Type of bind: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 368
Printing Date: November 01, 2005
Sale Popularity Level: 385402
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Brief Book Summary:
With Polaris, multiple Nebula Award-nominee Jack McDevitt reacquainted readers with Alex Benedict, his hero from A Talent for War. Now, Alex and his assistant, Chase Kolpath, return to solve a riddle that leads them to the edge of known space.
Download Description:
Thousands of years after an entire colony mysteriously disappears, antiquities dealer Alex Benedict comes into possession of a cup that seems to be from the Seeker, one of the colony's ships. Investigating the provenance of the cup, Alex and his assistant Chase follow a deadly trail to the Seeker-strangely adrift in a system barren of habitable worlds. But their discovery raises more questions than it answers, drawing Alex and Chase into the very heart of danger.
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Rated by buyers 
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I'm a huge fan of Jack McDevitt and this is the book that started my interest. He weaves a sci-fi tale of the far future with a bit of Sherlock Holmes type of investigation. I have read it twice and intend to read it again. Anyone who liked Polaris would love this.
Rated by buyers 
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This was a good book in the sense that the author obviously rendered it with great care. The language is studiously polished; the plot, though it has holes here and there, is more carefully constructed than in most science fictions. But there's something lacking. Call it soul or mojo or magic narrative fairy dust, whatever. When I closed the book, my spirit wasn't vibrating back and forth with that bonging resonance which a really good book leaves in me.
In terms of thematic content, this book rather artfully depicts the process of investigation and discovery. In that sense, there's alot more "science" in this book than there is in most science fiction. This is probably my favorite aspect. It does especially well in illustrating how chance and work intersect in order to lead to discoveries.
One thing I didn't like: the narrator is supposed to be female, but the author really does not know how to think like a female. I never once felt a feminine presence. That was distracting.
Rated by buyers -
Book was in excellent condition upon arrival. Processing & shipping was fast. Whole experience was excellent. I'd recommend seller! Thanks!
Rated by buyers -
This was a well written book, and the ending is terrific. The characters are a bit 2 dimensional, I have to say, and there were some long, drawn out sequences that should have been cut. I would love to read a sequel if there is one.
Rated by buyers 
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Looks like I'm in the minority here but this time I mean it, this is the last time I get sucked into buying one of his books with a "BIG IDEA" in the story tag line and little or no real delivery in the final story itself.
Each of the 4 or so books I have read by him begin with an interesting "BIG IDEA" about an amazing artifact or far flung civilization set 1,000's of years in the future. He then proceeds to drag us into a story built around a (usually) strong female character that eventually only ends up dancing around the edges of the "BIG IDEA". In this one he spends 370+ pages with the main character(s) conducting interplanetary sleuth work and narrowly escaping several "harrowing" (ooooh!) life threatening situations only to wrap up the "BIG IDEA" with an epilog (2 pages!!) at the end.
The dialog, supposedly happening between characters living 9,000 years from now, reads like a conversation between a bunch of contemporary "20 somethings" with little or no depth or individual characterization. JHFC, he even has the main female character utter the word "smooched" in one string of dialog! They supposedly have no coins or many other "ancient" earth artifacts from before 2007 yet they somehow managed to hang on to a decidedly English/Anerican slang term from the 1930's or before!?! Channeling Heinlein and the early SF masters is one thing but the line should be drawn somewhere.
Sorry Jack, your "Ideas" are full of promise but your characters are usually pretty shallow and I've yet to read one of your books where the "Idea" is anything more than a plot gimic to propel the light weight characters thru the narrative. Like all of his books that I've read it's a fast paced read and fun to an extent but ultimately unsatisfying. I guess I'll give up and look elsewhere for a classic SF writer who makes promises that he intends to keep.
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