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Ben Bova
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Colony Mass Market Paperback – January 1, 1999

by Ben Bova (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 67 ratings
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In the Future, Everything is Different.
But Nothing Has Changed.

The Earth has been poisoned by pollution, choked by overpopulation, and ravaged by the mindless greed of power-hungry corporations. A fragile peace is threatened by landless revolutionaries and global anarchy seems imminent.

Yet a single ray of hope remains. . .

Island One is a celestial utopia, and David Adams is its most perfect creation - a man with a brain as advanced as any computer and a body free of human frailties. But David is a prisoner -- a captive of the colony that created him -- destined to spend the days of his life in an island-sized cylinder that circles a doomed and desperate home planet. Thousands of miles below him, a world trembles; its people cringe in terror and despair in anticipation of an impending apocalypse. And as Earth's boundaries, fate has cast one extraordinary human in the role of savior. For David Adams has a plan -- one that will ultimately ensure the salvation of his species . . . or its annihilation.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    512 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harper Voyager
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1999
  5. Dimensions
    4.19 x 1.28 x 6.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0380793156
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0380793150
  8. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Ben Bova has not only helped to write about the future, he helped create it. The author of more than one hundred futuristic novels and nonfiction books, he has been involved in science and advanced technology since the very beginnings of the space program. President Emeritus of the National Space Society, Dr. Bova is a frequent commentator on radio and television, and a widely popular lecturer. He has also been an award-winning editor and an executive in the aerospace industry.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Voyager; Reissue edition (January 1, 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 512 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0380793156
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0380793150
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.19 x 1.28 x 6.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 67 ratings

About the author

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Ben Bova

Ben Bova

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The author of more than 100 futuristic novels and nonfiction books,

Dr. Ben Bova has been involved in science and high technology since the very beginnings of the space age. President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past president of Science Fiction Writers of America, Dr. Bova received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation in 2005, “for fueling mankind’s imagination regarding the wonders of outer

space.” His 2006 novel TITAN received the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel of the year. Earlier, he was an award-winning editor of ANALOG and OMNI and an executive in the aerospace industry.

Dr. Bova is a frequent commentator on radio and television and popular lecturer.

His website is: http://www.benbova.com

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
67 global ratings
jacket summary
4 Stars
jacket summary
from the back cover of the July 1978 Pocket paperback editionHurtling across a vast and rousing canvas, from Baghdad to what remains of New York City...from Messina, the capital of the Earth, to the moon, to Island One, the magnificent colony in space...Ben Bova's extraordinary new novel is a brilliant epic of sheer storytelling power that leaves its readers stunned and shaken.Colony is the story of once-proud cities of the Earth made humble by greed and revenge, of Stone Age cultures and advanced civilizations in space, of a cast of full-blooded, unforgettable characters from the remote corners of the globe and beyond...and of David Adams, the first genetically perfect "test tube" human being, whose very human nature is the final hope of a world in infinite danger!
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Top reviews from the United States

Nyssa
5.0 out of 5 stars A good page-turner that won't leave you bored
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2015
Verified Purchase
Colony is a story about never being able to tell someone's motivation by how they act. Time and time again, the person who is trusted betrays, while the person who is not trusted, is pushed way. A good page-turner that won't leave you bored.
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Jeffrey T. Munson
4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Science Fiction Story From One Of The Masters
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2019
Verified Purchase
Island One hovers above the earth. With its 10,000 inhabitants, it is an outer space utopia complete with its own farms, crops, and homes. David Adams is one of the residents. Genetically engineered, David is immune to disease and has the brain of a computer. But David has become a prisoner of his circumstances; unable to leave the colony.

On earth, chaos reigns. The big corporations and the World Government are feuding and to make matters worse, a terrorist organization known as the PRU has made it their goal to take control over everything, including the power supplied to earth by Island One. David Adams may be the only hope for earth's survival, but will he be able to help before it's too late?

I've read many of Ben Bova's books, and I liked reading "Colony". Although this book was originally published many years ago, it's story is a haunting prediction of what could happen on earth in the future. The characters, as always in a Bova book, are well-developed, and the story itself is a plausible prediction of what could happen on earth. A highly informative and entertaining read.
2 people found this helpful
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Martin B
5.0 out of 5 stars Bova at his best
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2013
Verified Purchase
Another thrilling read, this book had me itching to turn the next page. Less science tech than some of the other Bova books I've read but this had much more storytelling prowess. The characters all linked together to bring about a plot that didn't disappoint. Definitely a great read.
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Still holds its own.
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2015
Verified Purchase
It's a little bit dated -the bane of S/F as the years go by. Even so, it's a fine tale and much of it still holds up.
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lubylu55
3.0 out of 5 stars Really a 3.5. Good story!
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2021
Verified Purchase
David is a genetically enhanced, grown in a synthetic womb after his mother died after being savagely attacked. He lives on Island One a space habitat that not only sustains itself but also send power to earth. Fascinating read but there are places where the words don’t make sense until I read them several times.
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Matthew Jones
4.0 out of 5 stars Refusal to accept cultural change will not preserve a status quo but result on the end of the cosmic experiment of human development
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2019
Verified Purchase
An enduring hope that humanity's best hope lies among the stars! Sad that reality has not kept pace with imagination.
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Elizabeth Chenard
5.0 out of 5 stars Space habitat!
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2021
Verified Purchase
I like when a great book is reprinted at a decent price!
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Irving S Danesh, MD
5.0 out of 5 stars Spinoff
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2020
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I enjoyed this book. It is a sort of spinoff from the Kinsman book
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Top reviews from other countries

Gregory A. Boshaw
4.0 out of 5 stars a great read
Reviewed in Canada on May 10, 2013
Verified Purchase
i always like the works of ben bova ... and this did not disappoint me in the least. a buy!
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great reading
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2014
Verified Purchase
I have read almost all the Ben Bova books and haven't been so caught up and enthralled by any other writer on discovery of other planets and the fights between those at the head of large organisations. In this novel, Bova's ability to write into the stories he has already created is immpecable.

A story to read from a brillant author of so many science fiction novels that either stand alone or take a story line further..
One person found this helpful
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G. Nelson
5.0 out of 5 stars Ben ma boy keep it up
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2013
Verified Purchase
never ever will tire of reading his books.. I have read almost of them, and not one can I say was poor.
One person found this helpful
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