Review: Seeker

Seeker

Jack McDevitt

Antiquities dealer Alex Benedict returns, accompanied by his associate, pilot and narrator of this tale, Chase Kolpath. Acquiring ancient artifacts provides their income, but clearly the major motivation for Alex is solving the mysteries associated with them.

What starts as a fairly mundane attempt to judge the authenticity and value of a simple cup, turns into a hunt for 9,000-year old history. The hunt takes Chase to many worlds, and even into alien territory, where she must cope with traveling among the Mutes, a race of telepaths, and the only other sentient species humankind has encountered in the galaxy.

I will not spoil this book by giving away what the heroes seek, what they find, or how they figure it out. I will say, however, that this is clearly the best of the three "Alex Benedict" novels I've read so far. Yes, McDevitt adds danger and intrigue, and those are fun. But the real draw of the book is the "history" he's created, the manner in which Chase deals with her obstacles (and to a lesser extent how Alex deals with his), and the cool science that is used to figure things out.

Seeker is the ninth Jack McDevitt book I've read, and I have not been disappointed by a single one. Of those very engaging science fiction tales, this ranks as one of the top three, I think.

Well done.

Bring on the next one!

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I got my copy from the Science Fiction Book Club, but the link behind the picture above is to Amazon.com. Why? Because the SFBC makes a person log in to view the book, and I'll bet most of my readers are not members. If you like science fiction (or fantasy or horror) you really should try them: www.sfbc.com

P.S. I'm on vacation today, but I wanted to write the review while the book is fresh in my mind. So, I've either made up for a day I missed in the past, or I am making up for a day I will miss in the future, or I'm giving my readers a bonus. Whatever the case may be, I hope you enjoyed the review.