Deepsix - Softcover

McDevitt, Jack

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007108796 ISBN 13: 9780007108794

Publisher: Harper Voyager, 2001

Synopsis

The blistering sequel to McDevitt’s most successful novel THE ENGINES OF GOD.

It should have been a straightforward exercise; but they were reckoning without mechanical failures, earthquakes and hostile indigenous species.

It’s 2225. Mankind has reached the outskirts of the universe, and discovered evidence of intelligent life on dozens of planets. Nothing still alive, but some amazing archaeological remains. On the distant planet Maleiva III, known colloquially as Deepsix (it’s about to be wiped out by a rogue gas giant, the Jerry Morgan) they’ve found traces of an ancient civilization. With two weeks to go before the gas giant destroys the planet, a team of crack archaeologists lands on the surface to record and salvage as much of this ancient civilzation as they can.

Suddenly, the team is stranded there with no means of getting off it. With the Jerry Morgan bearing down on them day by day, survival is going to require some ingenuity...

About this title

Review:

Deepsix is concerned with the motivating force that drives all scientists--the quest for truth, for expanding the limits of human knowledge. How much are we willing to risk for that moment of discovery, of knowing what no other soul yet knows? Our time? Our reputations? Our careers? Our lives?

The premise is this-just weeks before the planet Deepsix will be destroyed by a collision with a gas giant, ruins are detected on its surface, suggesting the presence of civilisation. The Academy diverts scientists from the nearest spaceship to go down and explore, and they are joined by their century's Ellsworth Toohey: a misogynistic, sanctimonious gadfly who has never before been off of Earth's surface. The party's landers are destroyed in an earthquake induced by the approaching gas giant, so now they must find a way to get off Deepsix before it is destroyed by the collision. Needless to say, their excavations are placed on the back burner.

The science and technology, both the physics describing the space travel and the archaeology used to reconstruct the lost culture of Deepsix, are interesting and explained well. There is plenty of action and suspense-will the party survive? And the evolving characters and group dynamics are more complex than those usually found in science fiction books, making Deepsix a worthwhile read. --Diana Gitig, Amazon.com

Review:

Praise for McDevitt:

‘Jack McDevitt is that splendid rarity... a storyteller first and a science fiction writer second. In his ability to absolutely rivet the reader, he is the logical heir to Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke... . Snatch this baby up, all right? You’re going to love it even if you think you don’t like science fiction. You might even want to drop me a thank-you note for the tip before racing out to your local bookstore to pick up the Jack McDevitt backlist’ STEPHEN KING

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Voyager
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0007108796
• ISBN 13: 9780007108794
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448