Power Surge, Ben Bova
Power Surge, Ben Bova
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Power Surge

Author: Ben Bova

Narrator: Stefan Rudnicki

Unabridged: 8 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/11/2015

Synopsis

Six-time Hugo winner Ben Bova brings us a gripping political thriller on the cutting edge of science and technology.Dr. Jake Ross came to Washington to make a difference. As the science advisor to a newly elected freshman senator, Jake has crafted a comprehensive energy plan that employs innovative new technologies to make America the world’s leader in energy production while simultaneously boosting the economy and protecting the environment. The facts—and the science—are on Jake’s side, but his plan soon runs afoul of entrenched special interests, well-funded lobbies, cynical bureaucrats, pork-barrel politics, and one very powerful US senator.To keep his plan alive and secure a sustainable future for America, Jake needs a crash course in the way Washington really works. Everyone keeps telling him that his plan has no hope of succeeding, but Jake is determined to prove them wrong even if it kills him … something that certain hostile parties may be all too happy to arrange.

About Ben Bova

Ben Bova (1932–2020), American author of more than one hundred books of science fact and fiction, was awarded posthumously the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award. His work earned six Hugo Awards. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation in 2005, and his novel Titan won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best science fiction novel of 2006. In his early career, he was a technical editor for Project Vanguard, the United States’s first effort to launch a satellite into space in 1958. He then was a science writer for Avco Everett Research Laboratory, which built the heat shields for the Apollo 11 module. He held the position of president emeritus of the National Space Society and served as president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

About Stefan Rudnicki

Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than five thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than nine hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices in 2012.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Steve on September 19, 2015

More political thriller than science fiction (not sci-fi at all, in my opinion), and more novel than thriller, this is a kind of disappointment from this author regardless of the genre you're looking for. An OK read (better than 2, but a low 3 stars), it has weaknesses in a hero who is less than adm......more

Goodreads review by Fred on October 10, 2015

A great political near future story done by an excellent author. Will do up full review after the long weekend Cheers......more

Goodreads review by Michael on December 19, 2022

Bova's status as a sci-fi writer shows in this didactic book. Bova thinks he has come up with a foolproof energy plan that the U. S. ought to adopt, and so does the protagonist of this thrill-less thriller. As science concepts must be explained in sci-fi, so must this energy plan. Much of this is do......more

Goodreads review by Jeanne on July 21, 2017

The library says this is a sci-fi book. It's way more political. The main character is trying to get the government to pass a clean energy bill. The powers that be don't like the idea. The bad guys go after them. The good guys win. I like other books by this author. This one. Meh. The timing didn't......more

Goodreads review by James on September 22, 2019

The second book takes Jake Ross, the science adviser to Senator Tomlinson, on an educational journey on the way politics works in Washington. While the work is fiction, the story is predictable and annoying because it is actually how our government works - mostly. DC power struggles and their frustr......more

Quotes

“An idealist from Montana takes on the Washington machine in this near-future novel. Jacob Ross came to D.C. to help freshman senator Frank Tomlinson write a comprehensive energy plan that will help the country deal with climate change and prepare for the future. He’s got the ideas, and he’s got the passion. What he doesn’t have is any idea how to get things done in this town. But he’s about to get a crash course in politics—the dirty kind.” Kirkus Reviews

“Avid fans of master narrator Stefan Rudnicki might want to listen to this audiobook…In his usual basso way, he adds subtle touches that distinguish the characters, set the scenes, and generally attempt, with greater or lesser success, to engage us with the story. He portrays one mobster particularly well.” AudioFile

“If you love sci-fi and political thrillers, this is the book for you. It is no surprise that author Ben Bova has won six Hugo awards—a gripping story and sound research make this a believable tale about the battle between politics and the public good.” RT Book Reviews (4 stars)

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