The Jack McDevitt Thread

[Shoegaze99]

Considering the four dozen and one author forums here, I’m really astonished there is not more discussion of Jack McDevitt. Over the last ten years, he has turned into a pretty major force in science fiction literature, garnering award nomination after award nomination and churning out a string of novels with, at the very least, really strong, intriguing ideas.

I’m currently in the middle of Omega, the fourth (and most recent/final) of his “Hutch” novels. I’ve read the previous three and liked them all to varying degrees – he sometimes relies too heavily on drawing out tension over long stretches, but his ideas are always interesting, especially his focus on alien archeology and biology. Stephen King has likened him to Arthur C. Clarke, and I tend to agree. He’s an author of ideas, prone to a flat character now and then but always putting forth compelling sci-fi notions. He’s good with something Clarke refined to perfection in the first (and as far as I’m concerned only) Rama book – giving you just enough information about some alien civilization to be entirely drawn into their mystery, but leaving enough unsaid to keep your head swirling with ideas.

I have Ancient Shores, Eternity Road, Moonfall, and Infinity Beach in my library, but have yet to read any of them. Look forward to it, though, because all have great concepts that I can’t wait to explore.

So, Jack McDevitt. Discuss.

 

[dwndrgn]

Our author forums are formed when there are sufficient different threads/discussions regarding that author's works to create a subforum for them. So, to continue the discussion...

I've never heard of this author, of course I'm not terribly big on sci-fi; probably because it is more based on ideas than actions (not that there isn't action in scifi but that the main focus is not on the actions of specific characters but the ideas behind what they are doing and why. Or, at least, that is how I feel.

 

[GOLLUM]

Not a big SF fan either and I've never heard of this author but I'm sure somebody else here will comment soon enough...

 

[Shoegaze99]

Our author forums are formed when there are sufficient different threads/discussions regarding that author's works to create a subforum for them.

Oh, I'm not suggesting there be a subforum - to be perfectly frank, I think there are far too many author subforums, diluting activity that could happen right here in the main book/lit forum - just surprised that a fairly major name in recent sci-fi like McDevitt's has only come about about two times here.

But then, fantasty seems far more popular than sci-fi in these parts.

 

[rune]

I found this listing for Jack McDevitt's books - http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Jack_McDevitt.htmI'm not into sci-fi, but some may have a nice mixture of sci-fi and fantasy

 

[Shoegaze99]

Recently finished McDevitt's Ancient Shores. Solid stuff. It deals with an interesting premise, and then explores the earliest days following the discovery of what may be an alien technology. Not the fallout of the discovery, not its lasting impact on society, but rather an exploration of the discovery itself and how the world reacts in those first few days when the discovery hits the media. (The gist is, a farmer in North Dakota digs up a huge yacht in his yard, a yacht unlike any on Earth, made of materials never before seen. A yacht about 10,000 years old. That discovery leads to another, which could change the world.)

He handled it pretty well. The finale felt a little forced, and I'm not sure I buy his view on how things would have unfolded, but the book did leave me with a great "Wow! What if ..." feeling, which is key to this type of science fiction. I'm not rushing out to recommend this as some new classic, but it certainly wasn't bad.

 

[Taltos]

Well, I've only read "A Talent for War" from him, nice SF but extraordinary. I'd be tempted to buy some of his stuff, only problem is haven't found any of his books in local bookshops

 

[Pyar]

I have only read Eternity Road but i can say that it was a great book. I really enjoyed the adventure in it as well as the idea of learning about a society that came about after the destruction of the past civiliztion.

 

[Shoegaze99]

I have only read Eternity Road but i can say that it was a great book. I really enjoyed the adventure in it as well as the idea of learning about a society that came about after the destruction of the past civiliztion.

Read this last week and enjoyed it a lot. It's a concept that would fall apart under close scrutinty, and the characters are rather flat, but the adventure was enjoyable to follow and exploring the ruins of our very own civilization was quite cool. It's a world I could certainly see myself wanting to spend more time in.

Infinity Beach is loosely in my "to be read" pile.

 

[creslin_black]

I've read some of Jack McDevitt's books, and from what I've read they've been interesting, although I can't say if he's exactly an equal to greats like Asimov or Brin. But I think perhaps my favorite of his was Deepsix. Their frantic attempts to escape the planet lend a credible atmosphere to the book.

 

[Razorback]

I read a Talent for War recently. It’s the first I’ve read by him and I liked it quite a bit. I am definitely going to read more of his stuff. I’ll probably read Infinity Beach in the near future. I also have Engines of God, Deepsix and Eternity Road on my standby shelf, and I am looking for the other Benedict Books (Polaris and Seeker).

 

[Werthead]

Moonfall was a great book and if it hadn't had the misfortune to be published in the same year Armageddon and Deep Impact came out, it would have been snapped up as a movie. It also has the greatest cover-line for any novel, ever:

"A COMET IS COMING. IT IS GOING TO HIT THE MOON. AND THE MOON IS GOING TO FALL. ON US."

 

[creslin_black]

I notice a common theme among his books is catastrophic environmental disasters.

 

[Carolyn Hill]

I've read The Engines of God, Chindi, and Omega. What I like about McDevitt is that he manages to combine hard SF with believable, interesting characters. I'm particularly fond of Hutch.

 

[Tau Zero]

I've read The Engines of God, Chindi, and Omega. What I like about McDevitt is that he manages to combine hard SF with believable, interesting characters. I'm particularly fond of Hutch.

Damn, you beat me to it! I was going to say the exact same thing. I've read The Engines of God, Chindi, and Infinity Beach. There's a mood to his books that i love. I can easily slip myself into the story and go for the ride.

 

[red_temple]

I'm currently looking for a new book to read by and author I've never read before. McDevitt certainly sounds interesting. Is there a particular book of his you would recommend as a good intro to his material?

 

[Razorback]

I just finished my second book by McDevitt, InfinityBeach. I thought it was a very good story. My copy is a little over 500 pages and it kept my interest all the way to the end. There were many surprising and imaginative story twists. Since it is a stand-alone work, it might be a good choice for a first sample. So far, his writing reminds me of Arthur C. Clarke.

 

[creslin_black]

One of his books, DeepSix, was particularly interesting to read. I have to say that the indigenous flora and fauna were probably one of the most intriguing parts of the book, probably because they were so imaginative. The redbirds from the beginning of the book seem so innocuous, until one realizes their huge numbers and their strange behaviour.

 

[Shoegaze99]

I notice a common theme among his books is catastrophic environmental disasters.

That, or more commonly, alien archeology. That's one of the things I like about him. I love the idea of exploring the remnants of an alien culture.

I'm currently looking for a new book to read by and author I've never read before. McDevitt certainly sounds interesting. Is there a particular book of his you would recommend as a good intro to his material?

I started with The Engines of God and thought it good enough to read another five or six more by him, so that's not a terrible place to begin. It has pretty much all the elements that are most typical of his work; alien archeology; natural disasters; a wide range of good (if a touch flat) characters; a willingness to kill off main characters at the drop of a hat; interstellar mysteries; and an approachable take on hard science.

Chindi might actually be a better starting place, though. It's actually the third book in the "Hutch" series, but the beauty of that series is, you can read them as standalone novels and they hold up fine. Chindi has what is, to me, the better mystery and the more wondruous sights.

To echo what others have said, Deepsix was a pretty good science fiction thriller. (Second Hutch book). The most recent I read was Infinity Beach, which I liked a lot, though I don't know if I suggest starting there.

And Razorback is right on. If you like Arthur C. Clarke, you'll probably like McDevitt. Similar approaches in both style and content.

 

[creslin_black]

Well, I would, but I'm not sure how much I'd like Arthur C. Clarke. His books are good, true, but I've read both 3001: The Final Oddyssey and Time's Eye, which he co-wrote with Stephen Baxter. Both of those I found to be somewhat lacking in detail. This is why I'm somewhat hesitant to read Childhood's End, something which he wrote 50 years ago. Although, I have to mention, it is said that the concepts that he presents in the book, despite their age, still apply today. So who knows?