The Engines of God

Rating:
Summary: Kind of boring
Review: In the future mankind has discovered huge monuments on other planets but have no idea where they came from. The story is interesting but has a lot of boring parts to it. This book at least has a proper ending unlike some of the authors other work.

Rating:
Summary: Hard sci-fi that's easy
Review: The Engines of God was an easy read. It kept me interested, was well paced, and well written. I have enjoyed hard science fiction about as long as I have been able to read, but most of recent sci-fi is really fantasy... hobbits in space. I love Tolkien and I love Asimov, but I just don't enjoy mixing the two. I was very pleased to discover McDevitt; there was not one single word of fantasy, magic, or supernatural in this book.

This story combines science fiction and mystery. It is the story of archeologists of the future who study the ruins of ancient alien cultures instead of human ones. The archeological study reveals a mystery that spans the galaxy, and the reader is left guessing until the last few chapters.

This is a well-conceived and well-executed novel, and in a very special class because of its faithfulness to the hard sci-fi genre.

Rating:
Summary: Okay, but heavily flawed
Review: The Engines of God is an interesting book in many ways. Ancient monuments scattered through different star systems and mysterious, extinct alien races have a certain appeal for me, and they were indeed interestingly described. The Quruquat civilization (which may be misspelled, since I can't find my copy) is well done, and McDevitt does a good job of releasing the mystery slowly but surely. The writing style is simple and clear, and the book harkens back in some ways to the glory days of SF writers like Clarke and Asimov.

Yet, I can't wholeheartedly recommend it. The characters aren't particularly well drawn, and some of the things that happen to them don't make sense. For example, McDevitt kills one character off randomly, in a way that contributes nothing to the plot. Also, he falls into a common trap by depicting the future as being exactly like the present, only with faster computers and interstellar travel. His 23rd century comes off as a 2050 at the latest, and I would have guessed that it was a 2020.

Then there was the ending. The Engines of God is a hard SF novel's hard SF novel until the last few pages, when the solution to its central conundrum turns out to be wildly unrealistic and completely incomprehensible. The ending simply wasn't satisfying, and I can't say that the book is of much more than average quality.

Rating:
Summary: The glorious struggle for discovery
Review: Jack McDevitt has consolidated in the 1990's as one of the most attractive writers in the Science-Fiction field, and he has many virtues to justify it. In many ways, "The Engines of God" shows McDevitt at his best, blending the positive aspects of space opera with elements of 'hard' Science Fiction. Add to this the highly likeable and quite well developed characters and certainly a magnificent plot.

The story moves around a group of archeologists in a project trying to resolve the mystery behind some spectacular monuments left in different points of the universe by an unknown species.

McDevitt builds beautifully on the work and persistence of the archeologists and their love for acquiring knowledge. The glory of discovery is magnified thanks to a masterful unobtrusive prose that manages to enhance our sense of wonder.

Of course the answers that are found produce newer questions and many things are left hanging open to new explorations. Indeed, McDevitt has written more books more that at least involve Priscilla Hutchins, the pilot of the mission. The books are DeepSix (2001) and Chindi (2002). While they might not be strict sequels, they are related to "The Engines Of God". All of them make great reading, everything McDevitt has written up to date is worth and enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: Solid Science Fiction
Review: Engines of God is a fine effort by Jack McDevitt. In many ways it is everthing I enjoy about science fiction. This is an archaleogically based story set on another planet in humanity's future.

McDevitt writes a good story. His characterizations are well done and interesting even though a bit drawn out at times. Endlessly fascinating was a galaxy that contained only one other known sentient species and the ruins of other "mysterious" now-extinct ones. The discovery of the actual mystery of their extinction/demise was less interesting than the search the reasons behind it.

The description of space travel and the time lag between outposts and rescue as well as inter-organizational rivalries are really well done. Technology and science may advance, but human nature will probably stay the same and McDevitt recognizes that as his headlines from the "contemporary" news services show. I may give McDevitt's other novels a try after this.

Rating:
Summary: The Engines of God
Review: Action Packed, Jack can really write action fiction. Combine the immense scale this man can create with his words and tightly crafted characters in this book and you have a true masterpiece. Jack is writing a sequal to this particular novel (Bubonicon, 2001) and you get a chance to explore, "what next" from this ending. I love the historical approach this novel takes and the grand vistas it encompases. There is a central mystery and a hunt to unravel the mysytery leads the reader along the trail of aliens, now presumed extinct. I had real problems laying this book down. Jack McDevitt reminds me of Iain M Banks in scope, and Dan Simmons in Character developement. Make up your own mind about why this writer has been a Nebula finalist so many times. This book was superior to the Hugo winner the year of its publication.

Rating:
Summary: Psalms 103: 15-16
Review: I am a casual reader of SF books, and it is the preferred genre in which I read. I feel that Jack McDevitt had a great idea, but a little difficulty in expressing it. The plot is not entirely original, but the concept is universal in truth. One thing while reading this book: I kept thinking to myself, after I'm gone, what will I leave behind? Reading a book that only glances at that topic, it is nonetheless an engaging story, and read within two days of purchase.

Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking, intelligent fiction.
Review: In an age of predictable fiction (enough with the Noah's-Ark-we-have-to-live-on-this-ship-for-generations already!), Jack McDevitt proves that science fiction can still explore the future... and tell a pretty good yarn at the same time. In this novel, the Earth is dying, and habitable worlds are hard to find. The only evidence of a non-human race capable of space flight is odd monuments strewn across the galaxy, including a bizarre ice-statue left on one of the moons of Saturn. So we're not alone, but where the hell is everybody? The planet Quraqua had two advanced civilizations, but both literally vanished overnight. Interestingly, the Quraquans seemed to know exactly when this catastrophe would occur. And if it weren't for the fact that Quraqua is slated for planetary re-shaping (a minor inconvenience involving deliberate "snowballing", or lobbing ice asteroids at the planet's poles), humankind might have time to figure out what is going on. This novel is one surprise after the other, and the characters are perfectly human, driven by fascination, revenge, greed, and sheer stubbornness. And if you are interested in archaeology, or have ever dreamt about sifting through the ruins of an alien culture, this book is a must-have. Do yourself a favor. Throw out that latest hack-installment of "hero with a zap gun" and snap up "The Engines of God". Your brain will thank you for it.

Rating:
Summary: A great book...
Review: If you've never had the enjoyment of reading any of Jack McDevitt's books before, this might be a good one to start with. A science fiction mystery mixed with lost alien civilizations and characters who want to get to the bottom of the riddle as much as you do.

He leaves you wanting more at the end, like most of his books.

Rating:
Summary: Who thought that Archeologist were interesting
Review: It was hard to get interested in a novel where most of the players to the plot had been dead for thousands of years. Sci-fi should be based on doing something, not having boring characters discussing dead civilizations and non-happenings.

In addition, the living characters were dull and stupid and seemed to unaware that they were on other planets or that a dangerous situation could exist anywhere.

It would also be nice if Mr Devitt actually knew a little science to go with his fiction