Death Wave

Star Quest #2

by Ben Bova

In Ben Bova's previous novel New Earth, Jordan Kell led the first human mission beyond the solar system. They discovered the ruins of an ancient alien civilization. But one alien AI survived, and it revealed to Jordan Kell that an explosion in the black hole at the heart of the Milky Way galaxy has created a wave of deadly radiation, expanding out from the core toward Earth. Unless the human race acts to save itself, all life on Earth will be wiped out.

When Kell and his team return to Earth, many years after their departure, they find that their world has changed almost beyond recognition. Not only has a second wave of greenhouse flooding caused sea levels to rise, but society has been changed by the consequences of the climate shift. Few people want to face Jordan Kell's news. He must convince Earth's new rulers that the human race is in danger of extinction unless it acts to forestall the death wave coming from the galaxy's heart.

Six-time Hugo Award winner Ben Bova chronicles the saga of humankind's expansion beyond the solar system in Death Wave

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Space Opera, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fantasy, Artificial Intelligence

414 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 17, 2015

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

[Lobstergirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Death Wave is set in the 23rd century. The U.S. Constitution is nearly 500 years old, making it around 2250-2280 or so. Earth's population is 20 billion. Climate change has flooded coastal areas (but oddly, not Boston, where some chapters are set and where the Boston District Attorney is still issuing subpoenas). Also odd, San Francisco has not flooded. But it has been leveled twice by massive earthquakes, and rebuilt twice. Russia has survived a 100-year war with its Muslim neighbors to the south. The moon, called Selene, is an independent nation. The political body that rules the world (democratically, sort of?) is headquartered in.....Barcelona, naturally.

People found guilty of crimes like attempted murder are frozen: the state believes such crimes are caused by mental or emotional defects that can be cured, but until the cures are developed, into the freezer you go, to be thawed at some future date.

Stem cell therapies and nanotechnologies repair injuries and reverse visible aging. So our protagonist Jordan is 220 years old and has recently married Aditi, in her 20s or 30s, who was created from human DNA, possibly by AI, on the planet New Earth. (This book is the sequel to New Earth (The Grand Tour #21), even though its title is Death Wave (Star Quest Trilogy #2). I just happened to read these two books back-to-back, having no idea where each one came in the many series written by this author.

Early on I began to regret picking this one up, because it smelled like mulch.

But I persevered.

The gist is that Jordan has found out on New Earth that a death wave of gamma rays is coursing through the universe, killing living beings on whatever planets it finds them. He has come back to Earth to warn its leaders. It will be another 2,000 years before the death wave reaches Earth, but Jordan and Aditi are heartbroken that other civilizations are already being wiped out. The photographic evidence is in, showing non-human societies of salamander-like creatures who have invented the wheel but not much more, and walk around in medievalesque robes, dying and dead en masse.

A power-hungry woman named Anita Halleck, who seems to rule Earth, semi-democratically, conspires to place Jordan and Aditi under separate house arrest, ostensibly for their own good, as there are death threats against them due to anti-alien feeling. But she wants to extract technology from Aditi's brain, and prevent Jordan from usurping her power.

Really the book should be titled Warning of the Death Wave because we don't see any first-hand death wave. Everyone on Earth is all, "We've got 2,000 years. What's your rush?" Finally by the end of the novel Jordan has persuaded Earth's leaders to launch spaceships to combat the gamma rays.

Aditi and her people have all sorts of special technology Earth lacks, such as speaking holographically between New Earth and Earth. But even with this technology there's a one-hour time delay, so every time Aditi speaks with her people, they inform her: "It takes an hour or so for your words to reach me." There were 10 holographic conversations, and this advisement was repeated ten times just in case you'd forgotten.

To be honest, I was only reading this for the slacks. Bova is slacks-obsessed. While he may believe he's writing about the 23rd century, his heart belongs to the 1970s.

"He wore a short-sleeved white shirt with dark slacks and comfortable suede shoes."
"Jordan pulled on a light blue suit, with a silver and turquoise bolo tie..."
"Now he was wearing a perfectly fitted plum-colored velour jacket, precisely pressed white slacks, and a crisp pale blue long-sleeved shirt."
"He was wearing a collarless navy blue blazer and light gray slacks."
"Half the city seemed to be walking along...the men in smart jackets and slacks."
"He was wearing a golden brown leather jacket over a deeper brown open-necked shirt, dark form-fitting slacks, and highly polished midcalf boots."
"He was wearing a cream-colored jacket that fitted him exactly and tight slacks of pearl gray."
"Both young, trim, with short blond hair and wearing identical navy blue blazers over pearl gray slacks."
"Instead of his usual robe Adri wore a loose-fitting shirt of pale blue that hung over darker slacks."
"Walt was wearing a gray shirt and dark slacks."
"The Irish roboticist was wearing a neatly buttoned vest over a long-sleeved silver shirt and darker slacks."
"Although he laundered the shirt, slacks, and underwear he'd been wearing..."
"...always dressed in a gray or darker jacket, a white turtleneck shirt, and navy blue slacks."
"The Unicorn men were all in casual clothes: colorful short-sleeved shirts and trim dark slacks. Jordan was dressed as a Gujurati workingman, in a hip-length white tunic and slightly baggy tan slacks."
"Thornberry suddenly felt overdressed in his wine red jacket and off-white slacks."
"He wore comfortable slacks and a velour pullover blouse."
"He was dressed casually in slacks and a pullover shirt."

People sometimes wear shirts that change colors: "Rachel wore a self-powered sleeveless top that shifted hues as she walked..."
"The vest's colors shifted as Thornberry moved through the arriving crowd..."
"Griffin was wearing a stylish shifting-hued blouse and trim dark slacks..."

And men wear blouses: "Nick had on the latest-mod wraparound hiker's blouse, hanging shapelessly to his hips."

Bova usually has several characters per novel speak some hideous patois with abbreviations like "How's he know that?" and "Soon's I get the chance" and "Don't ya know" and "hafta ask him" and "calm ever'body down." There's also an Irishman who speaks like a leprechaun (m'dear, m'lad, Jordan me lad, me lawyers, snooping through me offices). Also this seemed pretty racist:

...a short, surly looking Hispanic with mahogany skin, his black, tightly curled hair hanging down to his collar. Despite his lack of height, his shoulders were heavy and wide, like a professional football player. It made him look like a small, truculent rhinoceros, Cree thought, although the man's nose was little more than a perforated wart.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dreadful. I can only assume the audience for this book are lovers of mindless light space opera; it certainly falls well outside the purview of serious, complex speculative fiction. Frankly I kept wondering if I had picked up a YA book.
The future in which this was set was within the realms of realism but Bova declined to flesh out any details whatsoever, preferring to relentlessly repeat the same few sketchy facts. Yes, we got it...the coastlines are drowned, millions died and displaced. Want to tell us anything else??? Apparently not.
This repetition occurred in virtually all aspects of the book. The characters repeated the same dialogue to each other all through the book. Early in the book, Jordan hijacks all communications networks and tells everyone what he has to say. Of course, this info is repeated every chance he gets to everyone he meets and virtually no more detail is ever given. Are you kidding me?
Then there's the small things....every holographic phone conversation must include descriptions about how it looks like the person is right in the room. Every mention of electric vehicles include descriptions of the quietness of them. Duh. No mention of car styles or interior amenities and his penchant for "minivans" became ridiculous. All settings are described at length but never ever actually tell you ANYTHING!!
For the first 2/3 of the book, he tells us what everyone is wearing yet the descriptions are so amazingly perfunctory, using only the most basic of adjectives, that it rendered the whole effort useless. No mention of new hi-tech fabrics or smart-cloth.
This is not a book with any actual science or technology in it whatsoever. Somehow, in the THREE weeks that the "star travelers" have been back, the whole planet has made use of this "energy screen" tech that they've brought back. And in three weeks, one of them patented it and became a millionaire with a huge company behind him. Three weeks, huh, Mr Bova??? Oooookaaaayyyy.
I don't even have the energy to get started on the dishwater-dull characters or their weird glaring inconsistencies because they don't matter. They weren't actually characters; just stock figurines that were moved through the story.
I've read a few Bova books throughout my life and have never been terribly impressed but this one will stand out by virtue of its utter inanity.
Honestly, if anyone really liked this book, really thought it was great writing, I would plead with you to read more books....better books!

[Graff Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Well, I finally started my trek through a few books by Ben Bova. I started the Star Quest Trilogy, which seems to have FOUR books in it, and the three my wife bought me are (by Goodreads standards) books 2, 3, and 4. I was thoroughly confused.

I then wrote Ben Bova via his website and got his editor (who was truly very kind). He told me that Ben Bova had recently passed (November of 2020), but he told me it was safe for me to read that trilogy the way it is...for the books are fairly self-contained, though they tell an overarcing story (Grand Tour).

The main question was why Goodreads says that New Earth was the first book in the trilogy, but my wife bought three books in the trilogy starting with #1 Death Wave, #2 Apes and Angels and #3 Survival.

I've just finished Death Wave...and I can see that there is a portion of information that would've been nice to have experienced before reading Death Wave, but the editor is correct, Mr. Bova writes a fairly self-contained story...that was fun and easily understood within the parameters of the book.

I really enjoyed the main protagonist, Jorden Kell and his alien wife (from New Earth). I presume the previous book recounts their first meetings and the building of their relationship...and their eventual return to Earth.

We have a crisis on Earth that has needed a strong governmental hand...and the main antagonist is up for the challenge.

Intrigue and fumbles are fun to read. I was frustrated a few times where it seemed to convenient to have actually happened OR the main characters or the antagonists were during truly stupid things (that seemed uncharacteristic for their position).

With minor problems like that, I really did enjoy this story. I will definitely read on...and will eventually go back and read New Earth...to understand the precursor to this trilogy.

I am a child of the late 60's and have grown up in the Star Wars (1977) movie that was Episode IV. We don't always have to have the story told to us in chronological order. Also, I grew up on C. S. Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia...which were not told (or published) in chronological order.

I'm okay with it. Now, on to Apes and Angels, the second book in the trilogy.

[Stephen Hickman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Imagine taking a Dan Dare comic adventure and writing it up into a full length novel for adults. That is the best way I can describe this. I can only presume the obvious message to contemporary earthlings 'take gobal warming seriously' is seen as so profound it elevates naive simplistic allegory to writing of more fundamental ideological importance. The plot is thin, the writing often unintentionally comedic, the starman in Jordan Kell, stiff, his partner Adriti one-dimensional and the list of other characters totally unable to write themselves out of their stereotyped little corners.

I hung in there to such an anti-climactic end I felt the final message must be forgiveness, for after kidnaps, detention, attempted murder, strategic meddling, and fraud the head schemer brushes it all off and ends up without a hair out of place.

Technically the writer also has to constantly avoid tripping himself up referencing time lags in communications over long distances when he attempts dialogue.

Now this is all probably a question of taste. I am not into speculative fiction as a rule and this was the Librarian's pick. The author has a prodigious output and a style that must therefore be admired by others.

On a positive note the hard back had a great cover and that was what made me pick it up off the shelf.

Sucked-in!

[Jessica Crokes · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book up at a second hand bookstore. I had never read any of Ben Bova’s books but have been reading more Sci Fi and thought I would give it a go. At first I really enjoyed it. It definitely had a YA feel to it with simplistic characters and fast paced chapters. While the science and politics were also oversimplified I found the story engaging and light - an easy read at first.
What really ruined it for me was the chronic underlying misogyny throughout the book. It was truely terrifying to learn this book was published in 2015. Obviously this dinosaur of an author has not changed his thinking or writing style since the 1950’s. I’ve never felt the urge to go back over a book with a highlighter to count the many times a female character had been described as submissive, thin, a ‘bitch’, or in reference to a male character (“Everywhere they went, Nick Motrenko and his two young women accompanied them.”) I didn’t do it for my own sanity. Granted, the male character depth sucked too - I nearly vomited when Cree realised his colleagues ‘liked’ him through their display of toxic masculinity in the locker room.

[John (JP) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Death Wave is a continuation of the story started in Bova's New Earth. It is set in i Bova's Grand Tour series of novels. Unlike those books which are clearly rooted in hard science or the speculation of where technology will be, this book is rooted in political intrigue. I think the story suffers because of it. The characters have no depth, They are either villains, turncoats, or heroes without any deep explanation of their motives. There is only one grand idea in this novel that mankind's future lay in its ability to reach other stars to survive earth's ultimate destruction. There is little exploration of the moral implications of the need to warn other worlds of the life destroying radiation that is coming at them. The idea is simply presented as good without any real discussion of a counter argument against it. I wish Bova had done a better job exploring this idea.Bova seems to have dim view of humanity and it is reflected in that the majority of the actors in this book are villains. None the less he manages to have our better angels win the day in the end. He also sets the reader up for the next novel in the series.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story includes a woman who is from another star system and is human created by a race of machines from genetic material from Earth. Within her brain is the ability to communicate at faster than light speed. I found this aspect of the story intriguing along with communication in general in this future setting of our solar system. I did not find the writing very good. The author is a big name in Sci Fi and has written a lot, so I was let down that the writing quality seemed to be that of a rather inexperienced author. There was not much depth to the story or characters in my estimation.

Still, I am interested enough in the story that came before this one to read Bova's Star Quest and possibly the second book in this trilogy as well. I did enjoy the book; I just didn't think it was more than average.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good straight forward story that spans both light years and centuries but in the end it is more a treatise on the human condition as all good sci-fi is want to be - Ben Bova is a master and his experience shines through here.

[Katherina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading Bova is long overdue. I recognize the contributions he's made to sci-fi literature, but he's such a product of his generation. also why didn't his editors tell him to stop being so frkn thirsty?

Every single female character spends half her PoV chapter having sex or getting lusted after. the big bad is a woman, but she's a joke that gets outsmarted by the MC at every turn and spends half the book throwing a tantrum in her office.

Meanwhile the men drive the major plot points and THEY don't get lusted after. nah, they fuck. a bunch of air-headed NPCs with female names fall into their beds every third chapter cause they're sOoOo cool and accomplished!

the FMC has a major case of Nico Robin syndrome. She's OP as hell with the power to control electricity and communicate across the galaxy at FTL speeds, but she just pliantly sits around and waits until the men drive enough of the plot. then she gets a 2 millisecond hero moment to use her powers BUT NOT TOO MUCH! otherwise the men can't step in and show how good they are at making decisions and saving the world.

also, and this is detail gets brought up every five pages: she's a total baddie. every guy is drooling after her. and being hot yet "nice" (aka an easy wife that does everything in her power to make her man look good) is her entire personality.

this book had so much to say about free will and the malicious nature of humanity, but I just kept getting distracted by the sheer thirst and boomer-typical misogyny embedded in the narrative.

outside of those issues, it's a fun read, I guess. I'll ruminate on the themes after a palate cleanser - aka a book that actually writes women like they're human beings.

[Leigh Kimmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I was reading this book, I realized that the central theme of both it and the one immediately before it (New Earth) is trust. In particular, how do you establish trust between two peoples who have basically nothing in common? In New Earth, there was the problem of getting humans to trust that the inhabitants of this incredibly Earthlike world -- and their creators -- were honest and not setting a trap (which was not helped by their practice of doling out information as the Earth humans showed they were ready by asking the right questions -- which read to the Earth humans like a certain kind of bureaucratic obstructionism). In this novel, Jordan and Adiri must convince the multitudes of Earth that the danger of the titular Death Wave is real, and not just a scam to cover for an alien invasion.

There were several points at which I was absolutely certain that Jordan was going to become a Martyr for the Cause, thanks to the agent provocateur who was supposed to be luring potential radicals out into the open and seems to have gotten on an alien invasion crusade of his own. However, it does seem to have achieved a happy ending, with some people quietly retiring to write their memoirs and a young man who'd been used as a tool instead finally achieving his dream of becoming someone who mattered, rather than just another face in the crowd.

[Peter Learn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's difficult to imagine being optimistic about the possibility of humanity ever working together towards accomplishing a common goal. The book was written in 2015 after 2 years of donald...

Several plot implausibilities. Relationships are overwrought.

[Pearl · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyable escape.

[Don · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this book was written in the 1970s - it got a lot worse when I realized it was published in 2015

[Kadin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bova improves in this book compared to the novel leading into this one, New Earth, in terms of action and suspense, but it's pretty lacking in satisfying solutions to the plot's main crisis. Everything was wrapped up really quickly and too neatly. For goodness sake, the woman that tried to have the two main characters assassinated just shrugged at the end like, "Sorry, it's just politics! No hard feelings!" What? Also: there's didn't seem to be much effort into creating the bad guy. He was written as a chauvinistic, arrogant voyeur--I was annoyed with him but didn't care either way about the character. Anyway, it's a decent sci-fi story that you can enjoy without putting much thought into it.

[Natasha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh boy. Let's start with the good. The chapters were short and it was a fairly breezy book to blow through. Great to read in small chunks, if that's your thing. It was also a good lesson in the "Sunk Cost Fallacy." At 300 pages in I realized I didn't care much about what happened to these flat characters but I figured "Well, I already read this far, might as well finish it." WRONG! Here's some advice: Just because you start something, especially something that's supposed to be for 'fun,' it doesn't necessitate you see it all the way through. Follow your gut. It knows when it's had enough. The last 100 pages were not entirely predictable, but the surprises it had in store were few, small, and inconsequential.
There was one black character. I remember this because Mr. Bova kept reminding us of his black skin and that the "black man" did such-and-such as the story unfolded. A lot. Also, one of the guys was Italian, which apparently still holds a lot of meaning 200 years in the future.
We were constantly told that the main character's (alien) wife was "as human as you or me" but that only made sense if you added "for a robot" because she was surely a machine sent to save the plot from getting too complicated. Every possible roadblock was overcome by magical hand-waving of alien technology. I enjoy technobabble as much as any other sci-fi fan, but this was ridiculous at best.
Every other character conveniently had little to no family or friends to speak of, which allowed for a "climatic" confrontation on Christmas Eve...
Honestly, I could go on, but I've lost interest in spending time thinking about this book.

[W.T. Fallon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, but not as much as some of Bova's other books, like the Mars series. Jordan is a human who went to an Earthlike-planet named New Earth in a previous book. New Earth is populated with humans, thanks to some ancient alien robots who sampled human DNA from Earth and crate a pseudo-Earth with people who are basically human, but much more technologically advanced. He also learned a death ray is heading for Earth and a bunch of other planets, and he wants the World Council of Earth to help him save the other planets. The World Council's leader, Anita Halleck, doesn't care because the death wave isn't hitting Earth for two thousand years and she really doesn't give a crap about the other planets with intelligent life. She tries to control Jordan and shut him up by kidnapping his wife, Aditi (an inhabitant of New Earth).
If the whole thing sounds a little hokey, it is. The Mars and Saturn series had less corny plots. But my main problem was that the villain characters were all kind of one-dimensional, self-serving, and greedy. They could have all been the same person and weren't really relatable.
That being said, the plot moves quickly and there's not a lot of time wasted on blathering descriptions, which is something I hate when reading. It was interesting, but not Bova's best work, IMHO.
Incidentally, I don't think it's strictly necessary to read the first book first, but it might help.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very simple story stretched out for hundreds of pages. A man returns from outer space with an alien wife and a mission to convince Earth to seek out other sentient beings in space and supply them with a way to avoid being decimated by a radiation wave due to arrive from deep space 2000 years in the future.

The characters are all very flat stereotypes that are prone to saying the same thing over and over again.

The main character, Jordan Kell, is very moral and focused on his goal and his lovely alien wife. The alien wife does not look alien in any way, but she has brain inplants that allow her to almost instantly communicate with beings light years away and enable communications over blocked air waves. The main villain is a world leader who doesn't want to waste any time or money on a problem that won't occur for 2000 years. She tries to block Jordan's broadcasts asking for public support and thinks he just wants her position of power. Her sidekick is a sleazy, macho man who lies to and bullies others to get his way. He also can't understand that any woman might not want to sleep with him. He, therefore, gets slapped by the alien wife several times when he whisks her off planet to separate her from Jordan.

[D.L. Morrese · Rating 3 out of 5]

Death Wave is a sequel to New Earth and is another light, enjoyable bit of positive science fiction, reminiscent of classic sci-fi stories like those of Asimov, Clarke, or Heinlein. The prose is not flowery and the characters are not overly complex, both of which I tend to like in stories like this. This one may have overdone the simple characters thing a bit too much, though. The good guys are 100% good. The bad guys are 100% bad...and at least 75% nuts. (This works mathematically because the personality and ethics scales of fictional characters are separate, kind of like air temperature and humidity. You can max out both.) The minor supporting characters are often unbelievably credulous and not overly bright. Ah, and the relationship between the protagonist and his alien wife is far too perfect, like something from a 1950s sitcom. Still, it all makes for a light, simple, and enjoyable story overall.

[Wes Metz · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you like villains who are easy to hate, heroes who are hard to love (or even like), and prefer your characters made of cardboard, this is the book for you. I found it difficult to believe that Jordan Kell, the protagonist, whose diplomatic skills have ended wars, was so naive that it took forever for him to realize what Halleck (World Council president and villain extraordinaire) was up to. Apparently this novel is the middle book in a trilogy, so perhaps it suffers from being the transitional piece; nothing on the cover indicated that this was the second book of three (although the inner blurb did), and I picked it up because Bova has written some good things in the past. The reader might be well-served to begin with the first book, New Earth.

[Michael Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first introduction to Ben Bova, I enjoyed it. Despite this being part of a long running universe, it wasn’t difficult to follow. This story picks up a century or so after an event sent Jordan in a space mission to another planet, he returned him to some resentment and fandom(?). At the least ppl were curious about him.

It’s a political sci-fi drama in an alternate future where one man must try to convince political leaders to help save other worlds from a destructive wave. We see the selfishness of humanity and the selflessness of two people who, are willing to do anything for the greater good.

It’s also a fast read, excellent description and world-building which aids in making it all feel real and relatable.

[Marc Faoite · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not having read anything by Ben Bova in forty years (not an exaggeration) I picked this up to see how the writer had changed, if at all, since I was a teenager. While the world has moved on in the intervening decades, Bova's worldview seems firmly entrenched in the mid-twentieth century. Some of it is just downright cringeworthy to read. A super-intelligent extra-terrestrial human dutifully squeezes grapefruit juice for her insecure and mediocre earthling husband. Puhleeeze. No risk of this novel being accused of being too woke. Bound to be a hit with the incel crew. I'll never read another Bova book again as long as I live. The writing is objectively terrible.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jordan Kell and his alien wife return to Earth from New Earth with a warning. A deadly radiation wave will reach Earth in two thousand years but numerous civilizations will be destroyed much sooner. Kell's job is to convince the Earth's government to build ships and mount rescue operations. But Earth's leaders are more interested in gaining alien technology to control the rest of the solar system. Bova presents another intesting science fiction read.

[William Middleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

in chapter 1: Explorers from Earth find a planet in another star system, that is a near duplicate of earth with duplicate humans, all created by aliens. They return to Earth with alien technologies. well worth reading, unique plot elements, but 3 stars for lacking the complexity and personality of my favorite authors.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not as deep as the previous novel, "New Earth", but it takes a tried and tested sequel route: following up something remarkable and profound with something that is exciting, tension-filled, and packed with adventure...while still having something to say about the nature of humanity. A very easy, very engrossing read.

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

don't bother. lots of silly dialogue. some nonsensical science fiction. and an occasional, but fleeting, brilliant moment

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must be a glutton for punishment. With each book read I am resigned to the repetitive wording this author uses. I've lost count to how many I have read so far.

[Kaiju Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably did my myself a disservice reading this 'book one' without having read the grand tour books preceding it, specifically 'The New Earth', but nevertheless, I quite enjoyed Death Wave.

Surprisingly, the only other book by Bova I've read was 'Mars', shortly after it released, back in what feels like an eternity ago in reading years. And while I basically remember nothing of Mars other than a long list of names, I DO remember feeling much of the same things I did reading this one: having my expectations subverted and reading a book more about interpersonal and political machinations than wonder. What I wanted back with Mars was, perhaps a juvenile desire, to be whisked away to Mars, maybe a few space battles or two, ancient mysteries, etc. What I got (that I can remember) was a soap opera around actually doing a Mars mission, people stepping on toes, getting their feelings hurt, plotting, etc.

Here we are over forty years later, and while I'm a very different reader, still... I wanted a fricken DEATH WAVE!! Instead, I got a soap opera of people actually trying to prevent a 2000 years away catastrophe (sound familiar? that's right, it's an analog for climate change, our very much self-made home-grown death wave), hurt feelings, a bungled rape (yikes, did not see that coming), etc.

I guess my point is, again, Death Wave wasn't what I was expecting. Seems like it would make a pretty good TV show. The whole Grand Tour would, I'm guessing. Like Mars, it has dozens of characters and their subsequent physical descriptions, tics, clothes... and multiple subplots... and a totally inconclusive and to be honest, unsatisfying ending. The show would need one or two special effects moments each episode. Totally manageable. Apple Plus is doing other shows like this right now. Thing could run for twenty years... but I digress... sorry 'bout that.

But still. I had a good time (would totally watch the show).

Did I have enough of a good time to go back and read others? Or continue on with the series? Not sure yet. I'm leaning more towards a strong maybe than an outright no.

3.25 stars.

[Curt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Underwhelming!

I listened to the audiobook with Stephan Rudnicki as the narrator. His performance was okay but with his deep voice, it was difficult for him to portray female characters, and aside from the odd accent, it was difficult to distinguish the different characters.

As the second book in a trilogy, Death Wave can stand alone without having read book 1. There is sufficient information from the first book provided for the necessary background. The book has its own conclusion leaving hooks in place for the 3rd book - no cliffhanger ending.

The mission is for Jordan Kell and his wife from New Earth to convince the people of Earth that a giant gamma wave will hit the earth in 2000 years. While there is plenty of time to save the earth, there are other planets with intelligent life that need saving, and the people of Earth have a moral obligation to try and save them.

As I listened to this book for 10+ hours, I felt that the end couldn't come quick enough. That the story contains political intrigue would be an understatement. It just kept going and going. Jordon's political enemy is afraid of losing power and works to do everything in her power to shut Jordon down, including separating him from his wife. It certainly got tiresome as each of her attempts is executed. The toughest part for Jordon is being separate from his wife; if I read "I love you my darling" one more time I thought I would puke.

As for science, there were some interesting extrapolations as to what Earth would be like in 200 years. Interesting how many things changed technologically while at the same time so many things stayed the same from a societal perspective. Also, Bova has a penchant to describe what the characters are wearing - as in "she wore a blue, below-the-knee skirt with a white blouse. Okay, good to know.

I have found often that the second book in a trilogy is typically slower and this is the case with Death Wave. Unfortunately, the book lost most of the energy the story had at the end of book 1, so much so that I will not be reading book 3.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Star Quest Trilogy continues after New Earth with Death Wave. Having learning about a deadly wave of energy heading toward Earth, as well as six other life bearing "nearby planets", Jordan and Aditi must convince the leaders of Earth to build ships and devices to protect themselves and the other planets from total destruction.

Ben Bova is a prolific writer and what keeps his stories fresh, in addition to his great writing skills, is his willingness to stray quite a bit from the standard Science Fiction format. In fact, if there were not aliens involved, Death Wave would be more of a political spy story than Sci Fi.

Death Wave picks up right after New Earth but Bova inserts enough background information that someone who hasn't read the first book could follow along. Jordan's news that the Earth will be wiped out in 2000 years is not met with great concern by a global government busy rebuilding after the second wave of global warming and interested in their personal interests as much as, or more so, than those of the rest of the world or galaxy.

Again, this is a good news/bad news review. Bova has done a great job of continuing the Star Quest story, writing a story of deception featuring likable and vulnerable characters. Most readers will find it difficult to put the story down, anxious to learn where each twist and turn will take them. The bad news is that Bova continues to make most of the powerful characters male and the few female ones either Marta Hari's or waifs easily seduced by the powerful men. Ben - please let us hope that hundred of years in the future we aren't still living in a world of male corporate boards and "pussy grabbers"!

The science in Bova's Science Fiction books is always there but definitely not fleshed out or fully based on current scientific theories. Still, the writing, the situations, and the characters bring me back to reading Ben Bova's books time and time and time again.

[Karl Geiger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Follows up New Earth; read it before engaging this book.

Note: spoilers ahead.

Our Hero, Jordon Kell, returns to Earth to enlist humanity's aid in rescuing nascent intelligent life forms from an approaching gamma-radiation Death Wave the galactic core has emitted. Kell learned of Death Wave from the humans of New Earth, whom the Predecessors had placed there in order to teach mankind about the Death Wave.

Objectively, the Predecessors' plan is pretty sketchy -- if humans hadn't bothered to schlep 80 light years to New Earth, the Death Wave would wipe them out without them knowing.

The bulk of the novel is a political thriller wherein Kell must outwit the central government and its totalitarian leader in order to make his plan known. To do so he must escape woldgov's "protective custody" and work with his friends and new acquaintances to bring his message to "the people".

Kell's new-Earth wife, Aditi, remains imprisoned in a lengthy subplot where she must bear up against the unwanted advances of a cheesily trite eeeeevil henchman who's name must be the Italian translation for "Snidely Whiplash".

The characterizations are two-dimensional. Most of the secondary players lack agency. Aditi is the stock Bova female side-kick who loves and adores Our Hero unconditionally. At least being imprisoned and used as a lab rat by EarthGov gives her character something to do.

Read this book if you are following in the series. It cannot work as a standalone novel. See my notes on New Earth for more in-depth information.