The Grand Tour is a series of novels written by science fiction author Ben Bova. Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe; title page of 1719 newspaper edition A novel (from French nouvelle, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Benjamin William Bova (born November 8, 1932) is an American science fiction author and editor. ...

Summary

The novels present a theme of exploration and colonization of the solar system by humans in the late 21st century. Most of the books focus on the exploration of one particular planet or planetary moon. Major features of the solar system (not to scale) The solar system comprises the Earths Sun and the retinue of celestial objects gravitationally bound to it. ... The 21st century is the century that began on 1 January 2001 and will last to 31 December 2100. ... A planet is generally considered to be a relatively large mass of accreted matter in orbit around a star that is not a star itself. ... Moons of solar system scaled to Earths Moon A natural satellite is a moon (not capitalized), that is, any natural object that orbits a planet. ...

Several recurring themes are presented throughout the series. In particular, most of the solar system bodies whose exploration is the focus of a particular novel are presented as having life, either past or present. Many of the expeditions which explore the planets run into serious difficulty. The protagonists of most of these books are presented as initially weak and/or lacking in ability or confidence, and as part of surviving the trials of the story become heroic. The existence of extraterrestrial life remains hypothetical though human beings continue to search Extraterrestrial life is life that may exist and originate outside the planet Earth. ...

The future humanity as depicted in the Grand Tour novel series is divided between Greens (environmentalists) and wealthy industrialists, as well as between secularists/scientists and religious fundamentalists. These conflicts generally are presented as part of a background pastiche and often set up the initial conflicts of each of the books. In addition, several of the books reference, or indeed directly deal with, conflicts between wealthy industrualists and small, independent operators seeking to exploit the solar system's vast untapped mineral wealth. Environmentalism is the support of or involvement with the environmental movement by environmentalists. ... It has been suggested that Industrialist be merged into this article or section. ... Fundamentalism is a movement to maintain strict adherence to founding principles. ...

The above themes are arguably illustrative of Ben Bova's well-known views regarding capitalism and environmentalism. Capitalism has been defined in various, but similar, ways by different theorists. ... Environmentalism is the support of or involvement with the environmental movement by environmentalists. ...

List of novels

• Powersat (2005)
• Empire Builders (1993)
• Mars (1992)
• Moonrise (1996)
• Moonwar (1998)
• Return to Mars (1999)
• Venus (2000)
• The Precipice (2001) (The Asteroid Wars I)
• Jupiter (2001)
• The Rock Rats (2002) (The Asteroid Wars II)
• Saturn (2002)
• Titan (2006)
• The Silent War (2004) (The Asteroid Wars III)
• Tales of the Grand Tour (2004) (short stories occurring at various times throughout the series)
• Mercury (2005)