Customer Reviews

The Silent War: Book III of The Asteroid Wars

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Silent War (2004) is the third SF novel of the Asteroid Wars series, following The Rock Rats. In the previous volume, Lars Fuchs was caught in an ambush by HSS mercenaries, was returned to Ceres, and then was exiled by the Rock Rats. Amanda Cunningham divorced him and married Martin Humphries to keep Lars from being hurt by any HSS goons. But Amanda also has plans to implant an embryo fertilized by Lars within herself and to carry it to term.

In this novel, Yamagata Corporation is moving back into space ventures after years of rebuilding Japan. Saito Yamagata is leaving corporate management to his son Nobuhiko, but providing advice as requested. Saito has insisted that the corporation should remain in the background until their position is assured. Most of their efforts have been focused through Nairobi Industries, an African conglomerate with little overt experience in such ventures.

Covertly, Yamagata Corporation is picking off freighters from both Humphries Space Systems and Astro Manufacturing. Now each of these corporations blames the other for their losses. Martin Humphries and Pancho Lane are ready to make war of each other. The Humper is reestablishing the base on Vesta and equipping it with a dozen attack craft. Pancho is arming her freighters.

Lars Fuchs is unaware of most of these warlike preparations, but he is continuing his war against HSS. Dorik Harbin, commander of the HSS mercenaries, is still trying to lure him into a trap, but without luck. Still, Lars has learned about Amanda's pregnancy, but not about the heritage of the embryo.

Eight years after her marriage to Humphries, Amanda makes her first move in the long held plan to implant herself with the cryogenically preserved embryo of Lars and herself. She is supposedly carrying Humphries's baby and only Douglas Stavenger and Pancho Lane know that the embryo's heritage is quite different. She has even changed the DNA codes in Humphries's medical records to throw off suspicion of another paternity. Now if she can just carry the baby to term without the Old Humper learning of her duplicity.

The characters in this novel have well developed, but trite motivations. Of course, trite means commonplace and they are very common personality types. Especially Humphries, who learned early that his father cared nothing for him; now he is marking people notice him by force (mostly economic). Pancho is a white-hatted cowboy, out to do good in the world, but otherwise liable to play practical jokes and other highjinks. Lars Fuchs has been forced into a psychological corner by the Old Humper and differs greatly from his previous self-image. All are what they are due to circumstances beyond their control, just as are you and I.

The prologue and epilogue to this work occur six years after the body of this novel. An alien object, thought to be an artistic work, has been discovered and sold to Martin Humphries. Except for the discovering family and the initial security detail, no one else has seen the object. The results of viewing the object are variable, but profound.

This novel is the final volume in the Asteroids Wars series, but the consequences carry throughout the Grand Tour universe. Some of these effects have already reached publication in other works, most notably Venus, which is a direct sequel, although taking place over a decade after this volume. Others are still to come.

Recommended for Bova fans and for anyone else who enjoy tales of high adventure, technical warfare and naked slaughter.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Earth still remains in the cataclysmic grip of economic failure coupled with crippling environmental disaster. Little hope remains on the planet with the best chance to renew the orb being the vastly rich asteroid belt. Though the potential wealth seems astronomical, two rivals have merged trying to gain control of the resources (see THE ROCK RATS). Pancho Lane heads Astro Corporation while Martin Humphries leads Humphries Space Systems with the former wanting to share the affluence in an effort to save earth and humanity while the latter wants to control everything and everyone.

Pirate Lars Fuchs lost his beloved spouse Amanda to Humphries when she offered herself in exchange for his freedom several years ago. Not long afterward, Amanda dies giving birth. Humphries assumes that the child is of his seed and so does Lars who is still mourning his loss and seeking revenge by killing Humphries. Meanwhile on a solar system level, the conflict between Astro Corporation and Humphries Space Systems flares encouraged by a third interested party, Yamagata Corporation, who plans to gain control of everything once the two giants pound each other into stardust.

This exciting tale is a terrific conclusion to the action-packed Asteroid Wars (see THE PRECIPICE and THE ROCK RATS). The story line moves faster than the speed of life until the final confrontation. Though Martin remains as an extreme example of a mega maniac as one will see embrace a novel, the rest of the cast does not seem as one dimensional. Fans will appreciate this fabulous tale as well as the rest of a wonderful futuristic solar system that seems so bleak except for a one sparkle of starlight.

Harriet Klausner

The "3" rating is most definitely an average of a "1" and a "5".
Until the very end, this book exemplified all the best features of this series, with a lot of corporate manipulation and dramatic action. I was hooked quickly. I found myself looking forward to the 2 new books in the Grand Tour that Bova has published since The Silent War. I even joined Bova's mailing list to hear about future books.
Then the last chapter descended on me like a sudden laser blast from space. It was so different in tone and theme that it did not even seem like something Bova would have written. It was not a fitting concluson, nor was it likely to appeal to the kind of reader who would have enjoyed the rest of the book or the rest of the series. If it was a jumping-off point for the next books, it was too sudden and unwelcome.
Is the Grand Tour taking a new route? If so, I'm not sure I want to go along.?

The "Asteroid Wars Trilogy" started off dismally with the first book (The Precipice), and picked up with the second book (The Rock Rats), but finishes on a strong note with The Silent War.

While there were some dull moments in the middle sections of The Silent War, the last 1/3 of the book is very exciting, with multiple interwoven cliffhangers building up and commencing in varying interesting fashions.

Bova does a much better job in this book of inventing new believable technologies and/or sticking to previously-presented technologies that make sense. While it was obviously impossible for him to completely jettison the silly manmade-created "Greenhouse Cliff" premise (which includes widespread manmade-caused earthquakes!?), it is moved far enough into the background in this book that it can be almost ignored. Strong technology strongpoints are:

Nanotechnology - New flexible spacesuits, and "gobblers", whose inventor plays the role of Dr. Frankenstein.

Radiation - We get a good scientific explanation, and some good examples of it in various parts of the story.

Kinetic Energy Weapons/Defenses - These weapons (rocks, really) see increased use in this book.

Indeed, there is one excellent subplot where all three of these technologies are brought together -- which inludes a very believable sequence showing how The Cromwell's Captain balances his fears (of death vs. failure) to decide how and when he releases his weapons against Vesta.

Drugs - Dorik Harbin continues in his role of the designer drug-driven mercenary, clearly showing that he would have been better off to "just say no", but why his inner demons start him and keep him going on his ever-worsening habit.

The book ends with a couple of obvious lead-ins to future (and probably non-Asteroid based) stories, which I won't get into details, as it could potentially spoil the ending if you know who comes out alive.

Oh, and I also found it to be an interesting parallel that Bova felt it necessary to throw in his usual token spanish phrase (both of which he muffed in the first two books), and he gets it right this time!

Commercial motives; Human nature; Creative thinking; This story combines the three for a caricatured look at what the next 100 years in space may be like. Engagingly told in the down-to-earth style the author does well. I had not read the other trilogy books but that was not an impediment. This book is more about people in a future than the future.

"Why was I so into this series again?" was the question I asked myself as I read this book. The first book must have been really engaging, because I was eagerly on the lookout for the second book, and read it as soon as I could. It wasn't as good as the first one, but I decided to keep on reading the series to see how it wraps up. I have read it, and my reaction is "meh."

The characters seem straight from a 1950's western or lurid love tale. Their descriptions are pretty vacuous and they all are more like caraicatures than characters. The sci-fi aspect is pretty good, but I couldn't escape the feel of a "Dallas" vibe throught the story, and a corny "Dallas" vibe too.

If you must read it to see what happens to all the characters and stuff, do what I did and borrow it from a library. Either that, or buy the used paperback edition when it comes out cheap. Otherwise, you'll think it was a waste of money. Something about the first novel in this series made me want to continue reading the series, but Bova lost that "something" in the second and third novels. He left the door open in this novel for a sequel of sorts, he had better find and reclaim that "something" if he wants that sequel to be good.

The plot does not work for me. I do not believe that the head of an entire corporation is going to tour some strange place all alone, then get out by herself. I do not believe that someone as paranoid as Humphries isn't going to make sure there is a phone and food stocked in his panic room. I don't really buy the way the war played out. The entirety with Furch & Amanda was just ridiculous. If Furch wants to kill Humpheries, he surely didn't plan very well, didn't execute it, and should not have been able to just slip away. Un-be-liev-able!

The ending was atrocious. The rest of the plot was bad enough, but then it just runs into that absurdity of an ending and we're all supposed to believe it? I don't think so.

And what was that nonsense about the artifact? It had nothing to do with anything. The first and last chapters in italics had nothing to do with this book and does not make me want to read whatever next book is supposedly coming after it.

Add to this the wooden, one-dimensional characters that, honestly, I didn't like very much. Add to that, the fact that the story would jump rapidly from one scene to another but NOTHING would be added to the storyline. The story became boring as the plot wasn't progressing, just jumping to show "action."

Nope, did not like this at all. It started very well, but it ended poorly.

I've been reading his stuff for quite a while, and more recently tried (someone unsuccessfully) to read all of his novels about the planets and the asteroid wars which, actually, form a continuous chain of events(and characters).

Readers who are A-type as I am should know that the series is not to be read in the order published; if you go by that, the characters who died before are suddenly alive again.

The 3rd installment of the asteroid wars takes place just before his novel Venus, but finishes off a trilogy; in some ways, this is the weakest of the 3 because the plot gets a bit repititious - and the characters are pretty well frozen in place. His descriptions start to get repititious as well.

But if you like his style (simple, right wing space opera out of the Heinlein tradition, but without the sense of satire), it's good summer reading.

The Asteroid Wars continue to rage in this third installment by Ben Bova.

Martin Humphries and Pancho Lane continue to battle it out over control of the asteroid belt and its tremendous mineral wealth. Humphries Space Systems and Astro Corporation continue to blast each other's ships into oblivion, and each side has hired mercenaries to combat the other. However, a new player has emerged in the war; Yamagata corporation. The Yamagata corporation has been silently watching as Astro and Humphries Space Systems battle each other. Then, when both are ready to collapse, Yamagata will zoom in and take full control of the belt. At least that's what the plan was.

Lars Fuchs continues to be a thorn in the side of Martin Humphries. After being exiled from Ceres, Fuchs has lead the life of a pirate; secretly destroying Martin Humphries' ships in the belt. However, Martin seems to have won the ultimate prize; Amanda, Lars' beloved wife, has divorced him and married Martin. She's even pregnant. But whose child is it, Martin's or Lars'? Sadly, Amanda dies in childbirth, leaving Martin with a handicapped son. Martin never bonds with the child, instead, he sends his new son to Connecticut to live.

Dorik Harbin is still on Humphries' payroll and is determined to find Lars. Lars has even tried to kill Martin in his own home. He sneaked into Martin's home in Selene and set fire to the entire compound. Martin managed to survive by hiding in a concealed fire-proof closet, but his house and many of his security team were destroyed. Pancho helped Lars escape by giving him one of Astro's new ships. But, Humphries has sent Harbin looking for him.

Meanwhile, Doug Stavenger's wife Edith has left Selene to fly to Ceres to report on the war. But, Harbin has chosen the same path to track Fuchs. Once at Ceres, Harbin demands that Fuchs be turned over to him. He is rebuffed and told that Fuchs is not there. Enraged, Harbin destroys the habitat surrounding Ceres. Meanwhile, Doug Stavenger has convened a meeting of Pancho, Humphries, and Yamagata in an effort to stop the war. Will he be successful, or will the Asteroid Wars continue to rage on?

This book is the best one of the series. The action is non-stop, and I enjoyed the way Bova expanded the storyline by adding the Yamagata corporation into the war. Of course, its still fun to watch Humphries and Pancho battle it out. Plus, the beginning and ending, which deals with an alien artifact, is good, too.

I give this book my highest recommendation. The action is fast-paced, and the character development is excellent. Will the Asteroid Wars finally come to an end, or will Pancho, Martin, and Yamagata continue to fight it out? Read this great book and find out!

Characters
They're racy, with a corporate cowboy type atmosphere. Only it all takes place in a vacuum. The pace is ok to good and then speeds up during the last half of the book.
Who has the power and freedom to act? Pancho Lane. Who did you want to succeed in the end? Pancho. Who was the main character? Probably Pancho. She could have been the viewpoint character but Bova toggles between scenes so fast he couldn't really use a viewpoint character very effectively. It all has to be third person which I like. As far as who hurts the most there's lots of pain in the book but the winner was either an oppressed exile or an inwardly tortured mercenary.

Story Construction
Bova seems to have made an error in story construction, especially the end. The main characters get cornered and soon after, they dribble off the end of the book by means of Bova's artifact. I like the artifact idea and the uniqueness of the artifact itself. Bova prepares Dorn and Humphries for us with earlier glimpses into their private horrors. (Sorry, you'll just have to read it and I recommend a used paperback.) But I think he uses it as a terminating distraction so he can end the story (even though its introduced in the beginning to bracket the novel).

Summary
The quality of Bova's writing is excellent. His craftwork makes for fast reading and I enjoyed his use of technology to write stellar scenarios in future, not-to-distant places. His ship hulls, moon bases and lasers are believable.
Bova can write anything he wants but the end of the book was awkward and uncoordinated with how the characters developed. Plot twists are exciting but The Silent War contained character types with motivations established during the body of the book and they unwound in unlikely directions. I'm convinced he should have written little Van into the story to correct, console, and provide remembrance. Never underestimate the power of a little baby to propel a story to a memorable end. Remember Bethlehem?