Rating: 
Summary: It's a good read
Review: This book is a page turner for science fiction fans. I found myself unable to put it down. This is my first McDevitt book and I will find his other books.
The story, although a bit far fetched, has enough suspense to keep the reader guessing what's going on and what will happen. Meanwhile, the book has certain humor and philosophy that I liked. A well written book and a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Unimaginative SF
Review: This was the first McDevitt book I've read, and I was very unimpressed. It was sort of an enjoyable read, but I expected so much more.The aliens are basically squat, ugly (but loveable!) critters that live on an Earth-like planet in an Earth-like historical period (middle ages). The author may have made them so human on purpose (to make us identify with them and care about them?), but he didn't have to make them 95% like us. If you want to read well-imagined aliens, I suggest "A Fire Upon the Deep" by Vinge. <MINOR SPOILERS IN NEXT PARAGRPH:> This book also suffers from the 'no bad guy' pitfall. The Omega cloud is the only thing to root against, and despite suggestions it is not natural - it still acts very much like a random weather phenomena. The only human 'bad guy' is someone who is driven to an insane (yet boring) rage when he views an Omega cloud destroying some alien structures. That's a pretty weak source of motivation. Why not have that character's wife or kid get killed by a cloud? <SPOILERS OVER!> Finally, maybe faithful readers of McDevitt enjoyed this, but the constant references to previous McDevitt novels in this storyline got very tiresome. The first couple mentions were fine, but after awhile it felt a lot like propoganda. Overall, this felt like a very juvenile SF book. There's so much better out there - go elsewhere and only come back to McDevitt when you run out of ideas!
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