Rating: 
Summary: A Bold and Brawny Sci-Fi Masterpiece!
Review: Truly excellent. Achieves a sense of realness I've rarely encountered in SF, especially in a book so far reaching in scope and alien encounter. Numerous scenes of awe are strongly backed by good storytelling and a pure and determined intelligence which heightens the gritty sense of "here and now." READ THIS GREAT BOOK!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This novel starts off with some intellectual promise, but it soon turns into an action/adventure, probably written with a screenplay in mind (these days, I guess they all are). Some chapters would make interesting short stories, but altogether, the book is a miss. The conclusion, if it can be called that, is sure to evoke a "So what?" - even with all the amazing events that occur, don't expect a big payoff. Additionally, even though ships in McDevitt's universe posess a "hyperdrive" of sorts, the book's timespan seems to be TOO quick, thereby diminishing its scope - this also holds true for the characters, which don't seem to change much... strange, considering the amazing circumstances they are put through.
Rating:
Summary: This is what I read SF for
Review: I'm an avid reader of SF and this was one of the finest books I have ever read. I wish I could unread it and be able to read it again. In my opinion, it's in the same class as Hyperion and Dune.
Rating: 
Summary: Hooked on Mr. McDevitt's imagination!
Review: After spending a half day looking through science fiction titles at a major bookseller and finding no end to lame, unoriginal plotlines dealing with incredibly stupid premises and generally convincing me that science fiction was truly a dead medium, I came across The Engines Of God and flipped a few pages. Here I found a science fiction story that dealt in tangibles. Alien artifacts instead of conquering aliens. Surviving long enough to find the answers to its point and purpose and then again realizing that these could be our own artifacts. A great idea and nicely executed. I read the book as slowly as I could, but I still raced through it. Great science fiction is more than an idea; rather an idea that develops in the root of life and has meaning beyond the pages. It needs to provoke thought and provide insight and somewhere must entertain as well. In this book I found all that and I felt both awe and sadness for the makers of the monuments, and, in that, potentially for our own folly and failings. Well done. I am now starting his other books.
Rating:
Summary: Engines of God -- WOW
Review: I was recommended this book by my father, a veteran SF reader who has read literaly thousands of titles. When he says a book is good he is usualy correct, and boy did he get it bang on this time. The progression of the story with the team gradualy unlocking more and more of the secrets of the monument makers is gripping and totaly imersing, however I was a tiny bit disapointed at the end. I would hope that Mr McDevitt will continue the story in a second volume, but still a very good read - I read it cover to cover in a few days and my wife was not particularly impressed !
Rating:
Summary: The best Sci-Fi book I have ever read
Review: This book is so engrossing, I actually called in sick to work to finish it. The worlds Jack McDevitt creates in this novel are so interesting that he could write several more books about each of the additional areas he left behind.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great, treatment of evolution of civilizations
Review: Overall, I thought the book was good, but I found myself a bit disappointed that it wasn't great. This is a compliment - there are many books that don't have a chance to reach exalted status. This one was good enough to have a chance, but fell short for me. The book basically divides into 4 sections: The introduction/prelude, scene 1, scene 2 which sets up the payoff, and then the payoff. The introductory section was very good. The book begain with a teasing vision of the Monument-Makers and continued by presenting an interesting background concerning the conditions on Earth. The introduction admirably foreshadowed future tensions found in the plot. Both were done at just the right level. The teasing glance nicely drew me in wanting to see more and the other background information was nicely positioned in the background, with the right amount of poking into the foreground of the plot. The main archealogical hunt (scene 1) was excellently done. From the layperson's point of view, the archeolgical details were exciting and accurate enough. The mythological tie-ins worked very well and this section at the Temple of the Winds was downright exciting. The rest of the book doesn't keep up with this excellent first half. The specifc actions at the next planet (scene 2) seemed purposeless (although in general the planet and its history were both quite important in numerous ways). The life-form encounter seemed arbitrary and the results were a bit unbelievable to me. The characters were amzingly careless and to have them realize this a bit later and say "Boy! Were we careless!" (I'm paraphrasing here) didn't rectify the incongruity for me. Also, while the depth of characterization was more than one usually finds in a science fiction novel, I felt it didn't go deep enough for many of the characters. While those characters were not as shallow as a Star Trek "red-shirt" character, they weren't deep enough for me to really tell many of them apart. I still can't tell the difference betwee! n Frank Carson and Henry except by their roles in the plot. And I really wanted to see more of Melanie Truscott and Maggie Tufu to find out what makes them really tick. And then came the payoff. For me, the payoff in sf novels need to be grand (either large scale or deep), consistent with the rest of the foreshadowing, not leave any big questions unanswered and stay just the right distance ahead of me (so I can exclaim "Of course! I should have seen that!" just after the author shows it to me). The payoff here was nicely executed, but it was missing key elements. The "of course" factor was there, but earlier parts of the book strongly hinted at a large scale payoff and to me what was delivered at the end was not quite complete enough. Perhaps the stage is set for a sequel, but even after 3 years, I haven't seen one. In summary, I rate this as a good book, but I really wanted it to make it to the "great" shelf in my library to take its place with the Foundation series, the Well of Souls, and Hogan's Giants. It had an excellent run-up, but didn't make the final leap. Perhaps the author's next books will make the jump to the top of my collection rather than fall short and land in the second-tier (which is still far better than the scrap heap on the bottom).
Rating: 
Summary: Starts promisingly, and then falters
Review: This book starts well, with its descriptions of the Monuments and the excavations on Quraqua; well thought out and reasonably gripping. Then it seems to lose its way and flails around with an episode stranded in space trying to find a new narrative thread. In the final part it picks up with some excellent descriptions of an ice world with gasoline lakes. But when I finished it I felt cheated.... Better than watching TV, still.
Rating:
Summary: WOW! When's Part Two Coming Out?
Review: A truly incredible story, that questions religion and the dawn of time itself. The strage and mysterious Monument-Makers have left behind beautiful monument, and huge artificial cities. On Quarqua an acient ruin of a dead civalization is found, and the artifacts found show the Monument-Makers representing death itself. This book has great characters, and an awesome plot. It's one of those stories that you won't want to end, and a book that you won't be able to put down.
Rating:
Summary: I hated coming to the last page.
Review: This is one of those rare books I find that I just can't put down. McDevitt has taken the tried and true formula of tracking down those pesky first race's, who leave clues and odd monuments (uh, it must be a church!) behind. Do yourself a favor and read this. Dane CArlson
| 
