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Challenges
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by Ben Bova
Sales Rank : 1510347
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Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Tor Science Fiction December 15, 1994
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0812514084
ISBN-13: 978-0812514087
Product Dimensions:
7 x 4.5 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
This bland collection gathers recent short stories and nonfiction essays by the Hugo Award-winning author of Mars , with each piece prefaced by the author's comments about his inspirations and writing methods. The stories display the typical elements of Bova's hard-SF orientation: robotic prosthetic limbs in the light-hearted tale, "The Man Who Hated Gravity"; sentient computers in the cyberpunkish "World War 4.5"; a mysterious alien artifact in "Sepulcher"; the problems of interstellar travel in "To Touch a Star." The author handles his subjects with clear prose and well-practiced skill, but none of these works breaks new ground. At best, he offers mildly intriguing perspectives on topics better handled elsewhere; at worst, he is prosaic and predictable. The nonfiction, dealing with the nature and technique of SF-writing, is adequate but forgettable. Bova repeats himself from essay to essay; his arguments about the merits of SF as literature have been made before. The one truly engaging essay is "Science, Fiction and Faith," which contends that SF may be the mythology of the modern age. As a whole, this volume does not represent Bova's strongest work.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
YA-A collection of 12 science-fiction short stories and 6 essays that address challenges and change. In "The Man Who Hated Gravity," a circus accident cripples the great Rolando. Lawyers and the news media are satirized in "Fitting Suits" and in "Crisis of the Month." The purpose of art is explored in "Sepulcher," and Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" has been recast as a nuclear-holocaust story. The dangers of war, ESP, and life in the near future are among the themes included. Essays address the science in science fiction, faith, the future of writing, and the world in 2042. Aspiring writers, YAs wanting to plunge into this genre for the first time, fans of Bova, and teens just looking for some short pieces worth their time should all find pleasure here.
Barbara Hawkins, Oakton High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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