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tony_t's review against another edition
4.0
One of my favorite SciFi authors. Believable characters, interesting plots, plausible science and great voice. What's not to like?
rpbperry's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
nwhyte's review against another edition
3.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2727826.html
There was a time when each year's Jack McDevitt book appeared on that year's Nebula shortlist, and just as reliably failed to win (with one exception). This one was beaten by Powers, which I felt was a rather minor Le Guin. Cauldron turns out to be the last in a series none of the rest of which I have read, which maybe accounts for a somewhat elegiac tone. I thought it was competent enough hard sf; in a relatively near future earth, a new space drive is discovered and our protagonists set off on a quest to solve a cosmic mystery, stopping off at several planets along the way (rather brave to make the non-human civilisation a bit dull). If you want a bit more spice in your genre (and I usually do) this doesn't really push the boundaries - what's really striking is how little difference there is between McDevitt's imagined future human society a couple of centuries hence, and the year 2000 - and there were at least three better books on the Nebula shortlist that year. (Little Brother, Brasyl, and Making Money.)
There was a time when each year's Jack McDevitt book appeared on that year's Nebula shortlist, and just as reliably failed to win (with one exception). This one was beaten by Powers, which I felt was a rather minor Le Guin. Cauldron turns out to be the last in a series none of the rest of which I have read, which maybe accounts for a somewhat elegiac tone. I thought it was competent enough hard sf; in a relatively near future earth, a new space drive is discovered and our protagonists set off on a quest to solve a cosmic mystery, stopping off at several planets along the way (rather brave to make the non-human civilisation a bit dull). If you want a bit more spice in your genre (and I usually do) this doesn't really push the boundaries - what's really striking is how little difference there is between McDevitt's imagined future human society a couple of centuries hence, and the year 2000 - and there were at least three better books on the Nebula shortlist that year. (Little Brother, Brasyl, and Making Money.)
squirrelfish's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting, good McDevitt novel. I'm having a hard time reviewing it separate from the rest of the series, so - it keeps up the traditions of the rest of the series, I liked it, I'm planning on reading more by Jack McDevitt.
tome15's review against another edition
4.0
McDevitt, Jack. Cauldron. Academy No. 6. Ace, 2007.
Cauldron seems to have been intended as the concluding novel of the Academy Series, rounding out the career of Interstellar pilot Priscilla “Hutch” Hutchins. Hutch takes us on a tour of the galaxy, revisiting places she visited earlier in the series and unraveling a major mystery near the black hole at the center of the galaxy. But evidently Jack McDevitt, now in his mid-80s, could not abandon the series or retire Hutch. He has since written two more novels in the series, and as far as I know, may be working on another. No fan of thoughtful space opera would wish him to call the twenty-five-year-old series finished. The series offers the most developed discussion of Fermi’s Paradox in science fiction, and he does eventually tell us what happened to all the aliens. It is worth reading the series for that if nothing else. McDevitt creates three-dimensional characters who grow from novel to novel without losing the essence of their identity. Cauldron is an entertaining story on its own with an irresistible climax. Nicely done, Jack.
Cauldron seems to have been intended as the concluding novel of the Academy Series, rounding out the career of Interstellar pilot Priscilla “Hutch” Hutchins. Hutch takes us on a tour of the galaxy, revisiting places she visited earlier in the series and unraveling a major mystery near the black hole at the center of the galaxy. But evidently Jack McDevitt, now in his mid-80s, could not abandon the series or retire Hutch. He has since written two more novels in the series, and as far as I know, may be working on another. No fan of thoughtful space opera would wish him to call the twenty-five-year-old series finished. The series offers the most developed discussion of Fermi’s Paradox in science fiction, and he does eventually tell us what happened to all the aliens. It is worth reading the series for that if nothing else. McDevitt creates three-dimensional characters who grow from novel to novel without losing the essence of their identity. Cauldron is an entertaining story on its own with an irresistible climax. Nicely done, Jack.
marinb's review against another edition
3.0
This one gets off to kind of a slow start but is really exciting once it gets going. I thought that it ended too abruptly. I am definitely going to seek out more from this author, as I like the whole space archaeology aspect of his work.
jpv0's review against another edition
5.0
A solid conclusion (for now) to the Academy series.
Following from Omega, the Academy is basically dead (lack of funding / interest) and humanity is withdrawing from the stars. Then there's a breakthrough in new FTL drive technology orders of magnitude faster than the previous incarnations. Hutch returns as one of the two pilots sent out on a high speed mission to the origin of the Chindi, a world SETI received a transmission came from, a black hole, and the possible origin of the Omegas (finally).
On the upside: we finally got something in the way of answers for both where the Chindi and the Omegas came from. It's by no means a complete answer, but more than we've had thus far. I'll take it. The addition of the new drive technology promises to really shake things up. I hope this isn't the last book in the series--I want to see where this universe goes, now that you can fly to the galactic core in about four months... (As an aside, space is *huge*).
On a slight downside, some of the stops really felt undeveloped. What could have been an entire book earlier in the series was only a chapter or two. Even so, I think this book had the best flow of the six; I finished it in a day.
Following from Omega, the Academy is basically dead (lack of funding / interest) and humanity is withdrawing from the stars. Then there's a breakthrough in new FTL drive technology orders of magnitude faster than the previous incarnations. Hutch returns as one of the two pilots sent out on a high speed mission to the origin of the Chindi, a world SETI received a transmission came from, a black hole, and the possible origin of the Omegas (finally).
On the upside: we finally got something in the way of answers for both where the Chindi and the Omegas came from. It's by no means a complete answer, but more than we've had thus far. I'll take it. The addition of the new drive technology promises to really shake things up. I hope this isn't the last book in the series--I want to see where this universe goes, now that you can fly to the galactic core in about four months... (As an aside, space is *huge*).
On a slight downside, some of the stops really felt undeveloped. What could have been an entire book earlier in the series was only a chapter or two. Even so, I think this book had the best flow of the six; I finished it in a day.
sfian's review against another edition
4.0
...And so the mystery of the Omega Clouds is resolved. Satisfactorily? Depends of whether you can accept a modern-day SF novel with "pulp" sensibilities, I guess.
It has been said that McDevitt is the logical heir to Arthur C. Clarke. That's probably correct, but maybe not in the way it was originally intended. As the Academy series has progressed, they seem to be to be more resonant of the age in which Clarke was writing, an age which has now moved on and been surpassed by the likes of Reynolds, Corey, Hamilton and other writers of hard SF and Space Opera.
Is that a bad thing? No, not to me - I still enjoy each Academy book as I get to it (sadly, just one left to devour now) and Clarke is one of my favourite authors. As are the others I listed above. My one worry with the Omega clouds was that, if their origin was ever revealed, it would turn out to be the disappointment that the Rama revelation was to me. (It's a long time since I read the Rama series - maybe they are due a re-evaluation). In fact, while the actual resolution - all wrapped up in a large handful of pages at the end of a novel that was, like the previous, a slow burner and which consisted mainly of a build-up to a voyage in a future that somehow feels "homely" - there are still real estate agents, wine and good restaurants in the future of the Academy series - and then a travelogue which really just left you wondering why every aspect seemed to be wrapped up more quickly than it should have been - was vaguely laughable, it's hard to see how McDevitt could have made it less so. Left it hanging, without an explanation perhaps? Like Clarke should have done with Rama?
I like the Academy universe. I like the characters that inhabit it (particularly Hutch - nice to see her piloting again). I don't like the deaths which sometimes seem to be thrown in just because there hasn't been one for a while (although I accept deep space exploration wouldn't be without it's hazards, I believe sometimes the wrong choices are made by the characters).
These aren't challenging books. But they are enjoyable, even if they sometimes come across as artifacts from a bygone age of SF.
It has been said that McDevitt is the logical heir to Arthur C. Clarke. That's probably correct, but maybe not in the way it was originally intended. As the Academy series has progressed, they seem to be to be more resonant of the age in which Clarke was writing, an age which has now moved on and been surpassed by the likes of Reynolds, Corey, Hamilton and other writers of hard SF and Space Opera.
Is that a bad thing? No, not to me - I still enjoy each Academy book as I get to it (sadly, just one left to devour now) and Clarke is one of my favourite authors. As are the others I listed above. My one worry with the Omega clouds was that, if their origin was ever revealed, it would turn out to be the disappointment that the Rama revelation was to me. (It's a long time since I read the Rama series - maybe they are due a re-evaluation). In fact, while the actual resolution - all wrapped up in a large handful of pages at the end of a novel that was, like the previous, a slow burner and which consisted mainly of a build-up to a voyage in a future that somehow feels "homely" - there are still real estate agents, wine and good restaurants in the future of the Academy series - and then a travelogue which really just left you wondering why every aspect seemed to be wrapped up more quickly than it should have been - was vaguely laughable, it's hard to see how McDevitt could have made it less so. Left it hanging, without an explanation perhaps? Like Clarke should have done with Rama?
I like the Academy universe. I like the characters that inhabit it (particularly Hutch - nice to see her piloting again). I don't like the deaths which sometimes seem to be thrown in just because there hasn't been one for a while (although I accept deep space exploration wouldn't be without it's hazards, I believe sometimes the wrong choices are made by the characters).
These aren't challenging books. But they are enjoyable, even if they sometimes come across as artifacts from a bygone age of SF.
athena21's review against another edition
3.0
I was really disappointed when I re-read this book recently. I've long considered Jack McDevitt to be one of my favourite authors - he was one of the authors who really got me into sci-fi at a young age. I've kept three stars for nostalgia, but on this re-read I couldn't even convince myself to finish the book. Maybe it just doesn't hold up that well to re-reading - after all, it is mostly a mystery book, and a lot of the drive is therefore lost when you know what the conclusion will be. But many other books have compelling enough characters that they are still interesting to read even when you know what's going to happen. I keep reading harry potter, even though I know that they kill Voldemort at the end. I will say, my experience of reading it was also very much coloured by finding out that Cauldron was published in, like, 2007. Based on the horrific cover art and terrible condition of my copy of the book I'd sort of always assumed it was from the 1980s, or even older. I think I therefore was able to ignore a lot of the sexism and various other things which make it feel very dated and a little uncomfortable to read. I don't know how this can feel older than Ursula K LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness (which I'm currently reading!) despite being published 60 years after it, but it managed it. Also, The Left Hand of Darkness has cooler science, so I'd recommend that instead.
meags1's review against another edition
Definitely read this. Epitome of 2000s space opera trends in a very, very bad way.