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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780441012176
ISBN number: 0441012175
Label: Ace
Manufacturer: Ace
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 320
Printing Date: June 29, 2004
Publishing house: Ace
Release Date: June 29, 2004
Sale Popularity Level: 51305
Studio: Ace
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Rated by buyers 
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Loved this book - it's the reason I started reading all of Jack McDevitt's work.
Rated by buyers 
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It's a very straight forward mystery that begins a series focused on Alex Benedict. This one is from his point of view, while the two others now published (Polaris & Seeker) are from his assistant's POV, as with many mystery novels.
Alex's uncle dies and information left leads him on a hunt for what happened during a war a few centuries earlier. The back cover and my knowledge of military history pretty much gave away most of what would happen, but it was a good introduction to the universe and he gets better in later novels.
Rated by buyers 
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I only recently started reading McDevitt, beginning with The Engines of God. I liked that book enough to go looking for another. Most of the reviews that I read suggested that A Talent for War was his best book, so that is what I bought.
I cannot speak as to whether it is his best book or not, but it is a pretty darned good book. In The Engines of God I had some issues with the plotting (ending) and the characters. I had neither of those concerns with A Talent for War. Essentially a detective story, Alex Benedict looks into a long-dead mystery only to discover that the past is closer than it appears. McDevitt uses this device to explore the nature of peace, truth, history and war. Worthy subjects, and ideally suited for this blend of science fiction and detective fiction.
I have used the word "engaging" to describe both of the McDevitt books. I often use that word when I found something entertaining, but not particularly moving. And it is true that neither is likely to enter my various top 10 lists anytime soon. Still, I will be adding another McDevitt to my wish list once I stop writing this review.
Any suggestions?
Rated by buyers -
This is a really, really good novel. A journalist begins to look into the root causes, personalities and propaganda behind a past war.
Humans have fought a war with telepathic aliens, but it was not a united front. A small band led the resistance while others stayed out of the war. An absorbing tale of politics and personality, along with military strategy.
Rated by buyers -
Despite the title, this story is a mystery, not a war story, with normal human being Alex Benedict trying to unravel the truth behind the legend of interstellar war hero (hence the title) Christopher Sim. Were the stories about him true, or too good to be true? With the death of his uncle, Alex inherits some clues that lead him hither and yon, meeting up with other mysterious people until the puzzle pieces slowly start to fall into place, but not without great adventure and peril. In the end the mystery is revealed.
Author Jack McDevitt does a pretty good job in writing. He describes the people and places in sufficient detail that forming a mental picture is quite easily done. However, my big beef with this book is two-fold.
First, the pacing for the big storyline is slow. Frankly, when you get the end of the book, you'll wonder whether the "revelation" was worth reading 310 pages. For that kind of length, you'll wish Mr. McDevitt could've had come up with something a little more "meaty" or unusual. (Don't worry, I won't spoil the ending for you.) The great secret was, to me, rather mundane. There were many sections of action and excitement, but they were for supporting plot points, whereas the main storyline doubled back on itself several times dragging things out.
On a side note, points to Mr. McDevitt for using a prologue and epilogue. He used this literary technique quite well setting up what at very first appears to be a completely irrelevant scene, and then tying it in with the epilogue.
Second, I generally love books that don't beat you over the head with things, but instead allow you to draw conclusions from separate pieces that you fit together in your mind, resulting in a "wow, now I understand" moment. If anything, the great secret of this book was too esoteric and could've used a little more guidance from the author. Yeah, I figured it out when I was supposed to, but it seemed like there were still several pieces of the puzzle that were missing, or could've been explained better.
In this book you can tell that Mr. McDevitt has the skills to be a great science fiction writer, I just don't think he pulled it off with this particular book.
In general I give this book a "B". You could do far worse with your reading, but there are quite a few books out there that are knock-your- socks-off better. Try Pandora's Star by Peter Hamilton for example.
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