Scan barcode
otherwyrld's review against another edition
2.0
A lot of people seem to like this book, but I found it pretty annoying for the most part. In the not-too-distant future, a large part of the galaxy has been explored by humanity but few other intelligent species have been found. A group of rich people who are determined to make first contact commission a new starship and hire Captain Priscilla Hutchins (called Hutch for most of the time) to investigate a mysterious signal found in orbit around a neutron star. From there, they make the discovery of a lifetime, tracking signals from a massive alien relay system from one planet to another, each with its own intelligent life(though some are long dead) until finally they come across a huge starship that they call the Chindi (after a supernatural creature) which proves to be treasure trove they were seeking.
Sounds great in principle, but the reason I disliked the book was that the characters were so awful. Most of the passengers are rich and spoiled, and treat Hutch with a sneering contempt every time she urges caution. Even when her warnings prove true and people die (and lots of people do), they still fail to listen, blundering into one situation after another.
They may be an archeological expedition, but it's strictly amateur hour here. Not one of them even thought about getting any qualifications in the fields they might need on such an expedition, which is hardly surprising when their numbers include a stripper/porn star, an artist and a funeral director!
Hutch is just as bad at times, as she constantly fails to assert her authority on these unruly and badly behaved children. Even when two other starships are destroyed, she still doesn't pull the plug. Even though she was picked for the mission, it feels as if she was chosen because she could be bullied into doing things that she knew was a mistake, and I have a horrible suspicion that the character was made female just to make this point. There is always a faint suspicion of sexism throughout the story - nothing too overt, but it made me uneasy.
The story picks up a bit towards the end, but even then it has failings as Hutch attempts a desperate and foolhardy rescue of someone trapped aboard the Chindi, and all for the sake of "Twue Wuv" as she has decided that it it was a mistake to breakup with this guy as she had done years before. The action and rescue attempt itself almost, almost made me give it 3 stars, but it was too little, too late.
Captain Picard would have thrown this lot in the brig.
Sounds great in principle, but the reason I disliked the book was that the characters were so awful. Most of the passengers are rich and spoiled, and treat Hutch with a sneering contempt every time she urges caution. Even when her warnings prove true and people die (and lots of people do), they still fail to listen, blundering into one situation after another.
They may be an archeological expedition, but it's strictly amateur hour here. Not one of them even thought about getting any qualifications in the fields they might need on such an expedition, which is hardly surprising when their numbers include a stripper/porn star, an artist and a funeral director!
Hutch is just as bad at times, as she constantly fails to assert her authority on these unruly and badly behaved children. Even when two other starships are destroyed, she still doesn't pull the plug. Even though she was picked for the mission, it feels as if she was chosen because she could be bullied into doing things that she knew was a mistake, and I have a horrible suspicion that the character was made female just to make this point. There is always a faint suspicion of sexism throughout the story - nothing too overt, but it made me uneasy.
The story picks up a bit towards the end, but even then it has failings as Hutch attempts a desperate and foolhardy rescue of someone trapped aboard the Chindi, and all for the sake of "Twue Wuv" as she has decided that it it was a mistake to breakup with this guy as she had done years before. The action and rescue attempt itself almost, almost made me give it 3 stars, but it was too little, too late.
Captain Picard would have thrown this lot in the brig.
markyon's review against another edition
4.0
This one's been sat on the shelf for a while.
McDevitt has a reputation for solid old-fashioned SF, with an emphasis on plot rather than characterisation. His work reminds me of the SF being published (and I was reading!) back in the 1980's.
This is pretty much that.
Where McDevitt scores is in developing that 'sensawunder' for the reader, so reminiscent to me of the Analogs and Astoundings of years gone by. Here we have long dead aliens and their cultural remains uncovered, underneath a sky with not just one but two ringed planets.
We travel on vast empty alien spaceships, whose purpose and occupants remain enigmatic.
The pages turned very nicely, with situation after situation being piled on to ratchet up the tension.
On the downside the events did become a little bit far-fetched at times, especially towards the end. McDevitt gets a little too over-emotional at times, in what is both a love story and a love of technology, and as a result lets the emotion override the logic. At other times things do seem to be solved a little too conveniently in a book that is in that true tradition of problem-solving SF.
And yet, despite all this, despite the cliched and rather thin characterisation, despite the fact that you knew what was going to happen, this was a real page turner that was difficult to put down.
McDevitt has a reputation for solid old-fashioned SF, with an emphasis on plot rather than characterisation. His work reminds me of the SF being published (and I was reading!) back in the 1980's.
This is pretty much that.
Where McDevitt scores is in developing that 'sensawunder' for the reader, so reminiscent to me of the Analogs and Astoundings of years gone by. Here we have long dead aliens and their cultural remains uncovered, underneath a sky with not just one but two ringed planets.
We travel on vast empty alien spaceships, whose purpose and occupants remain enigmatic.
The pages turned very nicely, with situation after situation being piled on to ratchet up the tension.
On the downside the events did become a little bit far-fetched at times, especially towards the end. McDevitt gets a little too over-emotional at times, in what is both a love story and a love of technology, and as a result lets the emotion override the logic. At other times things do seem to be solved a little too conveniently in a book that is in that true tradition of problem-solving SF.
And yet, despite all this, despite the cliched and rather thin characterisation, despite the fact that you knew what was going to happen, this was a real page turner that was difficult to put down.
coldlimebars's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe a step above Michael Crichton. Enjoyable, but lackluster. Wouldn't recommend it.
squirrelfish's review against another edition
4.0
Another good one in this series. I alternate between frustrated with the incomplete stories - I must know more about the Chindi - and enjoying the way McDevitt mimics how science's search for answers leaves us with more questions. I think Hutch is a well-built character, practical, fed up with the bureaucracy of it all, and yet still able to be engaged on each expedition.
Buying the next book now.
Buying the next book now.
cindywho's review against another edition
3.0
This was a perfectly serviceable space adventure with space travel, archaeology and monsters. The characters were a little thin, but the best part was that many of them were women, including the main character. It's nice to get an adventure story without it being uncomfortable because girls are barely allowed.
jaecen's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fantastic hard sci-fi book. I'm sucker for discovering-dead-civilization books (which seem to be a Jack McDevitt speciality), and this one blends a huge dose of one of my favorite themes with some excellent representations of astrophsyical phenomena and maneuvering in space (both of which are actually made fairly exciting).
The story and the characters were done very well. There were many mysteries left unsolved, some of which weren't event part of the plot, but the ending was satisfying. I especially liked his depiction of the ship AI's.
I was disappointed that his aliens were typically humanoid or at least earth-analog in form and activity, but that was easily forgiven with the diversity displayed.
The story and the characters were done very well. There were many mysteries left unsolved, some of which weren't event part of the plot, but the ending was satisfying. I especially liked his depiction of the ship AI's.
I was disappointed that his aliens were typically humanoid or at least earth-analog in form and activity, but that was easily forgiven with the diversity displayed.
jpv0's review against another edition
5.0
Chindi continues the trend of the previous two books in only vaguely being a sequel. It takes place after the previous two with one of the same characters (Hutch) and there are a few references to previous events... But that's about it. That's not a bad thing though.
This book starts with the discovery of an alien satellites around a neutron star. Hijinks ensue and people die (I'll come back to that in a second). It turns out that the satellites are part of a communication network. The next large chunk of the book follows our characters from world to world chasing after this network. (More people die). They finally end up finding a truly massive alien starship and exploring that (more people die). Then there's the climax where--just like Deepsix--our heroes have to attempt a daring / insane rescue mission so as not to leave a man behind.
On the plus side: I love the science aspects of the book. It's really starting to come together as a world and I like how there is some thought put into consequences. FTL travel and communication are possible, but it still takes time. Artificial gravity interacts oddly with inertia. Traveling at relativistic speeds does strange things to time. I keep turning pages, wanting to know more.
On the down side: It's getting increasingly hard to have sympathy for the characters. Over three books, there has been a fairly impressive body count. And almost all of them were avoidable. Over and over in this book, the author hangs a lampshade on the fact that what the characters are doing is dangerous. Off they go, and off someone dies. And yet other than a few token comments, no one seems to care. It's starting to get a bit weird.
Overall (and you can see by my rating), I'm still really enjoying this series. There's a definite sense of something building and the world growing and changing behind the scenes. And better, the epilogue of this book and the title of the next hint that we might just learn a bit more about the Omega Clouds from book 1! Looking forward to it.
This book starts with the discovery of an alien satellites around a neutron star. Hijinks ensue and people die (I'll come back to that in a second). It turns out that the satellites are part of a communication network. The next large chunk of the book follows our characters from world to world chasing after this network. (More people die). They finally end up finding a truly massive alien starship and exploring that (more people die). Then there's the climax where--just like Deepsix--our heroes have to attempt a daring / insane rescue mission so as not to leave a man behind.
On the plus side: I love the science aspects of the book. It's really starting to come together as a world and I like how there is some thought put into consequences. FTL travel and communication are possible, but it still takes time. Artificial gravity interacts oddly with inertia. Traveling at relativistic speeds does strange things to time. I keep turning pages, wanting to know more.
On the down side: It's getting increasingly hard to have sympathy for the characters. Over three books, there has been a fairly impressive body count. And almost all of them were avoidable. Over and over in this book, the author hangs a lampshade on the fact that what the characters are doing is dangerous. Off they go, and off someone dies. And yet other than a few token comments, no one seems to care. It's starting to get a bit weird.
Overall (and you can see by my rating), I'm still really enjoying this series. There's a definite sense of something building and the world growing and changing behind the scenes. And better, the epilogue of this book and the title of the next hint that we might just learn a bit more about the Omega Clouds from book 1! Looking forward to it.
ravenswald's review against another edition
5.0
Very exciting endning I thought. Perfect for any spacer at heart. There are actually 511 pages to this edition not 528 :)
sfian's review against another edition
5.0
There seems to be two conceits (or, maybe, themes) that run through McDevitt's Academy series, from the three books I have read so far. The first is that otherwise bright, intelligent people tend to do stupid things in the pursuit of knowledge - and I still can't make up my mind whether other characters try hard enough to stop them - which, inevitably, leads to at least one of them dying. The second is that space is big. You wouldn't believe, etc, etc... That being the case, and the fact that humanity has come across so little in the way of extraterrestrial life, it seems odd that Hutch is always involved when a new discovery is made - let's face it, though, if she wasn't, books with her as the main character would be pretty dull. No, in this case it's more that the discovery of a long-lost Earth ship felt a bit forced.
This is another, big scale research and rescue plot - McDevitt cannily points out the similarity with Deepsix - that leaves The reader beeathless. Full if action, a nice mix of characters and more than a hint of daring-do.
The series is beginning to remind me more and more of Clarke's Rama series, with the lack of day answers as to what exactly is "out there". I just hope that, if those answers are forthcoming, it doesn't turn into another disappointment.
This is another, big scale research and rescue plot - McDevitt cannily points out the similarity with Deepsix - that leaves The reader beeathless. Full if action, a nice mix of characters and more than a hint of daring-do.
The series is beginning to remind me more and more of Clarke's Rama series, with the lack of day answers as to what exactly is "out there". I just hope that, if those answers are forthcoming, it doesn't turn into another disappointment.