What do you think?
Rate this book
The Academy #5
Odyssey
To overcome humankind's waning interest in interstellar travel, a special deep space mission is sent to uncover the truth about "moonriders," strange lights witnessed in nearby systems, but the team soon discovers that their mission has become far more dangerous when they stumble upon the perilous truth about the moonriders. By the author of Chindi. 30,000 first printing.
410 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2006
54 people are currently reading
1345 people want to read
About the author
Jack McDevitt
185 books1,343 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
January 31, 2015
Conflicted Review
I’ve long been a fan of McDevitt. In his fictional universe there is still more than a little mystery and sense of wonder out there. These days, in fiction, the stars are only a backdrop to the story. Not so in McDevitt’s mysteries. Stephen King blurbs him as the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. This makes sense, considering the irresistible old-school charm of his novels.
There is an incredibly authentic feel to McDevitt’s future. His unique approach, such as the inclusion of newscasts and future “historical” quotes and anecdotes, underscores this realism. In fact, Odyssey reads a bit like a future mockumentary. Therein also lies the problem. The Academy / Priscilla Hutchins / Engines of God novels were never noted for their frenetic pacing, but with Odyssey the author seems to have (purposely) slowed things down yet another notch. Why? While the leisurely pace and discussions on future “current events” allow readers the time to immerse themselves, we need to bear in mind that this used to be (predominantly) a space adventure mystery series.
Quirky Dialogue Intermission
“You can’t be serious.”
“The chance that it would happen is remote. But there is a chance.”
“Give me a number.”
“Maybe one in a million. It’s hard to say.”
“One in a million they could blow up the universe.”
So just how bad is the pacing issue? Well, I suppose it isn’t the end of all things. In fact, reading through the other reviews here it’s obvious that some readers really enjoyed Odyssey. However, I happen to know McDevitt is better than this. The first three novels in this series are stunning! That said, even a mediocre McDevitt outing is still pretty darn entertaining.
As far as the characters are concerned
Hutch herself takes a bit of a back seat in this novel to another recurring character (refer Deepsix). It’s easy to either like or dislike Gregory MacAllister in equal measure, depending on your point of view and the context of circumstances. He is cynical to the point of being a caricature, but he is also very amusing at times. Does he work well as the primary protagonist? I’m not too sure. I preferred Hutch in the driving seat.
The final word
Odyssey is a good book, but suffers from pacing issues, and as a result falls short of being very good. There is a decent amount of Sense of Wonder in the novel - one thing in particular will stay with me: a derelict space ship orbiting a planet dozens of light years from earth and which now serves as an automated museum. The flurry of excitement toward the end of the novel goes some way into pulling it through (barely). I was reminded of L.E. Modesitt Jr. while reading this, although I have only read two of his science fiction novels (as yet). In the end it's all moot - you owe it to yourself to read some McDevitt, but not necessarily this. Start with The Engines of God, or his Nebula winner: Seeker
In closing – the Blurb of the day
“'Why read Jack McDevitt?' The question should be: 'Who among us is such a slow pony that s/he isn't reading McDevitt?” — Harlan Ellison
I’ve long been a fan of McDevitt. In his fictional universe there is still more than a little mystery and sense of wonder out there. These days, in fiction, the stars are only a backdrop to the story. Not so in McDevitt’s mysteries. Stephen King blurbs him as the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. This makes sense, considering the irresistible old-school charm of his novels.
There is an incredibly authentic feel to McDevitt’s future. His unique approach, such as the inclusion of newscasts and future “historical” quotes and anecdotes, underscores this realism. In fact, Odyssey reads a bit like a future mockumentary. Therein also lies the problem. The Academy / Priscilla Hutchins / Engines of God novels were never noted for their frenetic pacing, but with Odyssey the author seems to have (purposely) slowed things down yet another notch. Why? While the leisurely pace and discussions on future “current events” allow readers the time to immerse themselves, we need to bear in mind that this used to be (predominantly) a space adventure mystery series.
Quirky Dialogue Intermission
“You can’t be serious.”
“The chance that it would happen is remote. But there is a chance.”
“Give me a number.”
“Maybe one in a million. It’s hard to say.”
“One in a million they could blow up the universe.”
So just how bad is the pacing issue? Well, I suppose it isn’t the end of all things. In fact, reading through the other reviews here it’s obvious that some readers really enjoyed Odyssey. However, I happen to know McDevitt is better than this. The first three novels in this series are stunning! That said, even a mediocre McDevitt outing is still pretty darn entertaining.
As far as the characters are concerned
Hutch herself takes a bit of a back seat in this novel to another recurring character (refer Deepsix). It’s easy to either like or dislike Gregory MacAllister in equal measure, depending on your point of view and the context of circumstances. He is cynical to the point of being a caricature, but he is also very amusing at times. Does he work well as the primary protagonist? I’m not too sure. I preferred Hutch in the driving seat.
The final word
Odyssey is a good book, but suffers from pacing issues, and as a result falls short of being very good. There is a decent amount of Sense of Wonder in the novel - one thing in particular will stay with me: a derelict space ship orbiting a planet dozens of light years from earth and which now serves as an automated museum. The flurry of excitement toward the end of the novel goes some way into pulling it through (barely). I was reminded of L.E. Modesitt Jr. while reading this, although I have only read two of his science fiction novels (as yet). In the end it's all moot - you owe it to yourself to read some McDevitt, but not necessarily this. Start with The Engines of God, or his Nebula winner: Seeker
In closing – the Blurb of the day
“'Why read Jack McDevitt?' The question should be: 'Who among us is such a slow pony that s/he isn't reading McDevitt?” — Harlan Ellison
September 13, 2018
While this novel was generally okay, I can't rank it higher than a three for a couple of important reasons.
1. MacAllister. He has a few good moments in a previous novel but he's given a LOT more time in this one, pushing Hutch out of the limelight. He's no longer just a foil for charming Atheism against all the believers in the 23rd century... he's now a romantic interest. I kinda squirmed. Plus, all the newscasts and blurbs surrounding the whole atheism side-commentary WAS ALREADY DONE in a previous novel.
2. I became embarrassed and shocked that I might have been reading the SAME novel all over again. I hunted and double checked and went... hey... okay... this ISN'T the same novel, but WAY too much is repeated. Almost or sometimes fully verbatim. Damn. It was good the first time, but I'm not so sure about a second time.
3. A lot of it is more long-winded and slower-paced than the previous novels. Does lackadaisical fit? Perhaps. The adventure part is kinda missing, in favor of mirrored commentary and a slightly forced "sense of wonder". This is me saying I was bored.
Well, this isn't the same as saying I hated the novel. I didn't. I just didn't fall head over heels for it. I missed some of what I appreciated a lot more in the previous novels, too.
1. MacAllister. He has a few good moments in a previous novel but he's given a LOT more time in this one, pushing Hutch out of the limelight. He's no longer just a foil for charming Atheism against all the believers in the 23rd century... he's now a romantic interest. I kinda squirmed. Plus, all the newscasts and blurbs surrounding the whole atheism side-commentary WAS ALREADY DONE in a previous novel.
2. I became embarrassed and shocked that I might have been reading the SAME novel all over again. I hunted and double checked and went... hey... okay... this ISN'T the same novel, but WAY too much is repeated. Almost or sometimes fully verbatim. Damn. It was good the first time, but I'm not so sure about a second time.
3. A lot of it is more long-winded and slower-paced than the previous novels. Does lackadaisical fit? Perhaps. The adventure part is kinda missing, in favor of mirrored commentary and a slightly forced "sense of wonder". This is me saying I was bored.
Well, this isn't the same as saying I hated the novel. I didn't. I just didn't fall head over heels for it. I missed some of what I appreciated a lot more in the previous novels, too.
September 15, 2024
*** 3.54 ***
This is another close almost encounter with other intelligence species, which doesn't go too well for our academy pilots and scientists... The series has a lot of issues, but despite that, I am still enjoying it and it always keeps me reading, wanting to know how our heroes will get out of almost impossible situations, as well as figuring out if the charming, cocky and misogynistic MacAlister is going to find a good woman to replace the hole in his heart his departed wife had left him with years ago...
I enjoy the political machinations and the academic power struggles. I love Hutch. I am not as fond of the fact that two hundred years in the future humanity seems to be dealing with exactly the same issues we are dealing with today. I listened to an interview with the author and he said he believes people don't charge. I see it a bit differently. We, as humans do not change, our motivations and the human core of our being have always been the same. However, the environment we create around us, the way we frame how we treat each other and the systems we create change continuously. The first book in the series was written in 1994, this fifth instalment was written in 2006, and already today, 2024, we have a different social framework of how we approach each other both socially and in the workplace. Even our daily vocabulary has changed since the 90's. Yes, we are still fundamentally the same, but change is inevitable.
As I said, the series has its issues, but I am still committed to it and am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next couple of books 👍😃
This is another close almost encounter with other intelligence species, which doesn't go too well for our academy pilots and scientists... The series has a lot of issues, but despite that, I am still enjoying it and it always keeps me reading, wanting to know how our heroes will get out of almost impossible situations, as well as figuring out if the charming, cocky and misogynistic MacAlister is going to find a good woman to replace the hole in his heart his departed wife had left him with years ago...
I enjoy the political machinations and the academic power struggles. I love Hutch. I am not as fond of the fact that two hundred years in the future humanity seems to be dealing with exactly the same issues we are dealing with today. I listened to an interview with the author and he said he believes people don't charge. I see it a bit differently. We, as humans do not change, our motivations and the human core of our being have always been the same. However, the environment we create around us, the way we frame how we treat each other and the systems we create change continuously. The first book in the series was written in 1994, this fifth instalment was written in 2006, and already today, 2024, we have a different social framework of how we approach each other both socially and in the workplace. Even our daily vocabulary has changed since the 90's. Yes, we are still fundamentally the same, but change is inevitable.
As I said, the series has its issues, but I am still committed to it and am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next couple of books 👍😃
April 17, 2019
This is probably my favorite book of the series so far, along with Chindi. I would happily read a new series about Gregory McAllister and his journalistic adventures for The National.
February 9, 2012
First Impressions: Odyssey took some getting used to in order to plow through it! My only other introduction to the author Jack McDevitt is through his excellent novel, "Time Travelers Never Die" so I was hoping this book was going to be a continuation of the excellent style I was used to.
"Not so" say a few other reviewers, who pointed out to this writer that McDevitt has a series and Odyssey is the culmination of such a series starring Hutch, a former space pilot now administrator of the Academy, a space-faring service for scientists and such, and MacKenzie, a snarky, cynical journalist whose 23rd century profession has not changed much in the last couple of centuries.
Odyssey moves slow, and takes its time in commenting on that 23rd century life, implying criticism of today naturally. It's just too obvious and too much! For example there is a thread through the story of a mousy man named Beemer who attacked a priest for preaching hellfire which frightened him and "ruined his life" when he was told there was no redemption for this 12 year old now man. MacKenzie was backing up Beemer hoping for some kind of conviction. The end chapters give headlines and blurbs of the ongoing trial. Very minor part of the story and a bit of a waste of time for this reader.
After a few hundred pages of administrative angst by Hutch, and her politically motivated boss, there are rumors that the Academy may be shutting down since it has been found that there is little to no life in the immediate vicinity of the Milky Way and that we are wasting our time on the space effort and that we should concentrate on the failing Earth's ecology – greenhouse has really come a long way in two centuries, apparently.
Finally some political intrigue, the death of a favored character and still the unexplained and incomplete ending of the first and only contact with alien life left me a bit "so what." There is also the senator's young daughter Amy who is contacted by these aliens but it comes in the form of a late-night visit. Was this a hoax? Should we pay attention to their threat of destroying an atomic collider that could give us the answers to the Big Bang, or should we worry about reputation and not tell anyone of the true dangers of this collider?
Bottom Line: Great potential, but the story could have been shortened a couple hundred pages as an interesting short story than a novel.
Still, I have not given up on Jack McDevitt. Let me look up his Hugo winners and see if I can see some of his early work. The present Odyssey, though supposedly in alignment with Homer's similarly-titled tale, drags for me and is more a political criticism in the guise of science fiction than a novel that would rival Heinlein or Asimov. No danger there!
"Not so" say a few other reviewers, who pointed out to this writer that McDevitt has a series and Odyssey is the culmination of such a series starring Hutch, a former space pilot now administrator of the Academy, a space-faring service for scientists and such, and MacKenzie, a snarky, cynical journalist whose 23rd century profession has not changed much in the last couple of centuries.
Odyssey moves slow, and takes its time in commenting on that 23rd century life, implying criticism of today naturally. It's just too obvious and too much! For example there is a thread through the story of a mousy man named Beemer who attacked a priest for preaching hellfire which frightened him and "ruined his life" when he was told there was no redemption for this 12 year old now man. MacKenzie was backing up Beemer hoping for some kind of conviction. The end chapters give headlines and blurbs of the ongoing trial. Very minor part of the story and a bit of a waste of time for this reader.
After a few hundred pages of administrative angst by Hutch, and her politically motivated boss, there are rumors that the Academy may be shutting down since it has been found that there is little to no life in the immediate vicinity of the Milky Way and that we are wasting our time on the space effort and that we should concentrate on the failing Earth's ecology – greenhouse has really come a long way in two centuries, apparently.
Finally some political intrigue, the death of a favored character and still the unexplained and incomplete ending of the first and only contact with alien life left me a bit "so what." There is also the senator's young daughter Amy who is contacted by these aliens but it comes in the form of a late-night visit. Was this a hoax? Should we pay attention to their threat of destroying an atomic collider that could give us the answers to the Big Bang, or should we worry about reputation and not tell anyone of the true dangers of this collider?
Bottom Line: Great potential, but the story could have been shortened a couple hundred pages as an interesting short story than a novel.
Still, I have not given up on Jack McDevitt. Let me look up his Hugo winners and see if I can see some of his early work. The present Odyssey, though supposedly in alignment with Homer's similarly-titled tale, drags for me and is more a political criticism in the guise of science fiction than a novel that would rival Heinlein or Asimov. No danger there!
January 18, 2022
This fifth installment of McDevitt's Académy series is the first installment not to have been translated by the French publisher of the series. I wondered why before I decided to read it in English.
Well, this is absolutely justified, this book is awful. Well I'm exaggerating, it is not so bad, it could have been a good novella. But certainly not a 400-page novel.
The first part of the book (more than 150 pages) is pure horror: the result of mating between a neurasthenic snail and a senile old man could give something much more energetic. We follow Hutch (now operational director of the Academy) and Mac Allister (director of an opinion magazine) in their respective activities, totally devoid of interest except for some very rare humorous projections. Nothing happens: no suspense, no dramatic tension. The state of affairs of the 23rd century, in the middle of the economic and environmental crisis, is rather convincing, but much, much too long, and so boring. As in the following volume (Cauldron) the whole issue of the story is the continuation or not of humanity's space program, but seen from the administrative side of the Force (which can be also scary, but which is not the funnier). At the end of this purge, a mission is decided to launch an Alien hunt. A very shy hunt (like a butterfly net hunt), which will be the subject of the second part, a little bit more alive than the first, with (finally) Science Fiction and Adventure, which changes the philosophical-political-media prospective of the first part.
The third part is passable, with finally a little action. But everything is slow, predictable, repetitive. The characters are in the line of McDevitt's books: they do not arouse enthusiasm, even if one must admit that they are rather consistent. Fortunately, there is a good idea (only one!) That saves the book.
But far too late to consider making any recommandation of this fifth Academy's book.
Unfortunately, the next one is not much better. My only advice would be to skip directly to Starhawk or even The Long Sunset, which is maybe the better book of the series.
Well, this is absolutely justified, this book is awful. Well I'm exaggerating, it is not so bad, it could have been a good novella. But certainly not a 400-page novel.
The first part of the book (more than 150 pages) is pure horror: the result of mating between a neurasthenic snail and a senile old man could give something much more energetic. We follow Hutch (now operational director of the Academy) and Mac Allister (director of an opinion magazine) in their respective activities, totally devoid of interest except for some very rare humorous projections. Nothing happens: no suspense, no dramatic tension. The state of affairs of the 23rd century, in the middle of the economic and environmental crisis, is rather convincing, but much, much too long, and so boring. As in the following volume (Cauldron) the whole issue of the story is the continuation or not of humanity's space program, but seen from the administrative side of the Force (which can be also scary, but which is not the funnier). At the end of this purge, a mission is decided to launch an Alien hunt. A very shy hunt (like a butterfly net hunt), which will be the subject of the second part, a little bit more alive than the first, with (finally) Science Fiction and Adventure, which changes the philosophical-political-media prospective of the first part.
The third part is passable, with finally a little action. But everything is slow, predictable, repetitive. The characters are in the line of McDevitt's books: they do not arouse enthusiasm, even if one must admit that they are rather consistent. Fortunately, there is a good idea (only one!) That saves the book.
But far too late to consider making any recommandation of this fifth Academy's book.
Unfortunately, the next one is not much better. My only advice would be to skip directly to Starhawk or even The Long Sunset, which is maybe the better book of the series.
June 7, 2018
This is the 5th of 6 Priscilla Hutchins novels and I think it is the best so far. Hutch is still working as an administrator in the Academy which is under attack as a result of heavy spending with not much to show for it. Orion Tours, an interstellar touring outfit, starts seeing Moonriders on various parts of the tour. Moonriders are basically UFOs. The Academy sends out a ship to see if there are such a thing as Moonriders. On the ship are MacCallister, a newspaper reporter who has been critical of the Academy; Valya a Greek lady pilot; Amy, the daughter of a Senator who is critical of the Academy and Eric who is the publicity director of the Academy who wants to see some action.
The Moonriders make their appearences during the investigation and start directing asteroids to destroy various planets and hotels. The Earth is now interested in the Moonriders and wants to refinance the Academy. This book has some twists and turns and has a very good ending.
Good read. Despite not being a big SF fan I really enjoyed it.
The Moonriders make their appearences during the investigation and start directing asteroids to destroy various planets and hotels. The Earth is now interested in the Moonriders and wants to refinance the Academy. This book has some twists and turns and has a very good ending.
Good read. Despite not being a big SF fan I really enjoyed it.
October 3, 2011
Jack McDevitt's ‘Odyssey’ ($24.95, Ace, 416 pages) is set in the same universe as the popular ‘Chindi’ and ‘Omega’, but it’s not nearly as successful. In fact, ‘Odyssey’ is basically a novella expanded well beyond its limits -- which is clearly revealed by the fact that it takes 188 pages to get the main characters to where they need to be (and we knew they’d be) to advance the plot.
And speaking of the characters, the love story between curmdugeonly writer Gregory MacAllister and the beautiful spaceship pilot Valentina Kouros is all but unbelievable -- and speaking of the plot, the incident that begins the book (a spaceship with an engine problem that baffles the experts) simply disappears from the book.
Finally, the big plot twist is completely telegraphed and thus the pages and pages McDevitt expends as the ‘mystery’ is explored are simply wasted words. Sadly, the same could be said for much of ‘Odyssey.’
And speaking of the characters, the love story between curmdugeonly writer Gregory MacAllister and the beautiful spaceship pilot Valentina Kouros is all but unbelievable -- and speaking of the plot, the incident that begins the book (a spaceship with an engine problem that baffles the experts) simply disappears from the book.
Finally, the big plot twist is completely telegraphed and thus the pages and pages McDevitt expends as the ‘mystery’ is explored are simply wasted words. Sadly, the same could be said for much of ‘Odyssey.’
July 31, 2017
It's nice to see in a long series that the books are not all the same. In a lot of ways this one was smaller, mostly on a human scale. And MacAllister came across as a real person in this one. Hutch too actually. And I wonder if this wasn't just me falling for the use of the 15 year old Amy as a foil. In the end this book was more caper book than alien technologies. But a good quick read that left me more interested in the next book then some of the previous ones did.
Read
January 21, 2023The Academy (Priscilla Hutchins) #5. I've read it but remeber nothing about it. Maybe I should reread it?? Or not: GR friends reviews are mixed.
April 9, 2018
Il più politico fin'ora della saga (me ne manca solo uno - ma due li ho letti in italiano e ho iniziato con il 6sto). A tratti un po' barboso, discorsivo, "stanco", ma che si conclude con una potente narrazione pura.
Story time: mi trovavo nella simpatica biblioteca di Malcesine (andate a visitarla, merita; magari non per i libri ma di sicuro per la location clamorosa). Uscendo c'era un banchetto con dei libri: "prendete pure".
Al che decidiamo di frugare e di raccogliere un volumetto da leggere prendendo il sole.
C'erano una manciata di Urania. Non leggo un Urania probabilmente dal 1993-94. Ma, curiosamente, su Urania e lo sbarco della fantascienza in Italia ci ho fatto pure la tesi.
Ma non frequentavo più in alcun modo questo tipo di letteratura. Anzi dirò di più. Per curiosità avevo recentemente provato a riprendere in mano un paio di Urania degli anni sessanta: sfogliato qualche pagina, morto di noia. Troppi spiegoni.
Forse potremmo, con l'occhio contemporaneo, giustificarli. Dovevano costruire un immaginario che al tempo non era ancora di pubblico dominio. Il primo dopoguerra era un'epoca che si affacciava con timido entusiasmo su di un futuro ancora tutto da scrivere. Gli scrittori minori - per i maestri il discorso è un po' diverso - sfornavano a ritmo industriale e si sentivano in dovere di pennellare in modo piuttosto didascalico ogni diavoleria tecnologica che immaginavano nel futuro. Oggi però questo stile espositivo è seriamente invecchiato.
Beh insomma, mi trovavo in questa calda biblioteca d'agosto, deserta, affacciata su un lago di abbacinante azzurrità. E mi capita fra le mani questo Urania recentissimo, che mi suona al tatto strano, lucido, elastico. Abituato come sono a ricordarmeli opachi e croccanti. "Cauldron", il volume sei della saga dell'Academy.
Un libro che ha solo dieci anni, e che quindi parte da presupposti pressoché a noi contemporanei. Mi piace.
Gli spiegoni sono limitati, non ci sono voli pindarici. La storia funziona al di là dell'ambientazione futuribile. E il futuro sembra il "nostro" futuro piuttosto che il futuro immaginario degli anni 60.
La cosa curiosa è che McDevitt è nato nel 35, quindi in realtà ha vissuto davvero il secondo dopoguerra e la corsa spaziale - reale e fantastica. Eppure ha una scrittura molto fresca.
Decido che voglio leggere anche i volumi precedenti. Oltre il sei solo il primo è tradotto in Italiano (1994 - sempre Urania). Con che logica, non ne ho idea.
Al che mi tocca, dal due in poi, iniziare a leggere in inglese. Cosa che non facevo da Dorian Gray in quarta superiore. E insomma scopro (o ri-scopro) una fantascienza a noi coeva, che non si arrampica troppo con la fantasia, che presenta un futuro anche credibile (se vogliamo accettare l'invenzione del volo nell'iperspazio e il ritrovamento di estinte civiltà aliene).
Arriviamo quindi a questo Odyssey. Dicevo un po' stanco. Forse perché nel 2006 Jack MvDevitt inizia ad avere le sue 7o berrette, un po' perché nella time-line della narrazione l'esplorazione spaziale ormai ha stancato l'opinione pubblica e i politici vogliono iniziare a limitare le spese inutili malviste dall'elettorato (nel frattempo, siamo nel 2200 e fischia, le calotte polari si sono sciolte, i mari invadono le coste, la casa bianca per dire è ormai un'isoletta trasformata in museo, la sovrappopolazione - il terzo mondo continua a rimanere terzo mondo - soffoca l'umanità).
Però accade che vengono viste delle pallette volanti non meglio identificate. I moonriders. E da lì scatta un'indagine per capire chi sono, cosa vogliono. Eccetera.
L'inghippo che ci sta dietro è forse un attimo citofonato, ma un finale pirotecnico forse non basterà a schiarirci le idee.
Story time: mi trovavo nella simpatica biblioteca di Malcesine (andate a visitarla, merita; magari non per i libri ma di sicuro per la location clamorosa). Uscendo c'era un banchetto con dei libri: "prendete pure".
Al che decidiamo di frugare e di raccogliere un volumetto da leggere prendendo il sole.
C'erano una manciata di Urania. Non leggo un Urania probabilmente dal 1993-94. Ma, curiosamente, su Urania e lo sbarco della fantascienza in Italia ci ho fatto pure la tesi.
Ma non frequentavo più in alcun modo questo tipo di letteratura. Anzi dirò di più. Per curiosità avevo recentemente provato a riprendere in mano un paio di Urania degli anni sessanta: sfogliato qualche pagina, morto di noia. Troppi spiegoni.
Forse potremmo, con l'occhio contemporaneo, giustificarli. Dovevano costruire un immaginario che al tempo non era ancora di pubblico dominio. Il primo dopoguerra era un'epoca che si affacciava con timido entusiasmo su di un futuro ancora tutto da scrivere. Gli scrittori minori - per i maestri il discorso è un po' diverso - sfornavano a ritmo industriale e si sentivano in dovere di pennellare in modo piuttosto didascalico ogni diavoleria tecnologica che immaginavano nel futuro. Oggi però questo stile espositivo è seriamente invecchiato.
Beh insomma, mi trovavo in questa calda biblioteca d'agosto, deserta, affacciata su un lago di abbacinante azzurrità. E mi capita fra le mani questo Urania recentissimo, che mi suona al tatto strano, lucido, elastico. Abituato come sono a ricordarmeli opachi e croccanti. "Cauldron", il volume sei della saga dell'Academy.
Un libro che ha solo dieci anni, e che quindi parte da presupposti pressoché a noi contemporanei. Mi piace.
Gli spiegoni sono limitati, non ci sono voli pindarici. La storia funziona al di là dell'ambientazione futuribile. E il futuro sembra il "nostro" futuro piuttosto che il futuro immaginario degli anni 60.
La cosa curiosa è che McDevitt è nato nel 35, quindi in realtà ha vissuto davvero il secondo dopoguerra e la corsa spaziale - reale e fantastica. Eppure ha una scrittura molto fresca.
Decido che voglio leggere anche i volumi precedenti. Oltre il sei solo il primo è tradotto in Italiano (1994 - sempre Urania). Con che logica, non ne ho idea.
Al che mi tocca, dal due in poi, iniziare a leggere in inglese. Cosa che non facevo da Dorian Gray in quarta superiore. E insomma scopro (o ri-scopro) una fantascienza a noi coeva, che non si arrampica troppo con la fantasia, che presenta un futuro anche credibile (se vogliamo accettare l'invenzione del volo nell'iperspazio e il ritrovamento di estinte civiltà aliene).
Arriviamo quindi a questo Odyssey. Dicevo un po' stanco. Forse perché nel 2006 Jack MvDevitt inizia ad avere le sue 7o berrette, un po' perché nella time-line della narrazione l'esplorazione spaziale ormai ha stancato l'opinione pubblica e i politici vogliono iniziare a limitare le spese inutili malviste dall'elettorato (nel frattempo, siamo nel 2200 e fischia, le calotte polari si sono sciolte, i mari invadono le coste, la casa bianca per dire è ormai un'isoletta trasformata in museo, la sovrappopolazione - il terzo mondo continua a rimanere terzo mondo - soffoca l'umanità).
Però accade che vengono viste delle pallette volanti non meglio identificate. I moonriders. E da lì scatta un'indagine per capire chi sono, cosa vogliono. Eccetera.
L'inghippo che ci sta dietro è forse un attimo citofonato, ma un finale pirotecnico forse non basterà a schiarirci le idee.
August 30, 2015
I think McDevitt's lost this series. I think he lost it when he moved the great character, Hutch, from space ship pilot to administrator. The books since then have been bland. She's been bland. It's been a huge disappointment. I miss her fire, her leadership, everything about her missions.
In the opening of Odyssey, an Academy ship jumps out of hyperspace with a blown engine thinking they're a zillion miles from earth. Ships are sent to search for them. Turns out they're in our own solar system. Been there the whole time. Terrible embarrassment for the Academy and Hutch. People are calling for defunding the Academy, maybe even shutting it down, and it's fighting for its very existence. Turns out the ship in question is an old, obsolete model that Hutch feels needs to be retired from the fleet, against her boss's wishes. She does so. And faces criticisms. The weird thing about this opening sequence, though, is we see no more of this ship, this crew, this line of ships, nothing. McDevitt drops it on us and then forgets about it.
Meanwhile Hutch meets a senator from Georgia who wants to yank the Academy's funding -- and his 15 year old daughter, who wants to become an Academy pilot when she grows up. She talks Hutch into letting her go out on a mission and she gets to. Additionally, we encounter cranky editor Gregory MacAllister again and the beautiful spaceship pilot Valentina Kouros on a TV show where they debate the space program. MacAllister, who respects and likes Hutch, still wants to shut everything down while Valentina wants to keep going to the stars. They like and dislike each other after that experience. MacAllister also encounters a North Carolina man who grew up in a religious fundie school that taught hellfire and damnation and was traumatized. He saw his old priest in a store and attacked him in front of witnesses and was arrested and charged with assault. Mac takes his side and hires a good lawyer to represent him. The book then spends an inordinate amount of time on this trial through the remainder of its pages and I can't figure out why. It adds nothing to the plot. It has nothing to do with anything. It's like McDevitt threw it in there just to show his disdain for religion. I have disdain for most religion myself, but it's a stupid gimmick from an author who should know better.
There have been sightings of "moonriders," UFOs, around the galaxy and people are curious about them. Hutch commissions a mission to go put out monitors where they've been spotted recently and Val will be the pilot. Going along with her will be Amy, the senator's daughter, Eric, the Academy PR chief, and Mac, of all people. It'll be a month long trip.
I know this might all sound like a lot, but it's not. Most of the first 200 pages are taken up with politics and funding and fighting and UFO sightings and it's honestly pretty damn boring. I was going to give it a two star review at that point, but thank God, McDevitt upped the ante after the first couple hundred pages and the book improved.
Mac and Val grow close on the trip. Could it be a romance? And if so, could it be remotely believable? Amy is precocious to the point of being annoying as hell. Eric sulks about his lack of importance. They set out their monitors. And they see moonriders. They see one land on a small asteroid, change its bearings, and send it toward a planet. Everyone on earth freaks out. Hutch has a plan, though, to defeat them, and they do. So far, so good. Meanwhile, Orion Tours, which relies on Academy bases for its tours throughout the system, is building a large hotel near a planet. Two moonriders show up there and all of a sudden, a planet sized asteroid is sent lunging toward the hotel. People freak out. However, there's enough time to evacuate the hotel, which is under construction, so all is not lost. But now, after talking about shutting the space program down, people and politicians on earth are talking about creating a navy with actual weapons (there are no weapons on earth in the future).
Valentina continues to take them around to place monitors while Hutch faces a lot of heat at home. They go to a floating museum, where Val leaves the other three to go help rescue the people at the hotel. One night Amy is awake and hears footsteps. She goes to the ship's bridge and sees a large version of Hutch, who tells her he wants her to get him the Origins Blueprints and to evacuate Origins. It's a moonrider. She freaks out. She tells the two men and they don't believe her. They think she dreamed it. She's furious. She tells Val when she gets back and she's more receptive, but doesn't know what to think. They get in touch with Hutch, who actually nearly takes Amy seriously, but doesn't know whether to believe her or not. Still, she takes action. Origins is a huge outer space project being built that is a super collider that will build black holes that can show us how the Big Bang created the universe. Hutch sends everyone she can find with ships to Origins to assist with evacuation. Val and Eric head over there themselves. The others had been dropped off at home a day earlier when their original trip was over.
Meanwhile, there's a big plot twist. Big. Unexpected. And Hutch is furious. Val and Eric make it to Origins, where they've been warned they might be in danger. They don't really believe it, especially after being told the circumstances. However, two moonriders appear in the sky several kilometers away and sit there waiting. Unfortunately, most of the ships coming to save the employees won't make it in time, so it's possible the moonriders blow the hell out of Origins. You'll have to read it yourself to find out. And Valentina does something totally unexpected at the very end. Another big plot twist.
The book ends with the religious man who assaulted the priest being found guilty. Why was this even in the book again? What did it have to do with anything? People all around are possibly facing criminal charges. Hutch resigns from the Academy. And that's it. Book Five was the weakest of the five Academy books I've read. Nothing huge takes place, like in the other books. Hutch is a disappointment. Mac, as the main protagonist, is okay, but he's not her. I hope the last and sixth book will be much better, but I doubt it will. The only way it could be would be if Hutch would get out in the stars again piloting a ship. I'm not sure that's going to happen. Guess I'll have to read it to find out. This book, although part of a series, can probably be read as a stand alone book. The first half is worth two stars, the second is worth four. Overall, three stars. Cautiously recommended.
In the opening of Odyssey, an Academy ship jumps out of hyperspace with a blown engine thinking they're a zillion miles from earth. Ships are sent to search for them. Turns out they're in our own solar system. Been there the whole time. Terrible embarrassment for the Academy and Hutch. People are calling for defunding the Academy, maybe even shutting it down, and it's fighting for its very existence. Turns out the ship in question is an old, obsolete model that Hutch feels needs to be retired from the fleet, against her boss's wishes. She does so. And faces criticisms. The weird thing about this opening sequence, though, is we see no more of this ship, this crew, this line of ships, nothing. McDevitt drops it on us and then forgets about it.
Meanwhile Hutch meets a senator from Georgia who wants to yank the Academy's funding -- and his 15 year old daughter, who wants to become an Academy pilot when she grows up. She talks Hutch into letting her go out on a mission and she gets to. Additionally, we encounter cranky editor Gregory MacAllister again and the beautiful spaceship pilot Valentina Kouros on a TV show where they debate the space program. MacAllister, who respects and likes Hutch, still wants to shut everything down while Valentina wants to keep going to the stars. They like and dislike each other after that experience. MacAllister also encounters a North Carolina man who grew up in a religious fundie school that taught hellfire and damnation and was traumatized. He saw his old priest in a store and attacked him in front of witnesses and was arrested and charged with assault. Mac takes his side and hires a good lawyer to represent him. The book then spends an inordinate amount of time on this trial through the remainder of its pages and I can't figure out why. It adds nothing to the plot. It has nothing to do with anything. It's like McDevitt threw it in there just to show his disdain for religion. I have disdain for most religion myself, but it's a stupid gimmick from an author who should know better.
There have been sightings of "moonriders," UFOs, around the galaxy and people are curious about them. Hutch commissions a mission to go put out monitors where they've been spotted recently and Val will be the pilot. Going along with her will be Amy, the senator's daughter, Eric, the Academy PR chief, and Mac, of all people. It'll be a month long trip.
I know this might all sound like a lot, but it's not. Most of the first 200 pages are taken up with politics and funding and fighting and UFO sightings and it's honestly pretty damn boring. I was going to give it a two star review at that point, but thank God, McDevitt upped the ante after the first couple hundred pages and the book improved.
Mac and Val grow close on the trip. Could it be a romance? And if so, could it be remotely believable? Amy is precocious to the point of being annoying as hell. Eric sulks about his lack of importance. They set out their monitors. And they see moonriders. They see one land on a small asteroid, change its bearings, and send it toward a planet. Everyone on earth freaks out. Hutch has a plan, though, to defeat them, and they do. So far, so good. Meanwhile, Orion Tours, which relies on Academy bases for its tours throughout the system, is building a large hotel near a planet. Two moonriders show up there and all of a sudden, a planet sized asteroid is sent lunging toward the hotel. People freak out. However, there's enough time to evacuate the hotel, which is under construction, so all is not lost. But now, after talking about shutting the space program down, people and politicians on earth are talking about creating a navy with actual weapons (there are no weapons on earth in the future).
Valentina continues to take them around to place monitors while Hutch faces a lot of heat at home. They go to a floating museum, where Val leaves the other three to go help rescue the people at the hotel. One night Amy is awake and hears footsteps. She goes to the ship's bridge and sees a large version of Hutch, who tells her he wants her to get him the Origins Blueprints and to evacuate Origins. It's a moonrider. She freaks out. She tells the two men and they don't believe her. They think she dreamed it. She's furious. She tells Val when she gets back and she's more receptive, but doesn't know what to think. They get in touch with Hutch, who actually nearly takes Amy seriously, but doesn't know whether to believe her or not. Still, she takes action. Origins is a huge outer space project being built that is a super collider that will build black holes that can show us how the Big Bang created the universe. Hutch sends everyone she can find with ships to Origins to assist with evacuation. Val and Eric head over there themselves. The others had been dropped off at home a day earlier when their original trip was over.
Meanwhile, there's a big plot twist. Big. Unexpected. And Hutch is furious. Val and Eric make it to Origins, where they've been warned they might be in danger. They don't really believe it, especially after being told the circumstances. However, two moonriders appear in the sky several kilometers away and sit there waiting. Unfortunately, most of the ships coming to save the employees won't make it in time, so it's possible the moonriders blow the hell out of Origins. You'll have to read it yourself to find out. And Valentina does something totally unexpected at the very end. Another big plot twist.
The book ends with the religious man who assaulted the priest being found guilty. Why was this even in the book again? What did it have to do with anything? People all around are possibly facing criminal charges. Hutch resigns from the Academy. And that's it. Book Five was the weakest of the five Academy books I've read. Nothing huge takes place, like in the other books. Hutch is a disappointment. Mac, as the main protagonist, is okay, but he's not her. I hope the last and sixth book will be much better, but I doubt it will. The only way it could be would be if Hutch would get out in the stars again piloting a ship. I'm not sure that's going to happen. Guess I'll have to read it to find out. This book, although part of a series, can probably be read as a stand alone book. The first half is worth two stars, the second is worth four. Overall, three stars. Cautiously recommended.
May 22, 2025
SPOILERS (kind of)
Liked this book quite a bit but I wish the cover wasn't the literal climax!
END SPOILERS
Jumping into the middle of this series may have been an odd choice but the book works great as a standalone. Jack McDevitt is clearly an adept world-builder as this hard-sci-fi world 200 years in the future feels perfectly plausible, even weirdly prescient in the way that it explores politics, opportunistic media personalities, weirdo deviant factions, and the enduring pioneering spirit of the human race. The pacing was broken up nicely by diary entries and topical newspaper headlines.
I was very impressed with the depth of the characters. I found myself simultaneously exasperated by and agreeing with some of Mac's hot takes throughout the story. He is an intelligent, incorrigible contrarian. But also a stubborn jackass who isn't as smart as he thinks he is. Very believable and his character growth feels well earned. The rest of the main cast were similarly realistic versions of idealists, pragmatists, opportunists, and frustrating bureaucrats.
In fact, I hadn't expected the the space exploration and exciting sci-fi action to be upstaged by the world building. This just came off as an extremely well thought out book and I can see why McDevitt has garnered comparisons to Clarke and Asimov (a compliment).
Liked this book quite a bit but I wish the cover wasn't the literal climax!
END SPOILERS
Jumping into the middle of this series may have been an odd choice but the book works great as a standalone. Jack McDevitt is clearly an adept world-builder as this hard-sci-fi world 200 years in the future feels perfectly plausible, even weirdly prescient in the way that it explores politics, opportunistic media personalities, weirdo deviant factions, and the enduring pioneering spirit of the human race. The pacing was broken up nicely by diary entries and topical newspaper headlines.
I was very impressed with the depth of the characters. I found myself simultaneously exasperated by and agreeing with some of Mac's hot takes throughout the story. He is an intelligent, incorrigible contrarian. But also a stubborn jackass who isn't as smart as he thinks he is. Very believable and his character growth feels well earned. The rest of the main cast were similarly realistic versions of idealists, pragmatists, opportunists, and frustrating bureaucrats.
In fact, I hadn't expected the the space exploration and exciting sci-fi action to be upstaged by the world building. This just came off as an extremely well thought out book and I can see why McDevitt has garnered comparisons to Clarke and Asimov (a compliment).
August 20, 2012
Initial Thoughts/Review: Interesting enough story. There are many point of view changes, and by the end, I'm not sure that even the author knows which character he is following (specifically referring to the last chapter). Deceptive cover, in implying what the book is about. A somewhat deeper (and yet oddly thin) look at Hutch's earth and Academy (and the system set up to explore space).
Story (bare bones): Finances are tight, cuts to the Academy funding, and maybe outright closing of the Academy is threatened ("more important things, like taking care of the rapidly deteriorating local environment (shrinking, disappearing ice caps, greenhouse . . .)"). Story begins with a ship "lost" between point A and B. Search undertaken. Turns out the ship type/model/line will need to be removed from operations. As mentioned, threats Academy will be closed, and operations already being slowed/stopped (by the need to take a ship class off-line/out of operation). Orion Tours, a private outer space company, presents the Academy with a proposal to bolster both the Academy's chances for survival (Orion Tours uses Academy bases (mostly, own some bases of their own)). "Moonriders" detected along the Orion Tours route. Mission to post monitors along the route to see if Moonriders activity can be watched. Moonriders being the term used in this time point for UFOs, unidentified flying objects.
Recommend: I would not as a book to enter McDevitt's universe, but it is an interesting enough book if you have low expectations.
Story (bare bones): Finances are tight, cuts to the Academy funding, and maybe outright closing of the Academy is threatened ("more important things, like taking care of the rapidly deteriorating local environment (shrinking, disappearing ice caps, greenhouse . . .)"). Story begins with a ship "lost" between point A and B. Search undertaken. Turns out the ship type/model/line will need to be removed from operations. As mentioned, threats Academy will be closed, and operations already being slowed/stopped (by the need to take a ship class off-line/out of operation). Orion Tours, a private outer space company, presents the Academy with a proposal to bolster both the Academy's chances for survival (Orion Tours uses Academy bases (mostly, own some bases of their own)). "Moonriders" detected along the Orion Tours route. Mission to post monitors along the route to see if Moonriders activity can be watched. Moonriders being the term used in this time point for UFOs, unidentified flying objects.
Recommend: I would not as a book to enter McDevitt's universe, but it is an interesting enough book if you have low expectations.
June 4, 2013
There's quite a lot to think about in this fifth Priscilla Hutchings/Academy novel; space and religion and society and politics... McDevitt presents the puzzles and leaves much of what he concludes ambiguous, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions. Hutch herself is still serving as an administrator for the unpleasant politician Asquith at the Academy, and is busy raising her daughter. The irascible Gregory McCallister returns, and goes on a voyage with a new pilot named Valentina, a press officer for the Academy named Eric who's never been to deep space, and a senator's daughter, Amy, a young girl who wants to be a pilot; naturally, her father is opposed to funding space exploration at all. There are quantum intrigues and political puzzles and complex problems, and though it all wraps up most satisfactorily the overall feeling is a bit darker and less enthusiastic than the previous volumes.
August 24, 2017
I am normally a big fan of McDevitt and am almost finished with another of his books, "Thunderbird", but this one feels like the author is starting up a campaign to run for office and is explaining his platform in and around a very popular character.
Not the kind of stuff one should expect from a Science Fiction story that is meant to lift us out of our normal every-day reality.
Sad, really, because the Priscilla Hutchins books are some of my favorite of his. And there is a lot of great moments with her, in this book, but they are really dragged down into the muck with a pretty blatant series of political posturings.
Not the kind of stuff one should expect from a Science Fiction story that is meant to lift us out of our normal every-day reality.
Sad, really, because the Priscilla Hutchins books are some of my favorite of his. And there is a lot of great moments with her, in this book, but they are really dragged down into the muck with a pretty blatant series of political posturings.
April 7, 2008
As another review mentioned, the short punctuated sentences were pretty annoying. There was one (possibly) self-referential part where MacAllister talks about how that type of writing is the best type of writing (or something).
Also, though it came out in previous books, and despite having Hutch as a lead, McDevitt comes across as misogynistic. This brought out further by the author's identification with the misogynist character MacAllister (see above, Mc/Mac).
Also, though it came out in previous books, and despite having Hutch as a lead, McDevitt comes across as misogynistic. This brought out further by the author's identification with the misogynist character MacAllister (see above, Mc/Mac).
August 9, 2013
This is one of my favorite Hard SF series but Omega (#4) and this book really pulled it down for me. There was nothing in Odyssey that I didn't see coming 100 pages ahead of time. I still think that Hutch is still one of the coolest female characters in SF but even her personality couldn't pull this one out of it's dive. I still plan to read the next installment Cauldron based on my love of the previous books.
January 6, 2018
Following in the footsteps of its predecessors, Odyssey gives you that cramped feeling of interstellar travel combined with the wide-eyed feeling of discovery. Even when things look bleak and at their worst, the feeling of uncovering a new frontier is still prescient, and remains a hallmark of McDevitt's Academy series.
July 4, 2020
I read a library copy. Seems like this series is starting to run on fumes.
May 25, 2024
You know those horribly unconvincing email forward stories about an arrogant atheist professor who gets humbled by a student, and it turns out the student was Einstein and everybody claps, and the professor is portrayed as an arrogant narrow-minded jerk, and it all feels like a kind of insulting hit-piece?
The protagonist of this story is basically that offensive stereotype of an atheist professor, except he's supposed to be the good guy. This character is presented as a total jerk, with opinions based on poorly informed stereotypes, who manipulates people for his own fame, rejoices in crushing people, and makes a lot of quips that feel very much like the type of thing a radical right-wing populist would think is clever. It felt like layers and layers of dramatic irony, showing us what a jerk this guy is and how ignorant he is, and I genuinely thought he was going to be the villain - I was concerned this might have been some kind of "religious right science fiction", that it was going to turn out in the end that he was wrong and that religious faith would save the day.
Instead, it turns out he's the hero. After humiliating a young woman in a public debate about the space program, he ends up sleeping with her, which is just kind of gross. He then, with basically zero effort, manages to uncover a conspiracy, and saves the world essentially by being an affluent white man with a blog.
Anyway, there's hints of a good story in there, and there's a bit of action with aliens, and an advancement of an ongoing plotline about humanity's expansion into other solar systems, but mostly it's a pretty dull affair of people having fairly unenlightening conversations about pretty mundane things, interspersed with attempts at progressive politics that, ironically, come across as very regressive and patriarchal.
The protagonist of this story is basically that offensive stereotype of an atheist professor, except he's supposed to be the good guy. This character is presented as a total jerk, with opinions based on poorly informed stereotypes, who manipulates people for his own fame, rejoices in crushing people, and makes a lot of quips that feel very much like the type of thing a radical right-wing populist would think is clever. It felt like layers and layers of dramatic irony, showing us what a jerk this guy is and how ignorant he is, and I genuinely thought he was going to be the villain - I was concerned this might have been some kind of "religious right science fiction", that it was going to turn out in the end that he was wrong and that religious faith would save the day.
Instead, it turns out he's the hero. After humiliating a young woman in a public debate about the space program, he ends up sleeping with her, which is just kind of gross. He then, with basically zero effort, manages to uncover a conspiracy, and saves the world essentially by being an affluent white man with a blog.
Anyway, there's hints of a good story in there, and there's a bit of action with aliens, and an advancement of an ongoing plotline about humanity's expansion into other solar systems, but mostly it's a pretty dull affair of people having fairly unenlightening conversations about pretty mundane things, interspersed with attempts at progressive politics that, ironically, come across as very regressive and patriarchal.
March 13, 2022
This book is awful. It felt like he hired an intern to write the first 150 pages on the condition that nothing happen in them, so it's endless boardroom meetings broken up by one night of babysitting. It slowly gets going after that, but is extremely disjointed with an ongoing subplot about the court battle involving some guy the punched a preacher in the face. Hutch's roll in the story has literally been reduced to sitting in board meetings and visiting execs in their offices. And there's some nonsense about global warming in there as well. So very disappointing after the amazing Engines of God, solid follow-ups in Deep Six and chindi, and a pretty decent Omega. This book was total crap. I wish I would have left it along after 4.
January 18, 2022
Odyssey is an OK book 5 of the Academy series where the series hero Hutch reacts to what is probably aliens flying around the galaxy in small black globes. The start drags on a bit but the pace picks up towards the end. In total it is just about good enough to read book 6 of the series, which at the time of writing seems to be the last one.
September 5, 2021
Hutch has a larger role than the previous book. This is a challenge, and Jack McDevitt handled it well, that she's an administrator in since 2 books ago and this is an action series. By necessity, someone else must pilot the ship and fly around being the center of the activities. This one, better than previous, had several characters that you will bond tightly with and shed few tears for.
The overall plot was good and really paved the way for the next few books. I am now eager to read further.
The overall plot was good and really paved the way for the next few books. I am now eager to read further.
May 14, 2018
I was hoping this series would pick back up after the lackluster "Omega". Nope. This one was even worse. I had already given up on being a fan of this series, now it's not even a guilty pleasure anymore. This book was just a waste of time.
The bad (tread carefully, I'm not going to bother with spoiler tags, the book isn't worth it):
* Nitpick: the first half of the book had a whole class of spaceship taken out of commission because there was a tiny chance of a problems developing with the engine. The second half had people die because not enough ships could get there to evacuate them in time. Gee, if only they had had some old ships laying around that were still considered safe to fly a couple of weeks ago...
* It is briefly mentioned the humans did a surprise counter attack with their anti gravity machines, which succeeded in destroying one of the moonriders. This is promptly never mentioned again and none of the survivors picked up on it. I was waiting for the debris of the slain moonrider to be found, but nope, that would have been interesting. Can't have that.
* Almost (?) every chapter seems to end with some kind of diary or library quote. Most of them just rehash what happened in the chapter from a slightly different point of view. How exciting.
* The MacAllister quotes at the start of every (?) chapter are... well, forgettable I guess, considering I don't remember them.
* The story was obviously ripped from the headlines. Remember how the LHC was going to destroy the world? Set it in space, add some enigmatic aliens bent on preventing the end of the universe, mix in a B-plot about corporate greed and there you have it, another McDevitt bestseller! AKA: proof that me and my money are way too easily parted...
* When it was mentioned twice that the end of the universe would propagate at the speed of light, I imagined the moonriders would turn out to be humans from the future, with the Hutch Amy saw being the actual future Hutch. But no, that would be interesting. And to prevent any lasting interest in the moonriders at all, the writer cleverly revealed absolutely nothing about them. Will they be back? Do we care? Nope.
* McDevitt showed his liberal colors throughout this series, but this book is especially bad. Apparently, 250 years from now the global warming hoax is still a thing. Worse, apparently in 250 years Christianity will turn into what cranky old liberals think it is now: do everything right or go to hell. Also, dancing is not allowed. Sounds like McDevitt got all his knowledge of Christianity from "Dirty Dancing".
* The whole hellfire subplot wasn't just bad, it was worse than that: boring. It had nothing to do with the plot, nothing with the future, it didn't really impact the characters, nothing in the world changed because of it and it was resolved in the blandest way possible, a light sentence. Yawn.
* I don't know if it's an official trope yet, but when the whole "advanced aliens contact a single human and give an important message" plotline started up I just groaned. That's all this book needed: a precocious 15 year old girl looking for someone to believe her. And of course the hero does.
The good:
* ... I finished reading it and now I never have to read it again. That's pretty good.
For me, the next book in the series I'll probably end up reading, because it appears to give some resolution to all the dangling mysteries. It'll probably be disappointing, but I need the closure. The seventh book is a prequel. Why would I want to read what a bland heroine did before she did anything interesting? The eighth book sounds like a rehash of Deepsix. With a black hole instead of a gas giant and finally some living technological aliens. But I'm already tired of the overarching idea in this series that humans just can't seem to find anybody to talk to out there. if the writer thinks that's a problem, why doesn't he just solve it instead of having his characters whine about it? It's his universe! I guess he does solve it in the eighth book, but it's too little and too late for me.
The bad (tread carefully, I'm not going to bother with spoiler tags, the book isn't worth it):
* Nitpick: the first half of the book had a whole class of spaceship taken out of commission because there was a tiny chance of a problems developing with the engine. The second half had people die because not enough ships could get there to evacuate them in time. Gee, if only they had had some old ships laying around that were still considered safe to fly a couple of weeks ago...
* It is briefly mentioned the humans did a surprise counter attack with their anti gravity machines, which succeeded in destroying one of the moonriders. This is promptly never mentioned again and none of the survivors picked up on it. I was waiting for the debris of the slain moonrider to be found, but nope, that would have been interesting. Can't have that.
* Almost (?) every chapter seems to end with some kind of diary or library quote. Most of them just rehash what happened in the chapter from a slightly different point of view. How exciting.
* The MacAllister quotes at the start of every (?) chapter are... well, forgettable I guess, considering I don't remember them.
* The story was obviously ripped from the headlines. Remember how the LHC was going to destroy the world? Set it in space, add some enigmatic aliens bent on preventing the end of the universe, mix in a B-plot about corporate greed and there you have it, another McDevitt bestseller! AKA: proof that me and my money are way too easily parted...
* When it was mentioned twice that the end of the universe would propagate at the speed of light, I imagined the moonriders would turn out to be humans from the future, with the Hutch Amy saw being the actual future Hutch. But no, that would be interesting. And to prevent any lasting interest in the moonriders at all, the writer cleverly revealed absolutely nothing about them. Will they be back? Do we care? Nope.
* McDevitt showed his liberal colors throughout this series, but this book is especially bad. Apparently, 250 years from now the global warming hoax is still a thing. Worse, apparently in 250 years Christianity will turn into what cranky old liberals think it is now: do everything right or go to hell. Also, dancing is not allowed. Sounds like McDevitt got all his knowledge of Christianity from "Dirty Dancing".
* The whole hellfire subplot wasn't just bad, it was worse than that: boring. It had nothing to do with the plot, nothing with the future, it didn't really impact the characters, nothing in the world changed because of it and it was resolved in the blandest way possible, a light sentence. Yawn.
* I don't know if it's an official trope yet, but when the whole "advanced aliens contact a single human and give an important message" plotline started up I just groaned. That's all this book needed: a precocious 15 year old girl looking for someone to believe her. And of course the hero does.
The good:
* ... I finished reading it and now I never have to read it again. That's pretty good.
For me, the next book in the series I'll probably end up reading, because it appears to give some resolution to all the dangling mysteries. It'll probably be disappointing, but I need the closure. The seventh book is a prequel. Why would I want to read what a bland heroine did before she did anything interesting? The eighth book sounds like a rehash of Deepsix. With a black hole instead of a gas giant and finally some living technological aliens. But I'm already tired of the overarching idea in this series that humans just can't seem to find anybody to talk to out there. if the writer thinks that's a problem, why doesn't he just solve it instead of having his characters whine about it? It's his universe! I guess he does solve it in the eighth book, but it's too little and too late for me.
December 6, 2015
Odyssey is another 2 Star addition to my new secular progressive female chauvinist environmentalist science fiction shelf. All the women are fantastic while almost all men are sh*ts. Even the one woman who is in on the corporate plotting is doing it for selfless reasons, and she becomes the most heroic figure in the book in the end. (I think McDevitt is trying to counter every Heinlein caricature of a woman, and simultaneously counter every heroic or admirable male character). This entry in the Academy series adds corrupt corporations and religious fundamentalists to the mix. The corrupt corporations are part of the story (although a pretty stupid plot device IMHO) while the anti-theological theme had no apparent role in the story-except to let the author give us his own views. Secular progressives are gonna luv this one:
Oklahoma bans all guns
Global warming has runaway – Antarctic ice about to slide off the continent and swamp the land
A religious figure is beaten by a former Sunday School student for preaching “hell” because it continues to cause mental stress (future Scopes trial)
All interstellar travel is on the verge of being Proxmired, just too many things to spend money on at home, don’t need all these wasteful superluminal starships
Public funding of all political campaigns has resulted in very competent and wise politicians
Evil, corrupt corporations will do anything to assure they continue to feed at the government trough
I can live with authors framing their story in line with their politics, as long as it supports the story. That doesn’t happen here. But my main problem with the book is the slooooowwww pace. It just takes forever to get to any action. This has been the arc of the Academy series. The first three books were great and the last two progressively more boring. I won’t be looking for the next book, Cauldron, anytime soon.
Perversely, I picked up A Talent for War just to see if this cultural slant appears there. I bought a shelf full of his books after being so impressed with Chindi. Might have made a mistake? We’ll see.
Oklahoma bans all guns
Global warming has runaway – Antarctic ice about to slide off the continent and swamp the land
A religious figure is beaten by a former Sunday School student for preaching “hell” because it continues to cause mental stress (future Scopes trial)
All interstellar travel is on the verge of being Proxmired, just too many things to spend money on at home, don’t need all these wasteful superluminal starships
Public funding of all political campaigns has resulted in very competent and wise politicians
Evil, corrupt corporations will do anything to assure they continue to feed at the government trough
I can live with authors framing their story in line with their politics, as long as it supports the story. That doesn’t happen here. But my main problem with the book is the slooooowwww pace. It just takes forever to get to any action. This has been the arc of the Academy series. The first three books were great and the last two progressively more boring. I won’t be looking for the next book, Cauldron, anytime soon.
Perversely, I picked up A Talent for War just to see if this cultural slant appears there. I bought a shelf full of his books after being so impressed with Chindi. Might have made a mistake? We’ll see.
March 17, 2019
Other reviewers have said it better, but this book is one of the weaker in the series. MacAllister is jus unlikeable as a protagonist and definitely as a romantic interest. He’s a bigot and misogynist and and more Lockhart than Lupin, and his growth arc doesn’t fix that. He’s not even fun to hate. He’s just that aging white dude who thinks too highly of himself and writes too much with no editor.
To make it worse, this book carries a big plot point in the meta story, and clumsily delivers it.
Hutch is great and this world is still interesting, but I’ve had far too much of Mac. Here’s hoping he stays away for a while.
To make it worse, this book carries a big plot point in the meta story, and clumsily delivers it.
Hutch is great and this world is still interesting, but I’ve had far too much of Mac. Here’s hoping he stays away for a while.
March 24, 2017
Hutch is still Director, but the character we read most about is the misogynistic MacAllister, a rather caustic journalist. There have been an increasing number of sightings of something called moonriders, orbs apparently run by an unknown alien. A ship is sent to place monitors in key spots to watch out for these to see what is out there. Its captain is Greek pilot Valentina Kouros (aka Valya), and her passengers are MacAllister, Academy publicist Eric and then a Amy, who aspires to be a pilot, the fifteen year old daughter of a senator who is not a fan of the Academy.
There are some problems with McDevitt's use of time. Apparently Hutch is now in her sixth year as director, but her daughter is only one year older than when she was appointed in the last book. The writing is not brilliant, and fans who have read all of this series often say that the first three books are better written, which may be, but it's still fun. McDevitt uses the all-too-predicable stance of anti-faith so common in scifi with some rather stereotyped religions based on certain types today, and one of the articles we seem to follow through this book, mainly in the headlines that show at the end of every chapter, is one where a former student of a hellfire and brimstone Christian school whacks a pastor from that school in a bookstore just out of the blue, so the case is going to court.
If I were grading this novel, it would get a C+, but overall it's an easy read, there are some likable characters, and things are not always what they seem to be.
There are some problems with McDevitt's use of time. Apparently Hutch is now in her sixth year as director, but her daughter is only one year older than when she was appointed in the last book. The writing is not brilliant, and fans who have read all of this series often say that the first three books are better written, which may be, but it's still fun. McDevitt uses the all-too-predicable stance of anti-faith so common in scifi with some rather stereotyped religions based on certain types today, and one of the articles we seem to follow through this book, mainly in the headlines that show at the end of every chapter, is one where a former student of a hellfire and brimstone Christian school whacks a pastor from that school in a bookstore just out of the blue, so the case is going to court.
If I were grading this novel, it would get a C+, but overall it's an easy read, there are some likable characters, and things are not always what they seem to be.
November 25, 2012
Quantum mechanics is a strange beast, a typically human construct whose utility is just that. Because of that some things get ignored, like the quantization of space/time and how some states come to be occupied other than by determinism that transcends the supposed stochastic inherency. Altruism and unintended consequences are two such: the first by its transcendence of the Copenhagen interpretation as a state that can only be collapsed by an actor rather than an observer; and both their admixture of stochasticity and determinicity. These states and their aspects are what this novel is all about. In many ways it is a classic of science fiction. The very nature of the story is science; its agency is humans and their perversions of organization and individuality. Superficially, it is a sadly slow adventure story and hence unrecommended to those who can or will not go deeper. But as a cumulative, an eigenweltan, it is warm and satisfying and irritating and demanding of thought and contemplation.
January 27, 2019
Another solid effort from McDevitt with the Academy facing it's biggest threat - funding cuts. There's also some business with 'UFO's' and a super collider. As is standard with McDevitt's work the book works well as a stand alone novel or can be read as part of the series which is great when local availability of books is unreliable at the best of times. The plot has some decent twists, there is character development and sacrifice. In short it is typical McDevitt fare, not too radical to put off readers, but not too conservative to bore readers with plot lines that have been done to death just good solid entertaining SF with enough originality to keep the reader coming back for more, what more can you ask for?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews