Ben Bova

Ron Morgan is a teenager seeking freedom from his father; having passed his college entrance exams with flying colors, Morgan seeks out a thrilling setting within which to unwind; he finds the answer in Fun City: Manhattan, a domed playground, his destination on Labor Day. Whatever phantoms of excitement Morgan was looking for, however, melt away when he loses his wallet and identity card, suddenly trapped in a dome that is now closed for the season. Ron is on his own, with no food or shelter, ruing the decisions that led him into his predicament and hoping that he can escape New York in one piece.

The best place to start is the Watchmen/The Others series, the earliest of Ben Bova's multi-book series: it opens with The Star Conquerors (1959) and runs to 3 books across 1959–1969, ending with The Dueling Machine (1969). Ben Bova's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.

Ben Bova has 236 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1959 and 2025. 110 of them belong to 16 named series — the largest being The Grand Tour series with 27 books — and 126 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.

Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Ben Bova's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Watchmen/The Others (1959–1969, 3 books), Exiles (1971–1975, 3 books) and Kinsman (1976–1979, 2 books), plus 12 more.

This guide splits Ben Bova's 236 books into 16 named series and 126 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: The Grand Tour (27 books, 1985–2025); Orion (6 books, 1984–2011); Jake Ross (4 books, 2012–2021); Sam Gunn (4 books, 1992–2022); The Asteroid Wars (4 books, 2001–2007), plus 11 further series.