2002: Chindi (McDevitt, Jack)

Annoying details contrast amazing discoveries (3/5)

While Part Three (Chindi) is much better than Part Two (Deepsix), Chindi is still stubbornly laden with flaws; most are inane but when taken collectively, they're very annoying. If you've read more than two Jack McDevitt novels before reading Chindi, you kind of know what to expect: his writing is based on Golden Age sci-fi with starpilots, searches for aliens, and discovery/catastrophe always abreast... but bloated to the point where it's painfully obvious when the author is trying to stuff material in the pages to meet his word count quota. Chindi is bloated indeed, but also holds the magical Golden Age sensation of discovery.

With the discovery of stealth satellites circling a neutron star, sending data off to other star systems. When a crew, piloted by Hutch, track the signal, they make earth-shattering discoveries while throwing caution to wind in order to become personally acquainted with their discoveries. I guess the crew never heard of the proverb "curiosity killed the cat" or the phrase "disasters come in threes". The crew just do not learn from their mistakes, that they are in alien territory, that behind every corner is something inhuman, that they have NO relation to anything they find. You may find yourself covering your eyes as the cast metaphorically attempt to stick their figure back into the electrical outlet.

Some have said that the first quarter of the book has a great pace, but I found it absolutely littered with superfluous details: names of suburbs and street names, show titles and song titles (with lyrics), names of lighting directors and show synopses, and finally the inclusion of specific food and drink orders of every meal (a blue giraffe and melted cheese). Add to this quotes (both real and fabricated) which precede each chapter and you begin to get the feel that words were being chucked in in order to stuff the pages to a bloated 511 pages. The quotes aren't as bad as the prosthelytizing of Gregory MacAllister in Deepsix, as if McDevitt write himself into the novel (and yes, he does make a guest appearance and has a few quotes).

Then there are the "suspend your belief" portions of the book. (1) Aliens inhabiting a moon in orbit between twin gas giants own armchairs, a pantry, have pictures on the wall, and even park their spaceship next to their house. (2) The ship AI Bill manages to snap a photo of a ship traveling at a quarter of light-speed, three hundred kilometers away, and still manage to capture a human figure on the surface of the rock. What kind of shutter speed is that? One-quintillionth of a second? (3) Hypothesizing that each alien species uses exactly the same technology that humans use. McDevitt is know for his xeno-archeology but when the exhuming begins, the characters always begin to make anthropomorphic assumptions.

For all the flaws McDevitt enjoys penning into this novel, the sense of discovery and wonder takes precedence. Stealth satellites observe budding civilizations and unique stellar formations, an starship houses passageways with thousands of rooms where scenes of alien moment occasions are displayed, and the secrets of early human FTL travel comes to light - these are the secrets which propel me to read the next book: Omega (which is mentioned at the end of Chindi).

2000: Deepsix (McDevitt, Jack)

Modern pulp akin to James Rollins (2/5)
From June 13, 2011

I'm only just begun to realize this, but Jack McDevitt is the James Rollins of science fiction. Let me explain: 1) James Rollins writes archeology adventure... Jack McDevitt writes archeology adventure in space. 2) James Rollins has textbook characters... Jack McDevitt has text book characters in space.

The first James Rollins book was Subterranean and I actually really liked it for its adventure. In parallel, my first Jack McDevitt book was Engines of God and I, too, really liked it for its adventure and newness. My second Rollins and McDevitt books were, respectively, Excavation and Polaris, which I both found to be just OK because even after ONE novel of each author, the writing styles were generic. I got around to my third Rollins novel, Deep Fathom, and chucked it into the garbage after completing it. Crap. While this McDevitt novel isn't quite that bad, it still feels like an aim at quantity rather than quality.

My dad likes Jack McDevitt. That should have been my first warning... he also likes James Rollins. Nevertheless, I still have rosy-tinted spectacles donned when I look at my second-hand McDevitt collection and I remember how great it was to delve into Engines of God. Where has the glamor gone?

McDevitt's stabs at characterization were pathetic; just terrible. He feels the need to mention everyone's height, how this person is one head shorter or this person well above six foot - I don't see how the reader's knowledge of the heights of the cast will reflect in any sort of empathy, especially as it plays NO part in the unfolding of the plot. Secondly, McDevitt gives passing characters names and jobs and a brief life history even though these characters have very little impact on the bigger scene. Lastly, it seems like every character has their current job because `the money is pretty good' (this is written more than three times).

As for his writing style, I can't say he earns any points there either. McDevitt's main science fiction competitors are from Britain, who lush prose and detail makes me agog with borderline reverence. Deepsix has paragraphs no longer than eight lines, usually comprised of two or three lines and splattered with liberal amounts of dialogue. There isn't a poetic narrator or a reflective first-person perspective. It much like an American best-seller- lots of dialogue to hold the waning attention of the reader. Another liberty McDevitt took advantage of was using the phrase, `thank God' to a annoyingly gregarious degree- more than a score of times, for sure.

Further, the very liberal-minded character Gregory MacAllister feels like McDevitt preaching his personal philosophies. It's all too glossy and well-refined to simply be a mere addition to the cast and to the introductions to all thirty-six chapters (a fictional quote titling each chapter). He's not a terrible character but I think McDevitt intentionally write himself into MacAllister's shoes.

And yet, I will read the next sequence, Chindi, with much reservation.