The Engines Of God (Academy, #1)

by Jack McDevitt

The first Priscilla Hutchins novel from Jack McDevitt, hailed by Stephen King as “the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke.”

Humans call them the Monument-Makers. An unknown race, they left stunning alien statues on distant planets in the galaxy. Each relic is different. Each inscription defies translation. Yet all are heartbreakingly beautiful.

And for planet Earth, on the brink of disaster, they may hold the only key to survival for the entire human race.

• ISBN10: 0441002846
• ISBN13: 9780441002849
• Publish Date: 1 December 1995 (first published 1 October 1994)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Ace Books
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 432
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780441002849

Reviews

[empressbrooke]

If half stars were available, this would be a 3.5. Having finished off the Alex Benedict/Chase Kolpath series, which I loved to bits, I turned to McDevitt's other series of sci-fi archaeological mysteries. Unfortunately, I felt a little let down, since The Engines of God was missing a lot of whatever spark the Alex Benedict books have. At times I felt like I was reading something by James Rollins (whose books I enjoy, but they're quite fluffy with more emphasis on escaping precarious situations rather than exploring a mystery). However, I did stay up an hour past when my brain was telling me to fall asleep last night because I wanted to know what happened next, so that's something.