Science fiction giant Ben Bova has died from COVID.

[nolabear]

Damn. What a terrible end to a stunning career.

Link to tweet

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[procon]

1. Sorry to hear this, he was one of my favorite authors. nt

[bringthePaine]

11. and the price we pay goes up again, losing this true American master...

[klook]

2. Terrible news - he was a giant of science fiction, both as an author and an editor.

I need to reread (and read for the first time) some of his stuff now.

[Hugin]

7. I've been looking for a new reservoir of Sci-fi.

It is a shame that this is how.

[essme]

8. Have you tried Hugh Howey

Loved "Wool"

[Hugin]

9. No.

Looks promising.

Thanks!

[Dr. Strange]

12. Yeah, his Silo series was pretty cool.

[murielm99]

13. I liked that book, "Wool," too.

But Ben Bova is a giant.

2020 just keeps screwing us. All the wrong people are dying.

[nolabear]

15. The Wool series is really good.

And a remarkable story of a self published author whose books were picked up by a traditional publisher. That’s rare.

[GregW]

17. I think wool and the Silos series has a great opportunity as a mini-series

Other mini-series I am still waiting for:
- Ringworld
- Riverworld
- Dayworld

Oh look - they all have 'world' in the titles

[LiberalLovinLug]

26. I've been waiting a long time for the Dan Simmons' Hyperion trilogy to be made into a movie series.

They keep promising that it's in the works. But who knows if it will ever be completed.

[Nictuku]

38. Yes!

I would love to see Hyperion made into a series.

I agree that the Riverworld that was out a while ago wasn't all that great, but I absolutely loved the books.

[Jeebo]

33. There WAS a Riverworld mini-series a few years back.

It was on the Sci-Fi channel, and it was not very good. I read several Riverworld novels. They were great, and I read the first three or four or five, Philip Jose Farmer was still writing them when I stopped reading them, I kind of overdosed on them.

Why is it so hard for the Sci-Fi channel to make GOOD science fiction?

-- Ron

[Ferrets are Cool]

20. Kinda hard to find, but if you can, this series is one of the best I ever read.

Chung Kuo David Wingrove

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0440207614/?coliid=I231L8ONUYDOQA&colid=DMFEBMXD4HIU&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

[exboyfil]

3. Great hard SF writer

Condolences to his family. Read many of his books when I was younger. Edited some great anthologies.

[Hugin]

4. ...

Almost everything Science Fiction for the last 50 years was somehow touched by Ben Bova.

[Gothmog]

5. I am sorry to hear this

I like Bova’s books

[Wounded Bear]

6. 2020 won't stop sucking ass...RIP Ben Bova...

[lunatica]

10. Oh no!

[electric_blue68]

14. Oh dear! : (

[nolabear]

16. There's an awful irony at a sci-fi great being taken out by a pandemic.

Well, maybe it’s not irony exactly, but all those imagined futures, and this one gets him. Dreadful.

[burrowowl]

18. I remember when he took over Analog when John Campell died.

Rip Ben Bova

[Javaman]

19. Damn it. I just reread and old book of his

“cities in flight”

Such a shame and needless loss.

[First Speaker]

24. That was James Blish, actually...

[Jeebo]

35. The "Cities in Flight" novels are really good.

I read them all in one mad dash forty, maybe forty-five years ago. There are four of them. If three novels are a trilogy, what are four? A quadrigy? And as Preem Palver noted, they were written by James Blish. But yes, Ben Bova wrote some really good stuff too, and I have read most of it.

-- Ron

[ismnotwasm]

21. Aw shit. Shit shit shit

[BobTheSubgenius]

22. Im afraid I have to admit that Im not familiar with his work.

From the reaction here, it seems like a situation I should remedy.

I`m sorry to witness the obvious sadness, everyone.

[nolabear]

27. Not only a fine author but a great editor.

[LudwigPastorius]

23. In addition to his novels and other editorial...

work, Bova helmed the first four years of Omni magazine. It was a weird mix of science news, futurism, fringe theories, science fiction stories & novellas, artwork, and cartoons.

Omni was nerd heaven for a kid growing up in Texas in the late 70s.

RIP

[lastlib]

28. Still have a few old Omni issues hanging around.....

They once published "the hardest IQ test in the world." I spent a couple of months working on some of the problems, but eventually solved most of the ones that didn't require a lot of specialized knowledge (like advanced chemistry). It was hard work, but I scored high enough to attain the Mensa level. FWIW..... (I wonder how our "staybull jeenyus" prezidunce would do on it--I doubt he'd get three of those problems.)

I never read a lot of Bova's writing, but what I read was enjoyable. Shame to lose him, especially to this crappy tRump-virus!

[LudwigPastorius]

31. Ah, yes. The Quest Test...I remember being bummed because I got a decidedly sub-Mensan 128 on it.

I never took the Stanford-Binet or any 'official' test. Heck, I never even studied for my SATs...classic underachiever.

In my defense, though, you don't need a high IQ to be a musician. In fact, some would say that's a deterrent to becoming one.

[lastlib]

37. I've known some very intelligent musicians!

And I've read that multiple studies show that musical talent correlates to high intelligence. So don't sell yourself short! Besides, you're a Democrat, so that alone puts you in at least the top half!

[Hekate]

25. How awful! He was a giant in the field.

[Initech]

29. This virus is quite the cruel mistress.

[highplainsdem]

30. Very sad news. He will be missed.

[Ohio Joe]

32. RIP

[Jeebo]

34. I have read most of his novels.

He wrote some really good stuff. The man left his mark on the world, and it was a good mark, and that's the best any of us can do.

-- Ron

[eppur_se_muova]

36. One of the very first books I ever read was by Ben Bova -- and not SF.

It was a nonfiction book on reptiles, and either the first or second book that taught me about dinosaurs. Christmas gift from my paternal grandfather. Probably helped steer me onto the path to becoming a scientist.



I recently bought a copy just to look it over again. Kind of a sad coincidence.