A Talent for War (Alex Benedict, #1)

by Jack McDevitt

The acclaimed classic novel and fan favorite—the far-future story of one man's quest to discover the truth behind a galactic war hero.

• ISBN10: 0441012175
• ISBN13: 9780441012176
• Publish Date: 29 June 2004 (first published 1 February 1989)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Ace Books
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780441012176

Reviews

[empressbrooke]

I was hesitant about trying McDevitt again after reading [b:Time Travelers Never Die|6352501|Time Travelers Never Die|Jack McDevitt|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348716851s/6352501.jpg|6539089]. I'd described that book as "light and fluffy" and while I didn't think it was BAD, it wasn't the sort of thing I would purposely seek out.

However, I'm glad I gave A Talent for War a shot, because it was fabulous. It's basically a historical fiction mystery in a sci-fi setting. McDevitt has painted this really rich and captivating history about a war hero and the questions that main character Alex Benedict starts asking about these legendary heroics.

From nearly the first chapter I was dying to know more, and I actually dragged out finishing it a little bit just so I could get to enjoy it longer. One of the details I liked was that even though they had futuristic space travel capabilities, these capabilities are by no means perfect. They still have difficulty with extreme precision when jumping through space and sometimes eerie disasters strike when ships jump and never reappear. It made the world that McDevitt built less shiny and a little more real.