I'll give this four stars. An interesting book, and a bit of an orphan when it comes to Bova's Grand Tour. Written in the 1980's and published in 1985 during the height of the cold war the book depicts a world in which the Soviet Union won the Cold War forcing the nations of earth to abandon their space faring aspirations. Only a few third world nations, Japan, and China continue to seek the economic exploitation of space in the face of the Soviet Union's determination to expunge capitalism from not just the Earth, but the solar system as well. The book has, quiet by accident, become something of an alternate history novel. Ben Bova could not have foreseen the end of the cold war just four years after the publication of this novel and the ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990's. The next Book in the Grand Tour "Empire Builders", was published in 1995 and not surprisingly, with the Soviet Union out of the picture Bova was forced to find a new antagonistic force with which to challenge his hero "Dan Randolf". And thus as the threat of the Cold War and Soviet domination receded from the reading public's collective consciousness, the themes of run away climate change and environmental collapse quickly come to the forefront as the factors motivating humanity to expand into the solar system in subsequent novels. It will be interesting to see what points of continuity exist between "Privateers" and "Empire Builders" given that "Privateers" was essentially left behind by history.In regards to the story, I enjoyed it. I did find the inclusion of a romantic interest somewhat unnecessary to the overall plot. In the book the main character, Dan Randolf, competes with a Soviet Official for the love of a beautiful Venezuelan woman. The love triangle seems to exist mainly to illustrate the ruthlessness and moral bankruptcy of the Soviet regime. The female character is essentially two dimensional and only notable for her apparent beauty so other than being a point of friction between the the protagonist and antagonist she really serves no useful purpose. But other than that I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next story in Ben Bova's Grand Tour.
A good book, but not a great one. The plot was compelling, but jumbled. Sometimes I had to stop and catch up with myself as to whether I'm reading present, past or future. Not the way I would write. I didn't find the characters too likeable. Dan Randolph, was to me, immoral, corrupt and selfish; the very things that are destroying America (and the world as a whole). Nearly every decision he made was for his own benefit, even if it impacted negatively on those he claimed as his friends. The only thing that made him a hero is that Vasily was ruthless and ammoral, the very epitome of evil. The other characters had little depth, so I didn't feel too deeply for them.The most disturbing aspect of the book was the domination of an uncaring super power with a self destructive philosophy(in this case the now defunct Soviet Union) and the decay of a nation that is supposed to be the hallmark of freedom and progress(America). The fact that the Soviets no longer exist does not change the possibility of this situation occuring in the future. The sad aspect of the book is that America has essentially given up on traveling to space anymore and it didn't take the threat of space based lasers to do it.Adult situations. Not for kids.
What do You think about Privateers (2000)?
Everything incorrect about the Soviet domination of space is completely forgiven since this is a Cold War book. Certainly this is the best Bova book I've read so far, (Powersat and Mars Life the others) but considering I picked the wrong titles before that's not saying much. By the end of this book (and having read Powersat before) I'm really pretty sick of Dan Randolph. I've got a lot of Paul McAuley and Alastair Reynolds stuff to read through, when I come back to visit Bova's books again I'll probably skip further along in the chronology to avoid his character. I guess I just wasn't fond of the forced romance that has gotten a little stale in 3 Bova books. Always some perfect girl that some driven, idealistic businessman is in love with. Just not my personal preference. 3 stars is probably a little generous, but considering the age of the book and how much the world has moved around it I'm going to leave it at 3 since it was still pretty enjoyable.
—Inlinefourpower
I enjoyed this book. I have read many of the author books from this loose series and enjoyed most of them. The book is dated but is still good. The author does get a little too tangled up in politics but steers clear of the technical aspect of the science that has plagued him in the past. The book starts out odd because it drops you into the middle of an event without having the back story. The author uses this technique often in his novels but this one seemed more annoying that in other books. Maybe it is because the author usually ties the event back into the story, and although the author did the same in this book is was not done as well as he normally does it. Otherwise, it was an average Bova book.
—Derek
I coulda gave this a four-star report except for the fact that it stigmatizes Russians. (This being a bok from the 80s I'm not surprised.) Dan Randolph is a billionaire with interests in outer space and a huge chipon his shoulder. (Not talkin computer chip either!) He's racing the (then) USSR to claim asteroids for profit and to improve relations with Venezuela. But Vasily Malik is usually one step ahead in business and the bedroom as he's destined to win the love of Teresita Hernandez away from Dan. Dan still has a few tricks up his sleeve to outsmart Malik, but he has to think fast before the Russians send his asteroid crashing to Earth. Not totally violent since (Thank God!) hardly anyone is kiled, but the badguy Russians talk like villains out of a bad Saturday Morning Cartoon. IE: The We Shall Meet Again variety. Dum de Dum-dum dumb.
—Edward Creter
