself, and I would judge to require some understanding of US racial background and social theory, which which I only have passing familiarity. The book features de facto racial segregation, severe income disparity, trivialized sexual abuse, corporate-government clashes, globalist and anti-globalist approaches, corporate-sponsored political actors, and a bunch of other concepts that,

a) are presented in a very stereotypical '70s way - there's a bunch of racial N-word spouting, sex scenes verge on non-consensual to a 2021 reader, the whole thing just reads like a blaxploitation movie script at times. To the point that the audiobook narrator uses '70s jive when relating black characters. This extends to other cultures and identities, with very stereotypical middle eastern and asian characters.

b) somehow are still resonating in 2021. What in the absolute F-word.

It's unpolished at times, it's more of a retro-futuristic adventure with sociological concepts sprinkled in, the whole space station thing is merely backdrop.

But, I was definitely entertained.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A really compelling thriller written so long ago that it's somewhat quaint. David is a test tube baby, born in a lab, peak of perfection, who gets entangled in a love triangle while working with and against a global revolutionary terrorist group intent on bringing justice to the world government. Which is just effing wild on its own. The nice thing is that not so much of it is so futuristic or so outlandish that it stretches the bounds of credulity (the book takes place in 2008, but was written in 1978, so 30 years difference).

The real problem I had with the book is the 1978 racism. First, black characters (and only black characters) speak in dialect instead of the same English everyone else uses - clearly so that we would understand that they're not white. A strange choice, even for 1978, I think; especially when the Arab and Latino characters do not also speak in dialects. Additionally, there are some casual and directed uses of the n-word, though I believe mostly by the black characters? I dunno - I understand it was written in a different time, but it also could've been excluded and not changed the story. Also, 1978 feels late enough to envision a world 30 years in the future where racism is not necessary - especially given all the other sci-fi stuff in here.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was saddened by the news of Bova's passing and wanted to read something by him. I picked the wrong book. Oh it's terrible. Not so much the writing itself, which is competent, and the tech details are fun, and there's a certain charm to world politics through a 1970s lens, but oh gaaawd ... everything involving women or minorities is gross. Black and brown men are never alone with a woman and not trying to rape her, women are raped by white men but then try to heroically save the "poor old man" later because apparently we were supposed to read that gross scene as consensual or something?

gross, gross, gross.

I suffered through to the end because I kept hoping I was reading it wrong and the true heroes were going to rise ... but no. It's all about how only a privileged blond man can really understand what the world needs.

In order to do right by a guy whose career as an editor I admire I'm going to try a more recent book now. Hopefully, there'll be some lessons learned.

[James]

In the Future, Everything is Different. But Nothing Has Changed.The Earth has been poisoned by pollution, choked by overpopulation, and ravaged by the mindless greed of power-hungry corporations. A fragile peace is threatened by landless revolutionaries and global anarchy seems imminent.Yet a single ray of hope remains. . .Island One is a celestial utopia, and David Adams is its most perfect creation - a man with a brain as advanced as any computer and a body free of human frailties. But David is a prisoner -- a captive of the colony that created him -- destined to spend the days of his life in an island-sized cylinder that circles a doomed and desperate home planet. Thousands of miles below him, a world trembles; its people cringe in terror and despair in anticipation of an impending apocalypse. And as Earth's boundaries, fate has cast one extraordinary human in the role of savior. For David Adams has a plan -- one that will ultimately ensure the salvation of his species . . . or its annihilation.

[Will Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben Bova books are never earth shattering, but they are usually interesting and quite a bit of a ride. While they do not always line up from a timeline point of view, they do still fit. You can see that Ben has a vision for how he see's mankind's reach into space will transpire. While it may or may not come off that way when we finally do get past our own orbit, he does make a startlingly realistic and plausible premonition of how that might unfold. The politics of his books are always were the greatest tension happens and Colony is no different. This is a future you can see happening.

[Richp · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read enough of Bova to conclude his real strength is political science fiction. His characters and scenes are not the best, and neither is his handling of science and technology. Like some other reviewers I found these aspects tough to take at times. But the politics and psychology of power were handled well, and this carries the book.

[Chris Hoggart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A relatively simple read with some pertinent undertones regarding many of the world's ongoing problems. Characters are thinly developed, but that means that you pay more attention to the idealogical and philosophical points raised, rather than getting involved to deeply with the protagonists. By turns cheesy and thought provoking...

[Lou Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really a 3.5. Good story!

David is a genetically enhanced, grown in a synthetic womb after his mother died after being savagely attacked. He lives on Island One a space habitat that not only sustains itself but also send power to earth. Fascinating read but there are places where the words don’t make sense until I read them several times.

[Chuck Alley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has not aged particularly well WRT issues with race and sex. Also I did this one as a an audio book from my library. The performer, Stefan. Rudnick, has the deep, gravelly, sometimes slurred voice of an older man, and this distracted me often. It is still a good story, seems fairly prophetic given modern day events. Sadly though, no large habitation facility at L4 yet IRL.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

While somewhat prescient, this book is very much a product of its' time and I don't think it has aged well and had so much more potential. An easy read, if you can get past some of the language and stereo-typing in this book.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bova documents the future history of human expansion into our solar system and beyond better than any other current writer.
That said, I don't find his characters interpersonal relationships all that interesting.
A good read.

[Tuesday Kuykendall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up an old copy at Powells books in Portland Oregon. More for the cover than the book. I already read it, and several other Ben Bova books. It was okay. It shouldn't be judged against todays Sci-Fi though. His later work (post 2020) is better. Worth a read for fans of genre fiction history.

[Mr Roy Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

470 pages

[Andy Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good!

[Lois Jolson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mom

[Mark Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

A massive tale combining John Brunner style big society with action adventure

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and sort of seems like it could fit inside the Grand Tour. but at the time it is different and more real. I liked it.