Ben Bova Books

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Ben Bova was a prolific American author that wrote science fiction and science fact. Born in 1932 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he attended South Philadelphia High School and Temple University. Later on, he went back to school, enrolling at the State University of New York at Albany and California Coast University.

Order of Watchmen/The Others Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Star Conquerors 1959 Description / Buy
2 Star Watchman 1964 Description / Buy
3 The Dueling Machine 1969 Description / Buy

Order of Exiles Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Exiled from Earth 1971 Description / Buy
2 Flight of Exiles 1972 Description / Buy
3 End of Exile 1975 Description / Buy

Order of Kinsman Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Millennium 1976 Description / Buy
2 Kinsman 1979 Description / Buy

Chronological Order of Kinsman Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Kinsman 1979 Description / Buy
2 Millennium 1976 Description / Buy

Order of Voyagers Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Voyagers 1981 Description / Buy
2 The Alien Within 1986 Description / Buy
3 Star Brothers 1990 Description / Buy
4 The Return 2009 Description / Buy

Order of Orion Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Orion 1984 Description / Buy
2 Vengeance of Orion 1988 Description / Buy
3 Orion In The Dying Time 1990 Description / Buy
4 Orion and the Conqueror 1994 Description / Buy
5 Orion Among the Stars 1995 Description / Buy
6 Orion and King Arthur 2011 Description / Buy

Order of The Grand Tour Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Privateers 1985 Description / Buy
2 Mars 1992 Description / Buy
3 Empire Builders 1993 Description / Buy
4 Moonrise 1996 Description / Buy
5 Moonwar 1997 Description / Buy
6 Return to Mars 1999 Description / Buy
7 Venus 2000 Description / Buy
8 Jupiter 2000 Description / Buy
9 The Precipice 2001 Description / Buy
10 The Rock Rats 2002 Description / Buy
11 Saturn 2003 Description / Buy
12 The Silent War 2004 Description / Buy
13 Mercury 2005 Description / Buy
14 Powersat 2005 Description / Buy
15 Titan 2006 Description / Buy
16 Aftermath 2007 Description / Buy
17 Mars Life 2008 Description / Buy
18 The Return 2009 Description / Buy
19 Leviathans of Jupiter 2011 Description / Buy
20 Farside 2013 Description / Buy
21 New Earth 2013 Description / Buy
22 Death Wave 2015 Description / Buy
23 Earth 2019 Description / Buy
24 Uranus 2020 Description / Buy
25 Neptune 2021 Description / Buy

Chronological Order of The Grand Tour Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Powersat 2005 Description / Buy
2 Privateers 1985 Description / Buy
3 Empire Builders 1993 Description / Buy
4 Mars 1992 Description / Buy
5 Moonrise 1996 Description / Buy
6 Moonwar 1997 Description / Buy
7 Return to Mars 1999 Description / Buy
8 The Precipice 2001 Description / Buy
9 Jupiter 2000 Description / Buy
10 The Rock Rats 2002 Description / Buy
11 The Silent War 2004 Description / Buy
12 Aftermath 2007 Description / Buy
13 Saturn 2003 Description / Buy
14 Leviathans of Jupiter 2011 Description / Buy
15 Titan 2006 Description / Buy
16 Mercury 2005 Description / Buy
17 Mars Life 2008 Description / Buy
18 Venus 2000 Description / Buy
19 The Return 2009 Description / Buy
20 Farside 2013 Description / Buy
21 New Earth 2013 Description / Buy
22 Death Wave 2015 Description / Buy
23 Earth 2019 Description / Buy
24 Uranus 2020 Description / Buy
25 Neptune 2021 Description / Buy

Order of Star Quest Trilogy Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Death Wave 2015 Description / Buy
2 Apes and Angels 2016 Description / Buy
3 Survival 2017 Description / Buy

Order of Outer Planets Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Uranus 2020 Description / Buy
2 Neptune 2021 Description / Buy

Order of Sam Gunn Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Sam Gunn Unlimited 1992 Description / Buy
2 Sam Gunn Forever 1998 Description / Buy
3 The Sam Gunn Omnibus: New Stories 2007 Description / Buy
4 Sam Gunn Jr. 2022 Description / Buy

Order of Moonbase Saga Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Moonrise 1996 Description / Buy
2 Moonwar 1997 Description / Buy

Order of The Asteroid Wars Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Precipice 2001 Description / Buy
2 The Rock Rats 2002 Description / Buy
3 The Silent War 2004 Description / Buy
4 Aftermath 2007 Description / Buy

Order of Billionaire's Club Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Mars, Inc. 2013 Description / Buy

Order of Jake Ross Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Power Play 2012 Description / Buy
2 Power Surge 2015 Description / Buy
3 Power Failure 2018 Description / Buy
4 Power Challenges 2021 Description / Buy

Order of Ben Bova Standalone Novels

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Weather-Makers 1967 Description / Buy
2 Out of the Sun 1968 Description / Buy
3 Escape! (Short Story) 1970 Description / Buy
4 THX 1138 ( With: George Lucas) 1971 Description / Buy
5 As On A Darkling Plain 1972 Description / Buy
6 The Winds of Altair 1973 Description / Buy
7 When the Sky Burned 1973 Description / Buy
8 Gremlins Go Home ( With: Gordon R. Dickson) 1974 Description / Buy
9 The Starcrossed 1975 Description / Buy
10 City Of Darkness 1976 Description / Buy
11 Multiple Man 1976 Description / Buy
12 Colony 1978 Description / Buy
13 Test of Fire 1982 Description / Buy
14 The Peacekeepers 1988 Description / Buy
15 Cyberbooks 1989 Description / Buy
16 The Trikon Deception ( With: William R. Pogue) 1992 Description / Buy
17 Triumph 1993 Description / Buy
18 Death Dream 1994 Description / Buy
19 Brothers 1995 Description / Buy
20 The Green Trap 2006 Description / Buy
21 The Immortality Factor 2009 Description / Buy
22 Able One 2010 Description / Buy
23 The Hittite 2010 Description / Buy
24 Transhuman 2014 Description / Buy
25 Rescue Mode ( With: Les Johnson) 2014 Description / Buy
26 Space Station Down 2020 Description / Buy

Order of Ben Bova Short Stories/Novellas

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Next Logical Step (Short Story) 2010 Description / Buy
2 Answer, Please Answer (Short Story) ( With: John Betancourt) 2023 Description / Buy

Order of Ben Bova Short Story Collections

# Read Title Published Details
1 Forward In Time 1973 Description / Buy
2 Maxwell's Demons 1978 Description / Buy
3 Escape Plus 1984 Description / Buy
4 The Astral Mirror 1985 Description / Buy
5 Prometheans 1986 Description / Buy
6 Battle Station 1990 Description / Buy
7 Future Crime 1990 Description / Buy
8 Challenges 1993 Description / Buy
9 The Future Quartet: Earth in the Year 2042 1994 Description / Buy
10 Twice Seven 1998 Description / Buy
11 The Towers of Titan and Other Stories 2010 Description / Buy
12 New Frontiers 2014 Description / Buy
13 Mercury and Prometheans 2015 Description / Buy
14 The Best of Bova 2016 Description / Buy
15 The Best of Bova, Volume II 2016 Description / Buy
16 The Best of Bova, Volume III 2017 Description / Buy
17 My Favorites 2020 Description / Buy

Order of Ben Bova Non-Fiction

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Milky Way Galaxy 1961 Description / Buy
2 Giants of the Animal World (Short Story) 1962 Description / Buy
3 Reptiles Since the World Began (Short Story) 1964 Description / Buy
4 The Uses of Space 1965 Description / Buy
5 Planets, Life & Lgm 1970 Description / Buy
6 In Quest of Quasars 1971 Description / Buy
7 The Amazing Laser 1971 Description / Buy
8 Man Changes the Weather 1973 Description / Buy
9 The Weather Changes Man (Short Story) 1973 Description / Buy
10 The New Astronomies 1973 Description / Buy
11 Starflight and Other Improbabilities (Short Story) 1973 Description / Buy
12 The Fourth State of Matter 1974 Description / Buy
13 Analog Science Fact Reader 1974 Description / Buy
14 Workshops in Space (Short Story) 1974 Description / Buy
15 Through Eyes of Wonder (Short Story) 1975 Description / Buy
16 Notes to a Science Fiction Writer 1975 Description / Buy
17 Science--Who Needs It? (Short Story) 1975 Description / Buy
18 Closeup, New Worlds 1977 Description / Buy
19 Viewpoint (Short Story) 1977 Description / Buy
20 The Seeds of Tomorrow (Short Story) 1977 Description / Buy
21 High Road 1981 Description / Buy
22 Vision of the Future 1982 Description / Buy
23 Assured Survival 1984 Description / Buy
24 Star Peace 1986 Description / Buy
25 Welcome to Moon Base 1987 Description / Buy
26 Interactions 1988 Description / Buy
27 The Beauty of Light ( With: Vonda N. McIntyre) 1988 Description / Buy
28 Immortality 1990 Description / Buy
29 First Contact 1990 Description / Buy
30 Are We Alone In The Cosmos? The Guide To The Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence 1992 Description / Buy
31 The Craft of Writing Science Fiction That Sells 1994 Description / Buy
32 Space Travel: A Writer's Guide to the Science of Interplanetary and Interstellar Travel ( With: Anthony R. Lewis) 1997 Description / Buy
33 Are We Alone in the Cosmos? ( With: Byron Preiss) 1999 Description / Buy
34 The Story of Light 2001 Description / Buy
35 The Living Universe 2002 Description / Buy
36 Faint Echoes, Distant Stars 2004 Description / Buy

Order of Science Fiction Writing Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Aliens and Alien Societies ( By: Stanley Schmidt) 1996 Description / Buy
2 Time Travel ( By: Paul J. Nahin) 1997 Description / Buy
3 Space Travel: A Writer's Guide to the Science of Interplanetary and Interstellar Travel ( With: Anthony R. Lewis) 1997 Description / Buy
+ Show All Books in this Series

Ben Bova Anthologies

# Read Title Published Details
1 Best of Science Fiction: No. 10 1964 Description / Buy
2 Analog Science Fiction and Fact, June 1968 1968 Description / Buy
3 Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact, July 1971 1971 Description / Buy
4 The Many Worlds of Science Fiction 1971 Description / Buy
5 Science Fiction Hall Of Fame: The Novellas Book 2 1973 Description / Buy
6 The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume II A 1973 Description / Buy
7 The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume IIB 1973 Description / Buy
8 Analog 9 1973 Description / Buy
9 Cosmic Laughter; Science Fiction for the Fun of It 1974 Description / Buy
10 Science Fiction Hall of Fame: The Novellas Book 1 1975 Description / Buy
11 Science Fiction Today and Tomorrow: A Discursive Symposium 1975 Description / Buy
12 Analog Annual 1976 Description / Buy
13 Aliens: 3 Novellas 1977 Description / Buy
14 Aliens 1977 Description / Buy
15 Study War No More 1977 Description / Buy
16 Weird Heroes Volume 6 1977 Description / Buy
17 Analog Yearbook 1978 Description / Buy
18 Novella 3 1978 Description / Buy
19 Rod Serling's Other Worlds 1978 Description / Buy
20 The Best of Omni Science Fiction 1980 Description / Buy
21 Alien Encounters 1982 Description / Buy
22 Laughing Space: An Anthology of Science Fiction Humor 1982 Description / Buy
23 Analog: Writers' Choice Volume II 1984 Description / Buy
24 The Best of the Nebulas 1989 Description / Buy
25 Power 1991 Description / Buy
26 Analog Science Fiction and Fact, February 1997 1997 Description / Buy
27 Are We Alone in the Cosmos? 1999 Description / Buy
28 Analog Science Fiction and Fact, June 2001 2001 Description / Buy
29 The Best Of Analog 2002 Description / Buy
30 The Hard SF Renaissance 2003 Description / Buy
31 Analog, January/February 2005 2005 Description / Buy
32 Nebula Awards Showcase 2007 2007 Description / Buy
33 Nebula Awards 42 (2008) 2008 Description / Buy
34 Favorite Science Fiction Stories, Volume 2 2010 Description / Buy
35 Going Interstellar 2012 Description / Buy
36 Science Fiction Gems, Volume Four, Jack Sharkey and Others 2012 Description / Buy
37 The Callahan Kids 2012 Description / Buy
38 Writers for Relief 2013 Description / Buy
39 Carbide Tipped Pens 2014 Description / Buy
40 Science Fiction Gems, Volume 9 2015 Description / Buy
41 Visions of the Future 2015 Description / Buy
42 The Golden Age of Science Fiction - Volume XV 2018 Description / Buy
+ Click to View all Anthologies
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Rosa Cucinotta was his first wife. The couple, whose marriage ended in 1974, had two children. Ben’s second wife was Barbara Berson Rose. She passed away in 2009.

The author’s resume includes stints at Project Vanguard, Avco Everett Research Laboratory, and Analog Science Fact and Fiction, where Ben worked as an editor. The author was a science adviser on ‘The Starlost.’ Though, he left the TV show because of contractual issues.

He wrote an episode for the TV show ‘Land of the Lost,’ edited a science fiction magazine called ‘Omni,’ consulted on the movie ‘Repo Men,’ and the ‘Altered Carbon’ adaptation, etc.

Ben Bova lived a rich and illustrious life, winning the hearts and minds of science fiction readers in the US and abroad. The author started reading science fiction at a young age. A child of the Great Depression, he discovered astronomy when his class visited the planetarium.

When they switched the stars on, Ben was in awe. He developed a fascination with astronautics. Soon after, the writer discovered science fiction, a genre that used fiction to explore the possibilities of science.

Ben did not hesitate to remind people that he wasn’t a professional scientist. The author was a journalist and educator who was fortunate enough to work under Doctor I.M. Levitt, the planetarium director. Levitt introduced Ben to numerous scientific texts that fed his hunger.

When the writer learned of the US’s intention to launch an artificial satellite, he sought a position at Glenn L. Martin Co. as a technical editor. Ben’s superiors hired him because he told them that the public was interested in project Vanguard. He had the skill to turn the engineering concepts at the heart of the undertaking into prose the layperson could digest.

Even though he was an avid science fiction reader for many years, Ben did not realize that science fiction had a passionate fanbase until David Kyle called and asked him to participate in the World Science Fiction Convention in New York (1956). This marked Ben’s first encounter with science fiction conventions. He recruited some engineers from project Vanguard and took them to the convention on Labor Day Weekend.

The engineers were apprehensive when they saw the costumed fans at the convention. But they overcame their doubts once they met notable figures like Arthur C. Clarke, who had the science community’s love and respect.

Ben Bova Awards

Ben received Hugo, Nebula, Prometheus, and John W Campbell Memorial Award nominations. He won six Hugo awards and a Robert A. Heinlein Award.

Best Ben Bova Books

The author died in 2020 from a stroke and COVID 19 complications. Ben’s best books include:

Venus: Van Humphries will probably die on Venus. Things don’t look good for him. Venus is a hostile place. The air pressure is strong enough to crush spacecraft landers. The heat will melt aluminum. Human flesh won’t survive the sulfuric acid that covers the sky.

Van’s older brother tried to land on Venus. He would have become the first man to set foot on the planet if he had succeeded. But he failed, and in the eyes of their father, Van sinned because he survived when his brother died.
But now, Van has a chance to fix things. His father intends to give $10 billion to the person that can retrieve his dead son from Venus. Van has accepted the challenge.

Jupiter: Grant is on a dangerous mission to Jupiter, a planet that dwarfs the earth significantly. The New Morality wants Grant to disprove the notion that Jupiter has intelligent life.

The religious order will do everything it can to discredit the discoveries their enemies have made. But Grant has no intention of doing the bidding of his masters. The young scientist is a man of faith, a believer born to a minister. However, he rejects the notion that faith and science cannot co-exist, and he is determined to explore Jupiter with an open mind.

The things he sees will destroy everything the elders of the New Morality believe.

When Does The Next Ben Bova book come out?

Ben Bova doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Answer, Please Answer and was released on November, 30th 2023. It is the newest book in the Ben Bova Short Stories/Novellas.

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