Monday, December 30, 2013

Starhawk, by Jack McDevitt

This is a workmanlike sci-fi novel.  The plot is good, although the ending is up in the air, a set up for the next volume.  The character development is good.  But.  I'm having difficulty finding the right word to describe what is missing here.  If you've ever read a book that takes you into the story completely, then the best way to describe Mr. McDevitt's novel is that is does not.   Just descriptive sentences.  I therefore recommend this only as a time-filler book: good for waiting at the DMV but not so much for a good read by the fireplace.

The plot summary:   our hero, Priscilla (Hutch) Hutchins completes her final qualification flight to become an outer space pilot.  Terraforming of new found planets is potentially destroying indigenous flora and fauna; this frustrates activists into becoming terrorists, and their targets are space ships and the platform from which they launch.  There are other intelligent life forms in the universe, and other major characters in the book encounter them in subtle ways.

Starhawk (A Priscilla Hutchins Novel)

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