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The Trikon Deception
Writing with the astronaut Bill Pogue, Ben bova has created a breathtakingly believable thriller set in the near future in space...
Earth has become an ecological nightmare. Overhead, on a vast metallic island in space, the scientists of the Trikon project undertake research too risky to be conducted anywhere else - research which could save the planet.
Then Commander Dan Tighe discovers the truth. Trikon's new priority is espionage. The scientists - consumed by greed, lust and drugs - are running the lab for their own gain. And one of the crew is trying to destroy the whole station...
Only Commander Tighe can save the Trikon station - and only the Trikon can save the earth.
Earth has become an ecological nightmare. Overhead, on a vast metallic island in space, the scientists of the Trikon project undertake research too risky to be conducted anywhere else - research which could save the planet.
Then Commander Dan Tighe discovers the truth. Trikon's new priority is espionage. The scientists - consumed by greed, lust and drugs - are running the lab for their own gain. And one of the crew is trying to destroy the whole station...
Only Commander Tighe can save the Trikon station - and only the Trikon can save the earth.
480 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
9 people are currently reading
250 people want to read
About the author
Ben Bova
715 books1,039 followersBen 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 3, 2019
This is my second Ben Bova novel. The story is about a group of people on a space station above earth who are developing a biological agent for eating earth’s pollution. Of course, wouldn’t that be cool if these folks accomplished their goals? Wouldn’t it also be cool to get some scientific insights related to their projects? But no, there’s no “hard science” in this novel. So if there’s no hard science, is this a tale of the human condition in a space station microcosm? There are lots of characters, lots of stereotypes, and lots of action.
Sometimes, flat characters tickle my funny bone, but these characters are irritatingly and tediously simple. They wonder who is sleeping with whom, who’s getting the most political clout, whether zero G makes their butt look fat, and how to escape being in range of their smelly and corpulent East Indian colleague. Is this supposed to be funny? Is it supposed highlight the base nature of the human condition? To me, the flimsy characters seem sexist and racist and makes the whole story fall flat. No more Ben Bova for me.
Sometimes, flat characters tickle my funny bone, but these characters are irritatingly and tediously simple. They wonder who is sleeping with whom, who’s getting the most political clout, whether zero G makes their butt look fat, and how to escape being in range of their smelly and corpulent East Indian colleague. Is this supposed to be funny? Is it supposed highlight the base nature of the human condition? To me, the flimsy characters seem sexist and racist and makes the whole story fall flat. No more Ben Bova for me.
May 25, 2020
Bova, Ben, and Bill Pogue. The Trikon Deception. 1992 Tor, 2006.
Longtime near-future science fiction author Ben Bova and Skylab astronaut Bill Pogue would seem to be the dream team to write a novel about life on a space station. Sadly, it doesn’t quite work out. The problem is not so much with the science and technology—though that is not everything I could wish—but with the characters who seem to have come right off the set of a bad 1970s TV movie. There is gender, cultural, and racial stereotyping. The scientists are all jealous marionettes and the villains would be kicked out of a Batman comic for being too over-the-top. It is interesting to note that assembly of the International Space Station began in 1998, the year the novel is set, only six years after its publication. Yet the private station of the novel is several times the size of ISS and it lacks any participation by the Russians or the Chinese. There is one character with an Indian surname, but we are told he is more Brit than the Brits. As to science, the novel is a mixed bag. We learn almost nothing about the biological experiments that are the station’s main effort or about the Mars survival project that is running in one of the station’s habitats. Station design is well-described and reasonable, and we do learn about the relationship between station orientation and orbital stability. It is too bad that Pogue did not draw more on his own sociological experience on Skylab for the novel. In his mission, a unified team worked hard to get back on schedule despite health issues and nagging from Nasa that inspired them to stage the first space mutiny by shutting off the Nasa radio feed. Here, the people on board the station are all at odds with one another almost all the time. Bova has done better.
Longtime near-future science fiction author Ben Bova and Skylab astronaut Bill Pogue would seem to be the dream team to write a novel about life on a space station. Sadly, it doesn’t quite work out. The problem is not so much with the science and technology—though that is not everything I could wish—but with the characters who seem to have come right off the set of a bad 1970s TV movie. There is gender, cultural, and racial stereotyping. The scientists are all jealous marionettes and the villains would be kicked out of a Batman comic for being too over-the-top. It is interesting to note that assembly of the International Space Station began in 1998, the year the novel is set, only six years after its publication. Yet the private station of the novel is several times the size of ISS and it lacks any participation by the Russians or the Chinese. There is one character with an Indian surname, but we are told he is more Brit than the Brits. As to science, the novel is a mixed bag. We learn almost nothing about the biological experiments that are the station’s main effort or about the Mars survival project that is running in one of the station’s habitats. Station design is well-described and reasonable, and we do learn about the relationship between station orientation and orbital stability. It is too bad that Pogue did not draw more on his own sociological experience on Skylab for the novel. In his mission, a unified team worked hard to get back on schedule despite health issues and nagging from Nasa that inspired them to stage the first space mutiny by shutting off the Nasa radio feed. Here, the people on board the station are all at odds with one another almost all the time. Bova has done better.
April 25, 2015
If you like traditional, 1950s, Golden Age Science Fiction, this is that type, at it's best. Written in 1992 by Ben Bova along with Bill Pogue, a former Skylab pilot, the authenticity (or at least verisimilitude) of the science in the book is truly impressive. That alone is a reason to read it. Like all classic science fiction, this is a swashbuckling tale of astronauts and scientists in space, focused on the plot twists. And some of the plot twists were indeed unexpected. And true to form, there's a happy ending, with science to the rescue and brotherhood of all nations (well, all important nations in the worldview of those writing this--US, Canada, Europe and Japan) being the result. The flaw is the characterization. It's hard to relate to characters that in some ways were one-dimensional. And there were a few cringeworthy moments; e.g., under the influence of a narcotic, the lesbian science director madly has sex with the older man who is corporate CEO, hallucinating that it is her father who didn't pay enough attention to her. Um, yeah. The women as a whole were not that well characterized. Probably the best drawn characters were Chakra, the British-naturalized Indian who heads the European delegation, and Dan, the space station commander. Indeed, the novel was strong when it had commander, pilots and crew doing commander, pilot and crew things--clearly Pogue's forté.
But it did keep me reading. So if you're looking for a traditional, swashbuckling adventure story in space, this one is worth checking out.
But it did keep me reading. So if you're looking for a traditional, swashbuckling adventure story in space, this one is worth checking out.
January 2, 2024
Despite an overabundance of often redundant and sometimes perplexing detail, this book doesn't seem very realistic at all. The plot, such as there is, is weak and nearly invisible to the final outcome. Certainly a space station inhabited by people who have no business being packed into a or assigned to such a fragile space environment tended to go far toward disengaging this reader. Just surprised I read the whole thing.
March 11, 2019
The idea of using a space station for risky biology experiments is pretty interesting.
There was too much time spent on various conspiracies that lead to the main plot.
The women are not generally portrayed very positively. The significant Japanese and Indian characters are described disparagingly.
So, on the whole I don't recommend this book.
There was too much time spent on various conspiracies that lead to the main plot.
The women are not generally portrayed very positively. The significant Japanese and Indian characters are described disparagingly.
So, on the whole I don't recommend this book.
September 3, 2023
Duration: 13:31:27
November 18, 2010
The Trikon Deception is about politics and intrigue on an international Space Station. With the Earth under attack by polluting bio hazards, multiple countries decide to combine their efforts by conducting genetic research to counter the bad microbes by inventing new ones on a space station as no country would allow such research to happen on their soil. The story deals with the interpersonal relationships of the stations occupants, the pressures they deal with along with murder mystery thrown in. The novel is a fast pacy read that makes for a light read while travelling.
July 21, 2013
Every so often you need to read an old time scifi novel. The Trikon Deception is written a la 60s and 70s adventures, written with a very literary sense of story and mystery and adventure. You have to have a bit of patience when attempting this novel, for it is a long journey.
The story unfolds with a space station scenario, and develops into a series of deception and murder and heroes saving the day. I give this book 4 stars for having an interesting plot, but I could use a bit more action.
The story unfolds with a space station scenario, and develops into a series of deception and murder and heroes saving the day. I give this book 4 stars for having an interesting plot, but I could use a bit more action.
August 11, 2010
Ben Bova is almost always worth a read. Good blend of science and fiction. This story just had way to many characters and plotlines that were not going anywhere. A shame because the life on a space station stuff was intriguing and the global disaster via plankton extinction was interesting.
October 25, 2016
This novel is about environment apocalypse in the improbably near future. It did not thrill me and the characters were not quite up to Bova standard. I put it in the category of DNF (did not finish). Maybe, later?
September 21, 2013
Murder mystery in Space.
Colorful characters, great plot.
Colorful characters, great plot.
April 5, 2012
Count on Bova for reliably entertaining books, like this story that takes place on a space station full of espionage.
July 14, 2012
Interesting Sci-Fi, space station murder and deception
July 23, 2012
AVOID. This is not a good book. A shame, because Ben Bova is usually pretty good.
October 12, 2015
Unremarkable, read it around 10 years ago and don't remember anything about the story.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews