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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780441015405
ISBN number: 0441015409
Label: Ace
Manufacturer: Ace
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 432
Printing Date: October 30, 2007
Publishing house: Ace
Sale Popularity Level: 166803
Studio: Ace
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
To boost waning interest in interstellar travel, a mission is sent into deep space to learn the truth about 'moonriders,' the strange lights supposedly being seen in nearby systems. But Academy pilot Valentina Kouros and the team of the starship Salvator will soon discover that their odyssey is no mere public-relations ploy, for the moonriders are not a harmless phenomenon. They are very, very dangerous-in a way that no one could possibly have imagined.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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Be advised that this book is about politics and people. By page volume, there is little adventure and much commentary.
I wish I wasn't forced to give a star rating. I hesitate to make an absolute value judgment as other people may enjoy this.
I would say that the cover art and interior graphic design imply a different type of book than this turned out to be.
Rated by buyers 
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Not one of McDevit's best, but a good story with loads of action none the less.
Rated by buyers -
I got started on Jack McDevitt with 'Polaris' and 'Seeker'. Both Imaginative stories with an exciting, high-paced plot. I'd expected the Academy series to show the same originality, and I must say, 'Chindi' definitely does.
But I'm sorry to say that where I found 'Omega' just a trifle tedious, 'Odyssey' is a downright disappointment. The Academy series feels like a slide downhill.
'Odyssey' takes over 300 pages before it finally picks up any pace, only to ramble on to its conclusion 120 pages later. If you decide to go for this read, just skip the very first 3/4 of the book and pick up from there.
Better still, start on the Alex Benedict, much more value for your money.
Rated by buyers -
This book was billed as "flying off the shelves" and the author's books are said to be lapped up by eager fans. What's the attraction here? I sure don't know.
The writing is pretty decent; the plot is fine, but what suffers is the development. McDevitt sets out to discuss a project in space that has a small (just a small) risk of tearing the universe apart (blithely ignored by the scientists) and a space exploration/tourism industry that is under fire by an equally blase world. Meanwhile "moonriders"--UFO's we'd say, manifest themselves and scare the interstellar space travelers. What are they?
The author develops political intrigues and struggles fairly well, in fact, too well, as this takes up almost all of the action. If you remove this portion of the plot, you find that the story was pretty well covered by Isaac Asimov's The Gods Themselves Not enough to make me care about the new characters and the setting. The author should polish up his development skills and find a new plot --he can write well enough to do something a lot better than this.
Rated by buyers -
Of McDevitt's books, I've read Eternity Road, Ancient Shores, and Moonfall. I've found each of his books readable, but not exactly well-written. His ideas are top-notch, but his characterization and plot development rub me in a strange way and I dislike his "Let's stop the action to give you character background" habit.
Regarding Odyssey, I was unaware until I logged on here that it was a part of a series. This explained a lot because as this book was engaging enough, however it kept referencing a past which was never adequately explained. Too much time is spent covering a religious trial and the state of affairs on earth and having little to do with the actual plot. (Maybe this is an important vein in the series, but it didn't make sense to a very first timer.)
True to McDevitt's style a character who I had little sympathy for ends up the hero, huge patches of text drag on with no plot development, and the "action" stretches to within a few skimpy pages from the end of the book where it never truly explains the Moonriders motives.
Still, this book was better than Moonfall which turned me off to McDevitt for years. If you're looking for a starter book by him, I would pick up Eternity Road.
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