A bit melodramatic at the end, but okay. ( )

Voyagers is an alien contact book with a lot of baggage. The story is told through the eyes of three persons and is very touchy feely in that way. It's a bit off putting because the female character sleeps her way to the top and at the end is very much begging...not very much integrity. One can see that the characters are developed, a Bova trademark, and the plot moves slowly, inexorably to the ending you know is going to happen. That said, volume two of the trilogy is ahead. ( )

First of a series, can't wait to see if the Americans and the Soviets join together to go after the alien ship before it leaves the solar system (don't tell me for those who have read it all). I was thoroughly entertained by this book. ( )

It’s easy to see why this book didn’t win any awards!
- The writing is pedestrian (though maybe that doesn’t matter – it is a thriller, after all)
- The plot line is … well there isn’t one really. A strange object is detected in orbit around Jupiter; some people think it is a comet (although a comet that can orbit Jupiter then change course for earth would be very unusual comet!); others think it is an alien spaceship and want to investigate it. The whole story is taken up with political and scientific machinations about whether or not to launch a manned mission to intercept it.
- The sex scenes / love interest have all the depth and maturity of a male menopausal masturbatory fantasy (I mean .. long legged buxom females who throw themselves at forty-something professors … puh-lease!!). The sexual politics (women who sleep their way to the top, men who are gullible enough to be manipulated by a beautiful woman) would have had all the freshness and insight of your average dinosaur even in 1980!
- The political stuff is cold war politics, so seems very dated now. The US military want to keep it a secret; the Russians are determined to get there first and are willing to blow up both the object and their own spacecraft if necessary to foil the Americans (no stereotypes here, then!).

On the good side, I did enjoy the development of some of the major characters – the Russian linguist Markoff (forgive me if I spelt that wrong, I had the audio version), for example and his growing friendship with Stoner.

Basically, it’s a little boy book. Not recommended for intelligent women who like sci-fi. ( )

Stoner knew the fiery object hurtling toward the Earth was an alien spacecraft. But the world might never know. He was trapped in an iron cordon of secrecy, for the discovery had shattered the world power balance, setting off a brutal struggle for supremacy that raged from the sacred halls of the Vatican to the corridors of the Kremlin and the Pentagon. The forces of fear and treachery would use any weapon at their command, from mind war to sabotage, to keep the world in darkness.