The Icarus Hunt Author:Timothy Zahn From Timothy Zahn, Hugo Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of two landmark Star Wars® series, comes an original new tale featuring a renegade space pilot, his unusual alien partner, and an unknown cargo that can change the course of galactic history. — Jordan McKell has a problem with authority. Unfortunatel... more »y for him, the iron-fisted authority of the powerful Patthaaunutth controls virtually every aspect of galactic shipping. In order to survive, Jordan ekes out a living dabbling in interstellar smuggling for outlaw concerns that represent the last vestiges of free trade in the galaxy. So when Jordan and his partner, Ixil--an alien with two ferret-like "outhunters" linked to his neural system--are hired by a mysterious gentleman to fly a ship and its special cargo to Earth, they jump at the job.
Caution has never been one of Jordan's strong suits. But this time he may have taken on more than even he can handle. The ship, Icarus, turns out to be a ramshackle hulk, the ragtag crew literally picked up off the street, and the cargo so secret, it's sealed in a special container that takes up most of the cramped and ill-designed ship. As if that weren't bad enough, it looks like the authorities already suspect something is afoot, there's a saboteur aboard, and the Icarus appears to be shaking apart at the seams.
It doesn't seem as if things could get any worse. That is, until a beautiful crew member helps McKell uncover the true nature of the cargo he's carrying. With his enemies closing in on the lumbering Icarus, the unknown saboteur still aboard, and authorities on Earth pressured to turn them in, McKell and Ixil become fugitives. Their only chance is to stay one step ahead of their pursuers as they try to make it home.
A bold and epic novel filled with unrelenting action and a good dose of humor, The Icarus Hunt is a wild hyperspace romp through the galaxy.« less
This is probably one of Timothy Zahn's best books, outside of the Star Wars books that he has written in the past, for the EU. Amazing stuff. Keeps you guessing until the end. He puts his own twist on the typical Space Mystery. Very well thought out, and brilliantly written! I give it a 9.5/10. Definitely a keeper to be read over, multiple times, in the future!
Excellent Zahn book. Good balanced Sci Fi story incorporating interesting characters, humor, murder mystery and advanced technology. Overall a typical Zahn story.
If The Icarus Hunt had not been a sci-fi book I would have sworn that I was reading an Alistair MacLean novel. MacLean novels are always suspenseful and keep you turning the pages long after your normal bed time. It is no wonder why so many were made into movies.
As such, I really enjoyed The Icarus Hunt. In this book, as in the MacLean novels, you really are kept in the dark as to who and what the characters really are. I'll have to check out some of the other Timothy Zahn novels.
If you like the Star Wars novels you will like this book. It has the (slightly tarnished) good guys including an alien side kick trying to carry out the mission they agreed to do. The bad guys are trying to stop the good guys and continue their evil ways of corruption and illegal profit. A good read in the space opera style.
It's a SciFi, murder mystery, whodunit, political thriller. With lots of characters who make for an entertaining read. Our erstwhile heroes are some rather clumsy smugglers, who stumble into a trading mission that upsets the balance of economic and geographic powers that be.
Toss in some truly bad baddies, and some very twisted plot lines, and scratch you head trying to figure it all out. Oh, and an ending that was unexpected and very satisfying. Pick this one up and enjoy the trip! Looking to read more from this author.
This book is an excellent piece of science fiction. The characters are well developed, but the plot takes unexpected twists all the way to a surprise ending. The description of the technology has just enough details to make you feel like you know the technology without having to go into particular depth about it.
