Books like Odyssey

\ Conflicted Review\ I’ve long been a fan of McDevitt. In his fictional universe there is still more than a little mystery and sense of wonder out there. These days, in fiction, the stars are only a backdrop to the story. Not so in McDevitt’s mysteries. Stephen King blurbs him as the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. This makes sense, considering the irresistible old-school charm of his novels.There is an incredibly authentic feel to McDevitt’s future. His unique approach, such as the inclusion of newscasts and future “historical” quotes and anecdotes, underscores this realism. In fact, Odyssey reads a bit like a future mockumentary. Therein also lies the problem. The Academy / Priscilla Hutchins / Engines of God novels were never noted for their frenetic pacing, but with Odyssey the author seems to have (purposely) slowed things down yet another notch. Why? While the leisurely pace and discussions on future “current events” allow readers the time to immerse themselves, we need to bear in mind that this used to be (predominantly) a space adventure mystery series. Quirky Dialogue Intermission“You can’t be serious.”“The chance that it would happen is remote. But there is a chance.”“Give me a number.”“Maybe one in a million. It’s hard to say.”“One in a million they could blow up the universe.”So just how bad is the pacing issue? Well, I suppose it isn’t the end of all things. In fact, reading through the other reviews here it’s obvious that some readers really enjoyed Odyssey. However, I happen to know McDevitt is better than this. The first three novels in this series are stunning! That said, even a mediocre McDevitt outing is still pretty darn entertaining.As far as the characters are concernedHutch herself takes a bit of a back seat in this novel to another recurring character (refer Deepsix). It’s easy to either like or dislike Gregory MacAllister in equal measure, depending on your point of view and the context of circumstances. He is cynical to the point of being a caricature, but he is also very amusing at times. Does he work well as the primary protagonist? I’m not too sure. I preferred Hutch in the driving seat.The final wordOdyssey is a good book, but suffers from pacing issues, and as a result falls short of being very good. There is a decent amount of Sense of Wonder in the novel - one thing in particular will stay with me: a derelict space ship orbiting a planet dozens of light years from earth and which now serves as an automated museum. The flurry of excitement toward the end of the novel goes some way into pulling it through (barely). I was reminded of L.E. Modesitt Jr. while reading this, although I have only read two of his science fiction novels (as yet). In the end it's all moot - you owe it to yourself to read some McDevitt, but not necessarily this. Start with The Engines of God, or his Nebula winner: SeekerIn closing – the Blurb of the day“'Why read Jack McDevitt?' The question should be: 'Who among us is such a slow pony that s/he isn't reading McDevitt?” — Harlan Ellison