Odyssey by Jack McDevitt - review

Odyssey

Jack mcDevitt

Ace hard cover 410 pages 24.95

Moonriders – black featureless globes, maneuvering in space without any sign of propulsion, have been reported from time to time. Showing up at construction sites, astronomical curiosities and the odd science outpost. Almost mythical in nature, thought to be not of intelligent origin, most believe they are the product of someones overactive imagination, harmless in any event.

To shore up waining support, the Academy, send out a research ship to “study” Moonriders. What starts as a harmless publicity stunt turns very real and very deadly as it is soon discovered that the Moonriders are indeed intelligent and far from harmless, the Moonriders prove to be aggressive to the point of destroying life. The warnings of a teenage girl, may be all that stand between humanity and the destruction of the universe.

Fans of Beam Me Up will know that I personally enjoy Jack McDevitt's writings. The show has used his short story Promises to Keep and we have reviewed Polaris in earlier shows. So how does Odyssey compare to the earlier offerings? Oh very well indeed!

Initially, Odyssey has a ship disappear much as it had in Polaris. At first this didn't bode well for me. However even though McDevitt uses this as a stage setter, he wisely steps well away from the Polaris and it's Flying Dutchman theme. No, this disappearance is merely used to set the stage and introduce us to the mysterious Moonriders. Black mysterious globes who move at will without motive power, non communicative, mysterious. Well I am not going to be a spoiler here, but needless to say, the mysterious ships are far more dangerous than anyone suspects.

Even at 400 plus pages, Odyssey is a VERY fast read. Like Polaris, McDevitt puts his foot into the plot throttle and never lets up. There are characters aplenty, but not enough to overwhelm and just enough to tell the story for enough angles to make it entertaining and interesting. Odyssey lacks the “mystery” of Polaris, however the twists and double dealings come aplenty the farther you get into the novel. Where Polaris was a closed door thriller, Odyssey is a roller coaster fun house ride mashup. Plot monsters jump out of the dark at you at ever turn. Other authors could take lessons from McDevitt on how to write intrigue and make it exciting instead of tedious.