Jupiter
By Ben Bova
Tor, $24.95
ISBN 0312872178

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In the latest of Ben Bova's loosely associated solar system series of novels, a wave of religious fundamentalism has swept the Earth. Governments everywhere have been overwhelmed by groups such as the New Morality or the Light of Allah.

Grant Archer is a Believer. Married and fresh out of college, he is hoping to spend his mandatory four-year public service term on the dark side of the moon. Instead he is assigned to a research station orbiting faraway Jupiter. Fighting the assignment, Archer eventually discovers that the New Morality wants him to be a mole. They are concerned about rumors emanating from the research station -- rumors of planetary exploration and possibly more.

Archer is a likeable character, a throwback to the heroes of the golden age of science fiction: young, resourceful, heartfelt and strong when it counts. His situation on the research station, where he is given typically menial grad student duties, will evoke sympathy from anyone who has started out at the bottom.

As Archer mixes with the crew, Bova lays out his multicultural vision of the future. Archer's best friend is from the Sudan, the station is run by Dr. L. Zhang Wo and Archer's friend, Sheena, is a gorilla.

Bova, an accomplished scientist in his own right, is a ready and willing guide to the solar system. First he takes us on an interplanetary journey, then we go deep into the Jovian atmosphere and beyond.

As Archer slowly becomes privy to the secrets of the research team's work investigating signs of possible life in Jupiter's oceans, a race develops between the New Morality government team and the research team: will they discover anything before the government shuts them down, and if they do discover something, will they be allowed to tell anyone?

At the heart of Jupiter is the debate between religion and the rationalist/secularist/ scientific point of view. Rather than drawing strict battlelines, Bova crosses and re-crosses them. He showcases the intersection between science and humanity's multifaceted belief systems, instead of giving us a simple -- and false -- solution. Like Archer, Bova is hoping that a meshing of science and deep faith is possible. He has updated the novels of the 1950s, brought in the grit and complexity of modern life and beliefs, and wrought a fine adventure novel in the process.

Gavin J. Grant lives in Brooklyn.