The Engines of God

McDevitt’s first Priscilla Hutchins novel is a sturdy, nicely paced archeological mystery. Scattered throughout the galaxy are alien relics left behind by beings known only as the Monument Makers, and the secret of their origin may herald a terrifying future disaster for mankind. Personal relationshi......more

This is a "hard science fiction" novel, with a well-defined plot and set of characters. The best thing this book has going for it, is its focus on archaeology, and the deciphering of clues from ancient alien artifacts. The entire story is a mystery, and even by the end of the book the puzzle is only......more

Xenoarchaeology. On a grand scale. McDevitt really does a fantastic job with vast worldbuilding and mystery when it comes to dead alien races, exploration, and working through the questions. I'm particularly fond of all the expeditions. None of them are nuts but quite plausible and dangerous and dead......more

Archaeology in space! Archaeology in space!!! Yup, that topic never fails to get me excited; in my very nerdy defence, that’s what I got my BA in, and while I ended up working in a completely different field, I never lost my enthusiasm for it. So if you tell me there’s a book about archaeologists in......more

Rating: 2.5 stars Is there a requirement that a "hard" SF author can't write believable characters or dialog to save their life? Or, rather, considering the general level of education and IQ among that crowd, is it a conspiracy so that they can chortle over the nearly inevitable comment in any review......more