[.ca] Jupiter (ISBN 0812579410)

From Amazon.com:
He made planetfall on Venus and all but colonized Mars, so it's not surprising that SF don Ben Bova finally set his sights on our solar system's swirling, red-eyed sovereign. As with his previous planetary exploration books, Jupiter plants you right in the heart of the action, witness to the speculative science and political intrigue--and in this case, religious machination--that surround a fast-paced, dangerous, and technically fleshed-out mission. Our unlikely hero on this touchdown is an earnest, likeable, hard-working grad student named Grant Archer, a frustrated astrophysicist who's been shanghaied aboard Jupiter's Gold space station to fulfill a ROTC-style public-service commitment. What's worse, this devout young man has been ordered by the New Morality--the American flavor of the conservative religious order that runs Earth nowadays--to spy on some suspicious research involving alleged Jovian life forms. Bova begins his book with an A.C. Clarke quote: "The rash assertion that 'God made man in His own image' is ticking like a time bomb at the foundation of many faiths." This tells you pretty much everything you need to know about where this book's going, and who, respectively, will be wearing the white and the black hats (unfortunately, some of the characterizations don't get much deeper). That the central protagonist is both a Christian and a scientist makes for some fertile character development, but Bova's not exactly gunning for God here--he's happy just to blast away at narrow-minded ideologues and other assorted religious fanatics. (But that, of course, is about as easy as making teenagers depressed.) --Paul Hughes

I was moderately impressed by Jupiter, my first Bova book:
Quick plot summary. Grant is a recent college graduate in the not to distant future (maybe one or two hundred years). Religious fanatacism has gained a large influence on Earth through the "New Morality." The government also requires two years of community service from its citizens after college. For Grant's community service, the New Morality sends Grant to a space station orbiting Jupiter to spy on their research of extraterrestrial life. Grant encounters an "intellecually altered" gorilla and gets involved in a top secret deep sea mission. Jupiter is an interesting read but the ending is slightly unimaginative and a little idealistic. I could have done without the religious overtones. They were necessary for the plot but Bova really laid the religion on heavy at the end. Having said that, the end was by no means bad and the rest of the book was very good. The ideas presented on non-human intelligent life were interesting. If you don't mind religious influence in a science fiction book, Jupiter is a good, simple (but not elementary) read.

I really liked this one. . .:
I enjoyed the Mars books; I enjoyed the Moonbase books; I HATED Venus; and it was with a question of whether "Jupiter" would be more like the former than the latter that I cautiously decided to try this book. I'm very glad that I did so! Bova, as he as occasionally done before, actually has a thoughtful, religious major character, while at the same time, railing against the worst sorts of religious fundamentalism. This type of balance is difficult to achieve. I enjoyed the (somewhat predictable) plot and the interesting descriptions of what sort of a manned ship could actually penetrate deep into the Jovian clouds, and the descriptions of the sort of life which might exist under those circumstances. This book was worth my time. Recommended.

Could this book be any MORE repetitive?:
Be prepared to be hit over the head again and again by the same ideas again and again through this entire book again and again. How many times must we read the word "baleful" or "sardonic". I wouldn't be surprised if the word "baleful" appears in this book 30 times. How many times must we be reminded that the crew is in discomfort on the deep mission. Yes... we know... let's move on. This book could have EASILY been edited to half its size without eliminating anything of importance.

A tour-de-force of science and religion:
This is the first book I've read by Bova, and I'm determined now that it will not be the last. Being a religious man (though not a fanatic), I am often turned off by most modern science fiction that tries to deal with religious topics. They invariably portray religion as an artifact of our "primitive roots", and imply (or outright state) that once our civilization matures, there will be no room of religious "superstitions." Arthur Clarke is a prime example of this point of view. In "Jupter", Bova takes a refreshing stand, pointing out that there is no reason that religion and science cannot coexist peacefully. All it takes is an open mind and sufficient faith in God to acknowledge that the scientific principles we are discovering may be the very means by which He works His miracles. I do not know whether Ben Bova is himself a religious man, but I am certainly grateful for his refreshing perspective on science and religion. Three cheers for Bova!

A Fascinating Look at the King of Our Solar System:
Jupiter was one of my first forays into the works of Ben Bova. While not the best author around, Bova does some things very well. The main character, Grant Archer just graduated from college and is preparing for mandatory public service. However, he recently got married and was expecting to serve his time on the Moon. Instead, religious zealots, who are in control of governments on Earth, send him out to Jupiter to spy on the scientists here. Now, my main problem with this is how little sense it makes. However, the one thing I've learned from this is that you do NOT read a Ben Bova book for superior characterization. You do NOT read a Ben Bova book for a suspenseful plot. The characters are shallow, their motives simple. The plot is transparent and quite cliche... With that being said, what Bova DOES do well is give us a fascinating glimpse of our solar system and the possibilities therein. Bova gives us a mostly scientific look at Jupiter, and even slips in some fairly believable alien life. Some may criticize Bova's shortcomings, but the bottom line is, I liked this book. If you are looking for deep characters or an awesome plot, look elsewhere: Bova is not the author for you. But if you would like a fast-paced romp through Jupiter's atmosphere and into the ocean below, this is your cup of tea. Bova keeps the pages turning, simply by making you want to know more and more about Jupiter.