Saturday, July 21, 2012

Seeker, Jack McDevitt

Title: Seeker
Author: Jack McDevitt
Rating: Good

Seeker is another Alex Benedict novel by Jack McDevitt.  Set in the far future, Seeker tells the story of a group of people fed up with earth who make their exit and hope to establish a new society on another planet.  Well, actually, it tells that story from the perspective of Chase Kolpath, Alex Benedict's assistant, thousands of years after the actual event.  She and Alex follow some clues that lead in the direction of that ancient story and wind up, well, you should read it for yourself.

As with earlier Benedict novels, I have some mild reservations about telling the story from Chase's perspective rather than Alex's, but it holds together and is a pretty good read.

With the obvious exception of the Mutes and their unexplained telepathic communication, this is basic, hard SF.  There is faster than light travel with rules, a society spread among the stars, and a few complications and limits that keep things interesting.

So far I like McDevitt overall, and this holds up well compared with the other works of his that I have read.

Recommended if you like real SF.