The Precipice (The Asteroid Wars, Book 1) (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Jesus," the pilot kept murmuring..." (more)
Key Phrases: transfer buggy, greenhouse cliff, stealth suit, Dan Randolph, Martin Humphries, Asteroid Belt (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author of some 100 books, most of them either science fiction or science fact, six-time Hugo-winner Bova (Jupiter; Venus) is a longtime exponent of the industrialization of outer space, preferably by privately owned corporations, and here he continues in this vein. Earth is on the brink of disaster; in fact, it may have already toppled over the precipice. As a result of the greenhouse effect, the oceans have risen catastrophically and half of humanity faces immediate starvation. Two very rich industrialists, Dan Randolph and Martin Humphries, believe that they may have the key to the planet's salvation. Using new innovations in fusion and nanotechnology, they want to send an experimental spaceship to the asteroid belt. The goal is to bring back enough raw materials to begin to move Earth's heavy industries into outer space, thus greatly reducing pollution and providing enough capital to transform the world. Randolph, despite his many years as a captain of industry, is still something of a starry-eyed optimist who truly wishes to save the planet. Humphries, however, is made of much more selfish stuff; his primary goals are to destroy Randolph and save only as much of Earth's civilization as he personally can rule. Bova has been writing variations on this novel for decades, and he knows his material well. Unfortunately, his work is often marred by a plodding prose style, somewhat stereotypical characters and deeply ingrained sexism. Still, this novel should appeal to Bova's regular audience, a mixture of traditional hard SF fans, space enthusiasts and libertarians.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The greenhouse effect has caused catastrophic changes to Earth's atmosphere, guaranteeing economic, social, and enviromental collapse in the near future. When Dan Randolph and Martin Humphries enter a business partnership to seek new resources in the Asteroid Belt as the only means of saving the planet, only one of them has Earth's best interests in mind. Bova's latest novel, a series opener, highlights current environmental issues and scientific speculation while simultaneously telling a tale of heroes and villains that should appeal to most fans of hard sf.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (October 26, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312848765
• ISBN-13: 978-0312848767
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,501,448 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #100 in

  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( B ) > Bova, Ben

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interplanetary Imperialism, August 27, 2006

By	Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Precipice (The Grand Tour; also Asteroid Wars) (Mass Market Paperback)

The Precipice (2001) is the first SF novel of the Asteroid Wars series. In this volume, Earth has reached the greenhouse cliff, the threshold where the world's climate changes drastically in a very short time. Although the greenhouse effect had been hotly debated, the current evidence could not be rebutted. The icecaps were melting and storms tore savagely at human infrastructure.

Dan Randolph is one of the victims of the new weather patterns. Jane Scanwell died trying to rescue people stranded by the flooding of the Tennessee River. Dan had not known how much he loved her until she was no longer there.

Randolph is determined to alleviate the greenhouse effects as much as possible by moving industry into space and providing raw materials from the Belt. Only one asteroid has ever been brought to Earth in the past; of course, the operation bankrupted Sam Gunn, but it was successful. Now Dan needs a less expensive way to mine the Belt and Martin Humphries shows him such a method.

Lyall Duncan has developed a small fusion power source. Unlike most such sources, the Duncan fusion device is small enough to fit into an old cruise missile used as a test vehicle. The results of this test suggest that a large version would be capable of powering a manned vehicle to the Belt in record time.

Although Humphries has offered to underwrite the initial voyage, Dan just doesn't trust him. Humphries has made his billions by merging smaller companies into his Humphries Space Systems and Randolph's company, Astro Manufacturing, seems to be the old Humper's next target.

While Randolph tries to get other concerns -- public and private -- to fund the first fusion drive spaceship, Pancho Lane has been taken off her piloting duties and assigned, with Amanda Cunningham, to the new fusion drive project. Humphries has recruited her to spy on Randolph, but Pancho doesn't really know anything; besides, she has already confessed her extracurricular activities to Randolph, whom she is beginning to admire. Humphries, however, is still unaware of her new role as a double agent.

Randolph finally exhausts his list of earthside contacts and takes his case to the Moon. Douglas Stavenger, founder of Masterson Aerospace and leader of the Lunar succession from the old United Nations, is still chairman emeritus of Masterson and is government head of Selene. Stavenger has made full use of nanotechnology for maintenance of his body and thus looks much younger than Dan. As they talk, Randolph learns that Humphries has blocked any deal with Masterson by buying a majority interest in the company. Stavenger, however, points out than Selene is quite willing to partner with his company in the development of nanomachines to make fusion drive units.

This novel is one of many works in the Grand Tour universe. Most of the major players in this novel are also found in other unrelated stories. Moreover, three other novels are direct prequels to this work.

Bova has been writing Science Fiction for several decades and was editor of Analog magazine and fiction editor of Omni. Since 1992, he has been concentrating on the Grand Tour novels, with a common political background and an expanding technology. These novels relate the exploration and settlement of the Solar System, from Mercury to Saturn, using engineering solutions based on today's knowledge and speculation.

Highly recommended for Bova fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of interplanetary adventure, political intrigue and cutthroat capitalism.

-Arthur W. Jordin

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as his other books, October 12, 2003

By	Gary Riley (Webster, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Precipice (The Grand Tour; also Asteroid Wars) (Mass Market Paperback)

I've enjoyed all of Bova's books that chronicle the exploration of our solar system. Compared to his other books, however, this one wasn't quite as interesting. The strength of his stories is always in the science. This story had more focus on characters, which he doesn't handle quite as well. If you liked Moonrise and Moonwar, this book is worth reading since it's the next step in the progression of that story, but if you're just starting with Bova, his books Mars, Venus, and Jupiter are much more entertaining.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great entertainment from my favorite writer, December 5, 2001

By	Brent Ziarnick (Colorado Springs, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Continuing the story of Dan Randolph, the hero of Ben's books Privateers and Empire Builders, I found this book to be very enjoyable. Ben Bova writes the clearest, most epic, and most believable near future fiction I've ever encountered. The Precipice is most interesting, though, because it combines storylines from many other books besides the Dan Randolph series, notably Moonbase and Moonwar, allowing me to become reacquainted with some characters I'd long forgot about. Also, Ben's book Venus alludes to the Asteroid War, and since The Precipice is just book one of a chronicle of the War, I'm going to be eagerly awaiting the next books.