I'm pretty sure I've never read any Ben Bova before this, unless I've read a short story in an anthology sometime back in the 1970's or so. I'm not exactly sure why this is other than the simple fact that there's too many books and too little time and choices of what to read have to be made. Bova's books always appeared to be more technical, hard science fiction (I suppose I based this on nothing more than book covers that always had rocket ships on them) and I was more interested in reading fantasy like Howard, Zelazny, and Ellison.

But this book popped up as a potential ARC (advance reading copy) for me so I requested it (despite having a rocket ship on the cover). I figured it was about time I gave Bova a try and according to reports, this was the last book he was working on when he passed away.

Sam Gunn, Jr., as you might guess, is the son of a gunn ... Sam Gunn. His mother always told him that Sam Gunn, the famous explorer and entrepreneur, was his father, though Jr never met the man. Gunn Sr probably never knew anything about him. But when Jr becomes an adult he wants to be like his father, an adventurer and entrepreneur. But Sr dies and Jr is left trying to convince people (like the bank) that he is Gunn's son and therefore just as trustworthy. But no bank will give him a loan based on his say-so.

But if what Jr says is true, then Sam Gunn's business will become his. Fortunately, there's a tiny bit of Gunn's DNA stored in the office safe, proving that Jr really is a chip off the old block. Now everything belongs to Jr ... including all the debt that Sr racked up. Jr will be forced to go out and hustle money and business the old fashioned way - like a carny huckster.

Along the way, Jr will fall in love with beautiful women, be betrayed by ruthless men, bribe his way out of imprisonment, and explore the rings of Saturn like no one else. The Sam Gunn legacy lives on through his son.

First, this book is pretty clearly written for the middle school crowd I think. I constantly had throwback impressions of Isaac Asimov's old Lucky Starr series or Tom Corbett. Everything had a "Gosh golly gee whiz" attitude and Jr. was never challenged with anything he couldn't just decide would go his way and it would. There really was no challenge, no obstacle - no plot. This was one quick adventure after another with nothing significant happening in any of them (with the possible exception of his girlfriend being taken away by a wealthy man).

This kind of writing worked in the 50's, but not so much now. What also doesn't work now is this old-school sexism and racism.

Although the reports are that this is the book Bova was working on when he died, one has to believe that the first draft(s) of this were likely written 50 or more years earlier. It just feels like a book from the 50's. If not, then Bova the author didn't grow with the times.

I happen to like classic pulp fiction and I like YA books, so there was some appeal for me but I don't expect this to appeal to too many young readers or even longtime fans of Bova's work.

Looking for a good book? Sam Gunn Jr by Ben Bova is a slightly stale YA yarn pulled from the energies of the 1950's. Pulp adventure fiction readers may find this delightful but most modern readers won't see the charm.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

A throwback to classic sci-fi... for all its good & bad.

I will start by saying I am unfamiliar with Ben Bova's adventures of Sam Gunn, so my review of this book may be hindered by or benefit from that lack of familiarity.

This was an interesting book to read. Had I read it without any prior knowledge of when it was published, I would easily have thought it was released during the Golden Age of Sci-Fi. The story, the pacing, the characters, and the short, serial nature of the chapters themselves truly felt like a good ol' fashioned sci-fi romp around the galaxy. If that's what you're looking for, I truly believe it's one of its pros.

Unfortunately, it's also one of its biggest cons.

Gender roles in this book are, while perhaps 'acceptable' had it been written in the 30s, definitely stereotypical. This novel is broken down into smaller books, with a new woman introduced in every book. Even if our hero, Sam Gunn Jr.—who has to make sure to tell us he is <i>not</i> a womanizer like his father and to whom all things come easily—doesn't actually bed them, they are still written through the male gaze. I was always more surprised when Junior didn't sleep with the latest female character.

That aside, the novel itself was still enjoyable enough. It wasn't complex and it had its issues, but if you're looking for something light with that classic a pulp hero feel, you'll probably enjoy this book, too.

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read this digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The author continues his Sam Gunn series by passing it on to his illegitimate son who discovers on his mother’s deathbed that the late Sam Gunn was his father. The son overall is less of a scoundrel that his father, but does inherit some of his traits. It is an entertaining and quick read.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog. .

We begin this one with a shocking revelation in the first sentence: Sam Gunn, that entrepreneurial maverick of many a Ben Bova story, the space industrialist who happens to be in the right place at the right time a lot, is dead.

If you have read the many short stories or The Sam Gunn Omnibus (2007), you may know what a well-liked character he was. Bastion of the pages of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (beginning in October 1983) and then Omni, Amazing and Analog (1989-2015), Sam sailed merrily around the Solar System causing havoc, doing a deal and selling the American way to all-and-sundry. He was often the epitome of the American dream, buying low, selling high and making enough profit to finance the next project. I guess that in some ways he was the Donald Trump of the Spaceways, albeit perhaps more honourable and much more likeable, taking capitalism to the stars.

Such a death obviously leaves a vacuum, into which steps Sam Gunn Junior, who until his father’s death never knew who Sam Gunn Senior was. This revelation, followed soon by the death of his mother, leads Sam Jr. to leave the rural homestead and try and make his way in the world – or rather Solar System.

Junior goes to the head offices to claim his inheritance, where he meets Frederick Mohammed Malone, Sam Gunn Senior’s friend and co-owner. Malone shows Jr. that Dad was holding together a company near bankruptcy. Junior is a bit naïve but under the tutelage of Malone soon manages to overcome many obstacles - re-starting a bankrupt business, building a museum on Mars, setting up an insurance scheme for the mineworkers near Ceres in the Asteroid Belt, for example – to continue in the manner his Dad used to.

Such challenges are not without difficulties, however, and in this case Junior’s nemesis is his father’s old enemy Pierre D’Argent, President of Rockledge Enterprises, who does everything he can to stop Junior succeeding. Much of the book is therefore about how Junior deals with these situations.

In dealing with these challenges, what this also allows us to do, of course, is get one of Ben’s condensed tours of the Solar System – see also his Solar System/Grand Tour books. Here (through Junior) we go from Earth to the Moon (Selene), Mars, the Asteroid Belt, Saturn and Jupiter – and see the Solar System through the eyes of someone to whom this is new. It’s not always pretty, but it does create that sense of wonder.

Such characters and situations seem light-years away from the millennial SF of today. They are perhaps simpler and less subtle, more straightforward and perhaps more fun to those who have perhaps been reading Ben’s stories of Sam Gunn for nearly 40 years. Consequently, the novel may not be liked by everyone, but I think that this is where the strength of Ben’s book lies.

The plot moves along at such a pace and with such good humour that the reader is inclined to forgive the odd plot-hole (how quickly does Sam take over his father’s business?) and convenient contrivances (women fall at his feet, things happen rather too opportunely at times) that occur as you go along. Reading this book, you pretty much know what you’re going to get, but frankly you don’t mind that.

The book is also a rallying call to that old adage that if you work hard you will get your just rewards, which I suspect is part of its appeal. Sam Jr. begins at a low level but through hard work and good ideas manages to make his way and turn a profit, which many readers will like. Seeing how he does it is part of the fun, even when the characterisation is a bit cliched.

In summary then, Sam Gunn Jr is a romp, a lovingly-written, entertaining gem of an SF novel that takes the old ideals of a capitalist Space Race culture, builds them big and then builds them bigger.  Whilst the world in reality has moved on to a place where people such as Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Jeff Bozos may be leading the way, Sam Gunn Jr shows us that it is OK to have a little fun with the ideas as well.

What is sad is that there are elements in this novel that are clearly setting things up for future novels. With Ben’s death is seems that we’ll never know how the bigger picture is resolved. However, Sam Gunn Jr. leaves us in a situation where more stories of “Junior” could be written – and if written by the right hands, I’d be happy to read more.

If this is Ben’s last swan-song - and it is being mentioned as Ben’s last complete novel, as he died of COVID-related pneumonia in November 2020 - then it’s not a bad one to finish on. I’m pleased to say that at the end I finished with a smile – which I am sure is what Ben would’ve wanted.

I was easily drawn into the book. I started to care about Sam Gunn Jr from the beginning. I enjoyed the way Bova would think of new ways to get Jr out of questionable situations. I also liked the way Bova would develop all the characters that Jr met throughout the book. Bova also did a good job of describing the different places Jr would end up exploring. However I found the end to be missing certain important information and Jr’s handling of the villain unsatisfactory. In addition, some of the content was a bit dated. Overall this is a book well worth reading. Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for the advance reader copy.

Bova has written a novel about the son of a world famous entrepreneur. He tries to follow in his father's footprints and learns life lessons along the way.

"Sam Gunn Jr." by Ben Bova is a Young Adult oriented collection of chronological episodes of the bold freelancing Sam Gunn Jr as he learns of his legacy, and travels the solar system while pursuing financial success, searching for the love of his life, helping further the scientific horizon, and figuratively crossing swords with a despicable tycoon and assorted troublesome bankers, lawyers, bureaucrats, and assassins.

The various quotes from notable historic figures sprinkled throughout the book was informative and added a nice touch.

This collection is organized into eight books that are further split into simple 2-5 page episodes which all together document Sam Gunn Jr's experiences. Although the overall plot is not all that compelling and the characters feel like flat stereotypes, the episodes include space travel and the settings and various subplots are interesting.

I would like to thank the publisher for kindly providing an electronic review copy of this book.

A wonderful introduction or revisit to Ben Bova, drawing on what works best in science fiction. I enjoyed the character-based nature of the story, and Bova’s inventive plotting.