Jupiter — Ben Bova

The acclaimed author of Venus takes readers on a voyage into Jupiter's strange and terrifying atmosphere in this “unique and enticing” hard sci-fi novel (Publishers Weekly).

Grant Archer only wanted to study astrophysics. But the forces of the “New Morality,” the coalition of censorious do-gooders who run twenty-first-century America, have other plans for him. Torn away from his young bride, Grant is sent to a research station orbiting Jupiter, tasked with spying on his fellow scientists. Their work may lead to the discovery of higher life forms in the Jovian system -- with implications the New Morality doesn't like at all.

What Grant's would-be controllers don't know is that his loyalty to science may be greater than his desire for a quiet life. But that loyalty will be tested on a dangerous mission to the middle reaches of Jupiter's atmosphere. In a place where liquid hydrogen flows freely and planet-sized cyclones rage, something even more horrifying is about to be discovered . . .