The Asteroid Wars Heat Up

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	• The Rock Rats (The Asteroid Wars, Book 2) Ben Bova Fantastic Audio, 2002 average customer review:based on 21 reviews view larger image
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A Slow Starter

Not being a major fan of Ben Bova, I was interested in the comments made by some reviewers who obviously are fans. The harsh criticisms levelled at "The Rock Rats" were quite interesting. While I would not lambast the book as complete rubbish, it certainly lacked something that the previous novel, The Precipice (The Grand Tour; also Asteroid Wars), had.

The plot basically follows on from the first novel, (with some large jumps in time), and focuses on Martin Humphries' attempts to tighten his grip on control of the asteroid belt and its super-abundant resources and profits. Of course, being a rather morally challenged villain, he uses some nasty methods. Up against this behemoth of industry is Lars Fuchs, protege and beneficiary of Dan Rudolph. With a large number of subplots going on, there is much more to it than this simplistic summary.

One reviewer commented that the story jumps about a bit. While this is true, with jumps of dossiers on characters and so on, I feel this does not detract from the novel itself. The brief episodes add an air of anticipation, I thought, as I wondered how these people would fit in. The only thing that annoyed me a bit was the so-called "dossiers" were in very novel-like language, hardly anything like that of real dossiers. They just didn't seem convincing.

The plot itself takes longer to wind up than the previous novel of the series. For about the first 100 pages, I found it a bit of a chore, to be honest. Once I got into the second century of pages, things started to move, finally. The adventure was back and the conflict reached a new level.

I would also add this: Lars Fuchs seems an odd sort of main character for this type of role. He just seems a bit more wishy washy than most, and seemed less than adequate. When he finally gets some substance, the novel ends. This might be overly critical, but I thought the character of Dan Randolph had much more substance, as did many of the subsidiary characters.

While not as good as "The Precipice", I still enjoyed this installment of "The Asteroid Wars". The read is simple and does not require lots of brain power. It is a good relaxing jaunt through the solar system neighbourhood that Earth is in.

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The Asteroid Wars Heat Up

Ben Bova has written an exciting follow-up to "The Precipice". Once again, Martin Humphries and Lars Fuchs clash in this fast-paced novel.

At the end of The Precipice, Humphries was exiled from Selene and forced to give up all of his shares in Astro Manufacturing. Despite this, he still crashes Lars' and Amanda's wedding and gives them Starpower I as a wedding present. Martin secretly hopes that Lars will head to the Asteroid Belt alone and leave Amanda on Selene where he can get his hands on her, but she surprises Martin by leaving with Lars.

Martin has also developed a trading center on the asteroid Ceres. Here, Martin's company can supply the "Rock Rats" with all the supplies they need. In response, Amanda convinces Lars and Pancho to develop their own company to compete against Martin. Pancho's Astro company will provide the goods. Thus, Helvetia, Inc. was born and is now larger than Martin's company.

Understandably upset by Lars' latest move, Martin sends some of his own thugs to raid Helvetia's warehouse. In the ensuing melee, Lars loses all of his inventory and some of his employees are killed. But Matin doesn't stop with the warehouse. Soon, ships are disappearing and Martin's company is laying claim to many different asteroids. Even the chief director of the habitat project is killed.

Lars tracks down the killer and infuses a little frontier justice of his own. A court is convened, but Lars is found innocent. But Humphries is incensed. He sends Dorik Harbin, a hired assassin who's hooked on several different kinds of drugs, into the belt to hunt down Lars and kill him. However, Lars manages to give Harbin the slip, and Harbin is forced to return to Selene empty-handed. However, once there, he meets and begins a torrid affair with Diane Verwoerd, Martin's assistant. Martin has his own plan for Diane; namely, having her impregnated with his clone. But, Martin still has his sights set on Amanda and making her his own. Will he succeed?

This is a very good book. Although I preferred "The Precipice" slightly more, "The Rock Rats" is loaded with action, and the conflict between Martin and Lars explodes with fury. Bova fans won't want to miss this exciting continuation of the Asteroid Wars.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Brimming with memorable characters and human conflict, rugged high-tech prospectors and boardroom betrayals, The Rock Rats continues the tale of our near-future struggle over the incalculable wealth of the Asteroid Belt. Before it ends, many will die -- and many will achieve more than they ever dreamed was possible.