Science-fiction master Ben Bova’s POWER PLAY is similar to a previous work, 2010′s ABLE ONE, in that it is a techno-thriller more concerned with characters than contraptions. Speculative technology plays a major role, to be sure, but the real essence of this new work is the murky and often dangerous world of politics.
For most of his adult life, Jake Ross has looked upon Leverett Caldwell as his mentor. After all, it was Professor Caldwell who initially inspired Jake to study astronomy and eventually become a university instructor himself.
As the novel opens, Caldwell brings Jake’s attention to the field of magetohydrodyamics, or MHD for short. It’s an experimental technique being developed to generate electricity more efficiently and cleanly.
Caldwell brings up the topic of MHD because he knows that Frank Tomlinson, a man rumored to run for the Senate against the current incumbent, is looking both for a relevant issue and a science advisor, too. Caldwell suggests Jake be that advisor, and that the potential advantages of MHD be the issue.
Jake is completely inexperienced when it comes to politics, but thanks to Caldwell’s urging and Tomlinson’s seemingly earnest charisma, he eventually agrees. Besides, as Tomlinson mentions to Jake in an unguarded moment, politics is “a great way to meet women.”
That proves true, as Jake soon meets and begins an affair with Amy Wexler, Tomlinson’s beautiful, young campaign manager. But while Jake learns the workings of MHD as the university scientists build and run experiments on the big rig, he also learns the seamier side of politics as secret backroom deals are made, personal embarrassment and scandal are used to advance political platforms, and mob enforcers are brought in when a bit of extra convincing is needed.
MHD-generated electricity in its infancy certainly possess dangerous risks, but Jake finds that those risks seem puny when compared to danger — and even covert murder — that comes with politics.
Bova works hard to balance the discussion of MHD technology with the inner workings of politics, and succeeds in demonstrating how a scientific discovery filled with exciting potential benefits for many can become little more than another empty campaign platform promise. The suspense here may be milder compared to the threatened destruction and nail-biting tension of ABLE ONE, but it is far more familiar and reality-grounded.
The pacing and overall narrative are skillfully distributed in a clear-cut, unobtrusive style in chapters that run just long enough before tempting readers to immediately continue to the next.
Credible and convincing characters, even in the most extraordinary circumstances, have always been a feature in Bova’s work, and this latest is no exception. Jake may be your typical “fish out of water” when it comes to politics, but he catches on quick and soon uses these newfound skills to his own advantage. Amy is more than simply sexy window-dressing, and her ambiguous loyalty is one of the many mysteries that haunt Jake throughout the story.
The weakest characters, however, are Bova’s enforcers, especially a bully Jake remembers from high school who still goes by the nickname Monster, and whose behavior and mannerisms seem like cartoons when compared to the others in the cast.
Like ABLE ONE, POWER PLAY might disappoint those sci-fi readers who prefer the author stick with stories about futuristic interplanetary exploration and civilization’s expansion toward the stars. But as we reluctantly drag ourselves toward another presidential election year, with candidates slinging mud and brickbats at each other at every opportunity, this latest work is ironically as relevant as anything Bova has ever written.
Plus, it demonstrates again what a versatile and impressive author Bova truly is. —Alan Cranis
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