Ben Bova has a way of writing hard science fiction that can best be described as "definitive." While other writers introduce technology that could be developed under the right set of circumstances, Bova tends to write about advances that we're already capable of, if only we pursued them. In Moonrise he describes a future where space has finally been privatized and the moon is on the brink of becoming fertile commercial ground. But even as former astronaut Paul Stavenger seeks to turn a handful of leftover government moon shelters into a full-fledged moonbase, powerful corporate forces are aligning against him.


From Publishers Weekly
It's the 21st century and the world is on the brink of a scientific renaissance. The U.S. government has finally had the good sense to privatize the development of outer space and, as a result, a number of scientific advances are in the offing. New rocket technology makes it possible to reach any place on Earth within an hour. Nanotechnology promises incredible medical breakthroughs. Not everyone appreciates these scientific marvels, however. Radical environmentalists and religious fundamentalists want to turn back the clock. Standing against the neo-Luddites is Masterson Aerospace, which is involved in most of the major scientific breakthroughs of the day. Unfortunately, Masterson is crippled from within when its CEO apparently commits suicide and his wife, Joanna, backs her lover, Paul Stavenger, a former astronaut, over her mentally unbalanced son, Greg, in the board election that follows. Thus begins a power struggle that eventually leads to murder and the near destruction of Moonbase, where most of the novel takes place. The family intrigues are far-fetched at times, but Bova's picture of life on the moon and the technology necessary to sustain it is highly believable. Although his villains sometimes thin into one dimension, his protagonists, Stavenger and his son, Doug, are both well developed. A former editor of Analog, Bova (Mars) is a longtime supporter of the colonization and industrialization of outer space. His many books on this subject, both fiction and nonfiction, have sold well over the years and this newest work should be no exception. 35,000 first printing; author tour. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Bova's (Empire Builders, Audio Reviews, LJ 2/15/94) epic novel, in which a man and his son dream of creating an inhabitable society on the Moon, is slow going in unabridged format, as the details that make the novel creditable also slow it to a crawl. Narrator Dick Hill does a workmanlike job with the reading. His skill for accents is well used. He also does an admirable job creating distinguishable women. Unfortunately, he can't escape the novel's plodding pace. Bova doesn't write simple sf, nor is this an action novel. He writes of politics, both family and planetary, and he understands the issues in both cases. However, the familial relationships in his tale are weak. An outlandish subplot, in which a mother attempts to protect her son, is particularly tiresome and detracts from the story's otherwise believable plot. Ultimately, public libraries may want to purchase this title due to Bova's reputation and popularity.?Jodi Israel, Westwood, Mass.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
In the near future of the 21st century, the moon has been colonized by a U.S. aerospace company, and nanobugs (microscopic machines which can build structures on the moon using lunar raw materials as well as correct damage done to the human body by illness and injury) have been developed for practical use. But conflict within the company's founding family and growing protests on Earth against nanotechnology put Moonbase in danger of closure. Dick Hill's ability to enhance the characters through his expression of their emotions and the creation of their vocal personas, together with Bova's plausible story, captures and transports the listener to a world where travel to and residence on the Moon is a fact of life. Special effects give the conversations between workers in spacesuits an authentic sound, heightening the believability of the story. M.A.M. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Kirkus Reviews
Writer-editor Bova, having tackled Mars (1992), moves closer to home with this near-future family melodrama about nanotechnology and the exploitation of the Moon. When philandering Greg Masterson of Masterson Aerospace blows his brains out--it's revealed that he was dying of cancer--his wife Joanna marries her lover, Aerospace executive Paul Stavenger. But her unstable son, Greg II, mistakenly loyal to his rotten father, arranges to have Paul murdered on the Moon with Aerospace's experimental nanotechnology bugs. A horrified Joanna, already pregnant by Paul, bundles Greg off to a psychiatric clinic. In due course, Joanna gives birth to Doug. The years pass; Greg rejoins Aerospace and determines to close Moonbase, a loss- making but visionary and essential enterprise, the brainchild of Paul and now Doug. Inevitably, there will be a final reckoning between crazy Greg and honorable stargazer Paul, with poor Joanna's loyalties tested to the limit. Despite--or perhaps because of--the hokey family feud, little narrative momentum develops: an intermittently involving, elaborate stage-setter for Bova's projected volume two. (First printing of 35,000) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description

There is a dream called Moonbase, nurtured by ex-astronaut Paul Stavenger and his wife, Joanna Masterson Stavenger, head of the powerful Masterson Corporation.

There is a future of astonishing possibilities and vital technological development waiting on a lifeless world of astonishing contrasts, where sub-frigid darkness abuts the blood-boiling light -- a future threatened by greed and jealousy, insanity and murder.

The Moon and its mysteries have captivated the Stavenger family, and it will continue to exert its pull upon subsequent generations. For all those who experience its magnificent desolation are haunted by it eternally. Some will be doomed by its pitiless aversion to human life.

And some can never leave.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

There is a dream called Moonbase, nurtured by ex-astronaut Paul Stavenger and his wife, Joanna Masterson Stavenger, head of the powerful Masterson Corporation.

There is a future of astonishing possibilities and vital technological development waiting on a lifeless world of astonishing contrasts, where sub-frigid darkness abuts the blood-boiling light—a future threatened by a greed and jealousy, insanity and murder.

The Moon and its mysteries have captivated the Stavenger family, and it will continue to exert its pull upon subsequent generations. For all those who experience its magnificent desolation are haunted by it eternally. Some will be doomed by its pitiless aversion to human life.

Author Biography: Ben Bova has been a presence in science fiction for more than four decades. He is a past president of the Science Fiction Writers of America and the former editor of Analog. The recipient of the Hugo and other awards, he has written dozens of novels, including Mars, Voyagers, and Death Dream-as well as Moonrise and Moonwar, the firsts two books of his acclaimed Moonbase Saga. He lives in Florida with his wife, Barbara Bova.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

It's the 21st century and the world is on the brink of a scientific renaissance. The U.S. government has finally had the good sense to privatize the development of outer space and, as a result, a number of scientific advances are in the offing. New rocket technology makes it possible to reach any place on Earth within an hour. Nanotechnology promises incredible medical breakthroughs. Not everyone appreciates these scientific marvels, however. Radical environmentalists and religious fundamentalists want to turn back the clock. Standing against the neo-Luddites is Masterson Aerospace, which is involved in most of the major scientific breakthroughs of the day. Unfortunately, Masterson is crippled from within when its CEO apparently commits suicide and his wife, Joanna, backs her lover, Paul Stavenger, a former astronaut, over her mentally unbalanced son, Greg, in the board election that follows. Thus begins a power struggle that eventually leads to murder and the near destruction of Moonbase, where most of the novel takes place. The family intrigues are far-fetched at times, but Bova's picture of life on the moon and the technology necessary to sustain it is highly believable. Although his villains sometimes thin into one dimension, his protagonists, Stavenger and his son, Doug, are both well developed. A former editor of Analog, Bova (Mars) is a longtime supporter of the colonization and industrialization of outer space. His many books on this subject, both fiction and nonfiction, have sold well over the years and this newest work should be no exception. 35,000 first printing; author tour. (Nov.)

Library Journal

Bova's (Empire Builders, Audio Reviews, LJ 2/15/94) epic novel, in which a man and his son dream of creating an inhabitable society on the Moon, is slow going in unabridged format, as the details that make the novel creditable also slow it to a crawl. Narrator Dick Hill does a workmanlike job with the reading. His skill for accents is well used. He also does an admirable job creating distinguishable women. Unfortunately, he can't escape the novel's plodding pace. Bova doesn't write simple sf, nor is this an action novel. He writes of politics, both family and planetary, and he understands the issues in both cases. However, the familial relationships in his tale are weak. An outlandish subplot, in which a mother attempts to protect her son, is particularly tiresome and detracts from the story's otherwise believable plot. Ultimately, public libraries may want to purchase this title due to Bova's reputation and popularity.-Jodi Israel, Westwood, Mass.

AudioFile - Melody Moxley

In the near future of the 21st century, the moon has been colonized by a U.S. aerospace company, and nanobugs (microscopic machines which can build structures on the moon using lunar raw materials as well as correct damage done to the human body by illness and injury) have been developed for practical use. But conflict within the company's founding family and growing protests on Earth against nanotechnology put Moonbase in danger of closure. Dick Hill's ability to enhance the characters through his expression of their emotions and the creation of their vocal personas, together with Bova's plausible story, captures and transports the listener to a world where travel to and residence on the Moon is a fact of life. Special effects give the conversations between workers in spacesuits an authentic sound, heightening the believability of the story. M.A.M. cAudioFile, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

Writer-editor Bova, having tackled Mars (1992), moves closer to home with this near-future family melodrama about nanotechnology and the exploitation of the Moon. When philandering Greg Masterson of Masterson Aerospace blows his brains out—it's revealed that he was dying of cancer—his wife Joanna marries her lover, Aerospace executive Paul Stavenger. But her unstable son, Greg II, mistakenly loyal to his rotten father, arranges to have Paul murdered on the Moon with Aerospace's experimental nanotechnology bugs. A horrified Joanna, already pregnant by Paul, bundles Greg off to a psychiatric clinic. In due course, Joanna gives birth to Doug. The years pass; Greg rejoins Aerospace and determines to close Moonbase, a loss- making but visionary and essential enterprise, the brainchild of Paul and now Doug. Inevitably, there will be a final reckoning between crazy Greg and honorable stargazer Paul, with poor Joanna's loyalties tested to the limit.

Despite—or perhaps because of—the hokey family feud, little narrative momentum develops: an intermittently involving, elaborate stage-setter for Bova's projected volume two.