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Alex Benedict #8
Octavia Gone
After being lost in space for eleven years, Gabe finally makes his triumphant return to reunite with Alex and Chase and retrieve a possibly alien artifact—which may lead them to solve the greatest archaeological mystery of their careers, in the eighth installment of the Alex Benedict series.
After his return from space, Gabe is trying to find a new life for himself after being presumed dead—just as Alex and Chase are trying to relearn how to live and work without him. But when a seemingly alien artifact goes missing from Gabe’s old collection, it grants the group a chance to dive into solving the mystery of its origins as a team, once again.
When a lead on the artifact is tied to a dead pilot’s sole unrecorded trip, another clue seems to lead to one of the greatest lingering mysteries of the age: the infamous disappearance of a team of scientists aboard a space station orbiting a black hole—the Amelia Earhart of their time. With any luck, Alex, Chase, and Gabe may be on the trail of the greatest archaeological discovery of their careers…
In Octavia Gone, Nebula Award winner McDevitt, who Stephen King has called “the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke,” has created another terrific science fiction mystery in his beloved Alex Benedict series.
After his return from space, Gabe is trying to find a new life for himself after being presumed dead—just as Alex and Chase are trying to relearn how to live and work without him. But when a seemingly alien artifact goes missing from Gabe’s old collection, it grants the group a chance to dive into solving the mystery of its origins as a team, once again.
When a lead on the artifact is tied to a dead pilot’s sole unrecorded trip, another clue seems to lead to one of the greatest lingering mysteries of the age: the infamous disappearance of a team of scientists aboard a space station orbiting a black hole—the Amelia Earhart of their time. With any luck, Alex, Chase, and Gabe may be on the trail of the greatest archaeological discovery of their careers…
In Octavia Gone, Nebula Award winner McDevitt, who Stephen King has called “the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke,” has created another terrific science fiction mystery in his beloved Alex Benedict series.
375 pages, Hardcover
First published May 7, 2019
187 people are currently reading
594 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews
June 10, 2019
Well that was one big pile of....bleh.
I've been trying, very valiantly I think, to give Jack the benefit of the doubt. Even the greatest baseball players hit foul balls on occasion or get into a no hitting streak. Thunderbird was pretty terrible but it was a stand alone sequel to a book that really didn't need one, everyone makes mistakes. The Priscilla Hutchin's series feel apart completely at the end and the decision to start telling stories from her early career as a pilot have me completely confused but for the most part I've always trust the Alex Benedict series.
Unfortunately with one of the biggest mysteries of the series solved almost all of the dramatic tension and driving force behind Alex's adventures is gone and replaced with a ho hum family tension plot device that does nothing to ramp up the excitement.
Alex has always been a character with a sort of dangerous devil may care attitude to his work. He's already been through the worst that can happen as an intergalactic archaeologist/tomb raider so what does he have to lose? Once you remove that element its just a dude driving around in a star ship with his gal Friday looking for stuff.
What McDevitt does so well is speculative science fiction. Its not enough to have a society that relies on AI's he wants to get into the nitty gritty of whether those AI's are really sentient creatures on their own who should have the ability to make their own autonomous decisions. He creates a society with the time and means to explore every single mystery of space they can think of but then he wants to talk about how much all the answers to those questions really mean. Its great stuff.
Unfortunately he's been asking and kind of answering those same two questions for years now and its getting a little boring. Especially when the answers are "yeah I guess so!" and "because its cool to look into all that stuff."
I'm just not sure I care anymore about one more bizarrely lost space ship from three thousand years ago or another strange artifact of unknown origins when I know already that the answers will be exactly the same ones they've always been.
Alex and Chase have always kind of been defined by their adventures together. McDevitt has never been huge on descriptions or deep internal monologues but it hasn't really mattered because who they both are is kind of explained through how they handle the obstacles they tackle. In this book they're just kind of half heartedly looking into something that other people kind of maybe don't want them looking into and Chase is having a half hearted liason with some guy who's name I can't be bothered to remember.
Its all starting to feel very, very, very tired. I really can't recommend this one and that honestly kind of breaks my heart.
I've been trying, very valiantly I think, to give Jack the benefit of the doubt. Even the greatest baseball players hit foul balls on occasion or get into a no hitting streak. Thunderbird was pretty terrible but it was a stand alone sequel to a book that really didn't need one, everyone makes mistakes. The Priscilla Hutchin's series feel apart completely at the end and the decision to start telling stories from her early career as a pilot have me completely confused but for the most part I've always trust the Alex Benedict series.
Unfortunately with one of the biggest mysteries of the series solved almost all of the dramatic tension and driving force behind Alex's adventures is gone and replaced with a ho hum family tension plot device that does nothing to ramp up the excitement.
Alex has always been a character with a sort of dangerous devil may care attitude to his work. He's already been through the worst that can happen as an intergalactic archaeologist/tomb raider so what does he have to lose? Once you remove that element its just a dude driving around in a star ship with his gal Friday looking for stuff.
What McDevitt does so well is speculative science fiction. Its not enough to have a society that relies on AI's he wants to get into the nitty gritty of whether those AI's are really sentient creatures on their own who should have the ability to make their own autonomous decisions. He creates a society with the time and means to explore every single mystery of space they can think of but then he wants to talk about how much all the answers to those questions really mean. Its great stuff.
Unfortunately he's been asking and kind of answering those same two questions for years now and its getting a little boring. Especially when the answers are "yeah I guess so!" and "because its cool to look into all that stuff."
I'm just not sure I care anymore about one more bizarrely lost space ship from three thousand years ago or another strange artifact of unknown origins when I know already that the answers will be exactly the same ones they've always been.
Alex and Chase have always kind of been defined by their adventures together. McDevitt has never been huge on descriptions or deep internal monologues but it hasn't really mattered because who they both are is kind of explained through how they handle the obstacles they tackle. In this book they're just kind of half heartedly looking into something that other people kind of maybe don't want them looking into and Chase is having a half hearted liason with some guy who's name I can't be bothered to remember.
Its all starting to feel very, very, very tired. I really can't recommend this one and that honestly kind of breaks my heart.
May 21, 2019
McDevitt and Allen Steele have been my two favorite science fiction writers for the last several years, and this latest Alex Benedict novel is another strong entry in the series. He writes in the style of sf's Golden Age, except without any elements of bigotry or prejudice. He throws out many little neat plot elements that go unresolved, encouraging the reader to ponder them and work out the proper conclusions for themselves. In this one, Gabe Benedict has returned, upsetting the social dynamic that Alex and Chase have established, while pondering another deep space mystery and encountering a Dyson sphere and a society of artificial intelligences and all manner of other gosh-wow-sense-of-wonder neat scientific things. I especially liked the theme in this one that once something is known it can't be hidden from, the reverse of the idea in Thunderbird that distressed me. (I still think these books should be known as the Chase Kolpath series since there's no doubt in my mind who his main character is (though Hutch wouldn't agree)... but that's neither here nor there.) Anyway, a new McDevitt novel is always something to celebrate, and I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
July 29, 2020
Well, there go some hours of my life that I'll never get back.
Why can't we give no stars?
I quite liked the first Alex B book. This one was dreadful.
After a few books, I realized what a useless cipher and a jerk Alex is, but since he's barely present in this one, I'll let it go. Chase is OK.
We start with an explanation of black holes for a ten-year-old who has never read SF.
It doesn't get better.
It's something like year 9000+ C.E. We have hyperdrive and skimmers and AIs, but otherwise it's Robert Heinlein's 1959. It's past page 150 before we meet a character whose name suggests a non-WASP background. People have yachts and play tennis and bridge. The only non-tech thing that suggests time has passed is that a couple of new cocktails have been invented.
Except Heinlein didn't introduce 30 peripheral characters in the first 100 pages, and that's not counting the many offstage characters who are cited.
If {count <30} do
{ask someone if they know anything};
{if count is even, have them say no and steer you to another new character};
{if count is odd, have the AI cite privacy concerns};
add 1 to count;
end;
A McGuffin is discovered. Many pages later McDevitt realizes he has to explain it.
We are given a flimsy, ridiculous explanation which also tells us that the McGuffin is about as useful as a chocolate kettle.
Our heroes land somewhere, are attacked by The Little Shop of Horrors, and escape. I have no idea why that was necessary unless it was to keep the author awake.
Finally, McDevitt must have grown tired of spinning it out. I know I got tired of reading it.
Our heroes intercept a radio message, leap to a wildly implausible conclusion/explanation that does a very poor job of accounting for the known data, then report back so that everyone goes "awww, that's so noble and so sad," and we're done. No followup. No murder charges, no concern for the victims.
No explanation of why skinflint Alex was refusing money for things. Even his disagreement with Gabe doesn't explain it.
You can try to give McDevitt credit for exploring the "are AIs citizens?" except that so many authors have already done it better.
File under "slow-paced cozy murder mystery in space," and never think of it again.
Why can't we give no stars?
I quite liked the first Alex B book. This one was dreadful.
After a few books, I realized what a useless cipher and a jerk Alex is, but since he's barely present in this one, I'll let it go. Chase is OK.
We start with an explanation of black holes for a ten-year-old who has never read SF.
It doesn't get better.
It's something like year 9000+ C.E. We have hyperdrive and skimmers and AIs, but otherwise it's Robert Heinlein's 1959. It's past page 150 before we meet a character whose name suggests a non-WASP background. People have yachts and play tennis and bridge. The only non-tech thing that suggests time has passed is that a couple of new cocktails have been invented.
Except Heinlein didn't introduce 30 peripheral characters in the first 100 pages, and that's not counting the many offstage characters who are cited.
If {count <30} do
{ask someone if they know anything};
{if count is even, have them say no and steer you to another new character};
{if count is odd, have the AI cite privacy concerns};
add 1 to count;
end;
A McGuffin is discovered. Many pages later McDevitt realizes he has to explain it.
We are given a flimsy, ridiculous explanation which also tells us that the McGuffin is about as useful as a chocolate kettle.
Our heroes land somewhere, are attacked by The Little Shop of Horrors, and escape. I have no idea why that was necessary unless it was to keep the author awake.
Finally, McDevitt must have grown tired of spinning it out. I know I got tired of reading it.
Our heroes intercept a radio message, leap to a wildly implausible conclusion/explanation that does a very poor job of accounting for the known data, then report back so that everyone goes "awww, that's so noble and so sad," and we're done. No followup. No murder charges, no concern for the victims.
No explanation of why skinflint Alex was refusing money for things. Even his disagreement with Gabe doesn't explain it.
You can try to give McDevitt credit for exploring the "are AIs citizens?" except that so many authors have already done it better.
File under "slow-paced cozy murder mystery in space," and never think of it again.
October 25, 2024
I don't get to read many SF like this anymore. It just doesn't get published as far as I can see.
What kind of SF?
A richly imagined future populated by archeology-driven crews, devoted to exploration, knowledge, and uncovering sometimes slow mysteries.
In this particularly fine book, it's about exploring every nook and cranny to discover what happened to the Octavia space station.
Let me just point out something particularly special about these books: practically all the characters are level-headed.
Let me repeat that.
Practically all the characters are level-headed.
That's not to say that those who are investigated are level-headed, or that the alien societies are. Heck, this novel continues the conversation about AIs in a particularly fine way, too. But let me just point out, once again, that this, or these, are quite comforting reads. As in, it helps me restore a bit of faith in humanity.
I think we should all be a bit thankful for that.
Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to DM requests. I think it's about time I get some eyes on them.
What kind of SF?
A richly imagined future populated by archeology-driven crews, devoted to exploration, knowledge, and uncovering sometimes slow mysteries.
In this particularly fine book, it's about exploring every nook and cranny to discover what happened to the Octavia space station.
Let me just point out something particularly special about these books: practically all the characters are level-headed.
Let me repeat that.
Practically all the characters are level-headed.
That's not to say that those who are investigated are level-headed, or that the alien societies are. Heck, this novel continues the conversation about AIs in a particularly fine way, too. But let me just point out, once again, that this, or these, are quite comforting reads. As in, it helps me restore a bit of faith in humanity.
I think we should all be a bit thankful for that.
Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to DM requests. I think it's about time I get some eyes on them.
May 6, 2019
Found the book on an early release at a national chain... well, found it might be wrong, since I’ve been eagerly awaiting its release. It was almost the highpoint of my week until I found a near mint hard copy first edition of A Talent for War - the first book in the Alex Benedict series - at a local thrift store.
So yes, this was my Alex Benedict weekend.
Another excellent entry in this series. Mr. McDevitt has carved out a niche for himself - archeological sci-fi adventure mysteries - and his writing is superb.
The addition of the Gabe character took a little getting used to. It will be interesting to see where that goes in the next book in the series (and please, let there be another book), but it added a dimension to the story.
Highly recommended, either to fans of the series, or to those entering into the Alex Benedict universe. Only four stars because this book, and all of them after the first, don’t meet the outstanding sense of wonder of A Talent for War. Damn close, but it’s always the first that gets the magic...
So yes, this was my Alex Benedict weekend.
Another excellent entry in this series. Mr. McDevitt has carved out a niche for himself - archeological sci-fi adventure mysteries - and his writing is superb.
The addition of the Gabe character took a little getting used to. It will be interesting to see where that goes in the next book in the series (and please, let there be another book), but it added a dimension to the story.
Highly recommended, either to fans of the series, or to those entering into the Alex Benedict universe. Only four stars because this book, and all of them after the first, don’t meet the outstanding sense of wonder of A Talent for War. Damn close, but it’s always the first that gets the magic...
May 19, 2019
This book is a fun story if you don’t remember anything that has happened in this universe in previous books ... otherwise it is just incredibly frustrating because it’s full of continuity mistakes that are both needless and glaringly obvious.
Some examples (and unfortunately a small list):
- a character who died in “A Talent for War” as the main human traitor/villain and had no small role in that book is suddenly alive and well at a dinner party
- another character from “A Talent for War” is entirely misidentified in his historical role, without need and for no plot reasons
- the way Gabe reunites with Alex and Chase is different in this book than it was in “Coming Home”, even though that is within 40 pages (spanning both books) of each other
- everyone sure seems to have complete amnesia as to the events of “Firebird”, characters as well as author
- if I ever build a network of experts, I hope they’re still around half a year later
- man, Survey not only changed it’s name (DPSAR), but also the director job seems cursed!
... I could go on, but *frustrated growl*.
The story itself is both interesting and sometimes needlessly clunky, but with a surprising twist at the end.
But the continuity editing is, frankly, appalling. Sorry, Mr McDevitt, but that’s a botched job, that is.
Some examples (and unfortunately a small list):
- a character who died in “A Talent for War” as the main human traitor/villain and had no small role in that book is suddenly alive and well at a dinner party
- another character from “A Talent for War” is entirely misidentified in his historical role, without need and for no plot reasons
- the way Gabe reunites with Alex and Chase is different in this book than it was in “Coming Home”, even though that is within 40 pages (spanning both books) of each other
- everyone sure seems to have complete amnesia as to the events of “Firebird”, characters as well as author
- if I ever build a network of experts, I hope they’re still around half a year later
- man, Survey not only changed it’s name (DPSAR), but also the director job seems cursed!
... I could go on, but *frustrated growl*.
The story itself is both interesting and sometimes needlessly clunky, but with a surprising twist at the end.
But the continuity editing is, frankly, appalling. Sorry, Mr McDevitt, but that’s a botched job, that is.
May 14, 2019
I can't really give any Alex Benedict book less than 5 stars at this point.
March 2, 2020
The fact that I am still reading this series eight books in says a lot about how much I like McDevitt's work. That said, it is the eight book and it's starting to feel a little tired. I've commented on hints of formula in previous installments but those books were still pretty exciting. This one feels more...leisurely. Some elements seem recycled from previous novels. Downtime is filled with an unnecessary romantic subplot, and somewhat unnecessary family conflict. As always, the central mystery is interesting. Although I did hope for more Chase & Alex stories, I feel that Coming Home would have been a good one to end with.
September 29, 2019
3.5 stars. A decent but fairly slow-moving and not terribly compelling read. Not McDevitt's best. A kind of whodunnit/what happened story, with a slow build but a satisfying ending.
May 16, 2019
Another pleasant enough episode in the ongoing adventures of Alex Benedict and his pilot/assistant Chase Kolpath (who narrates all but the first novel). Alex spends a fair amount of time offscreen in this one, as Chase winds up piloting his uncle Gabe Benedict (who was, previously, rescued after 11 years/3 weeks in a spacetime anomaly) around nearly as much as Alex.
This installment has two Mcguffins. The first is the disappearance of space station Octavia, about eleven years ago. Octavia had been making major breakthroughs in the study of wormholes around a black hole, when transmissions suddenly stopped. Rescue teams found no sign of the station, its four-person crew, or its shuttle.
The second Mcguffin is a possibly-alien artifact that had been in the possession of one of the Octavia's crew. It had been on Benedict's shelves for study when the crewperson' s heir claimed it; it disappeared afterwards, possibly into the trash.
Naturally, the two puzzles intersect, and their joint solution is reasonably satisfying - but creates a new problem; how to explain the loss of the Octavia without betraying confidences and without causing further pain to the bereaved. I'm not so sure that the solution here is satisfactory, but that's the nature of human problems, I suppose.
My problem with the book is in the second word of this review. It's _pleasant_. Our heroes are never in any personal, professional, or any other sort of danger, and fit into this novel like an old glove. Nobody really grows - well, there's a romantic subplot, but nobody grows as a result of the main story. I have been known to say of Agatha Christie that she wrote excellent puzzles but forgot to wrap them in an actual novel. I fear that this is the case, too, with McDevitt's last few books. He's too good a writer to go on cruise like this; I hope his next book is more challenging both to him and to his readership, i.e., me.
This installment has two Mcguffins. The first is the disappearance of space station Octavia, about eleven years ago. Octavia had been making major breakthroughs in the study of wormholes around a black hole, when transmissions suddenly stopped. Rescue teams found no sign of the station, its four-person crew, or its shuttle.
The second Mcguffin is a possibly-alien artifact that had been in the possession of one of the Octavia's crew. It had been on Benedict's shelves for study when the crewperson' s heir claimed it; it disappeared afterwards, possibly into the trash.
Naturally, the two puzzles intersect, and their joint solution is reasonably satisfying - but creates a new problem; how to explain the loss of the Octavia without betraying confidences and without causing further pain to the bereaved. I'm not so sure that the solution here is satisfactory, but that's the nature of human problems, I suppose.
My problem with the book is in the second word of this review. It's _pleasant_. Our heroes are never in any personal, professional, or any other sort of danger, and fit into this novel like an old glove. Nobody really grows - well, there's a romantic subplot, but nobody grows as a result of the main story. I have been known to say of Agatha Christie that she wrote excellent puzzles but forgot to wrap them in an actual novel. I fear that this is the case, too, with McDevitt's last few books. He's too good a writer to go on cruise like this; I hope his next book is more challenging both to him and to his readership, i.e., me.
June 5, 2019
This is the eighth book in the Alex Benedict series by Jack McDevitt. When I read any book by Jack McDevitt I can only describe it as a smooth read. By that I mean I will be reading along and notice that hours have passed and I have read half the book in one sitting.
In this one Alex's uncle Gabe is settling down after having been missing on a lost interstellar space ship for thirteen years. At the same time Alex and his pilot Chase become involved in the mystery of the space station Octavia, which was in orbit around a black hole and suddenly disappeared almost thirteen years before. Many theories have been put forth over the years about the disappearance from sabotage to alien abduction. Alex is determined to solve the mystery and give the families of the missing crew some closure. What Alex, Chase and Gabe will find will shock them and everyone involved. This is another great read in this series and I recommend it.
In this one Alex's uncle Gabe is settling down after having been missing on a lost interstellar space ship for thirteen years. At the same time Alex and his pilot Chase become involved in the mystery of the space station Octavia, which was in orbit around a black hole and suddenly disappeared almost thirteen years before. Many theories have been put forth over the years about the disappearance from sabotage to alien abduction. Alex is determined to solve the mystery and give the families of the missing crew some closure. What Alex, Chase and Gabe will find will shock them and everyone involved. This is another great read in this series and I recommend it.
June 16, 2023
Another fine book from McDevitt!
Great storytelling with believable characters that I've come to know through the series. This book gives us an interstellar mystery with thought-provoking social overtones. Thanks for another good read, Jack!
Great storytelling with believable characters that I've come to know through the series. This book gives us an interstellar mystery with thought-provoking social overtones. Thanks for another good read, Jack!
April 5, 2020
2.5 stars.
I normally really enjoy these books, but this was a rambling, boring mess of a plot.
With an unhappy ending to boot.
I normally really enjoy these books, but this was a rambling, boring mess of a plot.
With an unhappy ending to boot.
June 1, 2021
Octavia Gone is the 8th and latest novel in Jack McDevitt’s Alex Benedict series, that started in 1989. Born in 1935, McDevitt is still writing, but has not released any new work since this one in 2019, so we don’t really know when will be the last novel. Steven King has called him “the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke,” but that does not seem right to me. In this series, he writes of a far future humanity that has stagnated technologically for thousands of years, seemingly frozen in a late twentieth-century upper middle class American culture – where, for example, breaking news is released in the form of TV talk show interviews. These are more like “cozy” mysteries in a superficially science fictional setting, certainly not what Asimov or Clarke were known for.
This story is told in first person by pilot Chase Kolpath, framed in the form of one of her memoirs. Chase is the recurring lead of the series, even though it is named for her boss, antiquities dealer Alex Benedict. Alex’s Uncle Gabe, who is also Chase’s former employer, returned from a spaceliner trapped in stasis for over a decade in the ending of the prior book in the series, Coming Home. As a result, for the first time, Chase has to deal with the conflicting desires of her two bosses, as they work out the new relationship between themselves. Unfortunately, in spite of stated differences in business objectives, they actually seem very similar, and I needed to make a conscious effort to remember which was which.
In this story, the mystery being investigated by Chase and Alex is the disappearance of the four scientists and their scientific station Octavia 12 years ago. In parallel, Chase and Gabe are investigating another aspect of the same mystery - one of those scientists appears to have made a separate discovery that he kept concealed, prior to Octavia. Needless to say, the mysteries combine. McDevitt's conception of aliens, artificial intelligences, and scientific principles is pretty simplistic, but it is an entertaining mystery adventure. I can recommend this novel only to devotees of the series. The best novel of the entire series is probably the first, A Talent for War, and that is what I would recommend to those curious and unfamiliar.
This story is told in first person by pilot Chase Kolpath, framed in the form of one of her memoirs. Chase is the recurring lead of the series, even though it is named for her boss, antiquities dealer Alex Benedict. Alex’s Uncle Gabe, who is also Chase’s former employer, returned from a spaceliner trapped in stasis for over a decade in the ending of the prior book in the series, Coming Home. As a result, for the first time, Chase has to deal with the conflicting desires of her two bosses, as they work out the new relationship between themselves. Unfortunately, in spite of stated differences in business objectives, they actually seem very similar, and I needed to make a conscious effort to remember which was which.
In this story, the mystery being investigated by Chase and Alex is the disappearance of the four scientists and their scientific station Octavia 12 years ago. In parallel, Chase and Gabe are investigating another aspect of the same mystery - one of those scientists appears to have made a separate discovery that he kept concealed, prior to Octavia. Needless to say, the mysteries combine. McDevitt's conception of aliens, artificial intelligences, and scientific principles is pretty simplistic, but it is an entertaining mystery adventure. I can recommend this novel only to devotees of the series. The best novel of the entire series is probably the first, A Talent for War, and that is what I would recommend to those curious and unfamiliar.
September 1, 2019
Not the most exciting of the Alex Benedict novels. The mystery wasn't much of a mystery this time. In fact, you pretty much know what it is, only the names get half-heartedly filled in at the end. And some of it reads like a transcript of a Zork session: There was a door. We opened the door. Alex went through the door ... That sort of thing.
June 12, 2019
A black hole, an orbiting station with scientists searching for wormholes... what could go wrong? But the station goes missing during the one day out of three months that the station’s communications are blocked, suggesting foul play. Was it the rejected ex-lover of one scientist? Can they blame it on aliens? One main character searches for answers to this 12 year old mystery while others are on the trail of a possible alien artifact left behind by one of the scientists spaghettified by the black hole.
June 6, 2019
Always thought provoking read
I'm not one to write spoilers in reviews so the most I will say is that the book offer up a central mystery that keeps you turning the pages. I'm a big fan of this series, it is fun and exciting.
I'm not one to write spoilers in reviews so the most I will say is that the book offer up a central mystery that keeps you turning the pages. I'm a big fan of this series, it is fun and exciting.
October 2, 2019
Octavia Gone is the 8th book in Jack McDevitt’s Alex Benedict series. The series is set in the far future when humanity has faster-than-light travel and has colonized multiple planets in different star systems. Benedict is an antiquities salesman who explores, finds and sells ancient artifacts. The conceit of this idea is that while these items depict the ancient past they are still describing a timeline well in the future of the reader. The stories in these books are told from the perspective of Chase Kolpath, Benedict’s longtime assistant who is also a trained interstellar pilot. Alex and Chase have gone on many different adventures in previous books, and these often involve making unusual discoveries and solving mysteries.
In Octavia Gone the central puzzle involves the mysterious disappearance of a scientific ship called Octavia with 4 people who were investigating a black hole that happened more than a decade before. The reason why it is important now is because Alex’s uncle Gabe has returned after being trapped in the limbo of hyperspace for about a decade as well. He remembers that he had an artifact belonging to one of the members of the Octavia crew who later disappeared. As Chase and Gabe try to track down the artifact, Alex is trying to solve the mystery around the disappearance of Octavia. Eventually the two puzzles converge in rather surprising (and somewhat dissatisfying) ways.
In general, I like the Alex Benedict series. It is a truly brilliant premise (following the adventures of a future archaeologist) but in this entry I started noticing some of the inconsistencies in the world in which Alex, Chase and Gabe live which pulled me out of the story at times. For example, if humanity is living in a post-scarcity era why is Alex so driven to make money on the sale of rare historical artifacts? The treatment of artificially intelligent machines—who tend to control space ships and residences— is finally being addressed head on after being mentioned in several prior books. The centering of the equivalent of late night and early morning television hosts as key opinion makers in society seems wildly anachronistic.
Regardless, I am glad I read the latest Alex Benedict book and will read the next one. After 8 entries there is a comfort and pleasure that comes along with the familiarity of these characters and setting.
May 15, 2019
Always liked Jack McDevitt's adventures with Alex Benedict and his girl Friday Chase as they explored the universe in search of solving mysteries of the galaxies.
In this story we have a missing space station, gone the last 12 years, as it orbited a black hole. Originally this was a science mission, but much in the way of speculation happened here.
Alex's uncle Gabe, found after 7 years in a time warp (Yikes) searchs for an alien artifact left by one of the now gone space station above, the Octavia. What's the connection?
Unlike Chindi, Echo, Devils' Eye, the story and plot are interesting but so slow, it's like Jack is writing and so much exposition, not a lot of story, only at the end we get a quick yet somewhat unsatisfactory ending.
Recommended for Alex and Chase fans, but don't expect gripping action or suspense.
In this story we have a missing space station, gone the last 12 years, as it orbited a black hole. Originally this was a science mission, but much in the way of speculation happened here.
Alex's uncle Gabe, found after 7 years in a time warp (Yikes) searchs for an alien artifact left by one of the now gone space station above, the Octavia. What's the connection?
Unlike Chindi, Echo, Devils' Eye, the story and plot are interesting but so slow, it's like Jack is writing and so much exposition, not a lot of story, only at the end we get a quick yet somewhat unsatisfactory ending.
Recommended for Alex and Chase fans, but don't expect gripping action or suspense.
July 20, 2022
What a pleasant surprise, I finished the Alex Benedict series years ago and quite enjoyed it, but only recently did I discover that DeWitt had written a follow up novel.
With Benedict’s uncle Gabe returned after 11 years in a time warp, we suddenly have two masters of the house and company where Chase, our real protagonist, works as a pilot.
Both Alex and Gabe becomes involved in an old mystery, which conclusion makes you wonder if all secrets are worth pursuing.
These novels are written in a charming old fashioned way without becoming pastiche, perfect for summer reading.
With Benedict’s uncle Gabe returned after 11 years in a time warp, we suddenly have two masters of the house and company where Chase, our real protagonist, works as a pilot.
Both Alex and Gabe becomes involved in an old mystery, which conclusion makes you wonder if all secrets are worth pursuing.
These novels are written in a charming old fashioned way without becoming pastiche, perfect for summer reading.
May 3, 2020
Clarification: 3.5 stars
This was the first Alex Benedict novel I've read, so I'm not up to date on everything that has happened in the past with these characters. Fortunately, this novel is not the kind where you need to have read the previous ones in the series to understand what is going on. Other than a few mysteries, I was able to pick up right from the start and dive in.
When I first began reading I found I needed to make a mental adjustment as the characters, despite being roughly 12,000 years in the future, somehow still have contemporary names, seem to use keyboards, watch television (HV) and more or less act and sound like people do today. Eventually I just had to accept this as a given in this world and go with it. However, when the main characters visit another alien world no one has discovered before, strangely, those aliens ALSO drive cars, live in apartments, watch television and eat dinner on plates. I guess what I'm saying is it didn't feel alien at all, despite the world never having been touched by humanity before. If you're reading these novels, I suppose that's just something you have to accept.
I enjoyed the main characters, though they did feel emotionless at times. Especially Gabe and Alex in how they related to each other. Because we were in Chase's POV, it was better with her, but at the same time she always maintained a very professional and detached demeanor.
I'm not sure if I'd read any of the other books in this series. While the story was interesting and the world-building (in the context of everything being very today-like) was good, I never really connected with anyone enough to continue to follow them on their adventures. But it was an interesting distraction for a while.
This was the first Alex Benedict novel I've read, so I'm not up to date on everything that has happened in the past with these characters. Fortunately, this novel is not the kind where you need to have read the previous ones in the series to understand what is going on. Other than a few mysteries, I was able to pick up right from the start and dive in.
When I first began reading I found I needed to make a mental adjustment as the characters, despite being roughly 12,000 years in the future, somehow still have contemporary names, seem to use keyboards, watch television (HV) and more or less act and sound like people do today. Eventually I just had to accept this as a given in this world and go with it. However, when the main characters visit another alien world no one has discovered before, strangely, those aliens ALSO drive cars, live in apartments, watch television and eat dinner on plates. I guess what I'm saying is it didn't feel alien at all, despite the world never having been touched by humanity before. If you're reading these novels, I suppose that's just something you have to accept.
I enjoyed the main characters, though they did feel emotionless at times. Especially Gabe and Alex in how they related to each other. Because we were in Chase's POV, it was better with her, but at the same time she always maintained a very professional and detached demeanor.
I'm not sure if I'd read any of the other books in this series. While the story was interesting and the world-building (in the context of everything being very today-like) was good, I never really connected with anyone enough to continue to follow them on their adventures. But it was an interesting distraction for a while.
July 22, 2019
Another entry into the Alex Benedict series. Obviously well established by now, the 'Holmes and Watson' relationship between Benedict and Chase Kolpak, his pilot and general assistant, with the pair solving archeological mysteries in the far future. The dynamic is a little different with this one since in the last book they rescued his Uncle Gabe from a time anomoly, so there is plot going on between all three. To be fair Kolpak has much more agency than Dr Watson, too, so there's that.
I'm also not sure that a mystery that eleven years old is all that archaological either, but it is a mystery in the manner of all the previous books.
Even given those changes there is a hint of formula going on, and you're not going to be buying these to watch character development, nevertheless the book can't really be faulted in terms of maintaining interest, whilst the pace appears to be leisurely there is an awful lot going on, and the mystery is satisfying. Mind you, I might struggle a bit with the motivation behind it, but I'm willing to believe that people do weird stuff when they're stuck in isolation orbiting a black hole.
I'm also not sure that a mystery that eleven years old is all that archaological either, but it is a mystery in the manner of all the previous books.
Even given those changes there is a hint of formula going on, and you're not going to be buying these to watch character development, nevertheless the book can't really be faulted in terms of maintaining interest, whilst the pace appears to be leisurely there is an awful lot going on, and the mystery is satisfying. Mind you, I might struggle a bit with the motivation behind it, but I'm willing to believe that people do weird stuff when they're stuck in isolation orbiting a black hole.
December 22, 2021
Notes:
If I had gone into the series thinking that it's a memoir, I may have enjoyed it more because a memoir does not necessarily mean epic adventures or exciting mysteries. The downside is that the writing doesn't come across as a memoir or present 100% in Chase's POV.
The last book of the series was good. There were great moments within the pages. I'd rate them as 4 stars. As an overall book, it was a bit bland. A lot of things happened, but the overall tone was damped by the transitions. I enjoyed the continuation of the thought experiments about what it means to be alive, the states of humanity, the drive to answer unknown questions and the like. It was a nice, gradual dénouement to the series.
PS: Thanks to the crew at the FBR Myster Club for buddy reading the series! =D
If I had gone into the series thinking that it's a memoir, I may have enjoyed it more because a memoir does not necessarily mean epic adventures or exciting mysteries. The downside is that the writing doesn't come across as a memoir or present 100% in Chase's POV.
The last book of the series was good. There were great moments within the pages. I'd rate them as 4 stars. As an overall book, it was a bit bland. A lot of things happened, but the overall tone was damped by the transitions. I enjoyed the continuation of the thought experiments about what it means to be alive, the states of humanity, the drive to answer unknown questions and the like. It was a nice, gradual dénouement to the series.
PS: Thanks to the crew at the FBR Myster Club for buddy reading the series! =D
July 11, 2019
Reading Jack McDevitt, for me, is like a Skinner Box. This one just didn't make the cut. The interesting part of the story didn't emerge until 3/4 of the way through the book and then was just rather unsatisfying in the wrap up.
September 28, 2023
Really good! To say more might give spoilers.
May 20, 2019
A very good new book in the Alex Benedict series.
Set 10,000 years in the future, Benedict is a dealer in the antiquities of ancient civilizations.
One of the very intriguing aspects of McDevitt's books is that he assumes that people will be people whether it is tomorrow or 250 years (as in the Priscilla Hutchins books) or 10,000 years in the future. Their lives will resemble ours, and not get totally weird as many would presume.
Set 10,000 years in the future, Benedict is a dealer in the antiquities of ancient civilizations.
One of the very intriguing aspects of McDevitt's books is that he assumes that people will be people whether it is tomorrow or 250 years (as in the Priscilla Hutchins books) or 10,000 years in the future. Their lives will resemble ours, and not get totally weird as many would presume.
September 19, 2020
3.5/5
https://delivreenlivres.home.blog/202...
Comme d’habitude avec la série, qui fait parti de mes favorites dans le genre, j’ai bien aimé ce tome. Il était peut être un peu moins « trépidant » que certains précédents mais il a offert une bonne enquête qui changeait un peu.
Pour rappel du contexte général, dans cette série qui se déroule environ 9 millénaires après notre ère, nous suivons Alex Benedict est un chasseur de trésor, un archéologue du futur. Une fois qu’il a un indice sur un mystère du passé, il ne le lâche pas et il fera tout pour découvrir le secret caché derrière.
Dans ce tome la situation initiale des 8 tomes précédents a bien changé. Avant Alex et son asistante, Chase, qui est la narratrice de l’ensemble, était seul au volant de son entreprise. Mais les choses ont évolué dans le tome précédent.
Le retour de Gabe change totalement la dynamique. Il est à l’opposé d’Alex, plutôt du genre à vouloir récupérer les artefacts gratuitement pour les donner à des musées. Alex lui fait tourner une entreprise, donc il a besoin de fonds et ne fera jamais rien à perte sinon il ne pourrait pas payer ses employés.
Mais du coup il y a pas mal de tensions entre les deux hommes qui sont forcés d’habiter et de travailler dans la même maison.
Quand Gabe est revenu il s’attendait presque à retrouver ses affaires comme ils les avaient laissé. Mais en 11 ans c’est impossible, surtout qu’il avait été déclaré mort. Histoire de ne pas perdre contact avec ce qu’était sa vie à l’époque, il décide de se lancer dans le dernier mystère qu’il avait en cours à l’époque de sa disparition : un artefact que lui avait confié la sœur d’une des 4 victimes de la station Octavia, station qui avait disparu des écrans radars quelques mois avant sa propre disparition. Malheureusement celle ci l’a récupéré il y a des années et l’a finalement jeté car elle n’avait aucune idée de ce que c’était ni de quoi en faire.
Gabe est extrêmement frustré de ne pas avoir eu l’occasion de pouvoir examiner l’artefact.
Du coup avec Alex et Chase ils se lancent dans la double enquête : savoir d’ou cette personne avait pu récupérer l’artefact et la disparition d’Octavia (tant qu’on y est, autant faire les deux).
Bien entendu les deux enquête n’ont rien à voir l’une avec l’autre.
Au niveau du rythme je rapprocherais ça avec certains romans policiers. C’est à dire qu’on a des hauts et des bas tout du long. Des fois on a un indice et on a l’impression que tout est relancé, mais il n’aboutit à rien et la tension retombe totalement à plat le temps de continuer à fouiller le moindre petit détail. Mais la ou dans les tomes précédents je trouvais que l’auteur arrivait à maintenir mon attention sans souci, ici j’avoue que j’ai trouvé le temps parfois long.
Néanmoins je trouve le thème de ce tome très intéressant : le fait que tout les secrets ne sont pas fait pour être découverts. Et d’être diffusés au grand public, même quand il s’agit d’une investigation très populaire dans la presse. Des fois la vérité fera autrement plus de mal et de dégâts pour plein de mondes qui n’ont rien demandé que le fait de rester dans l’ignorance.
Déjà dans le précédent le résultat de l’enquête était un peu doux-amère, mais ici est pire.
J’ai beaucoup apprécié la fin, et j’espèce que l’auteur continuera à nous sortir régulièrement des tomes, vu que je suis arrivé à la fin de ceux sortis !
https://delivreenlivres.home.blog/202...
Comme d’habitude avec la série, qui fait parti de mes favorites dans le genre, j’ai bien aimé ce tome. Il était peut être un peu moins « trépidant » que certains précédents mais il a offert une bonne enquête qui changeait un peu.
Pour rappel du contexte général, dans cette série qui se déroule environ 9 millénaires après notre ère, nous suivons Alex Benedict est un chasseur de trésor, un archéologue du futur. Une fois qu’il a un indice sur un mystère du passé, il ne le lâche pas et il fera tout pour découvrir le secret caché derrière.
Dans ce tome la situation initiale des 8 tomes précédents a bien changé. Avant Alex et son asistante, Chase, qui est la narratrice de l’ensemble, était seul au volant de son entreprise. Mais les choses ont évolué dans le tome précédent.
Le retour de Gabe change totalement la dynamique. Il est à l’opposé d’Alex, plutôt du genre à vouloir récupérer les artefacts gratuitement pour les donner à des musées. Alex lui fait tourner une entreprise, donc il a besoin de fonds et ne fera jamais rien à perte sinon il ne pourrait pas payer ses employés.
Mais du coup il y a pas mal de tensions entre les deux hommes qui sont forcés d’habiter et de travailler dans la même maison.
Quand Gabe est revenu il s’attendait presque à retrouver ses affaires comme ils les avaient laissé. Mais en 11 ans c’est impossible, surtout qu’il avait été déclaré mort. Histoire de ne pas perdre contact avec ce qu’était sa vie à l’époque, il décide de se lancer dans le dernier mystère qu’il avait en cours à l’époque de sa disparition : un artefact que lui avait confié la sœur d’une des 4 victimes de la station Octavia, station qui avait disparu des écrans radars quelques mois avant sa propre disparition. Malheureusement celle ci l’a récupéré il y a des années et l’a finalement jeté car elle n’avait aucune idée de ce que c’était ni de quoi en faire.
Gabe est extrêmement frustré de ne pas avoir eu l’occasion de pouvoir examiner l’artefact.
Du coup avec Alex et Chase ils se lancent dans la double enquête : savoir d’ou cette personne avait pu récupérer l’artefact et la disparition d’Octavia (tant qu’on y est, autant faire les deux).
Bien entendu les deux enquête n’ont rien à voir l’une avec l’autre.
Au niveau du rythme je rapprocherais ça avec certains romans policiers. C’est à dire qu’on a des hauts et des bas tout du long. Des fois on a un indice et on a l’impression que tout est relancé, mais il n’aboutit à rien et la tension retombe totalement à plat le temps de continuer à fouiller le moindre petit détail. Mais la ou dans les tomes précédents je trouvais que l’auteur arrivait à maintenir mon attention sans souci, ici j’avoue que j’ai trouvé le temps parfois long.
Néanmoins je trouve le thème de ce tome très intéressant : le fait que tout les secrets ne sont pas fait pour être découverts. Et d’être diffusés au grand public, même quand il s’agit d’une investigation très populaire dans la presse. Des fois la vérité fera autrement plus de mal et de dégâts pour plein de mondes qui n’ont rien demandé que le fait de rester dans l’ignorance.
Déjà dans le précédent le résultat de l’enquête était un peu doux-amère, mais ici est pire.
J’ai beaucoup apprécié la fin, et j’espèce que l’auteur continuera à nous sortir régulièrement des tomes, vu que je suis arrivé à la fin de ceux sortis !
August 23, 2025
I gave this book an extra star because I am a fan of this series. It goes pretty much like the other Alex Benedict novels, so if you didn't like those (the first one was different) then you won't like this one either.
The story: A space station orbiting a black hole goes missing. No trace is left. It went missing a few weeks before Gabe went missing as well. 11 years later, Gabe is back and the old tensions between Gabe and Alex crop up. Gabe wants to know where a certain artifact he left in a closet went. After all, from Gabe's perspective, he has been gone only 3 weeks, not 11 years. The search for the artifact leads to one of the people who had been on that missing space station. Were aliens involved? Was murder?
OK. You know how one of these mysteries goes. It is actually a memoir of Chase Kolpath, Alex Benedict's assistant. Alex is generally pushing everything forward, but Chase does most of the work. Gabe is now part of the team, sort of. He loves discovery, but hates that Alex is in it for the money. Actually, Alex is rather generous and kind to families when it comes to finding artifacts, but he does have to keep the operation going. He does ask a high price from collectors not directly involved with any living family members with a connection to the object. Sometimes he helps out museums.
Any problems? Yes. The missing space station is somewhat reminiscent of the author's novel "Polaris" where an entire crew went missing without a trace. There were also ideas that seem to come from "Infinity Beach". Then there is the rehashing of... Maybe I'm complaining too much. I really did like the book.
Any modesty issues? Not that I recall. I am reviewing the audiobook, so I can't actually bookmark any questionable passages to review again.
Regarding the audiobook narration, it was reasonable except that I didn't like the flat voices given to the artificial intelligences. I think that any technology advanced enough to produce an artificial intelligence that can handle my day-to-day appointments could also produce an AI with a realistic human voice. Siri sounds better than Alex's house AI.
Despite my whining, I'd read this book again. I enjoyed it.
The story: A space station orbiting a black hole goes missing. No trace is left. It went missing a few weeks before Gabe went missing as well. 11 years later, Gabe is back and the old tensions between Gabe and Alex crop up. Gabe wants to know where a certain artifact he left in a closet went. After all, from Gabe's perspective, he has been gone only 3 weeks, not 11 years. The search for the artifact leads to one of the people who had been on that missing space station. Were aliens involved? Was murder?
OK. You know how one of these mysteries goes. It is actually a memoir of Chase Kolpath, Alex Benedict's assistant. Alex is generally pushing everything forward, but Chase does most of the work. Gabe is now part of the team, sort of. He loves discovery, but hates that Alex is in it for the money. Actually, Alex is rather generous and kind to families when it comes to finding artifacts, but he does have to keep the operation going. He does ask a high price from collectors not directly involved with any living family members with a connection to the object. Sometimes he helps out museums.
Any problems? Yes. The missing space station is somewhat reminiscent of the author's novel "Polaris" where an entire crew went missing without a trace. There were also ideas that seem to come from "Infinity Beach". Then there is the rehashing of... Maybe I'm complaining too much. I really did like the book.
Any modesty issues? Not that I recall. I am reviewing the audiobook, so I can't actually bookmark any questionable passages to review again.
Regarding the audiobook narration, it was reasonable except that I didn't like the flat voices given to the artificial intelligences. I think that any technology advanced enough to produce an artificial intelligence that can handle my day-to-day appointments could also produce an AI with a realistic human voice. Siri sounds better than Alex's house AI.
Despite my whining, I'd read this book again. I enjoyed it.
June 16, 2022
3 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
Artifact handler Alex Benedict's archaeologist uncle Gabe is back from a time warp, and they now share pilot Chase Kolpath's services as they look for clues to the disappearance of a black hole research station.
Review
I’m nothing if not tenacious with regard to authors whose work I like. At the same time, I’ve been saying for a while (half the series) that the Alex Benedict series is pretty much played out, and this 8th book puts the definitive cap on that. I’ve no idea whether McDevitt intends more of these books, but I don’t plan on reading them.
As has become usual, the book is a slow-paced affair in which Chase and Alex (and now Alex’s returned uncle, Gabe) pursue leads that mostly lead nowhere, talk to the media, and Chase has a half-hearted romance with someone. None of it, frankly, is very intriguing. Even one event that should be a blockbuster gets downplayed. The ending is annoying, because they all agree that there’s only one way to resolve the final dilemma, and that’s very clearly not true. In fact, they choose one of the worst possible options.
The science, unusually for McDevitt, but on target for this series, is no more than some vague handwaving and a number of unlikely settings (with FTL, the galaxy is full of Goldilocks planets, apparently). Archaeology gets even less attention, with uncle Gabe acting more like Schliemann or even Indiana Jones than a serious researcher.
I’ve suggested before that McDevitt was losing interest in the whole series. I think that’s true, but if it isn’t, I certainly have. There may be more to extract from the setting and characters, but McDevitt shows no signs of doing so. This is only for the true completionist. Casual readers should stick with the first 3-4 books of the series and go no further.
Summary
Artifact handler Alex Benedict's archaeologist uncle Gabe is back from a time warp, and they now share pilot Chase Kolpath's services as they look for clues to the disappearance of a black hole research station.
Review
I’m nothing if not tenacious with regard to authors whose work I like. At the same time, I’ve been saying for a while (half the series) that the Alex Benedict series is pretty much played out, and this 8th book puts the definitive cap on that. I’ve no idea whether McDevitt intends more of these books, but I don’t plan on reading them.
As has become usual, the book is a slow-paced affair in which Chase and Alex (and now Alex’s returned uncle, Gabe) pursue leads that mostly lead nowhere, talk to the media, and Chase has a half-hearted romance with someone. None of it, frankly, is very intriguing. Even one event that should be a blockbuster gets downplayed. The ending is annoying, because they all agree that there’s only one way to resolve the final dilemma, and that’s very clearly not true. In fact, they choose one of the worst possible options.
The science, unusually for McDevitt, but on target for this series, is no more than some vague handwaving and a number of unlikely settings (with FTL, the galaxy is full of Goldilocks planets, apparently). Archaeology gets even less attention, with uncle Gabe acting more like Schliemann or even Indiana Jones than a serious researcher.
I’ve suggested before that McDevitt was losing interest in the whole series. I think that’s true, but if it isn’t, I certainly have. There may be more to extract from the setting and characters, but McDevitt shows no signs of doing so. This is only for the true completionist. Casual readers should stick with the first 3-4 books of the series and go no further.
November 19, 2019
I think this is the last I'll read. The previous few have been mediocre, and this is worse. It's set around a mystery of a missing science team who were investigating a large black hole. The author claims they're out of line of site from communications for hours every orbit. I immediately thought that a space faring civilization would know how to put a satellite in synchronous orbit over the pole or lagging the station to provide constant cover. A bit later, the team come across a planet and one asks if there are any satellites in synchronous orbit. For McDevitt to think about that in one place but not the other is completely incompetent.
Then there's the other planet mentioned. The middle of the book is taken up by Chase and Gabe going to that planet. First, Gabe's just annoying. He doesn't add to the novel, he detracts. Second, the monster planet on the way is just cartoonish. Third, the main planet involves a former civilization that had a global government, built a Dyson Sphere, yet still had a war that destroyed its people. Too big a stretch of logic.
Then there's the epilogue, where a major change happens to human cultures across planets in only five years after the supposed tale. Seems awfully quick.
Nothing holds together and too much is annoying.
Then there's the other planet mentioned. The middle of the book is taken up by Chase and Gabe going to that planet. First, Gabe's just annoying. He doesn't add to the novel, he detracts. Second, the monster planet on the way is just cartoonish. Third, the main planet involves a former civilization that had a global government, built a Dyson Sphere, yet still had a war that destroyed its people. Too big a stretch of logic.
Then there's the epilogue, where a major change happens to human cultures across planets in only five years after the supposed tale. Seems awfully quick.
Nothing holds together and too much is annoying.
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