# Ben Bova has died from Covid-19 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death, books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [December 1, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871 "2020-12-01T00:18:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/1 "2020-12-01T00:18:24Z")
[Legendary Science Fiction Author Ben Bova Has Passed at the Age of 88 | Tor.com](https://www.tor.com/2020/11/30/legendary-science-fiction-author-ben-bova-has-passed-at-the-age-of-88/comment-page-1/) Damn it. ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/2 "2020-12-01T00:29:38Z")
I read so many of his books. 😢 ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/3 "2020-12-01T00:39:22Z")
Ah, shit. 😥 He was the editor of my favorite magazine, of which I have had a continuous, uninterrupted subscription for nearly 40 years: _[Analog Science Fiction and Fact](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_Science_Fiction_and_Fact)_. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/4 "2020-12-01T00:41:02Z")
Aw, fuck! Another of my faves bites it. I fucking HATE 2020! ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/5 "2020-12-01T00:42:23Z")
Most famous death from it so far? Beats Terrence McNally for me. 88…wow. I loved _Analog_, back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/6 "2020-12-01T03:51:57Z")
Worst. Timeline. EVAR. Dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/7 "2020-12-01T05:32:23Z")
He bought Spider Robinson’s first stories, too. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/8 "2020-12-01T05:47:07Z")
When I was in fourth grade, in 1974, I bought a science fiction novel at our school’s book fair. It was Bova’s “Exiled From Earth,” and thus, the first SF novel I ever read. Godspeed, Ben. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/9 "2020-12-02T07:53:40Z")
The man was a legend; a truly out-sized influence on the genre. RIP Mr. Bova; you done good. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/10 "2020-12-02T16:08:32Z")
He’s one of my favourite writers. I love the grand tour books. What a terrible thing. RIP ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/11 "2020-12-02T17:09:57Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Most famous death from it so far? How well-known is he outside the group of people who regularly read science fiction? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/12 "2020-12-02T17:16:34Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > How well-known is he outside the group of people who regularly read science fiction? I’d imagine “not known at all” to pretty much anyone outside of the science fiction community. John Prine (the musician who died from COVID early in the pandemic) might be a fair analogy to Bova – well-known and beloved among people who are knowledgeable about his area, but probably very little name recognition among the general public. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/13 "2020-12-02T17:19:45Z")
And like John Prine, much beloved by me. So many losses. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/14 "2020-12-02T18:12:07Z")
Damn. Loved a lot of his stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/15 "2020-12-02T21:24:22Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > How well-known is he outside the group of people who regularly read science fiction? I’d say not well-known at all. This is the first time I’ve ever seen his name, and I’m not one of those Dopers who pretend to have never heard of super famous people because their fame is somehow _beneath_ them. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/16 "2020-12-03T02:00:08Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Most famous death from it so far? Beats Terrence McNally for me. Who is Terence McNally? I would nominate John (game of life) Conway. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/17 "2021-05-11T16:38:31Z")
I just saw this thread. What a terrible thing. I really enjoy his work. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/18 "2021-05-11T19:54:40Z")
Update: still dead. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ben-bova-has-died-from-covid-19/926871/19 "2021-05-11T20:00:25Z")
I was more of an _F&SF_ guy, but I got _Analog_ too. He’ll be missed.