The Winds of Altair

By: Ben Bova

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Earth is an old planet, and her teeming masses are running out of resources - and time. It is up to men such as Jeff Holman to discover a haven for Earth’s millions. Altair VI is one such planet, and Holman is determined to transform this world into one where the human race can survive.

Star probes long ago informed Earth that Altair VI had a flourishing ecology with one very tough beast at the top of the food chain, one that will have to be dealt with before the human colony ships arrive. The beast is not only tough, it is as smart as a man.

Holman is faced with a soul-wrenching decision - for to make Altair VI habitable for humans, all native life must die.

©2013 Ben Bova (P)2013 Blackstone Audio

Before Avatar was Altair

Ben Bova released Winds of Altair in 1983, many years before Avatar would become a movie, yet this is such a similar story, and so exceptionally done, that you can hardly mention one without the other.

Bova combines a tale of morality and ethics in a species vs species conflict between humans who can't go home and a planet full of potentially sentient beings that do not want them there. Combine that with one of my true favorites as a narrator, Stefan Rudnicki, and you have an audiobook that will hook you and hold on to you from the first word to the last. Definitely worth a listen.

A classic Bova. Intriguing & Enjoyable

Certainly one of his more enjoyable books, in which you can see the parts borrowed by other perhaps better known stories. Rudnicki, as usual, provides a thoroughly enjoyable performance.