Octogenarian Ben Bova is still going strong. He's written more than 120 works of science fiction and fact, has won the Hugo Award six times, and has edited both Analog and Omni magazines over his long career. It's no surprise, then, that his latest collection of short speculative fiction, New Frontiers, is full of interesting characters and fascinatingly scientific settings. Bova explores ideas with ease, like how to make a golf course on the moon, or what might happen to terminally ill people rich enough to pay for a trip to a better future via cryogenic sleep.
In "The Question," humanity takes too long to respond to a time-sensitive request sent by an alien intelligence from beyond the moon's orbit; a rogue astrophysicist sends out an unofficial plea for help. Bova puts a modern spin on the real story behind 101 Arabian Nights--starring some cleverly disguised members of the Science Fiction Writers of America--in "Scheherazade and the Storytellers," and then tackles the implications of personal conflict in virtual reality in both "Duel in the Somme" and "Bloodless Victory."
Brilliant in every diverse concept, these stories are also a callback to an earlier era of science-fiction storytelling, when men were men, and women were bright and capable (but always beautiful). They deal with humanity's place in the universe, both interpersonal and extra-solar. Each story has a kernel of scientific truth and extrapolation in them, like the best of golden age of science fiction. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer and editor