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Mark and Gerry's Science Fiction Reviews, continued
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How hot does it get on Venus? Really hot. See the new book:
VENUS by Ben Bova
reviewed by Gerry
The novel VENUS is set late in the 21st century. At this point, there have been multiple expeditions to Mars (in fact, Bova brings back one of his astronauts from his book Return to Mars as a character in this story). There has been some exploration of other planets, important manufacturing taking place on the moon, and mining in the asteroid belt. But only one manned mission has ever been sent to Venus, and that one ended in total disaster. This story concerns two new and competing manned efforts to return to Venus, and to recover the remains of a person from the original mission. Remains on Venus? Already the reader can see that some leaps of imagination may be needed.
The focus of the novel may be Venus, but some other themes are the corrupting power of money, and the unpleasant consequences of global warming. Late in the 21st century, Earth is a mess due to serious global warming, and scientists want to know whether Earth is on its way to developing a hellish climate like Venus. However, the government has no money for space exploration; all public money is earmarked for alleviating Earth's problems. The wealthy corporations are the ones leading the way in space, and only where they see a potential profit. Enter a stereotypical cruel, ruthless, multibillionaire corporate tycoon, Martin Humphries. Humphries lost his beloved perfect son Alex on that first mission to Venus (well, almost perfect: Alex was concerned about global warming, to his father's displeasure). Martin has offered ten billion dollars to whoever will recover Alex's remains from the surface of Venus. Two people jump at the chance. The first is Van Humphries, the younger son who is hated by Martin, in part because Martin considers Van to be a weakling. The second is Lars Fuchs, an asteroid miner and long time enemy of Martin's. Both set off on separate missions to Venus, in a very unfriendly competition.
The novel is told in first person by Van Humphries. Van is one of those characters who is very easy to dislike. His medical problems which make him physically weak should earn him some sympathy. But he is also extremely self-centered, spoiled, and lazy. The only reason he sets off for Venus initially is because his nasty father has cut off his stipend, and he can't imagine life without it (he might even have to work). Of course, as the story progresses, events cause Van's character to grow in a positive way. The question is whether the reader can hang in there until Van becomes tolerable.
What is good about the novel VENUS? It is easy to read, and the action moves along at a quick pace. As with Bova's Mars books, he provides a collection of interesting but not too detailed facts about the planet early on in the story. Bova comes up with imaginative ship designs which might be used to go into Venus's atmosphere, and even a vessel to go to the surface. New materials and new coolant methods are needed to deal with the high temperatures, high pressures, and corrosive clouds of sulfuric acid. Aside from the expected dangers from the extreme physical conditions around Venus, the planet has some surprising geological and biological surprises in store for the would be retrieval missions (be prepared for more large leaps of imagination).
Many of the main characters are too predictable, and some of the "surprise" twists in character and interpersonal relationships are telegraphed so heavily way in advance that they don't come off as surprises. One aspect of the story which was less predictable though was the number of horrific events which befall members of both crews during the middle of the story. Just as Venus is a much harsher environment than Mars, the Venus book by Bova is at times much grittier than his Mars books. However, by the time the closing chapters are reached, the story returns to formula, and the events are once more quite predictable.
On the whole, I would recommend VENUS. It contained some intriguing speculation on the technology needed to send a mission to Venus, and some highly imaginative ideas about what varieties of life might exist in that climate. The weakest part was the use of standard and somewhat unappealing characters, but it was still possible to get caught up in the adventure.
And just how hot is it? According to the book, above 450 degrees C (900 deg. F) on the surface of Venus. And that is hot.
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