Thunderbird is the sequel to Ancient Shores which I thought had one of the worst endings of any book I've ever read. I thought Thunderbird was a betteThunderbird is the sequel to Ancient Shores which I thought had one of the worst endings of any book I've ever read. I thought Thunderbird was a better novel but still frustrating and suffered from the same issues as its predecessor, and I'm wavering between two and three stars on this one. I did like the reveal at the end and the shocking final scene but the majority of this novel was frustrating and full of too much meaningless goings on.
Thunderbird picks up right were Ancient Shores left off. The focus of the plot are the too few "away missions" taken by astronauts / scientists / random people through the portal discovered in the first book. Of course we have the continuation of the political drama with a paranoid President and the Native American tribal leaders of the land the portal is located on. For some reason the President wants the portal destroyed because the technology which no one understands would crash the global economy somehow. The tribal leaders want the best for their people and wonder how they'll manage the positive (monetary) and negative (influx of people from all over the globe) effects of having the portal on their land.
Too much of the novel is jibber-jabber between secondary and characters, and not enough time is spent exploring the several locations the portal can transport those who enter. The missions through the portal are fairly dull, with the exception of one where a linguistic expert is able to establish communications with aliens inhabiting one of the worlds. Eventually, the author reveals what the different locations represent. The ghostly spinning-cloud alien returns in this novel as well but we learn virtually nothing of them. There are a lot of questions left unanswered.
I had a hard time getting excited to read this book. It dragged often and wasn't hard to put down. I did like the reveals but there was too much blabbering between people I didn't care about and not enough science fiction. Still, it was interesting having the mysteries reveled somewhat and it least the story arc was resolved....more
What happened? I was really enjoying the first half or so of this book, which I thought was an intriguing science fiction mystery McDevitt is so good What happened? I was really enjoying the first half or so of this book, which I thought was an intriguing science fiction mystery McDevitt is so good at writing, when all of a sudden the plot shifted to a boring and implausible political slog.
The novel is set in the old lake bed of the ancient Lake Agassiz in the NE corner of North Dakota near the Minnesota and Canadian borders. A farmer plowing his field uncovers a strange artifact -a large yacht buried in the soil. Further investigation shows that this yacht is constructed of an element which humans have not been able to stabilize. The area is investigated using ground penetrating radar and a strange structure is discovered which is dubbed the "Roundhouse". The Roundhouse is also constructed of this rare element and has several odd markings on it. A couple of the main characters discover how to enter the Roundhouse and determine that it is a portal to three very different places, seemingly not of Earth. I was really enjoying the novel at this point.
The plot of the novel then changed course, or rather veered off course and hit a tree. We were informed that the existence of an advanced artifact such as the Roundhouse caused a world wide depression and a number of governments wanted it destroyed. This level of economic collapse seemed very implausible. A plethora of new characters were introduced, some for sentences, some for pages - politicians, news people, religious leaders, law enforcement, crazy people inspired by aliens, the list goes on and on. It was impossible to keep track of what was going on or where this bloated story was going. Oh, and there may or may not have even been an alien in the mix, it was never confirmed.
The Roundhouse happened to be located on Native American land so we get to know half the Sioux tribe and as the book crawled to the end all we were left with was continuously escalating tensions and an eventual battle, along with some scientists, against the US government who decided to destroy the Roundhouse at all costs. I won't reveal any more than this but I will say that I though the ending of this novel was the MOST RIDICULOUS of any science fiction book I've ever read! Just mind bogglingly absurd! UGH. What a disappointment.
A minor nitpick I have is that in the book and on the map in the book I-94 is referred to I-95. Not sure how this mistake was not caught. Anyone living in the Midwest has spent their share of time on this interstate.
About half-way through Ancient Shores I ordered a cheap used copy of the sequel Thunderbird and now I am questioning whether or not I want to read it. I think I give it a go, and hope it re-focuses on the science fiction mystery and not politics and irrelevant characters. Stay tuned.
The Long Sunset is the eighth and, I think, final The Academy Series novel starring interstellar space pilot Priscilla Hutchins. She was actually retiThe Long Sunset is the eighth and, I think, final The Academy Series novel starring interstellar space pilot Priscilla Hutchins. She was actually retired in the prior novel but was asked to pilot a mission, and was again called on to pilot one more mission in this novel. It felt like the end of series despite the fact that there may be room for a sequel. But it was evident that she wanted to spend more time with her kids and new love interest and settle down a bit. And, the mystery introduced in the very first series novel The Engines of God was solved in this novel making it feel like this was a fitting way to wrap it all up.
In this novel, Priscilla is called on to pilot an interstellar to a planet in which an audio (music) and video signal had been detected by a new high-powered telescope. This is the first ever alien signal received by Earth. Since we last left off in this series there had been breakthroughs on Earth regarding anti-aging treatment to one's telomeres and human life spans were increasing so you would think the most notable interstellar pilot would have all kinds of work lined up. This is not the case as the world governments have changed their attitude regarding interstellar exploration, and now believe it to be unnecessarily costly and possibly dangerous as the last thing humans want is to call attention to advanced, malevolent lifeforms or bring back some horrible space virus from another world. The whole interstellar space operation was being shut down and ships dismantled.
Like most of the other McDevitt novels I've read this one moves along and is never boring. He has a knack for writing really good science fiction mysteries. It felt like the characters were pretty fleshed out in this one and we got to know the main character better, building on what we knew from prior novels. The book starts out with heavy drama and the plot picks up speed once the starship Eiferman launches. There is plenty of action, not the space battle kind, and a lot of cool technology on display. The novel is set just over 200 years in the future. What I didn't like so much was the fact that the aliens were fairly similar to humans, not so much by looks (but were bipeds), and their society seemed to be too similar to ours. And inhabited planets seemed to be very similar to earth - comfortable temperature, safe to breathe, tons of water, edible foods - they didn't feel *that* alien. It all felt a bit Star-Treky in that regard.
This was a fun read and and a nice ending if indeed it is the final novel in the eight-novel series. I have yet to read the prequel which was written just before The Long Sunset but it is sitting on my book shelf so its just a matter of time....more
With the completion of Starhawk, I've completed the eight novel The Academy series. Starhawk is a prequel to the other novels and takes place just aftWith the completion of Starhawk, I've completed the eight novel The Academy series. Starhawk is a prequel to the other novels and takes place just after series main character Priscilla Hutchins graduates with her interstellar pilot's license and completes her qualifying flight, and focuses on the ups and downs of her first few jobs. A considerable amount of the novel is devoted to the life of her mentor, veteran interstellar pilot Jake Loomis whose life intersects with Priscilla's professionally throughout the book.
The novel is set in 2195 in a world stable politically but very much divided with regards to the subjects of terraforming and interstellar flight. Terraforming of planets has just begun and despite the protests of the general population and the scientists, companies are proceeding to terraforming earth-like planets to suit humans with no regard to the negative and sometimes deadly effects on the native less-intelligent-than-humans life forms. There is a large percentage of Earth's population, lead by influential politicians, who believe that interstellar space travel needs to be scaled back, if not all together ended, due to the huge costs inherent in the endeavors. These two conflicts drive the plot along.
Like McDevitt's other The Academy novels, this feels like the science fiction I grew up on, akin to something like Asimov or Clarke would've written. While I didn't think it was as good as some of the other The Academy novels I liked it a lot and am happy he chose to write a prequel about the captain I've spent a lot of time reading about over the years....more
This is McDevitt's third Alex Benedict science fiction mystery novel, featuring Benedict the antiquities dealer and Agnes "Chase" Kolpath, his only emThis is McDevitt's third Alex Benedict science fiction mystery novel, featuring Benedict the antiquities dealer and Agnes "Chase" Kolpath, his only employee who is an interstellar pilot and the science brain of the partnership. The Benedict novels are set thousands of years in the future. Alex's company, Rainbow Enterprises, is in the business of finding and selling of ancient historical artifacts.
In Seeker, Alex and Chase come across a cup from the starship "Seeker" which was connected to a colony which mysteriously disappeared. Compounding the mystery was that the cup was found by a couple who later died in an natural disaster, and the location of the missing starship and colony presumably died with them. The plot follows pretty much the same formula as his prior two Alex Benedict mystery novels: sleuthing - neat discovery, sleuthing - neat discovery, sleuthing - neat discovery, and finally mind-blowing climactic reveal. Throw in some cool technology and some space-related danger and you have an entertaining novel.
My only complaint is that these novels take place thousands of years of years in the future but the characters and their activities seem too contemporary. They watch TV, go to bars and out to eat in normal restaurants, and do other things that make it seem like the novel is taking place in the near future.
Like McDevitt's other Alex Benedict novels, and all of his other novels I've read, this one was entertaining and page-turning. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the Alex Benedict novels and finishing up the last two Academy novels.
This is McDevitt's second Alex Benedict science fiction mystery novel, again featuring Benedict, an antiquities dealer, and Agnes "Chase" Kolpath, hisThis is McDevitt's second Alex Benedict science fiction mystery novel, again featuring Benedict, an antiquities dealer, and Agnes "Chase" Kolpath, his only employee who is an interstellar pilot and the science brain of the partnership. The Benedict novels are set 2,000 years in the future. Alex's company, Rainbow Enterprises, is in the business of finding and selling of ancient historical artifacts.
In Polaris the Alex and Chase come across some artifacts from the starship Polaris which found abandoned and drifting sixty years ago, and whose captain and dozen passengers were never found or heard from again. An investigation in to the incident found nothing and the mystery was never solved. When strange goings-on start up around the artifacts, Alex starts to look in to the backgrounds of the missing and pilot and passengers and he gradually starts to unravel the mystery.
Unlike the first book, A Talent for War, this one is told through Chase's point of view which I liked better as I found her to be a much more interesting character being a starship pilot with a deep knowledge of science. Alex is a genius in his own right, but more in historical artifacts and history as a whole.
Similar to the first book, Polaris is full of cool technology, detailed world building, and a good smattering of, but not too much action. The number of characters are hard to keep track of at times, and it would've been nice to have a listing with a little background of each at the beginning of the book, especially for the captain and passengers of the Polaris who were described in detail in the opening chapter and then referred to regularly throughout the rest of the book.
This felt like a three-star book to me as it was a page-turner and the mystery was really intriguing, but there were a few moments where a character's actions didn't make sense to me and it took me out of the story a bit. The ending was really good and mysterious, right up until the final sentence of the prologue, so for that reason I'm giving it four stars.
I own the next three Alex Benedict / Agnes Kolpath novels (there are eight total so far) so I'm looking forward to seeing what the two of them are up to next. ...more
Another solid McDevitt science fiction book. I did not enjoy it as much as his other novels, however. I'm a sucker for time travel books but this one Another solid McDevitt science fiction book. I did not enjoy it as much as his other novels, however. I'm a sucker for time travel books but this one often left me confused or buried in history lessons. It got to the point where they protagonists could virtually do whatever they wanted because they could just time travel and undo any mistakes or unwanted outcomes. Yeah, they couldn't re-write what already happened but there were ways to get around it. As the book neared its conclusion there were some groan-worthy moments, especially the climax. But overall I'd say I liked it, despite its shortcomings. ...more
McDevitt wraps up his Priscilla Hutchins series by exploring some unanswered mysteries of the universe which were encountered in prior books. I thoughMcDevitt wraps up his Priscilla Hutchins series by exploring some unanswered mysteries of the universe which were encountered in prior books. I thought it worked and was a satisfying finale to the series. ...more
Another solid effort by McDevitt, the 5th book in his Engines of God series. A little less action and a bit more bloated than most of his other books Another solid effort by McDevitt, the 5th book in his Engines of God series. A little less action and a bit more bloated than most of his other books in the series. It seemed like the mysterious aliens were dispatched a bit too easily at the end, but the resolution of the Hutchins story was satisfying. Looking forward to the last book in the series, hopefully he ends it on a high note. ...more
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