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The Academy #3
Chindi
2224. Hormis l'espèce belliqueuse qui peuple la planète Nok, à l'aube de son ère industrielle, les hommes n'ont trouvé durant leurs premières explorations stellaires que les ruines de civilisations extraterrestres disparues. Or voici qu'un bref signal radio se manifeste soudain, issu d'une source en orbite autour d'une étoile à neutrons. Indéchiffrable mais d'origine artificielle. Est-ce le dernier souvenir d'une civilisation elle aussi disparue ou le premier message d'une espèce vivante ? Un an après l'aventure de Deepsix, Priscilla Hutchins, " Hutch " pour les amis, pilote spatiale de l'Académie, repart en mission d'exploration, cette fois en compagnie d'une délégation de la Société du Contact - véritables précurseurs ou bande d'allumés ? D'étoile en étoile, de monde en monde, toujours en quête de la Rencontre tant espérée, Jack McDevitt nous entraîne au sein d'une petite communauté humaine vers des réponses qui amènent d'autres questions, avec un sens du mystère et du suspense qui n'appartient qu'à lui.
604 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2002
98 people are currently reading
1878 people want to read
About the author
Jack McDevitt
185 books1,347 followersJack McDevitt is a former English teacher, naval officer, Philadelphia taxi driver, customs officer and motivational trainer. His work has been on the final ballot for the Nebula Awards for 12 of the past 13 years. His first novel, The Hercules Text, was published in the celebrated Ace Specials series and won the Philip K. Dick Special Award. In 1991, McDevitt won the first $10,000 UPC International Prize for his novella, "Ships in the Night." The Engines of God was a finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and his novella, "Time Travelers Never Die," was nominated for both the Hugo and the Nebula awards.
McDevitt lives in Georgia with his wife, Maureen, where he plays chess, reads mysteries and eats lunch regularly with his cronies.
McDevitt lives in Georgia with his wife, Maureen, where he plays chess, reads mysteries and eats lunch regularly with his cronies.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 312 reviews
July 17, 2018
As always, McDevitt writes SOLID space opera without the military bent. I still think the whole archeology and privateer stuff works SO much better than the whole space-battle stuff, but it only works when most of the alien civs have risen and fallen over vast time periods and we just happen to sit smack dab in the middle of a time of silence.
With a few minor exceptions, of course. Ancient fallen descendants or lightspeed lagged spaceships notwithstanding. :)
Or other alien archeologists?
Fun. :) Different. And classy.
And workmanlike. I'll never say that these are the most imaginative books in existence, but what these provide is the best above-average fare for the price. Always quality, always vast and interesting, and often more amusing than not on the character level.
Oh, and you can have a drinking game with each novel for the redshirt-esq quality of death. Of course, every character is more fleshed out than the away teams in THAT series, and it feels more like a horror/mystery/adventure than an SF, sometimes, but that's a good quality to have. It has a good flavor. :)
That being said, enjoy the ARTIFACT, folks. :) What a huge TREASURE to be found! :) :)
With a few minor exceptions, of course. Ancient fallen descendants or lightspeed lagged spaceships notwithstanding. :)
Or other alien archeologists?
Fun. :) Different. And classy.
And workmanlike. I'll never say that these are the most imaginative books in existence, but what these provide is the best above-average fare for the price. Always quality, always vast and interesting, and often more amusing than not on the character level.
Oh, and you can have a drinking game with each novel for the redshirt-esq quality of death. Of course, every character is more fleshed out than the away teams in THAT series, and it feels more like a horror/mystery/adventure than an SF, sometimes, but that's a good quality to have. It has a good flavor. :)
That being said, enjoy the ARTIFACT, folks. :) What a huge TREASURE to be found! :) :)
May 14, 2008
Another Library of Babel recommendation; I'd never heard of Jack McDevitt before. The one line review is "Indiana Jones, in space, no Nazis."
This is not the first book in this series; it appears that Deepsix chronologically precedes this one. That said, as only passing reference to the first book is made (and if I hadn't noticed it on the shelf at the library when I got this book, I could believe that no book existed), this book stands on its own just fine.
The plot follows a small exploration ship that is tracing narrow signals found from something orbiting a neutron star way out in space; this signal is the first indication of a still extant spacefaring alien species, and the ship is owned and crewed by members of a society whose main goal is intelligent alien contact.
For lack of a better term (I'm crazy short on sleep) this is a very comfortable book; fun to read, engaging, and overall quite pleasant.
This is not the first book in this series; it appears that Deepsix chronologically precedes this one. That said, as only passing reference to the first book is made (and if I hadn't noticed it on the shelf at the library when I got this book, I could believe that no book existed), this book stands on its own just fine.
The plot follows a small exploration ship that is tracing narrow signals found from something orbiting a neutron star way out in space; this signal is the first indication of a still extant spacefaring alien species, and the ship is owned and crewed by members of a society whose main goal is intelligent alien contact.
For lack of a better term (I'm crazy short on sleep) this is a very comfortable book; fun to read, engaging, and overall quite pleasant.
March 13, 2014
A lot of people seem to like this book, but I found it pretty annoying for the most part. In the not-too-distant future, a large part of the galaxy has been explored by humanity but few other intelligent species have been found. A group of rich people who are determined to make first contact commission a new starship and hire Captain Priscilla Hutchins (called Hutch for most of the time) to investigate a mysterious signal found in orbit around a neutron star. From there, they make the discovery of a lifetime, tracking signals from a massive alien relay system from one planet to another, each with its own intelligent life(though some are long dead) until finally they come across a huge starship that they call the Chindi (after a supernatural creature) which proves to be treasure trove they were seeking.
Sounds great in principle, but the reason I disliked the book was that the characters were so awful. Most of the passengers are rich and spoiled, and treat Hutch with a sneering contempt every time she urges caution. Even when her warnings prove true and people die (and lots of people do), they still fail to listen, blundering into one situation after another.
They may be an archeological expedition, but it's strictly amateur hour here. Not one of them even thought about getting any qualifications in the fields they might need on such an expedition, which is hardly surprising when their numbers include a stripper/porn star, an artist and a funeral director!
Hutch is just as bad at times, as she constantly fails to assert her authority on these unruly and badly behaved children. Even when two other starships are destroyed, she still doesn't pull the plug. Even though she was picked for the mission, it feels as if she was chosen because she could be bullied into doing things that she knew was a mistake, and I have a horrible suspicion that the character was made female just to make this point. There is always a faint suspicion of sexism throughout the story - nothing too overt, but it made me uneasy.
The story picks up a bit towards the end, but even then it has failings as Hutch attempts a desperate and foolhardy rescue of someone trapped aboard the Chindi, and all for the sake of "Twue Wuv" as she has decided that it it was a mistake to breakup with this guy as she had done years before. The action and rescue attempt itself almost, almost made me give it 3 stars, but it was too little, too late.
Captain Picard would have thrown this lot in the brig.
Sounds great in principle, but the reason I disliked the book was that the characters were so awful. Most of the passengers are rich and spoiled, and treat Hutch with a sneering contempt every time she urges caution. Even when her warnings prove true and people die (and lots of people do), they still fail to listen, blundering into one situation after another.
They may be an archeological expedition, but it's strictly amateur hour here. Not one of them even thought about getting any qualifications in the fields they might need on such an expedition, which is hardly surprising when their numbers include a stripper/porn star, an artist and a funeral director!
Hutch is just as bad at times, as she constantly fails to assert her authority on these unruly and badly behaved children. Even when two other starships are destroyed, she still doesn't pull the plug. Even though she was picked for the mission, it feels as if she was chosen because she could be bullied into doing things that she knew was a mistake, and I have a horrible suspicion that the character was made female just to make this point. There is always a faint suspicion of sexism throughout the story - nothing too overt, but it made me uneasy.
The story picks up a bit towards the end, but even then it has failings as Hutch attempts a desperate and foolhardy rescue of someone trapped aboard the Chindi, and all for the sake of "Twue Wuv" as she has decided that it it was a mistake to breakup with this guy as she had done years before. The action and rescue attempt itself almost, almost made me give it 3 stars, but it was too little, too late.
Captain Picard would have thrown this lot in the brig.
July 31, 2017
Exhausting. An endless cycle of bravery and idiocy and desperate rescue missions in which someone must die. Interesting and inventive but still with a minimum of believable character development. But the ideas and concepts are mostly worthwhile. But too long and with too much repetition. So not soft enough for space opera and not hard enough for hard science. And not gripping enough to really recommend. 3.5 of 5.
April 13, 2021
Former Naval officer Jack McDevitt has become a space opera wunderkind over the past decade or so. Chindi is one of several novels about Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins, a female spacefaring captain who goes on many an intergalactic adventure. I've been a fan of Mr. McDevitt's works for years, so, I thought this novel was great. Was it his best? No...but it definitely was not his worst, and those who are new to Mr. McDevitt's works, or the "Hutch" series, would do well to start with this one.
EDIT: I had forgotten most of the plot details of Mr. McDevitt's novels, so, I decided to read this one and maybe some others again. Though my review above is spot-on, I will say that the writing has to be seen to be believed.
ANOTHER EDIT: After reading Arthur C. Clarke's relentless bashing of the Christian faith, it's wonderful to see a sci-fi author--and a mainstream one, at that!--not only show people following the Way centuries into the future, but also respecting Jesus as a historical figure.
EDIT: I had forgotten most of the plot details of Mr. McDevitt's novels, so, I decided to read this one and maybe some others again. Though my review above is spot-on, I will say that the writing has to be seen to be believed.
ANOTHER EDIT: After reading Arthur C. Clarke's relentless bashing of the Christian faith, it's wonderful to see a sci-fi author--and a mainstream one, at that!--not only show people following the Way centuries into the future, but also respecting Jesus as a historical figure.
July 12, 2024
*** 4 ***
Still dancing around meeting those aliens... Almost... ! 👍
Still dancing around meeting those aliens... Almost... ! 👍
November 4, 2015
My first book by McDevitt. Started slow but gets going soon enough. The story and science work nicely together. He has no problem with main characters meeting their demise as the story unfolds. The story should be have a subtitle "Chindi: or how many rescue missions can Hutch pull off?" I like her and the final rescue is a great thrill. The ending is a very unsubtle opening for a follow-on story. Guess I'm going to be collecting some more of his books. Strong recommendation for an enjoyable read.
Read this 5 years ago. Reread as I go through the Academy series in order. I'll leave it at 4 Stars but it does follow his pattern of super women/stupid men from the first two books in the series. I did not really see this the first time.
Read this 5 years ago. Reread as I go through the Academy series in order. I'll leave it at 4 Stars but it does follow his pattern of super women/stupid men from the first two books in the series. I did not really see this the first time.
August 2, 2016
If you enjoyed the other 3 books, you're gonna enjoy this one. Each book is pretty much a stand alone, but the chronology of discoveries makes more sense in order, obviously. This one was a lot more spectacular than book 2 and 3. Wonderful ancient alien discoveries and stuff. Another hair brained rescue attempt and survival against the odds and stuff. In other words, exactly what it says on the box.
I am sad to say
I am sad to say
May 10, 2013
One of the great tropes of classic sense-of-wonder science fiction is the space museum, which McDevitt uses with great success in this one. It's the third book in the Priscilla Hutchins series. We don't actually meet the aliens, but the archaeological investigations are presented with such deft grandeur that the results are Ozymandian. There are also some terrific hard-sf puzzles that are solved in a very clever manner. I didn't enjoy the characters quite as much as in the earlier books of the series (I thought we got a little too much of Hutch's romantic life), but it's another challenging and thought-provoking book.
December 21, 2021
SF that manages to make deep space exploration and first contact with aliens feel as superficial as a European trip by American airhead tourists of the "If it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium" variety. So profoundly boring that it gives the reader an inkling of the vast emptiness of space. The only heroic thing about this book was my struggle to finish it.
November 13, 2025
Space operatics at their finest. It has the hints of sexist sleaze that are so characteristic of classic sci-fi, but it does it tastefully (enough). The characters are well developed, the science sound enough that I didn’t question it, and the descriptions of the scenery are amazing. It’s not that the plot of this book is entirely novel, but it is the way Mr. Jack wrote about it that made me not want to put it down. I really really wish we got to meet the chindi lads.
December 26, 2025
The Academy series hits its stride with Chindi. McDevitt delivers space opera at MCU-thriller scale while keeping his archaeological intellectualism as the story's anchor.
Hutch continues to be a remarkably three-dimensional protagonist - her decisions feel earned, her competence never veers into superhero territory, and her humanity grounds even the wildest moments. The action sequences are genuinely thrilling; McDevitt knows how to build tension with alien artifacts and deep space danger.
What sets this apart is how McDevitt balances spectacle with substance. The mystery of the Chindi and its implications for galactic civilization feeds his quiet obsession with archaeology and lost cultures. Instead of slowing things down, this intellectual foundation makes the adventure more satisfying. You're not just watching people survive threats - you're piecing together cosmic puzzles.
The scale feels bigger than the previous books while maintaining the personal stakes that made them work. This is smart, fun science fiction that trusts its readers to appreciate both the thrills and the ideas.
If you've enjoyed the series so far, this is where it becomes essential reading.
Hutch continues to be a remarkably three-dimensional protagonist - her decisions feel earned, her competence never veers into superhero territory, and her humanity grounds even the wildest moments. The action sequences are genuinely thrilling; McDevitt knows how to build tension with alien artifacts and deep space danger.
What sets this apart is how McDevitt balances spectacle with substance. The mystery of the Chindi and its implications for galactic civilization feeds his quiet obsession with archaeology and lost cultures. Instead of slowing things down, this intellectual foundation makes the adventure more satisfying. You're not just watching people survive threats - you're piecing together cosmic puzzles.
The scale feels bigger than the previous books while maintaining the personal stakes that made them work. This is smart, fun science fiction that trusts its readers to appreciate both the thrills and the ideas.
If you've enjoyed the series so far, this is where it becomes essential reading.
December 18, 2012
This is definitely my favorite of the Priscilla Hutchins/Academy novels. Obviously it's because it has one of my favorite things, Archaeology In Space!, but also because it's so intense that I'm on the edge of whatever seat I'm using every time I read it. It's a lot like a horror novel in that respect; everyone is just so dumb about the risks they're taking, and they never get any smarter. It's always push, push, push, just a little farther, explore just one more room in the dark, deserted, alien spacecraft that might take off for the unknown reaches of the universe at any second. It's a little out of character for Hutch not to put the kibosh on George's riskier and more thoughtless plans, but if she did, we wouldn't have a novel, so I'm willing to go along with it. McDevitt comes up with some fascinating alien cultures and beautiful alien landscapes, but the team never does meet the creators of the chindi, or learn almost anything about them. This is rare for him, and I think it makes the book stronger for the added mystery.
April 24, 2013
You can get a synopsis of the plot on the Amazon pages. So I am going to give my impression of the overall series.
Some of the action is a bit over the top, but this is a thought provoking book. I recommend it.
If you've read one of my review of the series you've already read below.
Part of a 6 book (so far) series. As another reviewer said, the books have something of a mystery novel feel to it. Much more noticeable is the documentary/diary feel to this series. Overall though, it is good "hard sci-fi". A couple of things that stand out in the series to me:
1) His main character is a woman, not something often seen.
2) The universe of 2220 is highly believable. Earth has many of the same problems as it does today. Rather than being kitschy, it helps to make it easier to slip into that world.
All the books are very much in the action genre. In a few of the books I thought it was a bit over the top. But I still enjoyed each book. If you want a believable series that is strong on science and character I highly recommend all the books.
Some of the action is a bit over the top, but this is a thought provoking book. I recommend it.
If you've read one of my review of the series you've already read below.
Part of a 6 book (so far) series. As another reviewer said, the books have something of a mystery novel feel to it. Much more noticeable is the documentary/diary feel to this series. Overall though, it is good "hard sci-fi". A couple of things that stand out in the series to me:
1) His main character is a woman, not something often seen.
2) The universe of 2220 is highly believable. Earth has many of the same problems as it does today. Rather than being kitschy, it helps to make it easier to slip into that world.
All the books are very much in the action genre. In a few of the books I thought it was a bit over the top. But I still enjoyed each book. If you want a believable series that is strong on science and character I highly recommend all the books.
March 24, 2009
Meh. McDevitt's readable; he maintains just enough interest to keep me turning the pages, but not very enthusiastically. I guess "workmanlike" would be the way to put it. Chindi, as with many of his science fiction works, has little character development (his protagonist, Priscilla Hutchins, a starship pilot, feels very cardboard-cutout-like), has characters doing poorly-thought-out and irrational things, and treats starship travel almost as if Hutchins is a glorified bus driver. Doesn't exactly make one thrill with wonder. I finished it, but I won't seek out another.
June 29, 2024
It was nice to see a familiar face--George!--but he wasn't as entertaining as in the previous book. In fact, the characters in general took a down step this entry--the romance feels forced, and even Hutch has moments that remind me she was written by a man several decades ago.
Despite record-on-repeat moments mostly driven by the characters, the story, on the other hand, is pretty high-octane throughout. I love the imagination in the worlds and travels, and McDevitt knows how to keep the pressure on.
Despite record-on-repeat moments mostly driven by the characters, the story, on the other hand, is pretty high-octane throughout. I love the imagination in the worlds and travels, and McDevitt knows how to keep the pressure on.
July 21, 2024
I read McDevitt's Engines of God and also DeepSix many years before reading Chindi. Chindi is set in the same universe, but with little crossover, so it didn't seem much like an issue. I've always enjoyed Jack McDevitt's books, and Chindi was no exception. There were parts of the story that had me thinking of Rendezvous With Rama, another excellent book about an alien artifact that is explored by humans.
December 2, 2024
This book was fine. A little scifi romp. It didn't push the envelope philosophically or in terms of speculative xenobiology. I think there was an attempt at representing some "hard scifi" physics elements which I appreciated fine (setting aside faster than light travel). The characters came off as annoying and didn't have great character arcs. A lot of the characters where unlikable and that wasn't done in an interesting way or in a way that served the plot. They were just annoying. The main character, Hutch, is fine but she felt like a bus driver more often than she felt like a real captain.
It definitely feels like a book about a woman but that was written by a man.
It definitely feels like a book about a woman but that was written by a man.
July 22, 2020
Fun read, but seemed a little repetitive after the last book. Nonetheless there were some great exploration of various concepts. Some of the character's choices seemed a little hard to swallow but it was understandable in the context of the narrative itself.
Still enjoying my run through the series, and looking forward to the next volume.
Still enjoying my run through the series, and looking forward to the next volume.
May 14, 2025
La lectura de la serie llega a ser repetitiva, muy básico el desarrollo de las acciones y los personajes con tramas muy similares.
November 30, 2017
Another great sci-fi adventure from McDevitt. Really good characters and imaginative situations. The technology has advance a little from the previous book in the series. The knowledge gained in the previous book has been incorporated and enables the situations presented in this book.
How many crises can be averted (or not) at the last minute in one book?
How many crises can be averted (or not) at the last minute in one book?
March 9, 2024
I had not read the prior books in the series, but this reads like a standalone book and I don't feel like I was missing anything. This was a fantastic book, I couldn't put it down.
February 27, 2014
‘The universe has been explored – and humanity has all but given up on finding other intelligent life. Then an alien satellite orbiting a distant star sends out an unreadable signal. is it the final programmed gasp of an ancient, long-dead race? Or the first greeting of an undiscovered life form? Academy starship captain Priscilla Hutchins and the once-maligned Contact Society are about to learn the answers… to more questions than they could possibly conceive of asking.’
Blurb from the 2003 Ace paperback edition
Once more, Hutch is piloting a group of alien-hunters. This time it is the much maligned First Contact Society, who have discovered part of a transmission emanating in orbit around a neutron star.
As much as one wants to love this book (and one can’t really fault it as a decent SF novel) one can’t help feeling that McDevitt is repeating himself on several levels. Again Hutch gets close to a man, and yes, he dies tragically. Almost simultaneously, the artist Tor, one of Hutch’s ex-lovers, manages to grab himself a berth on this new expedition, along with an undertaker and a famous starlet.
It appears there is a network of stealth satellites scattered through at least our part of the galaxy and they are recording and transmitting data to somewhere else. That somewhere else happens to be an odd arrangement of gas giants, their attendant moons, rings and one building set on a moon which orbits this whole arrangement and its spectacular views.
The Retreat, as it is named, is abandoned but had two occupants who are buried nearby.
However, this is not the relay’s destination, for the party discover, refuelling from the gas-giant’s plentiful hydrogen, an asteroid converted into a ship which, it transpires, is a vast travelling storehouse of images and artefacts collected from thousands of races.
Hutch, having lost her newest man in an explosion at the neutron star, does not want more of her passengers to die, but they do. Some are attacked and eaten by angel-like aliens on an idyllic world.
Then, they insist on exploring the Chindi – as they name the ship – and, as was expected, it decides to leave.
There is then a race against time to rescue Hutch’s ex-lover, left behind on the giant asteroid ship.
Again, McDevitt’s Americocentricity is irritating, although I was amused that Hutch, accessing the news from Earth, was reading about a new serial killer in Derbyshire, a county already famous for its violence and multiple murder mayhem.
McDevitt’s aliens are irritating too, as so far, the races have not been alien enough. In the Chindi one of the first things the explorers find is a tableaux of some world where a wolf-like creature is standing before a table wearing a dinner jacket.
Thinking this through, quite apart from any issues of sexism, one has to say that the jacket, not even specifically the dinner jacket, as a fashion phenomenon, is not that recent and occupies a tiny fraction of the diverse gallimaufry of humanwear, and is also a generally western concept. For an alien race of wolf-like creatures to have come up with something similar and to have been discovered by humanity in the epoch in which this fashion was popular rather stretches my disbelief. These are Star Trek aliens, furry or bumpy-headed humanoids who think the same way we do, or at least, the same way Americans do.
Blurb from the 2003 Ace paperback edition
Once more, Hutch is piloting a group of alien-hunters. This time it is the much maligned First Contact Society, who have discovered part of a transmission emanating in orbit around a neutron star.
As much as one wants to love this book (and one can’t really fault it as a decent SF novel) one can’t help feeling that McDevitt is repeating himself on several levels. Again Hutch gets close to a man, and yes, he dies tragically. Almost simultaneously, the artist Tor, one of Hutch’s ex-lovers, manages to grab himself a berth on this new expedition, along with an undertaker and a famous starlet.
It appears there is a network of stealth satellites scattered through at least our part of the galaxy and they are recording and transmitting data to somewhere else. That somewhere else happens to be an odd arrangement of gas giants, their attendant moons, rings and one building set on a moon which orbits this whole arrangement and its spectacular views.
The Retreat, as it is named, is abandoned but had two occupants who are buried nearby.
However, this is not the relay’s destination, for the party discover, refuelling from the gas-giant’s plentiful hydrogen, an asteroid converted into a ship which, it transpires, is a vast travelling storehouse of images and artefacts collected from thousands of races.
Hutch, having lost her newest man in an explosion at the neutron star, does not want more of her passengers to die, but they do. Some are attacked and eaten by angel-like aliens on an idyllic world.
Then, they insist on exploring the Chindi – as they name the ship – and, as was expected, it decides to leave.
There is then a race against time to rescue Hutch’s ex-lover, left behind on the giant asteroid ship.
Again, McDevitt’s Americocentricity is irritating, although I was amused that Hutch, accessing the news from Earth, was reading about a new serial killer in Derbyshire, a county already famous for its violence and multiple murder mayhem.
McDevitt’s aliens are irritating too, as so far, the races have not been alien enough. In the Chindi one of the first things the explorers find is a tableaux of some world where a wolf-like creature is standing before a table wearing a dinner jacket.
Thinking this through, quite apart from any issues of sexism, one has to say that the jacket, not even specifically the dinner jacket, as a fashion phenomenon, is not that recent and occupies a tiny fraction of the diverse gallimaufry of humanwear, and is also a generally western concept. For an alien race of wolf-like creatures to have come up with something similar and to have been discovered by humanity in the epoch in which this fashion was popular rather stretches my disbelief. These are Star Trek aliens, furry or bumpy-headed humanoids who think the same way we do, or at least, the same way Americans do.
November 24, 2015
"Chindi" is the third novel in the Priscilla Hutchins series. The archaeological mysteries continue.
"Hutch", as her friends call her, is fed up with her career as pilot. She gets all of the blame when things go wrong and none of the credit when things go right. She's been asked by her employer, the Science Academy, to pilot one last mission before landing a desk job: ferry the well heeled members of the "Contact Society", an E.T.-phile crowd, around in a ship they commissioned for the Academy on its maiden voyage to investigate a strange signal emanating from the vicinity of a neutron star.
We journey with the crew as they discover a network of stealth satellites engaged in the observation of several worlds. As Hutch and her passengers track down clues to who built the network and why, they visit several worlds in the network and even make first contact with a new alien species. It's significant in that most worlds explored in this series contain the ruins of long dead civilizations, with one or two exceptions.
One of Hutch's passengers is an ex-boyfriend. Readers of previous works know that Hutch has been unlucky in love. Her career doesn't leave much time on Earth for relationships. Interstellar pilot really gives a new meaning to long distance relationships. Most give up. Hutch's relationship with this ex, Tor, makes for an interesting sub-plot, though it takes a while to really develop.
I don't want to give away too much, but suffice it to say that the Contact Society may have bitten off more than it could chew. Fatal mishaps plague the expedition, but they press on. Their compelling need to get to the bottom of the mystery pushes them on. They're rewarded with the discovery of the "chindi," a massive starship that they believe is the key to the stealth satellite network. Despite everything that has gone wrong and Hutch's warnings, the remaining members of the Contact Society set out to make contact with the chindi. The story reaches its climax with Hutch setting out to rescue her passengers from the chindi after a surprise turn of events.
McDevitt's writing style returns to the top form he achieved with Engines of God and quite possibly surpasses it. While Deepsix was a bit of a disappointment to this reader, Chindi made up for it. While his ability to weave a good mystery has never been a problem, McDevitt's use of characterization in Chindi easily surpasses what he provided in the previous two novels in this series. And the level of action and suspense also return to the level presented in Engines of God. This was a novel that I had a tough time putting down. Excellent work. Highly recommended.
"Hutch", as her friends call her, is fed up with her career as pilot. She gets all of the blame when things go wrong and none of the credit when things go right. She's been asked by her employer, the Science Academy, to pilot one last mission before landing a desk job: ferry the well heeled members of the "Contact Society", an E.T.-phile crowd, around in a ship they commissioned for the Academy on its maiden voyage to investigate a strange signal emanating from the vicinity of a neutron star.
We journey with the crew as they discover a network of stealth satellites engaged in the observation of several worlds. As Hutch and her passengers track down clues to who built the network and why, they visit several worlds in the network and even make first contact with a new alien species. It's significant in that most worlds explored in this series contain the ruins of long dead civilizations, with one or two exceptions.
One of Hutch's passengers is an ex-boyfriend. Readers of previous works know that Hutch has been unlucky in love. Her career doesn't leave much time on Earth for relationships. Interstellar pilot really gives a new meaning to long distance relationships. Most give up. Hutch's relationship with this ex, Tor, makes for an interesting sub-plot, though it takes a while to really develop.
I don't want to give away too much, but suffice it to say that the Contact Society may have bitten off more than it could chew. Fatal mishaps plague the expedition, but they press on. Their compelling need to get to the bottom of the mystery pushes them on. They're rewarded with the discovery of the "chindi," a massive starship that they believe is the key to the stealth satellite network. Despite everything that has gone wrong and Hutch's warnings, the remaining members of the Contact Society set out to make contact with the chindi. The story reaches its climax with Hutch setting out to rescue her passengers from the chindi after a surprise turn of events.
McDevitt's writing style returns to the top form he achieved with Engines of God and quite possibly surpasses it. While Deepsix was a bit of a disappointment to this reader, Chindi made up for it. While his ability to weave a good mystery has never been a problem, McDevitt's use of characterization in Chindi easily surpasses what he provided in the previous two novels in this series. And the level of action and suspense also return to the level presented in Engines of God. This was a novel that I had a tough time putting down. Excellent work. Highly recommended.
September 28, 2010
This is a novel about the kinds of people who explore the unknown, who push the boundaries of the human world. The true believers and fanatics fund and design their missions, and other brave souls go along for various reasons: It's a job, one of their best friends or loved ones is going, or they just think it'll be an adventure. George and Nick are the fanatics, and without them, humanity never would have discovered the interestellar, alien communications network, the various rising and fallen civilizations, the retreat, the chindi, or their own lost vessel. So heroics arise naturally, because if someone needs saving and A) it's your job, or B) it's someone you care about, you just do it. So it's also a novel about what people will do for one another, even those they've just met but with whom they have gone through adventures.
Again, this feel like the script for a movie Hollywood should make. McDevitt's novels are always full of great dialogue, daring rescues, and awe-inspiring settings. But this novel is satisfying in many more ways. Another thing that McDevitt always does so well is give us insight into what it means to be human; perhaps more specifically, how humans treat one another, how we become better people through our interactions with worthy others. And I always end up marking a few passages that seem to really stand out, such as these:
" had taught Hutch a long time back about the vagaries of human conversation, the things that really mattered, which were not at all the words, or even the tones, but rather the moment-to-moment reactions people had to one another, the sudden glitter of understanding in the eyes, the raised hand that accompanied a request for additional explanation, the signal of approval or dismay or affection that a given phrase might induce."
"Embrace your life, find what it is you love, and pursue it with all your soul. For if you do not, when you come to die, you will find that you have not lived."
Good stuff.
Finally, any book that makes me spend the wee hours of the morning after having finished it writing story notes and ideas has got to be good! I finished this novel at 3:30am (a real page-turner) and couldn't get to bed until after four because I was full of revision ideas (for my own work) inspired by this book.
Definitely recommended!
Again, this feel like the script for a movie Hollywood should make. McDevitt's novels are always full of great dialogue, daring rescues, and awe-inspiring settings. But this novel is satisfying in many more ways. Another thing that McDevitt always does so well is give us insight into what it means to be human; perhaps more specifically, how humans treat one another, how we become better people through our interactions with worthy others. And I always end up marking a few passages that seem to really stand out, such as these:
" had taught Hutch a long time back about the vagaries of human conversation, the things that really mattered, which were not at all the words, or even the tones, but rather the moment-to-moment reactions people had to one another, the sudden glitter of understanding in the eyes, the raised hand that accompanied a request for additional explanation, the signal of approval or dismay or affection that a given phrase might induce."
"Embrace your life, find what it is you love, and pursue it with all your soul. For if you do not, when you come to die, you will find that you have not lived."
Good stuff.
Finally, any book that makes me spend the wee hours of the morning after having finished it writing story notes and ideas has got to be good! I finished this novel at 3:30am (a real page-turner) and couldn't get to bed until after four because I was full of revision ideas (for my own work) inspired by this book.
Definitely recommended!
April 20, 2019
A quiz:
1. Your ship is responding to a distress call from another ship that brought aboard an alien artifact and then stopped communicating. When you reach the location you find debris & the artifact. Do you:
a. Blast the alien object out of the sky
b. Send probes to examine the alien artifact from a save distance.
c. Bring the object aboard immediately. It was probably a coincidence that the other ship exploded.
2. You’ve just discovered a new race of beings on another planet. Do you:
a. Watch them from the ship
b. Visit the planet and observe them covertly.
c. Immediately pop on down to their main square and say hello.
3. You’ve discovered a ship you’ve never seen before. It seems to be powering up ready to leave orbit. Do you:
a. Follow and observe it.
b. Attach a probe to it.
c. Randomly choose a spot on the hull and cut into it and pop everyone inside to look around.
If you’re from the book CHINDI, your answer is always “C”.
In the beginning of the book when the “first contact” folks are out in space I excused their behavior as childlike enthusiasm. But kids can learn; these folks cannot. When they are surprised and many killed when the beautiful aliens they meet try to kill them (“but they’re so beautiful!") I realized that their motivations are sheer egotism and arrogance. The universe owes them harmless, exciting adventure just because it couldn’t possibly be otherwise. Science is a mere intellectual exercise and certainly nothing to cause behavior modification. Most of the party dies because they keep doing stupid things. (“let’s go ahead and board the alien ship, I’m sure it won’t take off with us inside, even though they’re gunning their engines and accelerating.”)
1. Your ship is responding to a distress call from another ship that brought aboard an alien artifact and then stopped communicating. When you reach the location you find debris & the artifact. Do you:
a. Blast the alien object out of the sky
b. Send probes to examine the alien artifact from a save distance.
c. Bring the object aboard immediately. It was probably a coincidence that the other ship exploded.
2. You’ve just discovered a new race of beings on another planet. Do you:
a. Watch them from the ship
b. Visit the planet and observe them covertly.
c. Immediately pop on down to their main square and say hello.
3. You’ve discovered a ship you’ve never seen before. It seems to be powering up ready to leave orbit. Do you:
a. Follow and observe it.
b. Attach a probe to it.
c. Randomly choose a spot on the hull and cut into it and pop everyone inside to look around.
If you’re from the book CHINDI, your answer is always “C”.
In the beginning of the book when the “first contact” folks are out in space I excused their behavior as childlike enthusiasm. But kids can learn; these folks cannot. When they are surprised and many killed when the beautiful aliens they meet try to kill them (“but they’re so beautiful!") I realized that their motivations are sheer egotism and arrogance. The universe owes them harmless, exciting adventure just because it couldn’t possibly be otherwise. Science is a mere intellectual exercise and certainly nothing to cause behavior modification. Most of the party dies because they keep doing stupid things. (“let’s go ahead and board the alien ship, I’m sure it won’t take off with us inside, even though they’re gunning their engines and accelerating.”)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 7, 2013
In “Chindi” we got to learn a lot more about Priscilla Hutchins’ love lives. She gets talked into taking a ship out to where signals were heard, which are artificial in nature. The crew she takes with her are from a group many at the time think are a little nutty. And they certainly seem to be. They want to hunt for UFOs and aliens, regardless that at this time there have been many faster than light ships out there and not much was found.
After a long, long intro and some flashback, where she flirts with one guy (who is a pilot) and rediscovers an old boyfriend (who hitches a ride on her ship, how awkward), she goes on many adventures in this book.
The main theme is “do what Priscilla says or you’re dead”. Yeah, that’s about it. She tells people to be careful in going into a dark, dismal alien building or planet and people end up dead. To her credit, she does not give an “I told you so” but does deal with these areas rather well.
The characters I really could not get into them much. Tor the scientist and George, the leader of the group, did lend some humor.
Priscilla gets into the vacuum of space twice. Once to save someone and once to freeze the vomit in her Flickering field (long story). So the science is not the greatest.
Much criticism of the bureaucracy of science museums, regardless of century, with all kinds of red tape abounds.
Bottom line: Entertaining, but really only for a McDevitt fan or a Hutchins purist.
After a long, long intro and some flashback, where she flirts with one guy (who is a pilot) and rediscovers an old boyfriend (who hitches a ride on her ship, how awkward), she goes on many adventures in this book.
The main theme is “do what Priscilla says or you’re dead”. Yeah, that’s about it. She tells people to be careful in going into a dark, dismal alien building or planet and people end up dead. To her credit, she does not give an “I told you so” but does deal with these areas rather well.
The characters I really could not get into them much. Tor the scientist and George, the leader of the group, did lend some humor.
Priscilla gets into the vacuum of space twice. Once to save someone and once to freeze the vomit in her Flickering field (long story). So the science is not the greatest.
Much criticism of the bureaucracy of science museums, regardless of century, with all kinds of red tape abounds.
Bottom line: Entertaining, but really only for a McDevitt fan or a Hutchins purist.
May 2, 2011
This one's been sat on the shelf for a while.
McDevitt has a reputation for solid old-fashioned SF, with an emphasis on plot rather than characterisation. His work reminds me of the SF being published (and I was reading!) back in the 1980's.
This is pretty much that.
Where McDevitt scores is in developing that 'sensawunder' for the reader, so reminiscent to me of the Analogs and Astoundings of years gone by. Here we have long dead aliens and their cultural remains uncovered, underneath a sky with not just one but two ringed planets.
We travel on vast empty alien spaceships, whose purpose and occupants remain enigmatic.
The pages turned very nicely, with situation after situation being piled on to ratchet up the tension.
On the downside the events did become a little bit far-fetched at times, especially towards the end. McDevitt gets a little too over-emotional at times, in what is both a love story and a love of technology, and as a result lets the emotion override the logic. At other times things do seem to be solved a little too conveniently in a book that is in that true tradition of problem-solving SF.
And yet, despite all this, despite the cliched and rather thin characterisation, despite the fact that you knew what was going to happen, this was a real page turner that was difficult to put down.
McDevitt has a reputation for solid old-fashioned SF, with an emphasis on plot rather than characterisation. His work reminds me of the SF being published (and I was reading!) back in the 1980's.
This is pretty much that.
Where McDevitt scores is in developing that 'sensawunder' for the reader, so reminiscent to me of the Analogs and Astoundings of years gone by. Here we have long dead aliens and their cultural remains uncovered, underneath a sky with not just one but two ringed planets.
We travel on vast empty alien spaceships, whose purpose and occupants remain enigmatic.
The pages turned very nicely, with situation after situation being piled on to ratchet up the tension.
On the downside the events did become a little bit far-fetched at times, especially towards the end. McDevitt gets a little too over-emotional at times, in what is both a love story and a love of technology, and as a result lets the emotion override the logic. At other times things do seem to be solved a little too conveniently in a book that is in that true tradition of problem-solving SF.
And yet, despite all this, despite the cliched and rather thin characterisation, despite the fact that you knew what was going to happen, this was a real page turner that was difficult to put down.
August 27, 2012
I've read two other of McDevitt's books and they were both good reads.... "The Engines of God" and "Omega". In Omega the characters reference events that occurred during Chindi so I read it to find out what had happened. I found the book to be a very exciting and enjoyed it immensely.
It has a strong woman main character (Hutch) but what I like about it is that the characters are not too smart and not too brave. They are only smart enough and brave enough. That makes them more real to me. The circumstances are extraordinary... not the characters themselves.
The story is about the pilot (Priscilla Hutchens) who wants to retire from space ferrying scientists from star to star, but the Academy director asks her to do just one more. A group from the Contact Society (read as "rich nuts") want to contract her services to fly out to a neutron star where possible radio contact with an alien race was thought to have been made. It looks like a trip out and back, making these rich Academy donors happy, but it turns into an adventure.
I really liked it and it was a nail-biter until the very end.
It has a strong woman main character (Hutch) but what I like about it is that the characters are not too smart and not too brave. They are only smart enough and brave enough. That makes them more real to me. The circumstances are extraordinary... not the characters themselves.
The story is about the pilot (Priscilla Hutchens) who wants to retire from space ferrying scientists from star to star, but the Academy director asks her to do just one more. A group from the Contact Society (read as "rich nuts") want to contract her services to fly out to a neutron star where possible radio contact with an alien race was thought to have been made. It looks like a trip out and back, making these rich Academy donors happy, but it turns into an adventure.
I really liked it and it was a nail-biter until the very end.
March 15, 2015
Chindi by Jack McDevitt – This is the third book in the Priscilla Hutchins (Academy/Engines of God) series by McDevitt. After a mysterious transmission of unknown origin is received by a deep-space interstellar ship. Hutch is hired to take a group of wealthy alien-hunter/enthusiasts into space in search of the aliens that sent the transmission. They encounter more transmissions and they appear to be the real thing. Hutch and her naïve, arrogant and totally unprepared alien hunters undertake a difficult, dangerous and very deadly journey through several solar systems attempting to find the aliens. Unfortunately, it bothered me that Hutch continually allowed her clueless passengers to pursue extremely dangerous actions instead of exercising restraint to keep them safe. It just didn’t seem realistic that she was not more proactive about their safety. In addition, I was disappointed by the results of their search although significant alien artifacts were found. However, McDevitt can write thrilling action and he included enough of it to make this book worthwhile.
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