Powersat, Ben Bova
Powersat, Ben Bova
4 Rating(s)
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Powersat
The Grand Tour Series

Author: Ben Bova

Narrator: Stefan Rudnicki; Directed by Kirk Miller

Unabridged: 13 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/21/2011

Categories: Fiction, Science Fiction


Synopsis

Two hundred thousand feet up, things go horribly wrong. An experimental loworbit spaceplane breaks up on reentry, falling to earth over a trail hundreds of miles long. And in its wake is the beginning of the most important mission in the history of spaceflight. Americans needs energy, and Dan Randolph is determined to give it to them. He dreams of an array of geosynchronous powersats, satellites that gather solar energy and beam it to generators on Earth, freeing America from its addiction to fossil fuels and breaking the power of the oil cartels forever. But the wreck of the spaceplane has left his company, Astro Manufacturing, on the edge of bankruptcy. Worse, Dan discovers that the plane was sabotaged. And whoever brought it down is willingand ableto kill again to keep Astro grounded. Now Dan has to thread a dangerous maze. The visible threats are bad enough: Rival firms want to buy him out and take control of his dreams. His former lover wants to coopt his unlimitedenergy idea as a campaign plank for the candidate shes grooming for the presidency. NASA and the FAA want to shut down his maverick firm. And his creditors are breathing down his neck. Making matters even more dangerous, an international organization of terrorists sees the powersat as a threat to their own oilbased power. And theyve figured out how to use it as a weapon in their war against the West. A sweeping mix of space, murder, romance, politics, secrets, and betrayal, Powersat will take you to the edge of space and the dawning of a new world.

About Ben Bova

Ben Bova is the author of more than a hundred works of science fact and fiction, including Able One, Leviathans of Jupiter, and the Grand Tour novels, including Titan, winner of John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel of the year. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation in 2005, and in 2008 he won the Robert A. Heinlein Award "for his outstanding body of work in the field of literature." He is President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past president of Science Fiction Writers of America, and a former editor of Analog and former fiction editor of Omni. As an editor, he won science fiction's Hugo Award six times. Dr. Bova's writings have predicted the Space Race of the 1960s, virtual reality, human cloning, the Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars), electronic book publishing, and much more. He lives in Florida.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Bradley on January 16, 2021

I think this is a very solid, average, old-school SF novel. It's focused on current events (circa 2005) surrounding energy dependence issues, political realities, and a nice, if almost cartoonish, technothriller cherry on top. When I say it's average, I need to clarify it some. It's not an average *ou......more

Goodreads review by aPriL does feral sometimes on July 22, 2016

Dan Randolph is focused on a single goal - to be the first privately-owned company to deliver solar power to the people of earth, starting with Americans, from an orbiting space platform, thus saving the environment by reducing reliance on fossil fuels. He has has bulldozed past endless American reg......more

Goodreads review by Ian on January 14, 2016

This book almost made me root for the terrorists. Dan Randolph is one of the most unintentionally unlikable protagonists ever, a hotshot business CEO and former astronaut, he does very little of note for the vast majority of the book and succeeds for no other reason than he is as American as Donald......more

Goodreads review by Marcus on April 16, 2018

This is my first acquaintance with Ben Bova and what a letdown it was! I was expecting solid science-fiction book and instead I had to suffer through a mediocre techno-thriller with 'paint it by numbers' plot riddled with logical holes through which a satelite could pass without any problems whatsoe......more

Goodreads review by Graff on January 14, 2025

The Grand Tour 01 Powersat by Ben Bova challenging dark funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense  Medium-paced Plot or character-driven? A mix Strong character development? It's complicated Loveable characters? It's complicated Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated Flaws of character......more