The Jovian Dilemma

By: John L. Flynn

Narrated by: Geoffrey Boyes

Life on the planet Jupiter? Former Senator Mitchell Ryan had always been told the violent, storm-tossed world was devoid of life. He had dismissed rumors of a strange life form living in the energy rich atmosphere as mere fantasy. In a solar system gone mad with civil war, the last thing he needed was an unknown factor to complicate his mission to supply critical energy resources to Earth and its fracturing colonial empire. But he soon discovers the Jovians are the least of his worries. Confronted with several mysterious deaths, sabotage, and similar acts of terrorism - possibly perpetrated by wealthy politicians who profit from the current crisis of fear - Ryan faces a dilemma that will change his life and determine the fate of the solar system forever. A suspense thriller with elements of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Contact, you'll be kept on the edge of your seat until the end.

©2019 John L. Flynn (P)2019 John L. Flynn

Great Work! Visionary Speculation Come True!

I had not planned to write a review of this work. Just leave 5 stars across the board for such an extraordinary work. But when I read a recent, totally biased, juvenile and clearly uninformed review, I knew that I needed to defend this excellent work from the fan boys of the world who only read comic books while living in their parent's basement. Those comments reveal no experience with real science fiction, except for - perhaps - what was gleaned from comic books and sci-fi movies. I see nothing wrong with Styrofoam cups on a space station, particularly when they are ultimately going to be recycled into a new cup. And yes, we have that technology now, and I see no reason why it would not be employed a hundred years from now. I suppose you're going to stock the station with your mother's favorite china? I really don't think so. I also contend the details are very well researched; in fact, Flynn has proven he has a powerful imagination, considering that when the book was written in 2005, many of the discoveries that we have made about Jupiter since then were just theories and have now been proven as fact. Only a visionary would be able to make such speculation and have it come true. Yes, that is the genuine trademark of a great science fiction writer! When you compare The Jovian Dilemma with other works in the current science fiction marketplace, the other works are all the poor, derivative copies of superhero and sci-fi rip-offs, while Flynn's work is a true work of genius. Throw away your comic books, and start reading the good stuff from Heinlein and Clarke and Asimov. Once you do read some of the masters, you'll find that Flynn is following in their footsteps as one of the new masters of science fiction.

One of the Best SF Novels I've Read This Year!

The Jovian Dilemma is one of the BEST science fiction novels I've read this year. It has action, romance, adventure on a grand scale, social commentary, engaging characters, remarkable aliens (--gotta love those Jovians!!--), mystery, suspense, scientific speculation about our future, great writing, and not a single cute robot or light sabre in sight. Okay, so when does the movie come out? Can't wait to see those special effects!

Excellent Hard SF! Great Philosophical Discussion!

The Jovian Dilemma is a first-contact story about humanity’s initial interactions with an alien species that lives in the gaseous depths of the planet Jupiter. The Jovians do not look or act like humans; they do not build structures, write great books or chronicle their histories, fight wars, or even share a familiar culture. They are not unlike the great whales or dolphins of earth’s oceans, and that gives rise to many questions and speculations in the book about their sentience as beings. What does it mean to be “sentient”? Are children born with Downs Syndrome somehow less “sentient” than those who earn Ph.D.s from the great universities? What about our dogs and other pets? Don’t they seem to function like they are tuned into our intellectual and emotional needs? People on either extreme of the argument will likely miss the point of the book: Do we as humans have the right to destroy the natural environment of the Jovians in order to mine precious resources that are needed on earth and throughout its colonies on Mars and in the solar system? That is the fundamental dilemma in the story. Environmental activists who are concerned with the current crisis of climate change on earth will see their concerns raised in the hard sf imagination of the author who, like Clarke or Baxter, views speculative fiction as the perfect medium in which to express our concerns about today’s problems. I enjoyed every minute of the audio book.

Good Dramatic Moments! Great Social Commentary!

Does Mankind have the right to destroy the environment and intelligent lifeforms of one of its closest neighbors in the solar system in order to save itself from extinction? There’s a real mystery at the heart of the story, with intrigue, suspense, and thriller aspects, with both a saboteur and an assassin aboard the space station. Both are willing to destroy the station at the cost of their own lives in order to fulfill an agenda that is hidden below the surface.

When Flynn wrote the book originally in 2006, he made certain guesses and speculations that have come true, and that makes him a kind of prophet or wizard with a crystal ball as far as I am concerned.  I take exception with the reviewer who left only two stars on Amazon for the author’s imaginative efforts.  Obviously, the reviewer’s view was so myopic that he could not find the forest because all of the trees were blocking him from seeing it.  Simply because the author did not have an explanation of how they were going to move the rare resource doesn’t rate a 2 or 3-star demotion. 

In 2006, Flynn speculated that liquid metallic hydrogen, which would eventually prove to be powerful enough to run an entire city, was in Jupiter’s atmosphere; he didn’t know it then - no one did - but he made an educated guess that science has now proven to be factual.  The author was much more interested in telling a first-contact story about humans meeting Jovians than writing a how-too book about moving natural resources from Jupiter around. You should remember that this IS a work of speculative fiction, not a science text book.  I challenge that reviewer to write a better story than the one that Flynn has written.  From my perspective, it is not only well written, with great characters and ideas, but also well researched.  Science fiction novels don’t get much better than this.

A Welcome Return to “Speculative” Fiction! Love it

The Jovian Dilemma is an impressive achievement which reads like a mystery-thriller but also raises questions that you’ll be discussing long after the book is over. I enjoyed this audio book very much!
It explores some deep philosophical questions about the nature of life in the universe, and owes a debt to 2001: A Space Odyssey and Arthur C. Clarke. The writing and characterization are superior to much of the genre today which seems less about true speculation and more about telling insipid adventure stories or retelling the current crop of sci-fi or superhero movies. I found this imaginative work incredibly refreshing. It is a welcome return to the great books, like Stranger in a Strange Land and Childhood’s End, which made science fiction the literature of ideas.