Death Wave cover art

Death Wave

The Star Quest Trilogy, Book 1

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Death Wave

By: Ben Bova
Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
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About this listen

Six-time Hugo Award winner Ben Bova chronicles the saga of humankind's expansion beyond the solar system.

In Ben Bova's previous novel New Earth, Jordan Kell led the first human mission beyond the solar system, where they discovered the ruins of an ancient alien civilization. But one alien AI survived, and it revealed to Jordan Kell that an explosion in the black hole at the heart of the Milky Way galaxy has created a wave of deadly radiation, expanding out from the core toward Earth. Unless the human race acts to save itself, all life on Earth will be wiped out.

When Kell and his team return to Earth many years after their departure, they find that their world has changed almost beyond recognition. Not only has a second wave of greenhouse flooding caused sea levels to rise, but society has been changed by the consequences of the climate shift. Few people want to face Jordan Kell's news. He must convince Earth's new rulers that the human race is in danger of extinction unless it acts to forestall the death wave coming from the galaxy's heart.

©2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2015 Blackstone Audibooks Adventure First Contact Hard Science Fiction Science Fiction Space Space Exploration Interstellar Fiction Solar System Heartfelt

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the story seemed at first a little juvenile but as the plot developed interacting themes of science, politics and lust combined to make the story gripping

death wave

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I must admit that I have never read/listened to a sci fi with such an unique story line.
Yes the shelves are bulging with plot lines that the earth is in danger and our only option is to turn to space for help or rescue. But to ask people to help an unknown civilisation at a distance so far that the global population will have been renewed by a further five generations before we might know if we have been successful. This is where I found the storyline to be weak as the earth's population agrees to help too easily and there is very little debate about the issue. If you look at what's happening around the world at present with the lack of urgency present over the need to remove man made greenhouse gases in order to reduce the risk of near catastrophic climate changes in 30 - 50 years time, why would we agree that we will help alien planets 400 years in the future.

This is just the first book in a series of four so I am curious what way the plot will develop. But even allowing for my opinion of a defect in the plot the story is quite good 4out of 5 at the moment, not an excellent 5/5 but with three books to go there is room for anything to happen

Very thoughtful

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I have 4 hours left and am still waiting for the action to begin.
ALLMOST NOTHING HAPPENS in the entire book. I guess this is what the cold war felt like. Anyone COULD do something but no-one does.
This is not even the first book in the series.
It starts off after an expedition returns 200 years after leaving earth and finding a new planet that is also inhabited by humans.
I will not go into other details, if you get to dear the book the very few interesting parts are far and wide between.
Also the entire SF in this book is mostly old-fashion-so-advanced-it-could-be-magic. It's the same stile of "SF" the old authors use, very close to atomic this and intrinsic that. In this case it is "Dark Energy" and "Energy Screens".

So bottom line: Good that it's included or it would be a return. Much better books to listen to out there and not worth imho.

Naive crap

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If you could sum up Death Wave in three words, what would they be?

Another great book in the ongoing colonization of space by man, reaching out to the starsand that is why I like Bens books because they interlink the whole picture.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jordan Kell and his New Wife trying to bring the earth inhabitants to help by saving the other intelligent's in this galaxy before the death wave hits.

Which character – as performed by Stefan Rudnicki – was your favourite?

Doug Stavenger the Old Man in the moon even though he didn't have a big part in the whole storey.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes the way it left me hanging after the abrupt end of the book and for the rest of the storey.

Any additional comments?

Yes Hurry up Ben and write the next installment of the Saga and keep the person who in my eyes makes your stories come alive, Stefan Rudniki.

Another Ben Bova Classic

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Okay easy to listen to but one of the females comes across as pathetic, still good to listen though.

Annoying female character

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Science fiction, but not of the Startreck variety. Here it is the story and charactrs that are central, just happen to be set in a scientifically advanced future. The problem with this is alwys the need to 'explain' the future, usually in the form of lectures delivered by the characters explaing to each other.
An nteresting premise in the story but i found the characters a little plastic and the dialogue rather wooden. It could have survived this had not the narration been so boringly sleep inducing. Not interesting enough to overcome the drone and I'm afraid i just couldn't finish it

What a boring voice!

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Absolutely loved this. a mix of sci-fi, politics, human nature and proverbs. one of Ben Nova's best works.

brilliant

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bit slower in pace then the 1st book.
otherwise a good politics & problem solving sci-fi. felt like more of a set up for book 3 and I expect will have more going on like in the first book.

Good but slow paced

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Felt that could have covered everything in half the time. For me lacking in depth. Characters were developed well which saved a 3 from me. Will not bother to move onto book 2

OK but a bit slow

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SF requires a suspension of disbelief like any other form of fiction and usually one can easily accept a couple of hypotheses and just read on. In this book the physical phenomenon of the title - the Death Wave - can be swallowed as can the devastation of Earth hrough unmitigated climate change. But everything else is just too plain silly, childishly simplistic characters most of all. Disappointing.

Ridiculous plot

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