Engines Of God (Hardcover)

Unfortunately, I cannot claim that it enhanced the whole. The adventure sequences seem to have been inserted in order to create "deadlines" for the characters. A damaged ship slowly loosing all life support, so there is only a very short time to unravel the next bit of mystery. Of that order.

It must, however, be said that this technique does work splendidly for the first part of the novel, where there's only a very limited time for the characters to discover what they have to before the planet they are on will be violently terraformed.

The second time McDevitt applies this technique, you're slightly beginning to wonder what the use of the entire new "deadline" had been, as it affected neither story- nor character-development. The third and final time you're actually frustrated, since it involved the deaths of several main characters for absolutely no conceivable purpose for any of the storylines.

It seems McDevitt wasn't too sure that his "hard sci-fi" idea would catch on, and surgically implanted several adventure sequences to decorate the whole. Because that's what it does - at least as soon as the story leaves the planet that was about to be terraformed.
His ultimate failure is the lack of depth in his characters. Good character responses and developments would have made this story above average in the end. Yet they move around, do there deeds, and feel their emotions, but aren't leading the story. Instead, the story is leading them, like a puppeteer. Whatever happens to their emotions at the end of each "adventure implant" is elbowed aside and ignored, and instead the "hard" story continues rather unconcernedly.

It has to be said that the finale does the book good. It isn't as overwhelming as in some other "hard sci-fi" novels, but it's satisfactory nonetheless. Actually, McDevitt's entire scientific plot tastes good.
Nevertheless, this cannot wipe away the sour taste of shallow characters and the poor pieces of adventure plot. McDevitt should have made this an exclusively "hard sci-fi" story, and stopped trying to do a bit of this and that.

This one gets two stars.

Bram Janssen,
The Netherlands

Aidez d'autres clients à trouver les commentaires les plus utiles   Ce commentaire vous a-t-il été utile ?

Signaler ce commentaire

It is for those precise qualities that I value the works of Jack McDevitt. His sagas of alien encouters are more valid from a scientific point of view than most. It is doubtful that two intelligent cultures will exist at near the same technological level at the same time. Our best hopes are discovering life in its infancy or civilizations long disappeared. After all, our planet has sustained near-extinction events at least five times that we are aware. Furthermore, unless we do venture into space as an exploring / colonizing species there is a good chance that life could be exterminated on our own planet by either local or external means.

The adventure on Quraqua was near perfect with its mix of human emotions, scientific endeavors and near-catastrophic ending. Once again, the clues planted in this story are explored and expanded in the following sections (and books). Hutch is such a great character. I almost think of her as a "real" person. She has a spunk and sense of humor in this book that is missing in others, but the reflection on herself and her follies. Also present are the inner reveries in which she contemplates mankind's place among the stars, the past and the future.

Only a few cons - too many minor characters. If the character does not figure in the story use "the captain" or "the guy that loaded boxes" rather than a name and biographical information. The reader is left waiting for something to happen.introduce. The headlines, while understandable, are a distraction from the main story to this reader. Also, who really thinks it easier to terraform another world rather than change your own...but these are quibblings compared to the slow, steady surge of the story as it moves inexorably toward its conclusion. I wish this had been the FIRST Hutch story I read instead of the last. And although this is another superb effort by a great writer I am still waiting for that magnum opus, that DUNE or 1984, that will not only satisfy the reader but also stagger the imagination. Come on, Jack, hit the books!

Aidez d'autres clients à trouver les commentaires les plus utiles   Ce commentaire vous a-t-il été utile ?

Signaler ce commentaire