Overview
The planet closest to our Sun, Mercury is a rocky, barren, heat-scorched world. But there are those who hope to find wealth in its desolation.
Saito Yamagata thinks Mercury's position makes it an ideal place to generate power to propel starships into deep space. Astrobiologist Victor Molina thinks the water at Mercury's poles may harbor evidence of life. Bishop Elliot Danvers has been sent by the Earth-based "New Morality" to keep close tabs on Molina.
But all three of these men are blissfully unaware of their shared history, and of how it connects to the collapse of Mance Bracknell's geosynchronous space elevator a generation ago. Now they're about to find out, because Mance is determined to have his revenge…
Synopsis
A tale of revenge and technological endeavor set on our solar system's most desolate stage.
Publishers Weekly
Set in the same future universe as the author's asteroid series (The Silent War, etc.) and sharing such major players as the Yamagata Corporation and the religion of the New Morality, Hugo-winner Bova's well-plotted fourth planet novel (after 2003's Saturn) features a classic love triangle, backed by the occasional Greek chorus of scientific explanations. While astrobiologist Victor Molina and engineer Mance Bracknell (disguised as Dante Alexios) vie for the affections of Victor's wife, Lara Tierney Molina, Saito Yamagata attempts to create an efficient, inexpensive staging area on Mercury to send ships into deep space. Meanwhile, Bracknell schemes to exact revenge for his destroyed past. Ten years earlier, Bracknell's efforts to create another efficient, inexpensive method of launching spaceships called "The Sky Tower" was sabotaged by Bishop Danvers of the New Morality, as well as by Molina and Yamagata's son, Nobu. Millions of innocents died as a result. The moral questions raised by Bracknell's complicated retribution scenarios about the rights of victims for revenge and the immoral consequences of moral acts add depth to an otherwise standard tale of space adventure. Agent, Barbara Bova. (May 4) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewIn Mercury, one of the destinations on Ben Bova's epic Grand Tour saga (Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, et al.), a disgraced engineer weaves an intricate plot to take down the people who ruined his life. The stage for his vengeance is the barren, heat-scorched planet of Mercury.
Maverick entrepreneur Saito Yamagata has come out of his self-imposed seclusion to begin a project on Mercury devoted to generating inexpensive power for the growing human habitations throughout the solar system. Also involved in the project are Victor Molina, a self-absorbed astrobiologist; Elliott Danvers, a sanctimonious preacher in the fanatical New Morality Church; and Dante Alexios, an intense, enigmatic engineer in charge of the mission. Unbeknownst to all, Alexios is actually Mance Bracknell, a visionary engineer turned pariah after the project he was heading -- the construction of a massive skytower in Ecuador -- crashed to earth, killing more than 4 million people. Danvers, Molina, and Yamagata all played integral roles in Bracknell's downfall: Danvers was a spy for the Church, Molina falsely implicated Bracknell during the subsequent trial and ended up marrying his fiancée, and Yamagata's corporation was behind the project's sabotage. Now decades later, Dante has his fiery revenge.
Like the other novels in Bova's Grand Tour -- a series of loosely connected tales about humankind's expansion throughout the solar system -- Mercury is built on hard science but powered by the emotional entanglements of its characters. While nothing in life is guaranteed, Ben Bova's storytelling prowess -- with his trademark blend of scientific speculation and enthralling romantic and political intrigue -- comes close. Paul Goat Allen
From the Publisher
"A guaranteed crowd-pleaser!" —Booklist on Mercury"Recalls the work of Heinlein in his Destination Moon mode, or Hal Clement in any number of stories: a day-after-tomorrow tale crafted with near-journalistic purity…It's a difficult, demanding mode to pursue, and not many choose to nowadays. But Bova does it magnificently." —Paul Di Filippo, Scifi.com, on Jupiter
"With Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein gone, Bova, author of more than 70 books, is one of the last deans of traditional science fiction. And he hasn't lost his touch. Venus scorches." —Kansas City Star on Venus
"Bova gets better and better, combining plausible science with increasingly complex fiction." —Los Angeles Daily News on The Precipice