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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780441002849
ISBN number: 0441002846
Label: Ace
Manufacturer: Ace
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 432
Printing Date: December 01, 1995
Publishing house: Ace
Sale Popularity Level: 213509
Studio: Ace
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Rated by buyers -
This just felt good to read, a little hard to pick up at first, and the rescue scene seemed unnecessary, but I enjoyed the Rare Earth theme that was depicted in the book. At some parts I had to suspend my disbelief, but the idea was so original that it was thoroughly enjoyable and I enjoyed the news the author sometimes places at the end of the chapter. One thing I had to suspend my disbelief (a lot) was the aliens, the inhabitants of Quraqua were described as looking like crocodile-head people and that bothered me, as did the crab-things at Beta Pac. Not really hard science fiction, while I read it I felt like I was ready a Clarke.
Another thing that bothered me was the way the Kosmic Corp. people acted and behaved: like stereotypical evil megacorp underlings. I fervently hope that McDevitt doesn't advance more things like Kosmic in his subsequent books.
Rated by buyers -
The end lesson in this book is the thought that "straight lines do not happen in nature." It has had me pondering if later books would show spacecraft and architecture with curves and the like (thus explaining why you sometimes see absolutely nonsensical shapes on alien spacecraft in SF movies...). Anyway, it was a good book (not GREAT) that left a lot of questions open for later books in the series. Hutch is a great leading lady - much like Chase in McDevitt's other books. The whole concept of archaeological SF is pretty cool. Certainly good enough a book to make me buy the other five or six books in the series!
Rated by buyers 
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ENGINES OF GOD is an early novel by Jack McDevitt, a highly respected science fiction writer who's won the prestigious Nebula, John Campbell, and Phillip K. Dick awards. I must admit I found it somewhat disappointing.
To me, the fatal flaw of any novel is a lack of good characterization. That's the problem with this book in a nutshell. Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins is the book's protagonist, but I never felt like she came to life. ENGINES OF GOD features a multitude of supporting characters, but it was hard for me to tell most of them apart. Most of the dialogue is dull and merely designed to push the plot along. As a result, this novel lacks drama and didn't emotionally engage me.
There are some decent action scenes, but they felt kind of obligatory, and didn't really relate to the main story. Like many other reviewers, I also found the ending rather uninspiring and anti-climactic. Given the long, complex buildup, I was expecting something more profound than what I ultimately got.
ENGINES OF GOD deals with a lot of interesting ideas, but I just didn't find it very involving or suspenseful. I did admire McDevitt's command of the English language, as well as his obvious intelligence. In fairness, this is my very first McDevitt novel, so I will definitely try one or two of his later books before giving up on him.
Rated by buyers -
An xenoarchaeological team on the planet Quraqu is investigating why the alien race died out there. They do so under severe time pressure as the planet they are working on is due to soon be terraformed to let it be used for more pragmatic reasons.
Later on there is a bit of Lost in Space, a bit of Revelation Space.
Definitely No Deities to be found.
Rated by buyers 
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Jack McDevitt is a thinking man's science fiction writer. With *Engines of God*, he introduces a new series and universe and a new hero in superluminal pilot Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins. In the second space age for mankind, exploration of our Solar System found little of interest - especially, it found no life on other planets or moons - Mars was lifeless with no evidence of eve having any, no life was found on the ice moons of Jupiter and Saturn - nothing. Just when humanity was about to turn inward again and abandon the cost of space travel, a shocking discovery was made: an ice sculpture of a strange, alien, winged creature on a pedestal with an indecipherable inscription was found on Saturn's moon Iapetus; and a single alien foot print in the dirt. The space age was back on schedule as everyone wanted to know who the Monument-Makers (as they were dubbed) were. Soon after, FTL travel was made possible with the invention of the Hazeltine Drive that allowed the transition into another dimension where 1 light year could be covered in a little over an hour of time.
At the dawn of the 23rd century, human exploration of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way has discovered a total of twelve monuments, all built by the enigmatic Monument-Makers. Also discovered are a few dead civilizations and some false cities built on the moons of these now empty worlds that are constructed entirely of right angles with signs heavy bombardment. Also, Earth is struggling with centuries of environmental damage and there is a push to expand onto new worlds. On the planet Quraqua, all of these factors collide. It is a planet with one of these dead civilization, it has a monument, and one of the mysterious moon-bound fake cities that has been dubbed Oz; it has also been selected as a perfect candidate for terraforming and a new home to humans.
While the terraforming effort proceeds indifferently, the last archaeological expedition to the planet works feverously to extract what knowledge it can about the long dead alien world and the Monument-Makers who had obviously been there at the end. Hutch, the superluminal pilot sent by the Academy of Space and Technology to extract the expedition, must come to the rescue as the team of archaeologists struggle past the point no return to extract a large artifact trapped under the sea. Through her Herculean effort, she is able to save the team while also being the one to see the connection between the Monument-Makers and the false cities.
This discovery leads Hutch and the Archaeology team on a trek across light years as they piece together who the Monument-Makers were, where they came from, and the discovery of the reason for these false cities and dead civilizations that accompany them.
With equal parts adventure and intellectual thinking, *Engines of God* and the rest of the series (*Deepsix*, *Chindi*, *Omega*, *Odyssey*, and the soon to be released *Cauldron*) breathe fresh life into science fiction and take space exploration beyond mere space opera.
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A Guide to my Book Rating System:
1 star = The fibre pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.
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