Farside

By: Ben Bova

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Farside, the side of the moon that never faces Earth, is the ideal location for an astronomical observatory. It is also the setting for a tangled web of politics, personal ambition, love, jealousy, and murder.

Telescopes on Earth have detected an Earth-sized planet circling a star some 30 light-years away. Now the race is on to get pictures of that distant world, photographs and spectra that show whether or not the planet is truly like Earth - and if it bears life. Farside observatory will have the largest optical telescope in the solar system as well as a vast array of radio antennas, the most sensitive radio telescope possible, insulated from the interference of Earth’s radio chatter by a thousand kilometers of the moon’s solid body.

Building Farside is a complex, often dangerous task. On the airless surface of the moon, under constant bombardment by hard radiation and in-falling micrometeoroids, builders must work in cumbersome spacesuits and use robotic machines as much as possible. Breakdowns - mechanical and emotional - are commonplace. Accidents happen, some of them fatal. But what they ultimately find will stun everyone, and the human race will never be the same.

©2013 Ben Bova (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc

Critic reviews

"I believe that by far the science fiction author who will have the greatest effect on the science fiction world, and the world as a whole, is Ben Bova." (Ray Bradbury)

Not too far to want to pick it and enjoy

Would you listen to Farside again? Why?

I don't make a habit of listening to BOT twice.

If you’ve listened to books by Ben Bova before, how does this one compare?

Shockingly, this is my first time with Ben Bova, but certainly won't be the last!

What does Stefan Rudnicki bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His accents and innonation are outstanding. Truly on of the better narrators on audible IMHO.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Farside: Lunar Deception

Any additional comments?

This is an excellent introduction to Ben Bova, from what I can tell. The ending is a bit clunky, but overall recommend this to true sci fi fans.

Good but not up to Grand Tour par.

Where does Farside rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was a good book but is hovering in the middle ground as far as what I expect from Bova

Would you be willing to try another book from Ben Bova? Why or why not?

I will always give Bova a shot. This book felt a lot like a fill in the gap rushed book.

Which scene was your favorite?

This was a big problem in this book is that nothing really stood out.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No it was ok to split up the listening time.

Any additional comments?

This book was full of mindless sexual content and a lot of re-hashing old plots... OH NO ITS NANO BUGS AGAIN!!!! The plot of leading to finding another world was a great one but little was on that. It seemed like a last minute fill in for the real novel that will be to travel to this new world.

Another excellent story from Bova!

Bova's attention to detail and significant character development contributes to a believable story of a future life on the moon.. It's also a fun read.

Not super impressed to be honest

I was a bit surprised when I read this book. It was my first Ben Bova story and I was expecting something a little better. Right from the start, I found that the story wasn't very descriptive. The dialog was weak in my opinion and I had hope the author would ad more to the scenes. If I am missing something, then feel free to recommend another book of his.

Engaging

For the most part this kept my interest. The character interaction held together, but some of the motivations just seemed forced.

Kind of boring for Bova

Title kind of says it all. I will be honest, I'm only halfway through this book but it's still not exactly engaging. I'm listening straight through without taking any breaks as I usually do. Yet I'm finding it hard to keep my attention whereas in other books I don't want to break in between but have to get other things done. Hopefully it gets better but so far I could've done without this one , or it could've been added into another book as a chapter or two for the info it provides. Not much and I don't really care about losing any of the new characters in this one. If I find that I have a different opinion once I'm done, I'll edit to fit that opinion. But, for now it's just meh.

Ok. Ok story, ok characters, ok writing.

This was ok. Kept my ears busy, put pretty pictures of moon bases and telescopes and stuff in my mind's eye. Characters were human. Not much thought went into the idea of living on the moon though, there were all kinds of opportunities for awesome details about the hardships and difficulties of a permanent moon colony, that were conveniently ignored. Having read Red Mars (Kim Stanley Robbinson) this was frustratingly shallow. But it entertained me, and I'll probably read more of Mr Bova's works.

Good read

Would you try another book from Ben Bova and/or Stefan Rudnicki?

Not one of Mr Bova's best works but well worth reading.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Wish I had not downloaded the new Iphone App, then this book would have been more enjoyable!

Did Farside inspire you to do anything?

I went back and looked for any other of Ben Bova'a works that I may have missed, so I must have liked it.

Another good Ben Bova book.

I have read most of Ben Bova's books, some I liked more than others, but I have enjoyed them all. This is a worthy addition to my Ben Bova library. As usual, Stefan Rudnicki did a most excellent job with the narration. I will recommend this book to my friends who like sci-fi adventures.

Ok but not great

What did you like best about Farside? What did you like least?

The idea of having a second earth and a base on the moon

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

If new earth is able to hold life

Which scene was your favorite?

Close the end, not going to spoil

Do you think Farside needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No, the story was enough.

Any additional comments?

I had a hard time finishing this book, I liked it in the end but there was a time that I almost deleted it because I thought it was not word finishing but I did. But I will not read it again.