Book Review - Odyssey
Title: Odyssey
Author: Jack McDevitt
Publication date: 2006
Odyssey is a part of Jack McDevitt's Academy Series, which deal with deep space exploration and follows the career of a pilot named Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins. First off, I just have to say that Jack McDevitt is an amazing author. Every single book I've read of his has been engrossing and extremely difficult to put down after the first few pages. I particularly like the Academy Series, which is set in a time where faster-than-light travel (on "superluminaries") is available, but not entirely reliable. There is an element of danger involved with space flight, even as it becomes possible to explore farther and farther away from Earth. I am always left with a sense of awe when reading about journeying to distant stars and planets, which seems lacking in stories where one can zip from place to place instantaneously. In the Academy Series, even with faster-than-light travel, it may take weeks or months to reach a given destination.
I avoided this particular novel at first, because I had read some unfavorable reviews. Having read it now, I wish I had not been so hesitant about it. Is it the best in the series? No, probably not. It may even be the worst one of the series. But that hardly makes it a bad book. I still liked and enjoyed it. I seem to recall the reviews complaining about it being too concerned with politics and bureaucracy, and somehow I had thought the book did not involve space travel. This was an erroneous assumption on my part. Odyssey includes plenty of time in space. It also includes some interesting discussion about a "hypercollider" being built a long, long distance from Earth. Considering some of the talk around CERN's Large Hadron Collider, it is almost topical.
Anyhow, to be brief: if you are a fan of the Academy Series, you should read this book. If you are not a fan (yet), you should start at the beginning of the series (The Engines of God
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