BOOK REVIEW

Seeker by Jack McDevitt. Nebula Award

(Brought to you by kat impatientreader.com)  In the unimaginably distant future, Chase narrates our story first-person. She is a pragmatic young woman. She used to be a starship pilot for Planet Survey in the intergalactic Confederacy. Now she works for a guy named Alex.  They rob archaeological sites of artifacts which they then sell to the highest bidder.  Sometimes other tomb raiders get there first.  Sometimes they make enemies.

One day a woman shows up with an old cup; she wants Alex and Chase to broker its sale for her.  They determine that the cup is nine thousand years old, and dates back to when two starships (the Seeker and the Bremerhaven) left Earth forever, escaping a repressive theocracy.  The hundreds of people aboard the two starships hoped to find a new world upon which to establish a utopia.  However, they passed instead into a legend similar to our tales of lost Atlantis.  What happened to their colony? 

Alex and Chase hope that the cup will lead them to answers that will solve one of the biggest mysteries in human history.  In addition, they wouldn't mind getting their hands on some more priceless artifacts.

However, their investigation is not without its risks. The owner of the cup has a thuggish boyfriend who tries to steal it back. Then Chase must seek information beyond the edge of the galaxy and into the territory of the telepathic alien species with which humanity uneasily co-exists. (Her brief visit with these strange beings is one of the high points of the book.)  Finally, someone tries to kill Alex and Chase to prevent them from succeeding in their mission.

I found much of Seeker to be dry and slow-moving.  Alex and Chase have nothing personal at stake in their quest; they just want to satisfy their intellectual curiosity and make some money. Even the scenes involving personal danger do not contain the emotional and sensory details necessary to immerse you in the action. 

However, once you finally realize what happened to the colonists aboard the Seeker and the Bremerhaven, the idea leaves you absolutely breathless. I wish I could go into it, but it's a better payoff if you read it for yourself.  Seeker abruptly takes on the epic grandeur of the very best science fiction, and you find yourself glad that you hung in there for the end. It's a mixed recommendation, but a positive one nonetheless. Seeker can be found on Amazon through this link:

Seeker

Noteworthy Links:   Wonderquest - Science Q/A! The Connection - Tech blog! Author site - John the Eunuch Historical Mystery series, Cozy Mystery List for all your cozy mystery needs, Obsidian Bookshelf - reviews of gay-themed fiction.
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