I just finished Chindi, the third book by Jack McDevitt in his series which features his universe of the future where humans have figured out how to travel to other worlds in the galaxy, but haven't yet been able to find more than one intelligent race, and that one is a warlike and backwards society.
The previous two books in the series dealt significantly with the archaeological aspects of this universe, and there definitely is a flavor of that in Chindi, but the focus of the story is new. A group of people known as the Contact Society have the resources to buy their own FTL ship, and they want to use it to find other intelligent races - to make contact. A recent discovery of a working transmission satellite around a neutron star is the first good lead humans have ever had which might point them to such a race of aliens.
It is merely the first of many bread crumbs the characters follow as they pursue their quest. Once again, McDevitt creates memorable, fully formed characters, and uses them to show us how humans would react to the mysteries and dangers of space. The science puzzles which with they are faced are interesting and satisfying, and the drama and grandeur of exploration are gripping.
Though this book can be read without reading the previous two, I do have the feeling that Engines of God and Deepsix are more character driven, and therefore are probably easier for a non-SF reader to enjoy. But if you've read those two and enjoyed them, I think you're in for another treat if you indulge in a third helping of Priscilla Hutchins.
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Though my first link takes you to Amazon.com, if you want to buy the book, it's almost certainly in any good bookstore. Or, of course, if you enjoy science fiction, join the Science Fiction Book Club.
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