Jupiter - Out of this World ! (Jupiter - Ben Bova)

Member Name: Maximus-Qualitus

Product:	Jupiter - Ben Bova
Date:	13/05/08 (98 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good read

Disadvantages: None

Jupiter.

Author - Ben Bova.

Jupiter is set 100 years after his Mars and Venus novels. The book has a distinctive religious undertone. One society is the 'New Morality' which requires citizens to give up a few years of their lives to "Service" within the 'new morality'. With any religious movement they dislike and mistrust any Scientists and their works.

Synopsis:
Our hero of the story is Grant Archer, A student studying Black Holes. Grant is sent to spend his "Service" time at a research station named Gold, which is orbiting Jupiter.
His mission is to spy on the scientists and report back any deviant behaviour.
Grant himself will grows a as person as he realises he is not the centre of the universe and this is well written.
However the station director, Dr wo takes a shine to grant and a friendship is struck up. So much so that grant does not file any negative reports on the scientists.

Indeed his fellow students make him very welcome. These include Ben Muzorawa is a specialist in fluid dynamics and will eventually get him on the planetary exploration team. Biochemist, Egon Kharlstad, who is only on Gold Station to avoid serving a prison. Lanie O'Hara, who doubles as a scientist and station security chief and Tamiko Hideshi is a physical chemist primarily studying Europa's oceans.
He is later included the mission to the ocean of Jupiter to look for sentient life. And finally discovers what the strange vessel is that is tethered to the space station.

The science in the book is believable if sometimes a little too 'tecky'. The sentient life found in the ocean is great to read about and well thought out.

But this is essentially an adventure story with as I've said religious undertones, About life through religious eyes versus evolution.

The characters are well filled out without having too much detail about them expressed. We do not need to know who their second cousin was etc.... this annoying depth that accompanies some books is thankfully left out.

There are a lot of twists and turns throughout the book with plausible and enjoyable revelations and explanations.

The book moves at a good pace and you will want to keep reading it.

A 'beach' book for those that want to dip in and out of a good novel.

Greg.

Summary: A book that speeds along.