ercury is the latest in Ben Bova's series of loosely connected stand-alone novels imagining a near future of manned exploration of the solar system. These books feature headstrong engineers and scientists struggling to expand humanity's frontiers against a backdrop of ecological catastrophe, religious fanaticism and corporate despotism.
This time around, Bova brings a disparate band of characters to a lone outpost near Mercury's north pole. This small world—so close to the searing might of the sun—provides a harsh and desolate stage for a plot built on vengeance and tragedy.
Ruthless industrialist Saito Yamagata is pursuing a new vision: sending humanity to the stars. He is funding construction of solar energy collectors in orbit around Mercury, secretly intending these to provide the power required to launch an interstellar vessel. His chief engineer, Dante Alexios, has called him out to the planet to hash out technical glitches in the project.
Astrobiologist Victor Molina has also been drawn to the outpost—by reports hinting at geological evidence for life beneath the planet's surface. Unexpected life forms have been found elsewhere, including Jupiter and Venus, and he knows that a similar discovery will make his scientific reputation. His wife Lara follows him to Mercury, responding to messages she believes were sent by her husband. Bishop Elliot Danvers of the powerful and repressive "New Morality" rounds out the cast; he is seeking ways to further church interests and his own career.
Just as it becomes apparent that these characters are being manipulated by a hidden puppet master, the novel shifts to events on Earth 10 years earlier. The focus is on the construction of a fabulous tower of spiraling, intertwined cables—a space elevator, rising up 35,000 kilometers, anchored to a satellite in geosynchronous orbit, that will reshape the economics of space exploration. The same cast of characters have their roles to play in the tragedy that surrounds the tower. From there, the plot rolls on inexorably toward further tragedy awaiting everyone on Mercury.
Dreams of space come alive
This is a highly accessible work of hard science fiction. Bova takes the physical realities of space travel and planetary exploration seriously. Readers get to share, in very concrete terms, in the experience of walking on the hostile surface of Mercury, and will genuinely marvel when caught up in the author's convincing vision of a towering space elevator. Bova adds urgency and reality to the story by making sure his imagined future feels closely connected to our own time. He also embeds all these elements within the structure of a fast-paced contemporary thriller and fuels the tale with raw human need—love, ambition, revenge.
It's a decent entry in an excellent series. Mercury has the same strengths shared by the author's whole solar system sequence. This makes it worth reading despite some weaknesses in execution. Portions of the central mystery are revealed too soon, lowering the level of tension. And some of the characters' background stories are so hastily sketched in that their individual plot threads carry little or no emotional weight.
Looking over the entire series, its clear that Bova has worked a special alchemy, recasting the earnest "sense of wonder" of classic SF into something unique by employing a variety of opposing storytelling modes. These include the page-turning revelations of the political thriller; the slow build and ever-expanding scope of modern SF's endless series books; the author's cynical, knowing view of human failings; and the theatrical tension of ancient Greek tragedy. All this yields a fascinating mix of gritty realism and a fable of heightened, operatic emotional conflict. It reflects the struggle between science and all the impeding forces of society and human nature in a new, gripping way.
Mercury—or any novel in this series—makes for fine entry-level SF. The science-fictional details can be absorbed easily by those who are not already die-hard genre readers. At the same time, it should be of interest to experienced aficionados as another piece of the author's carefully crafted, widescreen picture of humankind's move into space. Hints in this volume, concerning possible larger steps in humanity's adventure into the unknown, should leave longtime readers eager for the next installment.
