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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.
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.
239 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 17, 2021
24 people are currently reading
269 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 - 30 of 74 reviews
July 10, 2021
I received this to read via NetGalley. Glad I didn't spend any money on it.
Oh boy.
Do not come for character development or realistic relationship building.
The overall narrative is interesting enough and the theory that drives the second half of the plot itself is fine. But the scientific consequence isn’t nearly developed enough; it’s a leap. I’m all for short sharp stories, no need for a trilogy, but this was just a bit silly.
Lots of spoilers follow.
I won't be reading anything else by Ben Bova having read this.
Oh boy.
Do not come for character development or realistic relationship building.
The overall narrative is interesting enough and the theory that drives the second half of the plot itself is fine. But the scientific consequence isn’t nearly developed enough; it’s a leap. I’m all for short sharp stories, no need for a trilogy, but this was just a bit silly.
Lots of spoilers follow.
I won't be reading anything else by Ben Bova having read this.
Read
April 13, 2024I really enjoyed some of the other books in this series, but this one wasn't my favourite.
January 27, 2022
Yeah, I didn't finish this, even though it was short. I picked it up because it was short, and I wanted a quick sci-fi read.
I give every book 40-50 pages to be interesting, and if it's not, DNF. In this books case, that number of pages is almost a 5th of the whole thing. Though it was fast reading per se, the story was nothing. A bunch of talk among stock characters.
If anyone is curious, I pretty much knew I would find nothing to redeem this by page 40 once I read something along the lines of, "She fantasized...what would it be like if both men were attracted to her?"
Is this 14 year old fan fiction? The guy was in in late 80s when he wrote this, I mean come on. I want quick sci-fi and I get Three Company: The Next Generation.
This is the second, (and I do believe final) time I tried Ben Bova, the first being many years ago. My review for that experience is among my posts here on Goodreads, but to summarize, I wasn't impressed then either.
I give every book 40-50 pages to be interesting, and if it's not, DNF. In this books case, that number of pages is almost a 5th of the whole thing. Though it was fast reading per se, the story was nothing. A bunch of talk among stock characters.
If anyone is curious, I pretty much knew I would find nothing to redeem this by page 40 once I read something along the lines of, "She fantasized...what would it be like if both men were attracted to her?"
Is this 14 year old fan fiction? The guy was in in late 80s when he wrote this, I mean come on. I want quick sci-fi and I get Three Company: The Next Generation.
This is the second, (and I do believe final) time I tried Ben Bova, the first being many years ago. My review for that experience is among my posts here on Goodreads, but to summarize, I wasn't impressed then either.
June 14, 2022
I'm making allowances for the fact that this book was, sadly published posthumously. I am sure Ben Bova could have put more polish and detail into it, had he had time. As the adventure stands, it reads like a Golden Age SF book, an expedition to frozen oceans on the planet Neptune, to try to find a lost explorer. The premise is rather let down on the flight by characterisation. However, a female Hungarian landowner is in charge of the finances, which is a deft touch. Really, we needed more people to keep some interesting interactions moving.
The proto-monsters under the sea are nicely written. And a good bit of the tale takes place there, not once but twice. Because having done what they needed to do, the expedition heads home, only to be instructed to go back and do it all over again. This does feel like padding as nothing new gets introduced. I could even imagine this part was inserted by a ghostwriter, saying "we have half a book length, and Ben is gone, so now what do I do?"
By all means read Neptune, but I've enjoyed other Bova books more - Mars and Jupiter particularly.
I read an e-ARC from Fresh Fiction. This is an unbiased review.
The proto-monsters under the sea are nicely written. And a good bit of the tale takes place there, not once but twice. Because having done what they needed to do, the expedition heads home, only to be instructed to go back and do it all over again. This does feel like padding as nothing new gets introduced. I could even imagine this part was inserted by a ghostwriter, saying "we have half a book length, and Ben is gone, so now what do I do?"
By all means read Neptune, but I've enjoyed other Bova books more - Mars and Jupiter particularly.
I read an e-ARC from Fresh Fiction. This is an unbiased review.
August 9, 2021
Neptune is the twenty-fifth (yes, you read that right!) novel in Ben Bova's The Grand Tour series. For the sake of honesty, I have to confess that I have not read the rest of this series. However, I was too curious to pass up the opportunity to give it a try regardless!
Set in a far future where humanity has dispersed among the stars – literally. The outer planets, such as Neptune, are in the process of being settled, though naturally, they come with their own set of challenges. The planet's atmosphere alone would create enough issues.
Enter Derek Humbolt – famous space explorer. Her ship is heading to Neptune, in part to check on the early settles. Only instead of the settlers, they find something else. Something that is going to throw their plans way off course.
Neptune is a novel with an infinite amount of potential. It makes me want to see what the rest of the series is like, truth be told. I can't imagine what the other twenty-four books much be like! Other than to assume that they cover the other planets in the solar system.
Overall, this was a quick and interesting read. I enjoyed the creativity in Bova's writing, though I'll admit that I wish there was more character development. There's a lot going on, but not a whole lot of emotional attachment to any of it, which was an odd sensation.
Still, I found the novel to be worth reading and will probably check out the rest of the series should I ever find enough time to do so.
Thanks to Tor Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Set in a far future where humanity has dispersed among the stars – literally. The outer planets, such as Neptune, are in the process of being settled, though naturally, they come with their own set of challenges. The planet's atmosphere alone would create enough issues.
Enter Derek Humbolt – famous space explorer. Her ship is heading to Neptune, in part to check on the early settles. Only instead of the settlers, they find something else. Something that is going to throw their plans way off course.
Neptune is a novel with an infinite amount of potential. It makes me want to see what the rest of the series is like, truth be told. I can't imagine what the other twenty-four books much be like! Other than to assume that they cover the other planets in the solar system.
Overall, this was a quick and interesting read. I enjoyed the creativity in Bova's writing, though I'll admit that I wish there was more character development. There's a lot going on, but not a whole lot of emotional attachment to any of it, which was an odd sensation.
Still, I found the novel to be worth reading and will probably check out the rest of the series should I ever find enough time to do so.
Thanks to Tor Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
July 1, 2024
3.4/5
There is Pluto as the final trilogy, regarding an announcement by Ben Bova's admin, for those who are curious.
There is Pluto as the final trilogy, regarding an announcement by Ben Bova's admin, for those who are curious.
November 2, 2021
The late Ben Bova's last novel is one of his most concise...and it certainly moves at light-speed, with an ominous premise that could have been followed-up if he had lived. However, I can't grant this higher than a 3-star rating, because the first third of the book is smeared with an unpleasant & uncomfortable obsession with sex and testosterone that left me staggered. It's as if Bova is trying to write some kind of implied sci-fi soft core porn that is childish at best and completely vulgar at worst. This can't possibly be the same man who wrote "New Earth" and "Death Wave", can it? I simply can't wrap my head around it...and it (to use a generous term) reduces what could have been an epic tale.
March 18, 2022
I hate everything about how Ilona was portrayed. Sci-fi tends to have an incredibly sexist portrayal of women in the genre. I get it.... But this book dips into that trope in a severely degrading way. A woman of power need not to maintain power by sleeping with men. Additionally. A woman of power such as the MC was portrayed to have straight forward intentions of finding her father. She handled herself with poise and grace. Until she didn't. All of that was diminished in the beginning when the author wrote about her seeking out the attention and sexual advances of her two male companions. And was then disappointed when they weren't showing interest. Bad form, Ben. Bad form. We can write women better.
Come. On. We can do better.
Come. On. We can do better.
January 12, 2022
I think Bova did write some interesting SF a long time ago, but I have read what I believe to be his last two and they were terrible. I gave Neptune one star 0nly because I couldn't figure out how to give it less. No stars might suggest that I just forgot.
I had a strong inclination to stop reading after about thirty pages, but I wanted to check out the discovery of a alien wreck.
Iona is a mega rich woman. Doesn't appeared to have earned a single dollar herself. Rich enough to fund a couple of trips to Neptune.
OK, I might have skimmed a few sentences, but I don't recall reading about how the space craft propelled itself from Earth to Neptune, and how it got around under the ice. And very unconvincing about how they handled the pressure at the bottom of the ocean.
The chances of spotting the alien wreck must have been astonishingly small, but they did. They even found parts of a big chair that suggest that the aliens were 12 feet tall. And analysis of bits of metal indicated that the alien were in the solar system two billion years ago. And wiped out a civilisation on Uranus and started an ice age on Earth. No explanations given.
And the aliens might be coming back to exterminate us. Better get ready. But after two million years do the aliens still care? Maybe they met other aliens who exterminated them.
Iona went to Neptune to rescue her father. She did recover a scrap of his DNA and guess what? Iona uses the DNA to give birth to a clone of her father.
All good fiction should seem credible and in the case of SF, a few hard scientific fact might be abandoned. Neptune is about as credible as Peter Pan.
I think Bova should have stopped after Blue Mars. After that it's pretty much crap all the way to the Oort Belt.
I had a strong inclination to stop reading after about thirty pages, but I wanted to check out the discovery of a alien wreck.
Iona is a mega rich woman. Doesn't appeared to have earned a single dollar herself. Rich enough to fund a couple of trips to Neptune.
OK, I might have skimmed a few sentences, but I don't recall reading about how the space craft propelled itself from Earth to Neptune, and how it got around under the ice. And very unconvincing about how they handled the pressure at the bottom of the ocean.
The chances of spotting the alien wreck must have been astonishingly small, but they did. They even found parts of a big chair that suggest that the aliens were 12 feet tall. And analysis of bits of metal indicated that the alien were in the solar system two billion years ago. And wiped out a civilisation on Uranus and started an ice age on Earth. No explanations given.
And the aliens might be coming back to exterminate us. Better get ready. But after two million years do the aliens still care? Maybe they met other aliens who exterminated them.
Iona went to Neptune to rescue her father. She did recover a scrap of his DNA and guess what? Iona uses the DNA to give birth to a clone of her father.
All good fiction should seem credible and in the case of SF, a few hard scientific fact might be abandoned. Neptune is about as credible as Peter Pan.
I think Bova should have stopped after Blue Mars. After that it's pretty much crap all the way to the Oort Belt.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2021
It breaks my heart to think that this is the last new Ben Bova book I'll get to read.
At least we got all the way to Neptune.
The Grand Tour series has been dear to me for nearly half my life now. This is likely my farewell to it, and, like all farewells, it's bittersweet.
Neptune is vintage Bova. It's got fascinating insights into the inner workings of a largely unknown planet. It evokes the excitement of Fantastic Voyage and COSMOS all at the same time. You feel like this could really be the way of it when we get out there.
As usual, Bova doesn't give you the ending you want, but it's probably what he needed. Something tells me he had a few more books left in him when his time came. I know not his philosophy, but his writing, at the very least, did not go gently into that good night.
Thank you for this journey, Ben. I'll never forget the voyage, or its captain.
At least we got all the way to Neptune.
The Grand Tour series has been dear to me for nearly half my life now. This is likely my farewell to it, and, like all farewells, it's bittersweet.
Neptune is vintage Bova. It's got fascinating insights into the inner workings of a largely unknown planet. It evokes the excitement of Fantastic Voyage and COSMOS all at the same time. You feel like this could really be the way of it when we get out there.
As usual, Bova doesn't give you the ending you want, but it's probably what he needed. Something tells me he had a few more books left in him when his time came. I know not his philosophy, but his writing, at the very least, did not go gently into that good night.
Thank you for this journey, Ben. I'll never forget the voyage, or its captain.
October 1, 2021
Lacking in substance, maturity, depth.
October 11, 2021
DNF.
I've read other Bova works and they were entertaining. I found this one to be flat. There was nothing engaging in this story. Not the characters. Not the plot. Not the sci fi.
I've read other Bova works and they were entertaining. I found this one to be flat. There was nothing engaging in this story. Not the characters. Not the plot. Not the sci fi.
October 30, 2021
Welcome to Neptune!
Where everything UnDuLaTeS
That's literally everything you need to know to skip this book and not waste two hours of your life. You're welcome.
Where everything UnDuLaTeS
That's literally everything you need to know to skip this book and not waste two hours of your life. You're welcome.
November 23, 2021
Didn't finish. Story was boring and no conflict.
December 16, 2025
*** Review contains spoilers ***
At 231 pages this barely counts as a novel, and it reads like a first draft and plot summary. There are 2 full missions flown from Earth to Neptune and back in 150 pages. The plot is arrow straight and devoid of complications or issues for the characters to overcome, or engage the reader. Ben had a target in mind and moves directly to it without digression or filling in the obvious plot holes which are carried over from the previous book in the trilogy. The series is predicated on paranoia of advanced aliens coming back after 2 million years to wipe out humanity. There is no evidence given in this book, or the previous, to justify it. Yet all the characters are constantly stating the scientific evidence is irrefutable.
Also the world building is unclear, particularly the Interplanetary Council. It’s portrayed as some sort of UN type agency advising on off world activity. Yet in the last 80 pages the Council president is a very thinly disguised analogue of local real-world politics at the time the book was written. As a consequence, it doesn’t make sense on the global stage the novel is set.
What really annoyed me in this book is the bad science a simple google searh would have corrected. It’s stated several times that the last ice was 2 million years ago. No, it was only 12 thousand years ago. C14 dating is used on steel to prove it’s 2 million years old. Yes, C14 dating can be used on steel if the carbon can be extracted, as is stated in the book. But C14 dating won’t work on material older than 60,000 years, 80K if you want to stretch it, but definitely not to 2 million years. He talks about other radiometric dating also being used, but the isotopes used in them wouldn’t be found in manufactured steel.
Then there are the inconsistencies within the book. It’s stated that the crew checked the wreckage against all the probes and vessels sent to Neptune to make sure it wasn’t of human origin. No they didn’t, the people in the previous book, Uranus, did that on the alien artefacts found there. All they do in this book is incorrect C14 dating. And on page 107 there’s a reference to events in the previous book – The young astronomer named Teresa Gomez made the discovery and subsequent investigations have supported her conclusions. – Yes, a young astronomer made the discovery in the previous book, but HIS name was TOMAS Gomez.
Lastly, after the plot of the book has wrapped up there’s a couple of pages lecturing on Catholiscim needing to modernise its attitudes towards IVF. It’s a rant which comes totally out of left field and has nothing to do with any other part of the book. I’m assuming he included just so the protagonist could have a kid to take the lead in the next book.
This book is bordering on me calling it bad and is not a worthy example of Ben’s talent.
At 231 pages this barely counts as a novel, and it reads like a first draft and plot summary. There are 2 full missions flown from Earth to Neptune and back in 150 pages. The plot is arrow straight and devoid of complications or issues for the characters to overcome, or engage the reader. Ben had a target in mind and moves directly to it without digression or filling in the obvious plot holes which are carried over from the previous book in the trilogy. The series is predicated on paranoia of advanced aliens coming back after 2 million years to wipe out humanity. There is no evidence given in this book, or the previous, to justify it. Yet all the characters are constantly stating the scientific evidence is irrefutable.
Also the world building is unclear, particularly the Interplanetary Council. It’s portrayed as some sort of UN type agency advising on off world activity. Yet in the last 80 pages the Council president is a very thinly disguised analogue of local real-world politics at the time the book was written. As a consequence, it doesn’t make sense on the global stage the novel is set.
What really annoyed me in this book is the bad science a simple google searh would have corrected. It’s stated several times that the last ice was 2 million years ago. No, it was only 12 thousand years ago. C14 dating is used on steel to prove it’s 2 million years old. Yes, C14 dating can be used on steel if the carbon can be extracted, as is stated in the book. But C14 dating won’t work on material older than 60,000 years, 80K if you want to stretch it, but definitely not to 2 million years. He talks about other radiometric dating also being used, but the isotopes used in them wouldn’t be found in manufactured steel.
Then there are the inconsistencies within the book. It’s stated that the crew checked the wreckage against all the probes and vessels sent to Neptune to make sure it wasn’t of human origin. No they didn’t, the people in the previous book, Uranus, did that on the alien artefacts found there. All they do in this book is incorrect C14 dating. And on page 107 there’s a reference to events in the previous book – The young astronomer named Teresa Gomez made the discovery and subsequent investigations have supported her conclusions. – Yes, a young astronomer made the discovery in the previous book, but HIS name was TOMAS Gomez.
Lastly, after the plot of the book has wrapped up there’s a couple of pages lecturing on Catholiscim needing to modernise its attitudes towards IVF. It’s a rant which comes totally out of left field and has nothing to do with any other part of the book. I’m assuming he included just so the protagonist could have a kid to take the lead in the next book.
This book is bordering on me calling it bad and is not a worthy example of Ben’s talent.
August 8, 2021
A middle-aged woman, Ilona, is obsessed with her father and funds the renovation of an existing ship to return to Neptune where it is very likely he died exploring the sea on Neptune in order to become known as a successful scientist explorer. She hires a retired pilot and a newbie scientist and is, herself, the third member of the crew.
This book, written by multiple-award-winning author Ben Bova who died in 2020, was a disappointment on so many levels. First, it read like the author wrote a bare-bones book with the intention of returning to it later to flesh it out, and his publisher published it as is after his death.
There is little character development here. The characters are cardboard characterizations of the enormously wealthy daddy’s girl, the curmudgeon pilot, and the young, but eager scientist. The dialogue is juvenile and is practically monosyllabic and therefore boring.
The storyline about going to Neptune is thin and hard to believe since there’s no reason, other than Ilona’s obsession with her father, to believe he is still alive after three years.
If you’re looking for a well-written book full of believable characters and hard science, don’t pick this one up.
My thanks to Tor and Edelweiss for an eARC.
This book, written by multiple-award-winning author Ben Bova who died in 2020, was a disappointment on so many levels. First, it read like the author wrote a bare-bones book with the intention of returning to it later to flesh it out, and his publisher published it as is after his death.
There is little character development here. The characters are cardboard characterizations of the enormously wealthy daddy’s girl, the curmudgeon pilot, and the young, but eager scientist. The dialogue is juvenile and is practically monosyllabic and therefore boring.
The storyline about going to Neptune is thin and hard to believe since there’s no reason, other than Ilona’s obsession with her father, to believe he is still alive after three years.
If you’re looking for a well-written book full of believable characters and hard science, don’t pick this one up.
My thanks to Tor and Edelweiss for an eARC.
March 28, 2022
[ Some spoilers follow...]
If I had to summarize my reaction to this book in one word, that word would be "boring."
I have to respect an author who tries to do genuine "hard" Sci Fi. For me, this means, first and foremost, ***NO FTL!***. Keep the action entirely within the solar system, and try to depict space flight in a realistic way. Bova did this well. Putting life on Neptune might be a bit of a reach, but I guess I can accept for the sake of argument that some sort of extremophiles might evolve there. So this book scores points for being an honest attempt at Hard SF, and I do like Bova's descriptions of the planet Neptune.
The problem is that science fiction is just that: fiction. Stories. They can either be "serious" stories, intended to reveal some important inner truth about life, fate, human nature, etc., or simply stories intended to entertain. And on both of these goals, I think that Neptune is a clear failure. Its characters are dreadfully two-dimensional. It's as if they were selected from some catalog of Jungian archetypes - the Charming Rogue, the Haughty Princess, the Earnest-But-Inexperienced-Youth - and simply dropped into the story without any further attention to giving them any depth.
Apart from this, I thought that the development of the plot was very sketchy. When the protagonists found wreckage on Neptune and concluded that it was 2 million years old and of alien origin, my reaction was "wait a minute, how do you reach that conclusion?" There's a tiny bit of mumbo-jumbo about radioisotope dating and the metallurgical composition of the metal of the wreckage indicating that it wasn't crafted on Earth, but it was very sketchy and not at all convincing. And given that it's established in the story that the Neptunian fauna like to absorb various metals, sort of like vitamins, even to the point of eroding a ship's hull, I have to question whether conclusions based on metallurgical analysis should be accepted without careful consideration. On the strength of what was presented in the story, I couldn't blame the authorities on Earth for being skeptical: extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence.
Then came another "What the hell?" moment, again delivered in just a paragraph with little or no exposition. The aliens who left wreckage on Neptune had also long ago exterminated an intelligent and civilized race on Uranus. None of the protagonists were aware of this, but the news was delivered briefly, in passing, in just one or two short paragraphs, with no further comment. Isn't the existence of another sapient race - even if it originated in our own solar system, and even if it's now extinct - rather a big deal? If you're going to inject something like this, it demands some exposition, detailing how and when that now-extinct sapient species on Uranus was discovered, what it was like, and what is known about its civilization, not simply, "Oh, yeah, there were civilized aliens on Uranus, but they were wiped out by the same aliens who left wreckage on the surface of Neptune." All of this reminded me of the flaw in A. E. van Vogt's writing that Damon Knight highlighted in his well-known essay "Cosmic Jerrybuilder", in which he pointedly chided van Vogt for repeatedly introducing monsters, technology, alien cultures, or other important plot elements simply by mentioning them in passing, without any further description or explanation.
To be fair, Bova died in November 2020, and Neptune was published in August 2021. To me, it reads sort of like a rough draft. Perhaps if he had survived, he might have made further revisions that would have fleshed out this skeleton in a more satisfactory way. But as it stands now, I can only say that I found Neptune a real disappointment.
If I had to summarize my reaction to this book in one word, that word would be "boring."
I have to respect an author who tries to do genuine "hard" Sci Fi. For me, this means, first and foremost, ***NO FTL!***. Keep the action entirely within the solar system, and try to depict space flight in a realistic way. Bova did this well. Putting life on Neptune might be a bit of a reach, but I guess I can accept for the sake of argument that some sort of extremophiles might evolve there. So this book scores points for being an honest attempt at Hard SF, and I do like Bova's descriptions of the planet Neptune.
The problem is that science fiction is just that: fiction. Stories. They can either be "serious" stories, intended to reveal some important inner truth about life, fate, human nature, etc., or simply stories intended to entertain. And on both of these goals, I think that Neptune is a clear failure. Its characters are dreadfully two-dimensional. It's as if they were selected from some catalog of Jungian archetypes - the Charming Rogue, the Haughty Princess, the Earnest-But-Inexperienced-Youth - and simply dropped into the story without any further attention to giving them any depth.
Apart from this, I thought that the development of the plot was very sketchy. When the protagonists found wreckage on Neptune and concluded that it was 2 million years old and of alien origin, my reaction was "wait a minute, how do you reach that conclusion?" There's a tiny bit of mumbo-jumbo about radioisotope dating and the metallurgical composition of the metal of the wreckage indicating that it wasn't crafted on Earth, but it was very sketchy and not at all convincing. And given that it's established in the story that the Neptunian fauna like to absorb various metals, sort of like vitamins, even to the point of eroding a ship's hull, I have to question whether conclusions based on metallurgical analysis should be accepted without careful consideration. On the strength of what was presented in the story, I couldn't blame the authorities on Earth for being skeptical: extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence.
Then came another "What the hell?" moment, again delivered in just a paragraph with little or no exposition. The aliens who left wreckage on Neptune had also long ago exterminated an intelligent and civilized race on Uranus. None of the protagonists were aware of this, but the news was delivered briefly, in passing, in just one or two short paragraphs, with no further comment. Isn't the existence of another sapient race - even if it originated in our own solar system, and even if it's now extinct - rather a big deal? If you're going to inject something like this, it demands some exposition, detailing how and when that now-extinct sapient species on Uranus was discovered, what it was like, and what is known about its civilization, not simply, "Oh, yeah, there were civilized aliens on Uranus, but they were wiped out by the same aliens who left wreckage on the surface of Neptune." All of this reminded me of the flaw in A. E. van Vogt's writing that Damon Knight highlighted in his well-known essay "Cosmic Jerrybuilder", in which he pointedly chided van Vogt for repeatedly introducing monsters, technology, alien cultures, or other important plot elements simply by mentioning them in passing, without any further description or explanation.
To be fair, Bova died in November 2020, and Neptune was published in August 2021. To me, it reads sort of like a rough draft. Perhaps if he had survived, he might have made further revisions that would have fleshed out this skeleton in a more satisfactory way. But as it stands now, I can only say that I found Neptune a real disappointment.
February 21, 2025
I've enjoyed a few previous Bova books. MARS in particular is a thrilling wonderful read. I can't believe NEPTUNE is written by the same author. It bears his name, but I'd swear that someone else wrote this.
There is not one thing I can recommend about this book. I couldn't wait to be done with it. Characterization is non-existent...only cardboard characters here. Dialogue is juvenile ("We're saved!") The novel deals very little with the planet Neptune itself and (SPOILER) some of the things the plot asks readers to accept is ludicrous. For instance, the belief that alien invaders entered our solar system two million years ago and wiped out the then existing civilization on the planet Uranus. There is NO support for this belief other than a "report" written by a scientist for which readers receive none of the evidence to back up the claim. Same for these same aliens having caused Earth's Ice Age. But wait! Our panel of heroes are concerned and want to warn the people of Earth of the IMMINENT possibility of these aliens returning to Earth to finish what they started. IMMINENT?! Two MILLION years have passed since the aliens ventured into our solar system! Why believe they'd return now?
There is not one thing I can recommend about this book. I couldn't wait to be done with it. Characterization is non-existent...only cardboard characters here. Dialogue is juvenile ("We're saved!") The novel deals very little with the planet Neptune itself and (SPOILER) some of the things the plot asks readers to accept is ludicrous. For instance, the belief that alien invaders entered our solar system two million years ago and wiped out the then existing civilization on the planet Uranus. There is NO support for this belief other than a "report" written by a scientist for which readers receive none of the evidence to back up the claim. Same for these same aliens having caused Earth's Ice Age. But wait! Our panel of heroes are concerned and want to warn the people of Earth of the IMMINENT possibility of these aliens returning to Earth to finish what they started. IMMINENT?! Two MILLION years have passed since the aliens ventured into our solar system! Why believe they'd return now?
October 8, 2025
Three stars for well written, well paced, interesting characters.
Bova obviously had help on this one. It was his last novel, published right after his passing.
Basically, a small group civilians on a private ship explore the depths of Neptune's ocean (there is only one covering the entire world). They discover an alien spacecraft at the bottom that leads to theory and conjecture about the history of Uranus and Earth's ancient past.
The ending chapters were terrible, with no relevance to the story. Cannot understand why it's there.
The 'spaceship' is a totally impossible piece of technology. Even in any future. Not worthy of Bova.
The story does relate to the "Uranus" novel, so reading it first will help, but isn't necessary. And while the description of exploration is really interesting, human reaction to the discoveries made on Neptune are pretty unbelievable.
It is worth the read just for the entertainment value, but not as believable as most of Bova's work. Doesn't seem to be as well thought out as his past writings.
Bova obviously had help on this one. It was his last novel, published right after his passing.
Basically, a small group civilians on a private ship explore the depths of Neptune's ocean (there is only one covering the entire world). They discover an alien spacecraft at the bottom that leads to theory and conjecture about the history of Uranus and Earth's ancient past.
The ending chapters were terrible, with no relevance to the story. Cannot understand why it's there.
The 'spaceship' is a totally impossible piece of technology. Even in any future. Not worthy of Bova.
The story does relate to the "Uranus" novel, so reading it first will help, but isn't necessary. And while the description of exploration is really interesting, human reaction to the discoveries made on Neptune are pretty unbelievable.
It is worth the read just for the entertainment value, but not as believable as most of Bova's work. Doesn't seem to be as well thought out as his past writings.
March 5, 2023
In this book, we are on a fantastic trip to Neptune. Ilona Magyr, a member of the Hungarian nobility's father went to Neptune third years ago and has not returned. Ilona is determined to go and get her father so has her spaceship redone and hires a crew to include Derek Humbolt as the pilot and Jan Meitner as a scientist and goes to find her father who everybody else believes is death.
What she finds under the ocean on Neptune is a wreckage which will change no only her history, but the history of the entire human race. Of course this is complicated by the fact that politicians have to decide how this discovery will be allowed to change the future for everybody.
This was an exciting read, it grabbed me and didn't seem to want to me go until I finished the book, although it took me all night to finish it. I recommend this book to anyone that loves adventurous science fiction with travel to other unique planets with totally different inhabitants.
What she finds under the ocean on Neptune is a wreckage which will change no only her history, but the history of the entire human race. Of course this is complicated by the fact that politicians have to decide how this discovery will be allowed to change the future for everybody.
This was an exciting read, it grabbed me and didn't seem to want to me go until I finished the book, although it took me all night to finish it. I recommend this book to anyone that loves adventurous science fiction with travel to other unique planets with totally different inhabitants.
October 30, 2022
Unless there are notes for a book about Pluto that would've completed this trilogy and they bring in a posthumous collaborator, this is the end of the road for the Grand Tour. Even it has the feel of something that was quickly finished, perhaps even involving an uncredited collaborator who's contractually obligated never to say anything about it.
It manages to tie the previous book, Uranus, with the Death Wave series, yet there's something awkward and forced about it. I'm thinking that, if only he'd had more time, Ben Bova would have done a more masterful job of bringing them together, as well as his characterization of Ilona and her love for her father. Maybe he would've fleshed out the tantalizing hints of Francine's background.
But that was not to be.
It manages to tie the previous book, Uranus, with the Death Wave series, yet there's something awkward and forced about it. I'm thinking that, if only he'd had more time, Ben Bova would have done a more masterful job of bringing them together, as well as his characterization of Ilona and her love for her father. Maybe he would've fleshed out the tantalizing hints of Francine's background.
But that was not to be.
December 3, 2024
Very disappointed in this book. I picked it up because the reviews said it had a lot of science and facts about Neptune woven into the story, but it was a very shallow storyline and lackluster characters. The dialog was immature at best, but mostly cringey. The plot jumped around with little explanation, like they find an alien craft shipwrecked at the bottom of Neptune and next it was from aliens who killed an ancient civilization on Uranus (first I heard of this civilization) and they caused the last ice age on Earth trying to kill humans...where the heck did that come from. Then to top it off, the main character decides to impregnate herself with her father's clone, after she gets approval from the Pope. WTH?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 23, 2021
I enjoyed this book but I found that it was not as good as his other books that I’ve read. I found there was too much description at the start of the story. He also repeated a major part of the story. The political intrigue that drew me into his previous stories didn’t appear until later in the book. Once the book got into the major story line, I found it to be very enjoyable. Ben Bova's character development is also very good and I found myself caring about the protagonist. His description of what was found on Neptune was very captivating. Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the advance reader copy.
August 13, 2021
Ben Bova has been on my list of authors to read for a while but the one time I tried one of his books I had a hard time getting into it. I gave Neptune a try and had no difficulty - it is a good story. I was disappointed at how mundane and pedestrian this one was. The characters were mildly quirky, the space voyage was uneventful there was mild suspense both times they were in the ocean of Neptune just rather bland. There was a lot of politics and posturing. There was very little hard science or any science fiction to it. I found it to be a mundane read. perhaps his earlier books were good science fiction. I did not enjoy this one.
November 20, 2021
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.
I have read my way through the Grand tour over the last 10 years or so. This book was compare to the others mostly bland and does not add much to the universe. The second half of the book is somewhat better but not developed much. Over all it was ok but you could take a miss on it and not miss anything compared to the much better books of the tour.
I am bummed Ben will write no more but I am very thankful for all the tour.
January 25, 2022
The first half of the book progresses well enough, but there is a massive logical leap halfway through that left me wondering if I had missed a chapter. That same leap is defended throughout the latter half of the book as if the ones justifiably questioning it are crazy, while they’re the ones rightfully puzzled by making that leap with less than circumstantial evidence. Perhaps the author had an idea of what that evidence was but left it out of the book? It really does feel he had a scattering of new ideas partway through and just didn’t feel like doing the work to expand on them sensibly in the story. Overall, very disappointing compared to what I remember of Bova’s other books.
April 25, 2022
Audiobook version. It was short so I persisted. The author is a well- respected sci-fi writer, and I thought it would be worthwhile to follow it through.
Bahhh. I struggled. The most annoying bit was the ridiculous characterization of the female lead and her two male suitors. Really now. We can do better than damsels in distress, and a ‘strong’ woman disdaining the advances of a charismatic swashbuckler. Until she is overcome by his persuasive abilities and doesn’t anymore and ****SPOILER**** gets pregnant. What the actual…in a future society with so much advanced tech women are still getting pregnant accidentally? Give me a break.
Disappointed.
Bahhh. I struggled. The most annoying bit was the ridiculous characterization of the female lead and her two male suitors. Really now. We can do better than damsels in distress, and a ‘strong’ woman disdaining the advances of a charismatic swashbuckler. Until she is overcome by his persuasive abilities and doesn’t anymore and ****SPOILER**** gets pregnant. What the actual…in a future society with so much advanced tech women are still getting pregnant accidentally? Give me a break.
Disappointed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2021
This book is part of the author’s Solar System Series. Overall the book is better than his last effort (Uranus). This plot involves the discovery of aliens who visited Neptune over 2 million years ago and the political ramifications that take place on Earth as a result. Ben Bova fans will particularly enjoy this one.
I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog.
I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog.
December 28, 2024
An Audible freebie that was about to expire so I went ahead with a listen. I was hoping for hard sci-fi but this felt amateurish, with a meandering plot that never really went anywhere or offered anything original at all, and details about Neptune that didn’t feel believable and I don’t think are accurate. I suppose this would be enjoyable to his fans, but I haven’t read much Ben Bova so this didn’t impress. The narrator was also not very good and made everyone sound cartoonish and stereotypical.
October 15, 2025
I liked this one much better than the first book in this series, Uranus, which was pretty bad. But glaring issues still abound here. An editor could've been useful as, just as an example, a main male character from Uranus became a woman in this book in one callback. There's no character development to speak of, a distressing theme of Bova's later works. Writing in sex and romantic relationships have never been Bova's strong suit and that doesn't change now. The basic plot is strong but it lacks a lot of refinement.
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