Tom Carlson (tomcarlson) - , reviewed on + 25 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Cauldron is the latest in McDevitt's Acadamy series. It involves a new hyperspace sort of engine, allowing the characters to travel to the Galactic core and solve three different mysteries, two from previous books.
On the plus side, it has plenty of Priscilla Hutch Hutchins in it. Hutch is a great character who has been minimized in some of the more recent books in the series. This one drops her right in the middle of the action.
But, overall, I didn't like the book much. First off, the blurb on the back of the book makes it clear that the story involves a new drive. So, why use up half the book on the development of the engine? It would be okay if that half was all great hard sci-fi stuff. But it's more like a suspense book. Will the engine work? Will it?
Well, yeah, it will. The freaking blurb on the back tells you so. Given that, the first half is pretty tedious.
The second half gets moving better. And, indeed, three different mysteries are resolved. The problem here is that the resolutions are so, well, tepid. There's very little sense of wonder at their revelation.
You just feel sort of let down at the end. Bummer.
On the plus side, it has plenty of Priscilla Hutch Hutchins in it. Hutch is a great character who has been minimized in some of the more recent books in the series. This one drops her right in the middle of the action.
But, overall, I didn't like the book much. First off, the blurb on the back of the book makes it clear that the story involves a new drive. So, why use up half the book on the development of the engine? It would be okay if that half was all great hard sci-fi stuff. But it's more like a suspense book. Will the engine work? Will it?
Well, yeah, it will. The freaking blurb on the back tells you so. Given that, the first half is pretty tedious.
The second half gets moving better. And, indeed, three different mysteries are resolved. The problem here is that the resolutions are so, well, tepid. There's very little sense of wonder at their revelation.
You just feel sort of let down at the end. Bummer.
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