[b:The Silent War|267285|The Silent War (The Grand Tour #11; The Asteroid Wars #3)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386919740l/267285._SY75_.jpg|2393499] feels like a conclusion to the Asteroid Wars ([b:The Precipice|267302|The Precipice (The Grand Tour, #8; The Asteroid Wars, #1)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386919746l/267302._SY75_.jpg|293551] and [b:The Rock Rats|267349|The Rock Rats (The Grand Tour, #10; The Asteroid Wars, #2)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392075594l/267349._SY75_.jpg|1856770]), with the war continuing to escalate to father and father atrocities with even more sides to the conflict than before (Yamagata is back! If a bit weirdly.). It's a bit strange to see what feels like such a conclusion with one book left, but I guess that's why it's called [b:The Aftermath|768917|The Aftermath (The Grand Tour, #12; The Asteroid Wars, #4)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442426245l/768917._SY75_.jpg|754977]? We'll just have to see.

Overall, The Silent War is a satisfying enough conclusion to the Asteroid Wars (as a war and as a subseries) building up both the overall conflict and one within the book itself. It's nice to actually see everything come to a head and I think the conclusion is workable, if a little ridiculous. It really feeds into the idea that behind every powerful corporation is a handful (or one) of powerful men and women really driving things forward.

Nothing really more to say. I still really like Pancho Lane and can't really stand Lars Fuchs or Humphries. That's pretty much all intended. The series as a whole could have probably been a single book, but so it goes. Worth reading for completeness' sake. I still prefer the more science driven / less corporate of the Grand Tour books. So it goes.

On a final note... what's with that prologue and epilogue? They're interesting enough and hint at something completely different than anything else we've seen in the Grand Tour thus far... but why here? I expect/hope we'll see why in The Aftermath, but it's just weird. ( )

I hadn't read any Ben Bova previously and this was maybe not the best place to begin. This was the third of a trilogy 'The Asteroid Wars' and part of a much bigger 'grand tour' series and was concerned with a war over raw materials in the asteroid belt in the future. I don't read much pure space opera but will read more Bova in the future, I shall read the first two in the trilogy at some point. ( )

Bova's Grand Tour is a solid science fiction series covering the exploration and development of the solar system, with The Silent War being an enjoyable chapter. Addicting! ( )

Pretty much continues from where The Rock Rats left off....the characters that Bova developed so well in the first two asteroid war books continue to battle for the riches of the asteroid belt, as well as resolve their personality differences in various ways. Humphries, Astro Corporation, and Yamagata Corporation fall into a deadly battle for control of this vast area of treasures. Bova ends this one with mention of an alien artifact which casts an air of morality over the entire story. Another good read in the Grand Tour. ( )

Another, and third book, in the Rock Rats series--this one covers corporate war in the asteroid zone. Corporations at war? Hmm, now that's a concept. There's good strategy in this book and just enough fighting to make it fun; too much more and it would be as exciting as reading US revolutionary war stores about battles in the counties of New Jersey (Yawn!). The book is chock full of really bad guys--our heroine tries like mad to kill them off. The crescendo at the end is followed by a bland war's end, which isn't an unrealistic one...just unexciting. On to the next Bova book. ( )