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.

I want more

Pro's: An amazing venture into the SyFi universe that Ben bova has been building for years, and finaly takes us back to the moon, and to the characters from moon wars-perhaps some of my favorite characters that he has written. Filled with the kind of realistic intrigue that his books are famous for. Stefan Rudnicki Did an Awesome job at narrating ( like he normally does ) I honestly don't think that they could have gotten a better narrator for this kind of book.

Con's: It felt to short, although not much shorter then most of his other books, I wanted more, and the ending felt rushed.

Other thoughts: if you are new to Ben Bova's books, this is not the best place to start, Moon Base i think is honestly the best book of his to start off with. Also, This is not Star wars, or a Military Scfi book its not about space wizards and lazers pew pewing people. this is very much SCIENCE fiction. So its not for every one

Marginal, predictable

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

The concept was good, the science behind the telescopes - the drama was weak.

What could Ben Bova have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Focus less on the romance and more on developing the plot

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Likely not

Not Bad, But...

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

I have fond memories of reading Ben Bova novels when I was younger, but I sort of found the story disappointing. Possibly as I feel the story blurb was more than a bit misleading. Instead of really being a book about a discover of a new planet and "what they ultimately find will stun everyone, and the human race will never be the same". Well, the description and fuss about the planet comprised the last 3 minutes of the book. The book was actually more about nanobots and a scumbag rich terrorist. Nothing wrong with that, but the description doesn't even vaguely sound like this. I still have no idea "what they ultimately" found that would "stun everyone, and the human race will never be the same". No idea at all. I felt like I had accidentally downloaded the wrong book. I was looking forward to a moon base / discovery book.

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

Described it more accurately

What about Stefan Rudnicki’s performance did you like?

OK voice, but his "Australian" female accent was really bad, like worse than Robert Downey Jr in Natural Born Killers... Sounded more South African than anything. I also wasn't aware Betelgeuse was pronounced Beetlejiuce, like the movie. I could be wrong though.

Did Farside inspire you to do anything?

No

Better to listen to books in order

I was following a list of Bova books in order but actually that list is wrong. Far side should have been earlier in the sequence. But a very enjoyable series no matter what. I can’t stop listening. Thank you Audible!!