Ben Bova can really turn out the space sagas. Moonwar, the sequel to Bova's popular 1996 Moonrise, continues the story of Douglas Stavenger, the Kennedy-esque scion of Moonbase's founding dynasty. Moonbase is flourishing under Stavenger's management, but its existence--and Stavenger's very life--depends on nanotechnology, outlawed on Earth in response to a wave of Luddite fear and violence. United Nations peacekeepers arrive on the moon to enforce the anti-nanotech laws, accompanied by intrepid network news reporter Edith Elgin, who promptly falls for Doug. In the meantime, Doug's mother Joanna chooses to return to Earth, but once there she's held hostage by the secretary-general of the UN, who wants Doug to surrender to his forces (and be killed). Smarmy politicians, beautiful TV babes, calculating corporate barons--it's like Washington in the space age, with nonstop action and cool technology.


From Publishers Weekly
Though riddled with SF cliches and stock characters, Bova's sequel to Moonrise is nonetheless an exciting high-tech adventure that puts the fledgling lunar colony known as Moonbase in dire jeopardy as political forces seek either to wrest control of it or to destroy it. Nanotechnology has been outlawed on Earth, but it is essential to Moonbase's functioning. The colony's leader, Douglas Stavenger, whose body is full of benevolent nanotech, must find a nonviolent way to foil the United Nations' Peacekeeper forces long enough for the base to be declared an independent nation and thus one that can legally continue to work with the outlawed technology. Georges Faure, Secretary-General of the U.N., has his own greedy plans for Moonbase, but he succumbs to the sexual charms of Edith Elgin, a gorgeous reporter who wheedles her way onto the U.N.'s troopship and then into the base itself. Her dispatches blow open the truth about what is occurring on the besieged colony, even as her presence creates a romantic dilemma for Doug. Spies, fanatics, sexy women and broad expanses abound as technology and good planning overcome brute force and canny capitalists. Readers who don't mind female reporters who "give some head to get ahead" and U.N. directors who proclaim that "resistance is futile" should find Bova's latest romp on the moon exciting and fun. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Defying a UN directive to cease their nanotechnology research and surrender control of their lunar colony, the citizens of Moonbase choose a desperate course of action to ensure their freedom?or their total destruction. This sequel to Moonrise (LJ 12/96) presents a countdown to confrontation between a fully equipped military force from Earth and a weaponless community of idealists armed only with their wits and determination. Veteran sf author Bova remains one of the genre's best at creating suspense-filled high-tech dramas; only his unfortunate tendency toward ethnic stereotyping detracts from this otherwise top-notch story. A solid, though flawed, purchase for most sf collections.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Moonwar continues the saga of futurism and space advocacy begun in Moonrise (1996). Nanotechnology is vital to the survival of Moonbase, not to mention to protagonist Doug Stavenger, yet the UN, under a fanatical secretary general, is preparing to use force to bring the moon under the ban on such technology. In other plot lines, a Japanese conglomerate, hoping to profit from earth control of Moonbase, energetically pursues its own agenda, and "nanoluddites" toss terrorist fanaticism into the whole situation. Moonbase is finally obliged to declare independence and to stand off ever more determined UN peacekeeper attacks. Meanwhile, Stavenger, his family, and many of his friends are all assassination targets; compensatorily, a female journalist becomes Stavenger's lover and a valuable source of good media coverage. Bova still tends to subordinate characterization to high-tech hardware and philosophizing about our destiny in space, and the basic plot recalls the Heinlein classic, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966). But with plenty of action and formidably effective suspense, Moonwar can be considered one of Bova's best. Roland Green


From Kirkus Reviews
Having done all the stage-setting for his near/medium-future lunar saga in Moonrise (1996), Bova slams right into the action in this declaration-of-independence sequel. The fanatical UN Secretary General, Georges Faure, determined to destroy Moonbase and the nanotechnology he has successfully outlawed on Earth, dispatches a force of Peacekeepers to land on the Moon and occupy the defenseless facility. But whiz-kid Doug Stavenger, his body full of nanomachines that preserve and keep him healthy, has other ideas. So, as brilliant but irascible nanomachines designer/programmer Wilhelm Zimmerman protects Moonbase from the UN troops, Doug slowly uncovers the complicated plotting behind Faure's move: A small group of zealots will do anything to prevent the growth of nanotechnology; the chairman of the Masterson Corporation, owner of Moonbase, wants to be mega-rich; and the owner of the powerful Yamagata Corporation has overwhelming personal reasons for wanting control of Moonbase. The first UN attack is defeated, but another will surely follow, while a saboteur prowls Moonbase and an assassin with a grudge goes after Doug's mother while she's on Earth attempting to negotiate. Somehow, Doug must swing public opinion behind Moonbase, its bid for independence, and its pro- nanotechnology stance, and defend it against the fanatical killers who would murder everybody on the Moon rather than allow Moonbase to survive. Rousing, inventive, persuasively knotty, with loads of tension and excitement: overall, far more involving and gripping than the previous volume. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.



"AN EXCITING HIGH-TECH ADVENTURE."


Book Description
Ben Bova's extraordinary Moonbase Saga continues with a breathtaking near-future adventure rich in character and incident. The action begins seven years after the indomitable Stavenger family has realized its cherished dream of establishing a colony on the inhospitable lunar surface. Moonbase is now a thriving community under the leadership of Doug Stavenger, a marvel of scientific ahievement created and supported by nanotechnology: virus-size machines that can build, cure, and destroy. But nanotechnology has been declared illegal by the home planet's leaders. And a powerful despot is determined to lay claim to Stavenger's peaceful city...or obliterate it, if necessary. The people of Moonbase--a colony with no arms or military--must now defend themselves from earth-born aggression with the only weapon at their disposal: the astonishing technology that sustains their endangered home.


About the Author
Ben Bova has been a presence in science fiction for more than four decades. He is a past president of the Science Fiction Writers of America and the former editor of Analog. The recipient of the Hugo and other awards, he has written dozens of novels, including Mars, Voyagers, and Death Dream-as well as Moonrise and Moonwar, the firsts two books of his acclaimed Moonbase Saga. He lives in Florida with his wife, Barbara Bova.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Ben Bova continues his story of colonization with Moonwar, in which a small group of scientists and technicians successfully secede from an Earth determined to suppress their research, by force if necessary. It's one of Bova's most convincing near-future extrapolations.

—Don D'Ammassa

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Seven years after the remarkable Stavenger family made Moonbase a reality, a substantial community lives, labors and flourishes under the leadership of Doug Stavenger, thanks to the wonders of nanotechnology - virus-size machines that can build, refine, cure, create...and destroy. But the science that sustains and supports the young off-Earth colony has been declared illegal and immoral by the home planet's rulers. And one man with the power to dictate policy is launching war's madness across the heavens - determined to lay claim to Stavenger's peaceful city or obliterate it if necessary - forcing an isolated society with no arms or military to defend itself with nothing but ingenuity and the tools that built and maintain the settlement.

SYNOPSIS

Ben Bova has been a leading authority in the world of science fiction for more than three decades. In his writing over the years, he has predicted the space race of the 1960s, virtual reality, the Strategic Defense Initiative (a.k.a. Star Wars), and even electronic book publishing.

Ben Bova's latest novel, Moonwar, is the much-anticipated continuation of his Moonbase Saga. Seven years following the events of Moonrise, which chronicles the remarkable Stavenger family and their pursuit of making Moonbase a reality, a thriving community lives and flourishes under the leadership of young Doug Stavenger.

This community inside of Moonbase is made possible by nanotechnology, the use of virus-sized robots that assemble matter atom by atom. But these minuscule machines that can be so useful and are necessary for Moonbase's existence also have a dangerous and destructive side. The science that sustains and supports the young colony has been declared illegal and immoral by the home planet's rulers. When Earth issues a ban on nanotechnology, Moonbase declares independence from its home world in order to survive.

In no time, U.N. troops are dispatched to face the Moonbase rebels, and Moonbase is forced to defend itself with nothing but ingenuity and the tools that built and maintain the settlement. This results in a battle of technology spurred by political ambition and fueled by weapons of mass destruction that leads to "loads of tension and excitement," says Kirkus Reviews.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Though riddled with SF clichs and stock characters, Bova's sequel to Moonrise is nonetheless an exciting high-tech adventure that puts the fledgling lunar colony known as Moonbase in dire jeopardy as political forces seek either to wrest control of it or to destroy it. Nanotechnology has been outlawed on Earth, but it is essential to Moonbase's functioning. The colony's leader, Douglas Stavenger, whose body is full of benevolent nanotech, must find a nonviolent way to foil the United Nations' Peacekeeper forces long enough for the base to be declared an independent nation and thus one that can legally continue to work with the outlawed technology. Georges Faure, Secretary-General of the U.N., has his own greedy plans for Moonbase, but he succumbs to the sexual charms of Edith Elgin, a gorgeous reporter who wheedles her way onto the U.N.'s troopship and then into the base itself. Her dispatches blow open the truth about what is occurring on the besieged colony, even as her presence creates a romantic dilemma for Doug. Spies, fanatics, sexy women and broad expanses abound as technology and good planning overcome brute force and canny capitalists. Readers who don't mind female reporters who "give some head to get ahead" and U.N. directors who proclaim that "resistance is futile" should find Bova's latest romp on the moon exciting and fun. (Feb.)

Library Journal

Defying a UN directive to cease their nanotechnology research and surrender control of their lunar colony, the citizens of Moonbase choose a desperate course of action to ensure their freedomor their total destruction. This sequel to Moonrise (LJ 12/96) presents a countdown to confrontation between a fully equipped military force from Earth and a weaponless community of idealists armed only with their wits and determination. Veteran sf author Bova remains one of the genre's best at creating suspense-filled high-tech dramas; only his unfortunate tendency toward ethnic stereotyping detracts from this otherwise top-notch story. A solid, though flawed, purchase for most sf collections.

Kirkus Reviews

Having done all the stage-setting for his near/medium-future lunar saga in Moonrise (1996), Bova slams right into the action in this declaration-of-independence sequel. The fanatical UN Secretary General, Georges Faure, determined to destroy Moonbase and the nanotechnology he has successfully outlawed on Earth, dispatches a force of Peacekeepers to land on the Moon and occupy the defenseless facility. But whiz-kid Doug Stavenger, his body full of nanomachines that preserve and keep him healthy, has other ideas. So, as brilliant but irascible nanomachines designer/programmer Wilhelm Zimmerman protects Moonbase from the UN troops, Doug slowly uncovers the complicated plotting behind Faure's move: A small group of zealots will do anything to prevent the growth of nanotechnology; the chairman of the Masterson Corporation, owner of Moonbase, wants to be mega-rich; and the owner of the powerful Yamagata Corporation has overwhelming personal reasons for wanting control of Moonbase. The first UN attack is defeated, but another will surely follow, while a saboteur prowls Moonbase and an assassin with a grudge goes after Doug's mother while she's on Earth attempting to negotiate. Somehow, Doug must swing public opinion behind Moonbase, its bid for independence, and its pro- nanotechnology stance, and defend it against the fanatical killers who would murder everybody on the Moon rather than allow Moonbase to survive. Rousing, inventive, persuasively knotty, with loads of tension and excitement: overall, far more involving and gripping than the previous volume.