One of the problems of writing a book about someone investigating a momentous event that occurred in a war two hundred years previously is that it requires the reader to understand much of what happened in that earlier war. This is the problem the McDevitt faces in A Talent for War and the result is a glacial paced first half of this book. It is filled with info dumps, handled in many different ways, but still info dumps. The accounts of battles and other events in the war, even when presented through the ‘eyes’ of an interactive simulation, are ultimately flat ‘historical’ accounts. Because we never actually meet any of the characters in the war we are in no way invested in them and so have little emotional concern over the outcomes of these events. This first part – and it is at least half of the book – I found extremely difficult to get through and I confess I only persisted because I have always heard good things about McDevitt.
Fortunately the second half picked up and provided a very good well-paced ending but I’m not sure it was worth the effort of the first half. It meant that, for me, the first half was just barely two stars and the second 4 stars. A very uneven ride.
The other major problem I had was with the characterisations. I couldn’t find much to like in the main character Alex Benedict; he was weak, unexciting and seemed more interested in finding ways of backing out of the investigation rather than continuing with it. His sidekick – Chase – seemed to be a much more interesting character. She was (or at least started out) a sassy, tough, independent sort but ultimately wasn’t developed nearly as much as she could have been and, later, when things started getting dangerous, she didn’t really respond as I would have expected but rather dissolved into a bit of a scared little girl looking to Benedict to save her. Very disappointing.
Although I enjoyed the second half of A Talent for War I’m very much left wondering whether I’m sufficiently interested in the character of Alex Benedict to continue with the series of books featuring him. On the other hand I don’t think the second book was written until some 15 years later so maybe McDevitt’s writing might have matured some and also I imagine much of the back story info dumps have already been endured. Any guidance from other readers much appreciated!
Fortunately the second half picked up and provided a very good well-paced ending but I’m not sure it was worth the effort of the first half. It meant that, for me, the first half was just barely two stars and the second 4 stars. A very uneven ride.
The other major problem I had was with the characterisations. I couldn’t find much to like in the main character Alex Benedict; he was weak, unexciting and seemed more interested in finding ways of backing out of the investigation rather than continuing with it. His sidekick – Chase – seemed to be a much more interesting character. She was (or at least started out) a sassy, tough, independent sort but ultimately wasn’t developed nearly as much as she could have been and, later, when things started getting dangerous, she didn’t really respond as I would have expected but rather dissolved into a bit of a scared little girl looking to Benedict to save her. Very disappointing.
Although I enjoyed the second half of A Talent for War I’m very much left wondering whether I’m sufficiently interested in the character of Alex Benedict to continue with the series of books featuring him. On the other hand I don’t think the second book was written until some 15 years later so maybe McDevitt’s writing might have matured some and also I imagine much of the back story info dumps have already been endured. Any guidance from other readers much appreciated!
