The U.S. has abandoned its quest for the stars, and an old enemy has moved in to fill the void. The potential wealth of the universe is now in malevolent hands. Rebel billionaire Dan Randolph- possessor of the largest privately owned company in space- intends to weaken the stranglehold the new despotic masters of the solar system have on the lucrative ore industry. But when the mineral-rich asteroid he sets in orbit around the Earth is commandeered by the enemy, and his unarmed workers are slaughtered in cold blood, the course of Randolph's life is changed forever. Now cataclysm is aimed at the exposed heart of America- a potential catastrophe that Randolph himself inadvertently set in motion. And the maverick entrepreneur must use his skills, cunning, and vast resources to strike out at his foes hard, fast, and with ruthless precision- and wear proudly the mantle that fate thrust upon him: space pirate!
This book was written in 1985 and its storyline is the beginning of what would later become Bova's Grand Tour series of books on planetary exploration. The book was written during the Cold War and as such, the Soviet Union is the adversary. The U.S. and its allies have lost the Cold War and the Soviets dominate space and have exclusive rights to mine the minerals on the Moon. This novel includes many of the characters from Bova's other books in the series including Dan Randolph who owns the largest privately owned company in space and is based in Venezuela because the U.S. has conceded its space exploration to the Soviets. Randolph intends to weaken the Soviets by mining mineral-rich asteroids with near-Earth orbits. But the Soviets take possession of his ship as well as the asteroid he has set his eyes on. That's when he becomes a privateer and starts hijacking the ore mined by the Russians on the Moon.
This was pretty much a typical space actioner but its dated setting is a drawback for the novel. The novel is also very sexist with women playing minor roles and used as sex objects (even though the president of the U.S. is a woman). But some of the novel could have been written today as it reflects current events now going on related to protests regarding police and the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. When Randolph visits the White House at one point, he finds protests going on with signs which include STOP POLICE TERROR. Then to quell the protests, "riot police arrived, in squadrons of armored vehicles that were spraying streams of vile-looking greenish gas at the crowds of picketers. People were screaming, running, placards dropped to the pavement as they tried to escape the tracked vehicles lumbering down upon them. Where the gas reached them, they doubled over, fell to the ground retching, coughing, spasming..."
Of course the Cold War ended about 4 years after this novel was published. Bova went on to write the Grand Tour series including a rewrite of the first couple of novels in the series, Powersat (2005) and Empire Builders (1993). So Privateers is kind of left on its own and doesn't really fit into the revised scenarios even though some of the characters are the same. I have read a few others in the series which I have enjoyed and overall, I would still mildly recommend this one.
This was pretty much a typical space actioner but its dated setting is a drawback for the novel. The novel is also very sexist with women playing minor roles and used as sex objects (even though the president of the U.S. is a woman). But some of the novel could have been written today as it reflects current events now going on related to protests regarding police and the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. When Randolph visits the White House at one point, he finds protests going on with signs which include STOP POLICE TERROR. Then to quell the protests, "riot police arrived, in squadrons of armored vehicles that were spraying streams of vile-looking greenish gas at the crowds of picketers. People were screaming, running, placards dropped to the pavement as they tried to escape the tracked vehicles lumbering down upon them. Where the gas reached them, they doubled over, fell to the ground retching, coughing, spasming..."
Of course the Cold War ended about 4 years after this novel was published. Bova went on to write the Grand Tour series including a rewrite of the first couple of novels in the series, Powersat (2005) and Empire Builders (1993). So Privateers is kind of left on its own and doesn't really fit into the revised scenarios even though some of the characters are the same. I have read a few others in the series which I have enjoyed and overall, I would still mildly recommend this one.
