The Kinsman Saga [Hardcover]

Ben Bova (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1987

Hero or Killer?

In a startling future that's coming closer every year, Chet Kinsman is an astronaut ace who has done everything in space--including committying the first murder. It's a secret he can never escape, not even on the Moon, where he's head of the first U.S. lunar colony.

But suddenly, a series of shocking yet strangely inevitable circumstances forces Kinsman to confront his hidden past and decide Earth's destiny. In a desperate countdown to nuclear annihilation, Kinsman struggles against a deadly paradox: if he rescues the world, he may end up destroying himself.Hero or Killer?

In a startling future that's coming closer every year, Chet Kinsman is an astronaut ace who has done everything in space---including committing the first murder. It's a secret he can never escape, not even on the Moon, where he's head of the first U.S. lunar colony.

But suddenly, a series of shocking yet strangely inevitable circumstances forces Kinsman to confront his hidden past and decide Earth's destiny. In a desperate countdown to nuclear annihilation, Kinsman struggles against a deadly paradox: if he rescues the world, he may end up destroying himself.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

As the U.S.-Soviet space race dominates the latter half of the 20th century, Chet Kinsman, Air Force pilot, astronaut, and passionate Quaker, takes a dramatic risk to bring peace to a troubled world. Bova's complete revision of two earlier novels Kinsman and Millennium presents a vision of Earth's near future that will appeal to readers of military sf. JC
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Not only at the forefront of hard SF writers, but one who can write a novel of character with the best of them."--Orson Scott Card --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (October 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312930283
• ISBN-13: 978-0312930288
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #913,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Countdown To the Millennium has commenced!, April 4, 2000

By 

Christopher Dalton (Louisville, Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kinsman Saga (Mass Market Paperback)

When I first read The Kinsman Saga, I was amazed and awestruck at how it was written. Most of all, of how one man and his closest friends unite two cultures of different backgrounds into acheiving what could be described as the impossible. The prevention of nuclear destruction on the Earth.

Ben Bova has created an adventure that is a very successful blend of science fiction and political thriller, with some romantic overtones. He was also very accurate concerning Ronald Reagan's old SDI-Star Wars-plan. Bova even created characters that were multi-dimensional and real. Chet Kinsman was definately someone I could relate to. His passion and drive for establishing a colony on the moon is something any explorer can understand. Not only that, but the hardships he had to endure with his family, his friends, and the only woman who truly loved him.

I liked the idea of a colony being established on the moon in 1999, and the scientific reality that was behind it. By far, The Kinsman Saga is a SF classic that is worth reading. It introduces the reader to a future that might have been, and a future that is yet to come. If you like The Kinsman Saga, you will also enjoy Colony. Another epic novel set in the same future, dealing with similar political and social issues.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thought provoking Sci-fi adventure, February 3, 2003

By 

knweedo (Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kinsman Saga (Mass Market Paperback)

The Kinsman Saga is definetly a masterpiece of science fiction literature. When I first picked this book up I was hesitant, I'd never heard of the author, and it was long, I feared it would be another modern science fiction novel with an unoriginal plot. I was surprised to find one a classic science fiction novel, one so well written you are drawn into it. The future Bova creates is so realistic it makes you wonder if our society is leading us down the same path. We mean Chet Kinsman as a young recruit. We follow his life through it's various stages, as he works his way through the air-force space program. Bova's characters are richly developed, you learn a lot of their background, and what makes them tick so to speak. The novel does not strictyl cover technical science fiction aspects, but also politics, human emotions, and a bit of romance. Overall the book is an extremely satisfying read, I can't think of anything negative to say about it. Highly reccomended to anyone, sci-fi fan or not.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kinsman, October 27, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Kinsman Saga (Mass Market Paperback)

Science Fiction;
this book is a chronicle of a young man named Geroge A. Kinsman. He joins the Air Force to become an astronaut. His parents dislike he fact that he has joined the Air Force saying that he is a "training to become a killing machine". His mother has passed away and his father hates him. My favorite charecter in this novel was George A. Kinsman beacuse he is a born leader.One of the qoutes from this book on page 280 is "dont beat your life one it" that qoute makes alot of sense to me. I would say that this is a good book and that you should read it.