Books like Infinity Beach

Though I “discovered” Jack McDevitt after he was already a well-established sci-fi writer, I’ve read a good share of his books now—most notably the series featuring Priscilla Hutchins (Engines of God, Deepsix, Chindi, etc.). McDevitt does a great job, I think, at illustrating the grandeur, adventure and danger of space travel. I like his writing enough that occasionally I’ll mine his older works. I’m sure eventually I’ll have read them all.Infinity Beach is one of his earliest novels, and as such, I think it stands up pretty well. It does start slower than most, and as other reviewers have noted, the first third of the book is more a murder/disappearance mystery than a standard sci-fi novel. Only the fact that the mystery happens in the future makes it speculative at all.After the initial mysteries began to get solved is when Infinity Beach really started moving for me. That’s also when the “grandeur and danger” McDevitt style started to shine through. From there it was one revelation after another, mixed with some fun action and adventure, and a little social commentary.Infinity Beach isn’t my favorite McDevitt novel, but it has a great premise, good characterization, an interesting (though uneven) plot and a satisfying conclusion. Not a bad winter read!