Bova, Ben

Entry updated 12 June 2023. Tagged: Author, Editor.

(1932-2020) US author and editor who worked as technical editor for Project Vanguard 1956-1958, and science writer for Avco Everett Research Laboratory 1960-1971, before being appointed editor of Analog following the death of John W Campbell Jr in 1971. The magazine had become creatively moribund – although it remained commercially healthy – during the last decade of so of Campbell's editorship. Bova maintained the magazine's orientation towards technophilic Hard SF but considerably broadened its horizons. In doing so he alienated some readers who shared Campbell's puritanism – such stories as "The Gold at the Starbow's End" (March 1972 Analog) by Frederik Pohl and "Hero" (June 1972 Analog) by Joe W Haldeman, inoffensive though they might seem in the outside world, brought strong protests – but he revitalized the magazine, perhaps most notably with the Haldeman sequence that began with "Hero" and became The Forever War (June 1972-January 1975 Analog; fixup 1974). In recognition of this, he received the Hugo for Best Editor every year 1973-1977; although he missed out in 1978 he gained it again in 1979 for his work during 1978, his final year as editor. Bova also involved the magazine's name in other activities, producing Analog Annual (anth 1976) – an original anthology intended as a thirteenth issue of the magazine – initiating a series of records and inaugurating a book-publishing programme. In 1978-1982 he was editor of Omni. From both journals he extracted several anthologies [see Checklist below]. He served as president of Science Fiction Writers of America 1990-1992.

Bova was active as a writer for many years before his stint at Analog, his first published sf being a Young Adult novel, The Star Conquerors (1959), which began the Watchmen sequence also comprising Star Watchman (1964) and The Dueling Machine (May 1963 Analog with Myron R Lewis; exp 1969), the latter two assembled as Watchmen (omni 1994). He continued to concentrate on this market until THX 1138 (1971), based on the George Lucas screenplay (see THX 1138). His next sequence, the Exiles series – Exiled from Earth (January-February 1971 Galaxy; 1971), Flight of Exiles (1972) and End of Exile (1975), all three being assembled as The Exiles Trilogy (omni 1980) – is also children's sf. Considerable work in shorter forms followed over the next decades, the best of it being assembled as Forward in Time (coll 1973), Maxwell's Demons (coll 1979), Escape Plus (coll 1984), The Astral Mirror (coll 1985), Prometheans (coll 1986), Battle Station (coll 1987), Challenges (coll 1993) and Twice Seven: Stories (coll 1998); of these collections, Maxwell's Demons, The Astral Mirror, Prometheans, Battle Station and Challenges are partly nonfiction. Other early novels of interest include The Starcrossed (1975), a humorous example of Recursive SF whose protagonist is a thinly disguised Harlan Ellison (see The Starlost), The Multiple Man (1976), a suspense-thriller built on the concept of Clones, and Privateers (1985), which – along with its sequel, Empire Builders (1993) – succumbs to an assumption common to US hard sf: that governments will sooner or later fail to conquer space, and that individual entrepreneurs (vast multinational corporations exercising Japanese foresight [in the twenty-first century, Chinese foresight] need not apply) will take up the slack.

Bova's best-known stories, those about Chet Kinsman, an astronaut during the latter years of the twentieth century, were assimilated into the Kinsman Saga, whose internal ordering is Kinsman (fixup 1979) and Millennium (1976), the two volumes being assembled as The Kinsman Saga (omni 1987); Millennium, his best early novel (and perhaps his best altogether), is a tale of power-Politics in the face of impending nuclear Holocaust as the century ends. Colony (1978), set in a Lagrange-5 habitat in the same universe, carries the story – and humanity – further towards the stars, embodying the outward-looking stance Bova has held throughout his writing life, along with an ever-ready cynicism about government initiatives of any sort. More tellingly, the Voyagers sequence – Voyagers (1981), Voyagers II: The Alien Within (1982) and Voyagers III: Star Brothers (1990) – treats humanity's expansion within a framework of Space-Opera romance, with technology-dispensing Aliens establishing First Contact with emergent humans, star-crossed lovers, biochips and a great deal more. The Orion sequence – Orion (1984), Vengeance of Orion (1988), Orion in the Dying Time (1990), Orion and the Conqueror (1994) and Orion Among the Stars (May-August 1995 Analog; 1995) – puts into fantasy idiom a similar expansive message. Early novels and sequences like this, and the more recent Tales of the Grand Tour (see below), unfailingly advocate a private-enterprise based movement of humanity toward the stars; on this subject, Bova is consistently eloquent.

The more recent Triumph (1993), based on the somewhat precarious premise that Winston Churchill poisons Stalin in 1943 with a radioactive ceremonial sword, is an Alternate History tale which posits a more favourable outcome to World War Two. Technothrillers like Death Dream (1993) are stiff with earnest exposition of material not perhaps suitable for a thriller format or audience; Bova's most sustained and interesting work continues to focus on relatively Near Future scenarios of human frustration/expansion into space. The best instalments in the loosely-structured Tales of the Grand Tour [for books included in this retroactive rubric, see Checklist below] are those, like Mars (1992) (see Mars), which describe with lovingly detailed verisimilitude various crunch points in the crusade outward; in this case, he focuses on the first manned flight to that planet. The series novel Titan (2006) won a John W Campbell Memorial Award. Tales of the Grand Tour (coll 2004) offers a guide to the sequence, which is described by Bova with sufficient flexibility to be associated even with the Kinsman Saga, a series so outpaced by history that it reads as though set in an alternate universe (see Alternate History). The straightforwardness of Bova's agenda for humanity may mark him as a figure from an earlier era; but the arguments he laced into sometimes overloaded storylines were arguments it was important, perhaps absolutely vital, to make.

Bova was posthumously honoured with a 2021 Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award (see SFWA Grand Master Award). [JC/MJE]

Benjamin William Bova

born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 8 November 1932

died Naples, Florida: 29 November 2020

works

series

Watchmen

The Star Conquerors (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: John C Winston, 1959) [Watchmen: hb/Mel Hunter]
Star Watchman (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1964) [Watchmen: hb/Brinton Turkle]
The Dueling Machine (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1964) [Watchmen: hb/H Lawrence Hoffman]
- The Watchmen (New York: Baen Books, 1994) [omni of the above two: Watchmen: pb/Darrell K Sweet]

Exiles

Exiled from Earth (New York: E P Dutton, 1971) [Exiles: hb/H Lawrence Hoffman]
Flight of Exiles (New York: E P Dutton, 1972) [Exiles: hb/H Lawrence Hoffman]
End of Exile (New York: E P Dutton, 1975) [Exiles: hb/H Lawrence Hoffman]
- The Exiles Trilogy (New York: Berkley Books, 1980) [omni of the above three: pb/]

Kinsman Saga

Millennium: A Novel About People and Politics in the Year 1999 (New York: Random House, 1976) [Kinsman Saga: hb/Fred Marcellino]
Kinsman (New York: The Dial Press, 1979) [fixup: Kinsman Saga: hb/Edwin Herder]
- The Kinsman Saga (New York: Tor, 1987) [omni of the above two: Kinsman Saga: hb/Paul Rollins]

Voyagers

Voyagers (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1981) [Voyagers: hb/John Cayea]
Voyagers II: The Alien Within (New York: Tor, 1981) [Voyagers: hb/Boris Vallejo]
Voyagers III: Star Brothers (New York: Tor, 1990) [Voyagers: hb/NASA photo]
The Return (New York: Tor, 2009) [Voyagers: hb/Thomas Tenery]

Orion

Orion (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984) [Orion: hb/David Mattingly]
Vengeance of Orion (New York: Tor, 1988) [Orion: hb/Boris Vallejo]
Orion in the Dying Time (New York: Tor, 1990) [Orion: hb/Boris Vallejo]
Orion and the Conqueror (New York: Tor, 1994) [Orion: hb/Boris Vallejo]
Orion Among the Stars (New York: Tor, 1995) [Orion: hb/Donato Giancola as Donato]
Orion and King Arthur (New York: Tor, 2012) [fixup: Orion: hb/John Stanko]

Tales of the Grand Tour

Welcome to Moonbase (New York: Ballantine Books, 1987) [quasi-nonfiction: Tales of the Grand Tour: hb/Pat Rawlings]
Mars (New York: Bantam Books, 1992) [Tales of the Grand Tour: hb/Pamela Lee]
Empire Builders (New York: Tor, 1993) [Tales of the Grand Tour: hb/Boris Vallejo]
Return to Mars (New York: Avon Eos, 1999) [Tales of the Grand Tour: hb/Mark Harrison]
Venus (New York: Hodder and Stoughton, 2000) [Tales of the Grand Tour: hb/Mark Harrison]
Saturn (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003) [Tales of the Grand Tour: hb/Mark Harrison]
Tales of the Grand Tour (New York: Tor, 2004) [coll: Tales of the Grand Tour: hb/John Harris]
Mercury (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2005) [Tales of the Grand Tour: hb/Mark Harrison]
Titan (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2006) [Tales of the Grand Tour: hb/Mark Harrison]
Mars Life (New York: Tor, 2008) [Tales of the Grand Tour: hb/John Harris]

Tales of the Grand Tour: Scavenger

Moonrise: Book 1 of the Moonbase Saga (New York: Avon Books, 1996) [Tales of the Grand Tour: Scavenger: hb/Paul Young]
Moonwar: Book 2 of the Moonbase Saga (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1997) [Tales of the Grand Tour: Scavenger: hb/Mark Harrison]

Tales of the Grand Tour: Sam Gunn

Sam Gunn, Unlimited (London: Methuen, 1992) [fixup: Tales of the Grand Tour: Sam Gunn: hb/Chris Moore]
Sam Gunn Forever (New York: Avon Books, 1998) [coll: Tales of the Grand Tour: Sam Gunn: pb/]
- The Sam Gunn Omnibus (New York: Tor, 2007) [coll: omni of the above two: Tales of the Grand Tour: Sam Gunn: hb/Vincent Di Fate]
Sam Gunn Jr (Ashland, Oregon: Blackstone Publishing, 2022) [featuring the son of Sam Gunn: Tales of the Grand Tour: Sam Gunn: hb/]

Tales of the Grand Tour: Jupiter

Jupiter (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2000) [Tales of the Grand Tour: Jupiter: hb/Mark Harrison]
Leviathans of Jupiter (New York: Tor, 2011) [Tales of the Grand Tour: Jupiter: hb/John Harris]

Tales of the Grand Tour: The Asteroid Wars

The Asteroid Wars, 1: The Precipice (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2001) [Tales of the Grand Tour: The Asteroid Wars: hb/Mark Harrison]
The Asteroid Wars, 2: The Rock Rats (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2002) [Tales of the Grand Tour: The Asteroid Wars: hb/Mark Harrison]
The Asteroid Wars, 3: The Silent War (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003) [Tales of the Grand Tour: The Asteroid Wars: hb/Mark Harrison]
- The Asteroid Wars (New York: Science Fiction Book Club, 2004) [omni of the above three: Tales of the Grand Tour: The Asteroid Wars: hb/Stephan Martinière]
The Aftermath (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2007) [Tales of the Grand Tour: The Asteroid Wars: hb/Mark Harrison]
- The Aftermath: Book Four of the Asteroid Wars (New York: Tor, 2008) [vt of the above: Tales of the Grand Tour: The Asteroid Wars: pb/Stephan Martinière]

Tales of the Grand Tour: Star Quest

New Earth (New York: Tor, 2013) [Tales of the Grand Tour: Star Quest: hb/John Harris]
Death Wave (New York: Tor, 2015) [Tales of the Grand Tour: Star Quest: hb/John Harris]
Apes and Angels (New York: Tor, 2016) [Tales of the Grand Tour: Star Quest: hb/John Harris]
Survival (New York: Tor, 2017) [Tales of the Grand Tour: Star Quest: hb/John Harris]
Earth (New York: Tor, 2019) [Tales of the Grand Tour: Star Quest: hb/John Harris]

To Save the Sun

To Save the Sun (New York: Tor, 1992) with A J Austin [To Save the Sun: hb/John Berkey]
To Fear the Light (New York: Tor, 1994) with A J Austin [To Save the Sun: hb/John Berkey]

Jake Ross

Power Play (New York: Tor, 2012) [Jake Ross: hb/]
Power Surge (New York: Tor, 2015) [Jake Ross: hb/]
Power Failure (New York: Tor, 2018) [Jake Ross: hb/]

individual titles

The Weathermakers (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967) [Weather Control: hb/H Lawrence Hoffman]
Out of the Sun (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1968) [hb/]
- Out of the Sun (New York: Tor, 1984) [exp of the above with long essay added: pb/Jim Gurney]
Escape! (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970) [hb/Lawrence Ratzkin]
THX 1138 (New York: Paperback Library, 1971) [tie: novelization of the George Lucas film: pb/]
As on a Darkling Plain (New York: Walker, 1972) [fixup: hb/Enrico Scull]
The Winds of Altair (New York: E P Dutton, 1973) [hb/John Mardon]
- The Winds of Altair (New York: Tor/Pinnacle, 1983) [rev of the above: pb/Walter Velez]
When the Sky Burned (New York: Walker, 1973) [hb/Jon Fine]
- Test of Fire (New York: Tor/Pinnacle, 1982) [rev vt of the above: pb/Howard V Chaykin]
Gremlins, Go Home! (New York: St Martin's Press, 1974) with Gordon R Dickson [Gremlins: hb/Kelly Freas]
The Starcrossed (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Chilton Book Company, 1975) [hb/Craven and Evans]
City of Darkness (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1976) [hb/Bernard Colonna]
- Future Crime (New York: Tor, 1986) [coll: exp vt of the above with nonfiction and stories, all appearing in other collections: pb/Colin Hay]
The Multiple Man: A Novel of Suspense (Indianapolis, Indiana: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1976) [hb/Maury Englander]
Colony (New York: Pocket Books, 1978) [pb/Boris Vallejo]
Privateers (New York: Tor, 1985) [hb/Boris Vallejo]
Peacekeepers (New York: Tor, 1988) [hb/Carol Russo]
Cyberbooks (New York: Tor, 1989) [hb/Boris Vallejo]
- Laugh Lines (New York: Baen Books, 2008) [omni of the above plus The Starcrossed above plus other material: hb/Bob Eggleton]
The Trikon Deception (New York: Tor, 1992) with Bill Pogue (1930-2014) [hb/Paul Stinson]
Death Dream (London: New English Library, 1994) [hb/Gerry Grace]
Brothers (London: New English Library, 1995) [hb/Gerry Grace]
- The Immortality Factor (New York: Tor, 2009) [rev vt of the above: hb/]
Hour of the Gremlins (New York: Baen Books, 2004) with Gordon R Dickson [omni: mostly by Gordon R Dickson whom see for details: pb/Csanad Novak]
The Green Trap (New York: Tor, 2006) [hb/Jamie Stanford-Hill]
Able One (New York: Tor, 2010) [hb/]
The Hittite (New York: Tor/Forge, 2010) [hb/Gordon Crabb]
Farside (New York: Tor, 2013) [hb/John Harris]
Mars, Inc.: The Billionaires Club (New York: Baen Books, 2013) [hb/Stephan Martinière]
Transhuman (New York: Tor, 2014) [hb/]
Rescue Mode (New York: Baen Books, 2014) with Les Johnson [hb/Bob Eggleton]
Space Station Down (New York: Tor, 2021) with Doug Beason [hb/]

collections series

Best of Bova

The Best of Bova, Volume 1 (New York: Baen Books, 2016) [coll: pb/Bob Eggleton]
The Best of Bova, Volume II (New York: Baen Books, 2016) [coll: pb/Adam Burn]
The Best of Bova, Volume III (New York: Baen Books, 2017) [coll: pb/Adam Burn]

collections and stories

Forward in Time: A Science-Fiction Story Collection (New York: Walker, 1973) [coll: hb/Thuy Le Ha]
Maxwell's Demons (New York: Baronet Publishing, 1978) [coll: pb/Ken Barr]
Escape Plus (New York: Tor, 1984) [coll: pb/Joe Bergeron]
Out of the Sun (New York: Tor, 1984) [coll: pb/Jim Gurney]
The Astral Mirror (New York: Tor, 1985) [coll: some nonfiction: pb/Angus McKie]
Prometheans (New York: Tor, 1986) [coll: some nonfiction: pb/Ron Walotsky]
- Mercury and Prometheans (New York: Tor, 2016) [omni of the above collection and the 2005 novel: pb/John Harris]
Battle Station (New York: Tor, 1987) [coll: some nonfiction: pb/Alan Gutierrez]
Challenges (New York: Tor, 1993) [coll: hb/John Berkey]
Triumph (New York: Tor, 1993) [coll: hb/Tim Jacobus]
Twice Seven: Stories (New York: Avon Eos, 1998) [coll: pb/]
The Next Logical Step (no place given: Project Gutenberg, 2009) [story: ebook: first appeared May 1962 Analog: na/]
New Frontiers (New York: Tor, 2014) [coll: hb/John Harris]

nonfiction (selected)

The Uses of Space (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965) [nonfiction: hb/]
Starflight and Other Improbabilities (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Westminster Press, 1973) [nonfiction: hb/]
Through the Eyes of Wonder: Science Fiction and Science (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1975) [nonfiction: hb/]
Notes to a Science Fiction Writer (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1975) [coll: some fiction: hb/Carol Basen]
- Notes to a Science Fiction Writer (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1981) [nonfiction: anth: exp of the above: some fiction: hb/]
  - The Craft of Writing Science Fiction That Sells (Cincinnati, Ohio: Writers Digest Books, 1994) [nonfiction: rev vt of above: hb/]
Viewpoint (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The NESFA Press, 1977) [coll: mostly Analog editorials plus some fiction, all elsewhere collected: hb/John Schoenherr]
The High Road (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1981) [nonfiction: hb/Robert Anthony]
Assured Survival: Putting the Star Defense Wars in Perspective (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1984) [nonfiction: hb/]
Space Travel (Cincinnati, Ohio: Writers Digest Books, 1997) with Anthony R Lewis [nonfiction: hb/Bob Eggleton]
Immortality: How Science Is Extending Your Life Span and Changing the World (New York: Avon Books, 1998) [nonfiction: hb/Amy Halperin]
Faint Echoes, Distant Stars: The Science and Politics of Finding Life Beyond Earth (New York: William Morrow, 2004) [nonfiction: hb/]

works as editor

series

Analog

The Many Worlds of Science Fiction (New York: E P Dutton, 1971) [anth: Analog: hb/Lawrence Ratzkin]
Analog 9 (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1973) [anth: hb/Margo Herr]
The Analog Science Fact Reader (New York: St Martin's Press, 1974) [anth: Analog: hb/]
Analog Annual (New York: Pyramid Books, 1976) [anth: some nonfiction: Analog: pb/Vincent Di Fate]
Analog Yearbook (New York: Baronet Publishing, 1978) [anth: Analog: pb/]
The Best of Analog (New York: Baronet Publishing, 1978) [anth: Analog: pb/Alex Schomburg]

Science Fiction Hall of Fame (differences in numbering practice – ie to and from Roman numerals – are not treated as vts below)

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume 2A (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1973) [anth: Science Fiction Hall of Fame: hb/Robert Aulicino]
- The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume 2 (London: Victor Gollancz, 1973) [anth: vt of the above: Science Fiction Hall of Fame: hb/]
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume 2B (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1973) [anth: Science Fiction Hall of Fame: hb/Robert Aulicino]
- The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume 3 (London: Victor Gollancz, 1974) [anth: vt of the above: Science Fiction Hall of Fame: hb/nonpictorial]
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: The Novellas, Book 1 (London: Sphere, 1975) [anth: Science Fiction Hall of Fame: pb/Eddie Jones]
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: The Novellas, Book 2 (London: Sphere, 1975) [anth: Science Fiction Hall of Fame: pb/Eddie Jones]
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: The Novellas, Book 3 (London: Sphere, 1975) [anth: Science Fiction Hall of Fame: pb/Eddie Jones]

Three By ...

Aliens (London: Orbit, 1977) [anth: Three By ...: pb/Chris Foss]
- Aliens 3: Novellas (New York: St Martin's Press, 1978) [anth: vt of the above: Three By ...: hb/Bob Chronister]
Exiles (London: Orbit, 1977) [anth: Three By ...: pb/Chris Foss]
Novella: 3 (London: Orbit, 1978) [anth: Three By ...: pb/Chris Foss]

Omni

The Best of Omni Science Fiction (New York: Omni, 1980) with Don Myrus [anth: some nonfiction: Omni: pb/Pierre Lacombe]
The Best of Omni Science Fiction, no 2 (New York: Omni, 1981) with Don Myrus [anth: some nonfiction: Omni: pb/Fred Jurgen Rogner]
The Best of Omni Science Fiction, no 3 (New York: Omni, 1982) with Don Myrus [anth: some nonfiction: Omni: pb/R Bertrand]
The Best of Omni Science Fiction, no 4 (New York: Omni, 1982) with Don Myrus [anth: some nonfiction: Omni: pb/Michael Whelan]

Nebula Awards