Ben Bova Books

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Ben Bova was a prolific American author that wrote science fiction and science fact. Born in 1932 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he attended South Philadelphia High School and Temple University. Later on, he went back to school, enrolling at the State University of New York at Albany and California Coast University.

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Rosa Cucinotta was his first wife. The couple, whose marriage ended in 1974, had two children. Ben’s second wife was Barbara Berson Rose. She passed away in 2009.

The author’s resume includes stints at Project Vanguard, Avco Everett Research Laboratory, and Analog Science Fact and Fiction, where Ben worked as an editor. The author was a science adviser on ‘The Starlost.’ Though, he left the TV show because of contractual issues.

He wrote an episode for the TV show ‘Land of the Lost,’ edited a science fiction magazine called ‘Omni,’ consulted on the movie ‘Repo Men,’ and the ‘Altered Carbon’ adaptation, etc.

Ben Bova lived a rich and illustrious life, winning the hearts and minds of science fiction readers in the US and abroad. The author started reading science fiction at a young age. A child of the Great Depression, he discovered astronomy when his class visited the planetarium.

When they switched the stars on, Ben was in awe. He developed a fascination with astronautics. Soon after, the writer discovered science fiction, a genre that used fiction to explore the possibilities of science.

Ben did not hesitate to remind people that he wasn’t a professional scientist. The author was a journalist and educator who was fortunate enough to work under Doctor I.M. Levitt, the planetarium director. Levitt introduced Ben to numerous scientific texts that fed his hunger.

When the writer learned of the US’s intention to launch an artificial satellite, he sought a position at Glenn L. Martin Co. as a technical editor. Ben’s superiors hired him because he told them that the public was interested in project Vanguard. He had the skill to turn the engineering concepts at the heart of the undertaking into prose the layperson could digest.

Even though he was an avid science fiction reader for many years, Ben did not realize that science fiction had a passionate fanbase until David Kyle called and asked him to participate in the World Science Fiction Convention in New York (1956). This marked Ben’s first encounter with science fiction conventions. He recruited some engineers from project Vanguard and took them to the convention on Labor Day Weekend.

The engineers were apprehensive when they saw the costumed fans at the convention. But they overcame their doubts once they met notable figures like Arthur C. Clarke, who had the science community’s love and respect.

Ben Bova Awards

Ben received Hugo, Nebula, Prometheus, and John W Campbell Memorial Award nominations. He won six Hugo awards and a Robert A. Heinlein Award.

Best Ben Bova Books

The author died in 2020 from a stroke and COVID 19 complications. Ben’s best books include:

Venus: Van Humphries will probably die on Venus. Things don’t look good for him. Venus is a hostile place. The air pressure is strong enough to crush spacecraft landers. The heat will melt aluminum. Human flesh won’t survive the sulfuric acid that covers the sky.

Van’s older brother tried to land on Venus. He would have become the first man to set foot on the planet if he had succeeded. But he failed, and in the eyes of their father, Van sinned because he survived when his brother died.
But now, Van has a chance to fix things. His father intends to give $10 billion to the person that can retrieve his dead son from Venus. Van has accepted the challenge.

Jupiter: Grant is on a dangerous mission to Jupiter, a planet that dwarfs the earth significantly. The New Morality wants Grant to disprove the notion that Jupiter has intelligent life.

The religious order will do everything it can to discredit the discoveries their enemies have made. But Grant has no intention of doing the bidding of his masters. The young scientist is a man of faith, a believer born to a minister. However, he rejects the notion that faith and science cannot co-exist, and he is determined to explore Jupiter with an open mind.

The things he sees will destroy everything the elders of the New Morality believe.

When Does The Next Ben Bova book come out?

Ben Bova doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Answer, Please Answer and was released on November, 30th 2023. It is the newest book in the Ben Bova Short Stories/Novellas.

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