Jovian

by Donald Moffitt

Like all human colonists born into the crushing gravity of Jupiter, Jarls Anders commands tremendous physical strength and survival ability. And, like his fellow Jovians, Jarls has grown up innocent, easy to exploit. Shipped between Jupiter, Venus, and Earth in indentured servitude, Jarls finds his life in constant danger--not just from the harsh landscapes of distant planets, but also from the treacherous politics of human aristocracy. Navigating the solar system proves much easier than navigating political conspiracy and a government coup. Jarls’s only chance for survival is if he can leave behind his rustic innocence and build a strength of character to match the strength of his body.In JOVIAN, author Donald Moffitt creates a fast-moving SF adventure packed with grand themes and big ideas sure to please fans of his other titles and of brand-new and classic SF adventure alike.

Genres: Science Fiction

481 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 7, 2003

About the author

Donald Moffitt was born in Boston and now lives in rural Maine with his wife, Ann, a native of Connecticut. A former public relations executive, industrial filmmaker, and ghost­writer, he has been writing fiction on and off for more than twenty years under an assortment of pen names, including his own, chiefly espionage novels and adventure stories in international settings. His first full-length science-fiction novel and the first book of any genre to be published under his own name was The Jupiter Theft (Del Rey, 1977).

"One of the rewards of being a public relations man specializing in the technical end of large corporate accounts," he says, "was being allowed to hang around on the fringes of research being done in such widely disparate fields as computer tech­nology, high-energy physics, the manned space program, polymer chemistry, parasitology, and virology—even, on a number of happy occasions, being pressed into service as an unpaid lab assistant."

He became an enthusiastic addict of science fiction during the Golden Era, when Martians were red, Venusians green, Mercurians yellow, and "Jovian Dawn Men" always blue. He survived to see the medium become respectable and is cheered by recent signs that the fun is coming back to sf.

Reviews

[Jovian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book nice to see my name a million times.

[Carl Alves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jovian is a story starting off on the planet Jupiter before making its way to other locales in the solar system such as Venus, Mercury and finally Earth. The Jovians have a tough go of it in Jupiter's heavy atmosphere and harsh climate. Jarls, the story's protagonist leaves the planet in search of a better life, and finds out that the deal he signed up for isn't all it's cracked up to be, and he winds up in essence being a slave. But Jarls is resourceful and after a few tough jobs, manages to make his way to Earth, the land of milk and honey. Jarls gets himself in a number of predicaments, including being the lover of his boss's wife. As always, Jarls manages to use his resourcefulness to get himself out of trouble and become a hero. I found Jovian to be an interesting read, but it really meandered. It wasn't so much of a story as it was a chronicle. Some of the times, I found myself getting a little bored with it. It would have been better if the plot had been more focused.
Carl Alves - author of Two For Eternity

[Adam Meek · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoyed Heinlein's 'Logic of Empire', you will enjoy this tale of high tech serfdom