Voyagers (Ben Bova)

[*] ISBN: 9780786154289 [audio] 9780385148900 [hardcover]

An alien encounter novel that probably felt outdated when it was published. It is full of descriptions of technology and behavior that was probably not even real at the time. Both felt clumsy and misunderstood. Perhaps the story was not quite as boring back then, which is why it still gets good marks from other reviewers.

This tries to be a reality-based account of humanity's reaction when an alien spacecraft suddenly arrives in our solar system. Odd radio signals are found to emanate from Jupiter. Then a powerful telescope spots the spacecraft orbiting that planet and watches it turn toward earth. The story follows a motley group of scientists and others, falling in and out of bed with each other, using computers that take minutes to program and hours to do calculations, as they jockey for power.

None of the characters ever really sprang to life for me. All were there to serve the plot and not vice versa. I liked the overall premise of the story. It's too bad much of the book felt like padding. Five pounds of potatoes in a ten pound bag. I won't be picking up the next books in the series to see what happens.