The Precipice

Book One of The Asteroid Wars

By: Ben Bova

Narrated by: Scott Brick, Amanda Karr, cast

Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Once, Dan Randolph was one of the richest men on Earth. Now the planet is spiraling into environmental disaster, with floods and earthquakes destroying the lives of millions. Martin Humphries, fabulously wealthy heir of the Humphries Trust, also knows that space-based industry is the way of the future. But unlike Randolph, he does not care if Earth perishes in the process. As Randolph, accompanied by two brilliant women astronauts, flies out to the Asteroid Belt aboard a fusion-propelled spacecraft, Humphries makes his move. The future of mankind lies in Randolph's hands.

It rocks! Don't miss any of the action in Ben Bova's Asteroid Wars series, including the second book, The Rock Rats, the third, The Silent War, and the fourth, The Aftermath.

©2001 Ben Bova (P)2001, 2005 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC

Critic reviews

"Bova gets better and better, combining plausible science with increasingly complex fiction." (Los Angeles Daily News)

"The full cast, led by Scott Brick and Amanda Karr, gives a spirited performance. The characters are multidimensional.... Other members of the cast, including producer Stefan Rudnicki, each add to a fast-moving and engrossing story." (AudioFile)

Still better..

This story is better still, than the earlier ones.

The performance is jarring at first and it’s a new team taking over but they do a good job.

Mine an Asteroid?

Long range mining of the asteroid belt? What an idea. Inside fighting on a corporate board and development of an engine that cuts weeks off the flight make feasible a journey that will save Earth from massive flooding. Exciting right up to the last minute. Where's the next book in the series?

Good Story

I have never been a fan of multi cast audiobooks. I prefer a single reader. Beyond that I enjoyed the book.

This Review Needs a Title...So, I

Long range mining of the asteroid belt? What an idea. Inside fighting on a corporate board and development of an engine that cuts weeks off the flight make feasible a journey that will save Earth from massive flooding. Exciting right up to the last minute. Where's the next book in the series?

Huge latecomer Ben Bova fan!

I love this book, as I love all the Ben Bova novels. I kind of wish that it had been fully narrated by Stefan Rudnicki, instead of having several narrators. But, it was still awesome as always. On to the next!

Good Science

This is my first Bova novel and I found it to be very strong in the science and tying it in with the story, none of the science was too out there. This was also my first audio novel with sound effects, which I personally do not like. I hope the next two in the series hold are as good if not better.

An Amazing Piece of Sci-Fi

What makes this piece of science fiction so interesting is the fact that it takes place in the very near future. The book, while fiction, provides a plausible forecast of the future. This book brilliantly merges science-fiction with science-fact. A great start to The Asteroid Wars Trilogy.

Slow to start. Finishes great.

The first 2/3 of the book compared to most were a lot slower than his previous books in the series. I prefer a slightly more energetic set of opening chapters. however, I believe that this will bode well for the rest of the series which I have yet to finish.

Space Opera Fun ( not for Kids)

The series is like 1950's style space opera like those from Heinlein and Norton. The free use of profanity, in a vailed attempt to make it "adult" makes it not for younger listeners.
Fast paced fun and well crafted the power co the production comes from the grat story based in good science and a fascinating premise. Gerat fun but not for the kids.

A Fun Series With Good Science

Not the best at characterization Bova here does at least have good science. The bad guys are really bad and the good really good and the story a bit weak, but I liked it any way (I've run into my share of bad guys who are really bad to buy into the story). The first book was the strongest, with the other two books spending way too much time reviewing what happened previously (there should be a law against that).