- Hardcover: 419 pages
- Publisher: Ace Books (31 Dec 1994)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0441000770
- ISBN-13: 978-0441000777
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 13.7 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,075,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Synopsis
In the late 2100s, archaeologists journey into outer space to seek the secret meaning of fourteen mysterious statues that had been found among the stars, uncovering ruins and following clues to the builders' identity to the farthest boundaries of the galaxy.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is best of McDevitt's books that i have read. We have his standard small group of intrepid travellers (too small and too intrepid really, but it makes them fun to read about) charging between the stars in pursuit of a hunch that something big is happening and that we need to know about it. They're right of course, and in the face of (the usual) political interference all is ultimately revealed. Okay, it isn't really - The book is quite long already and would have to be one of those tedious great trilogies in order to have space to offer a full explanation. This is a failing really, and prevents the book from becoming more than a decent page-turner - it is certainly that, although some action set-pieces do have a feeling of having been stuffed in to hot the pace up ('hmm, the plot is sagging, lets put everybody in deadly peril for a bit'). Read it anyway though.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The Engines of God is the first book in a series of six involving Priscilla 'Hutch' Hutchins as the main protagonist, albeit her role in the books changes over time, along with her career. I liked this, rather than having a hero and fixing them at a set point in time, she is able to develop and allows for other characters to come to the fore (and move on again afterwards). Having read all of them in a condensed period of time and in the right order, I can say that the Engines of God lays the foundation for what is to come in the later books in the series. That said,they are all totally stand-alone, but you do find out a little more along the way and the final book answers some of the bigger questions that might seem to have been left hanging in the earlier novels.
As it is the first book in a series, the author has taken the time to set out and populate his universe and I liked the detail which he consistently applied across the novels. It was not done in a repetitive way and avoided the almost 'copy and paste' set paragraphs that some writers fall into. Like all of his books, I think you can divide them into two halves. The first is 'scene setting', 'getting ready', 'dealing with things' and generally taking the reader on a journey up to the top of a 'big dipper' roller coaster. It can be a little slow for those who are eager to leap ahead. But, equally, it is detailed, well written and engaging. As the first half comes to an end and you drop off the edge, rushing to the story's conclusion, it all falls into place and is well paced and keeps you turning the pages.
Jack McDevitt is a very consistent writer and I believe that if you like one of his books, you will like them all. If you are going to read this series, I would suggest you try to keep them in sequence: The Engines of God (1994), Deepsix (2001), Chindi (2002), Omega (2003), Odyssey (2006), Cauldron (2007).
As it is the first book in a series, the author has taken the time to set out and populate his universe and I liked the detail which he consistently applied across the novels. It was not done in a repetitive way and avoided the almost 'copy and paste' set paragraphs that some writers fall into. Like all of his books, I think you can divide them into two halves. The first is 'scene setting', 'getting ready', 'dealing with things' and generally taking the reader on a journey up to the top of a 'big dipper' roller coaster. It can be a little slow for those who are eager to leap ahead. But, equally, it is detailed, well written and engaging. As the first half comes to an end and you drop off the edge, rushing to the story's conclusion, it all falls into place and is well paced and keeps you turning the pages.
Jack McDevitt is a very consistent writer and I believe that if you like one of his books, you will like them all. If you are going to read this series, I would suggest you try to keep them in sequence: The Engines of God (1994), Deepsix (2001), Chindi (2002), Omega (2003), Odyssey (2006), Cauldron (2007).
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
On the strength of this novel, I went out and bought everything the author has ever written and enjoyed them all. Engines of God is well written with a fasinating plot regarding the mysterious destruction of alien civilisations. If you enjoy well-written hard SF, then this is a great book for you.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Plastically real
Yeh nay bad book but it went on for a bit - at the end...also to be fiar he is a good writer just not great, and there, if wanted to be harsh, is a nostalgic 50's feel - or even an... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Diolch
From Humble Beginnings
This book is the first in Jack McDevitt's "Hutch" series that features the resourceful Priscilla Hutchinson and runs for six books of varying quality. Read more
Published 11 months ago by John M. Ford
A good story with a different twist
This is the first book that I have read of Mr McDevitt and I find his style rather good. He certainly knows how to right a good book with a good storyline that doesn't trip over... Read more
Published on 10 May 2010 by M. Ives
Missing the deadline were we?
.
I have liked the mixture of archaeology and space exploration since reading Arthur C Clarkes Rama series many years ago. Read more
I have liked the mixture of archaeology and space exploration since reading Arthur C Clarkes Rama series many years ago. Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2004 by Steve
Seek us by the light of the horgon's eye
I hold Jack McDevitt's writing in high regard and always enjoy his science fiction epics a great deal. Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2003 by Daniel Jolley
Great Potential
This book is almost Tolkien-esque in the way it alludes to, and gives tantalizing hints about a far off past that has been irrevocably lost. Read more
Published on 18 Nov 2002 by "markcummins"
Entire plot could be written up in three chapters
I can't shake the feeling that this book is meant to be part of a trilogy or that I've just read the first three chapters of a sci-fi book. Read more
Published on 14 Jun 2000 by Dust
I simply could not put this book down once I got started
This was the first book I read by this author, so a bit of a discovery really as I loved it. One of those books that keeps you reading despite the lateness of the hour. Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2000
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