Reviews

The Silent War by Ben Bova

jpv0's review

Go to review page

4.0

[b:The Silent War|267285|The Silent War (The Grand Tour #11; The Asteroid Wars #3)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386919740l/267285._SY75_.jpg|2393499] feels like a conclusion to the Asteroid Wars ([b:The Precipice|267302|The Precipice (The Grand Tour, #8; The Asteroid Wars, #1)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386919746l/267302._SY75_.jpg|293551] and [b:The Rock Rats|267349|The Rock Rats (The Grand Tour, #10; The Asteroid Wars, #2)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392075594l/267349._SY75_.jpg|1856770]), with the war continuing to escalate to father and father atrocities with even more sides to the conflict than before (
Yamagata is back! If a bit weirdly.
). It's a bit strange to see what feels like such a conclusion with one book left, but I guess that's why it's called [b:The Aftermath|768917|The Aftermath (The Grand Tour, #12; The Asteroid Wars, #4)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442426245l/768917._SY75_.jpg|754977]? We'll just have to see.

Overall, The Silent War is a satisfying enough conclusion to the Asteroid Wars (as a war and as a subseries) building up both the overall conflict and one within the book itself. It's nice to actually see everything come to a head and I think the conclusion is workable, if a little ridiculous. It really feeds into the idea that behind every powerful corporation is a handful (or one) of powerful men and women really driving things forward.

Nothing really more to say. I still really like Pancho Lane and can't really stand Lars Fuchs or Humphries. That's pretty much all intended. The series as a whole could have probably been a single book, but so it goes. Worth reading for completeness' sake. I still prefer the more science driven / less corporate of the Grand Tour books. So it goes.

On a final note... what's with that prologue and epilogue? They're interesting enough and hint at something completely different than anything else we've seen in the Grand Tour thus far... but why here? I expect/hope we'll see why in The Aftermath, but it's just weird.

worldsinink's review

Go to review page

3.0

A good read. Much more action packed than the first couple of novels in the series. The ending is a bit disappointing, leaving quite a few questions to be answered. However since there is now a fourth book in the series I think some of those will be addressed there.
More...