Stars, Won’t You Hide Me? by Ben Bova

For a last installment in a very good collection this one was mind-blowing in its scale.

Holman wakes with the ship's computer AI asking for instructions.  Where should we go?  The ship has been damaged in an attack but it is repairing itself.

Humanity has been at war with The Others and they have come back to exterminate every last person left alive.

Not only did the include faster-than-light travel but  it is an intergalactic chace story.  Humanity has been judged as unworthy to continue existing.

This was a terrific epic that could easily have been made into a complete series of novels.  Bova did a great job of succinctly telling a giant story by showing us what happened to one single man.

A Long Way Back by Ben Bova

I found this story less plausible, so I had trouble getting behind the premise.

In America, after a nuclear exchange, society has devolved as you might expect - into tribal behavior.  One enclave is formed where the leadership decides to rebuild society by first scavenging rocket parts and then sending one volunteer into orbit to assemble a power satellite that has been parked there since before the war.

He has been trained by hypnosis (really?) and barely has enough oxygen to get the job done (odd).

Once the true nature of the mission is discovered, and the manipulations that took place to get it done, our poor hypnotized astronaut changes the rules.

There was something that could have worked in the story but placing it in a post-apocalypse setting threw the whole thing off balance .  At least for me.

Sword Play by Ben Bova

This was not a SF story but more a coming of age one.

Luckily Bova writes an introduction to each story in this collection. Otherwise, I would have been left wondering why it was included. 

It deals with boys coming to terms with things they don't currently understand, about being open to others and willing to learn.

It was a warm story.

The Shining Ones by Ben Bova

This could be shot as a movie by Steven Spielberg.

It has all the elements; a troubled youngster, a small town, local police, the army and an alien encounter. 

Johnny has run away from home and discovered a UFO landing site.  While he hides out he watches the affairs around the craft. 

Forced by curiosity, his own personal need and hunger he sneaks into the camp the military have built around the UFO. 

The story was charming and warm. 

A treat.

Ben Bova's website:  http://benbova.com/

The Next Logical Step by Ben Bova

Wow!

THIS is what great science fiction is all about. 

It is just as timely and important today as it was back in 1962.

A top secret computer model predicts the likely scenario of a world after a nuclear exchange. 

This should be required reading to those in power and to every high school student. 

Chilling. 

To me this is the best story in the collection. 

Ben Bova's website:  http://benbova.com/

Blood of Tyrants by Ben Bova

A sequel of sorts to Escape!

Bova took the main character of Danny and put him in a far-different rehabilitation program. 

It was an interesting story where Danny takes everything he’s learned about how re-enter society and puts his own twist on things when he’s released. 

I’ve got to say this is the weakest story so far.  It relied too much on my willingness to suspend disbelief. 

Men of Good Will by Ben Bova

An interesting treat of a story.

What happens when you use weapons, designed on Earth, and fire them on the moon?

A funny and sobering look at orbital mechanics. 

The Last Decision by Ben Bova

Space Opera!

The Emporer of the Hundred Worlds is faced with a daunting and risky decision. 

Should he save the Earth from the sun?  The sun is dying and will burn the planet to ash if interventions are not made to stabilize it. 

The Emporer hears arguments from his advisors and those from his inner circle. 

The implications of the task are deep and far-reaching. 

There was a gentleness in the story that I enjoyed very much. It was a political story at its core but it had all kinds of technology in the background to make it fun.  This one story feels as though it occupies a small corner of a vast canvas. 

I liked the size of it.  I would be happy to revisit this place again. 

Vince’s Dragon by Ben Bova

I will admit that I’ve never read a story quite like this one.

Bova has a surprising sense of humour. 

What if there was a dragon?  

What if this dragon befriends a lowly Mafia flunky?

Great fun. 

A Slight Miscalculation by Ben Bova

Here’s a cute story about a scientist who develops a system to predict earthquakes.

But he’s having a little trouble with a part of his equation. 

Word gets around that an earthquake is coming.  On the day of the predicted disaster the flaw in the equation is revealed. 

It brought a smile to my face. Good fun.

Ben Bova's website - http://benbova.com/

Ben Bova

Escape! by Ben Bova

I had a feeling I would enjoy Bova’s short works.

Here we explore a re-imagined penal system. 

A young man is sent to The Center which is run by a kind-hearted director who created the facility to help inmates learn the skills needed to re-enter society. 

The Center runs incredibly well with the help of an AI.  Having been written in 1970 it is amazing to see how very close we are today to achieving this kind of advancement. 

I found the story well told. I could see it adapted into a movie very easily.

Ben Bova's website - http://benbova.com/

Ben Bova