Laugh Lines — Ben Bova

Ben Bova, best-selling and award-winning author of the "Grand Tour" and "Asteroid Wars" series, takes a sardonic look at the humorous possibilities of future technology.

The Starcrossed: Bill Oxnard, a young technological genius, had perfected true three-dimensional television, making ordinary TV obsolete. He thought he would be rich and famous -- but he hadn't realized how deranged the executives running the industry were; nor what sort of programs they were planning to broadcast using the new process in the maniacal quest for ratings.

Cyberbooks: Carl Lewis has a dream -- to make books accessible and affordable to every person in the country, and thinks his "cyberbook," about as large and as cheap as a pocket calculator, will make it possible for anyone to download books directly and cheaply. But he has no idea what he's about to get into, nor does the lovely but naïve Loai Tashkajian. Will they survive this foray into the cut-throat world of big publishing? And just who is suddenly murdering all those nice elderly people on the streets of New York, anyway?

These two full-length novels of twistedly comic, but very possible futures, plus several shorter works, add up to a generous volume of futuristic fun and hilarious high-tech.