[.ca] Chindi A Novel (ISBN 0441009387)

From Amazon.com:
Most science fiction seeks to excite and gratify the reader's sense of wonder. Jack McDevitt's hard SF novel Chindi both satisfies and examines this sense of wonder, which inspires not only SF readers and writers, but every explorer and scientist who seeks to understand the universe. In Chindi, humanity has expanded to the stars and found very few other intelligent races--all but one extinct, with the survivor none too impressive. Humanity has resigned itself to being alone. Then an alien satellite is found, orbitting a distant star and beaming an unreadable signal across the galaxy. Academy starship Captain Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins finds herself piloting a motley crew of eccentrics (one an ex-lover) from the idealistic, ridiculed Contact Society, seeking the signal's destination. Their quest turns deadly as it takes them far beyond the borders of explored space to an impossible planetary system--and a vast and terrifying alien artifact. Chindi is an ambitious, exciting, big-idea hard-SF novel that ventures successfully into Rendezvous with Rama territory, and beyond. The sequel to The Engines of God and Deepsix, Chindi leaves some unanswered questions for McDevitt's forthcoming fourth novel. --Cynthia Ward

chindi:
i ready chindi and i think that it is a five star storyline since this is the first review im writing sorry if im dull but the first 130 pages were just as good as the rest of the book sure they didnt have much action but a good book dosnt always need action those pages were required to explain the rest of the story.i especialy likes the part of the story where they land and meet the for lack of a better word angels on the planet where they first meet the invisible satalite making thing i think not sure its been awhile since i read the book the part about where they first meet the chindi is very interesting and it leaves the reader hanging. wondering if there are any crew on the ship i think there should have been more time on chindi but it was a really good book.i enjoyed it very much and have read all of the hutch series and there not all the same storyline.i suggest you read the alex benididct series as well a talent for war wil leave your mind wondering and wanting to read more for certain i give both series a 8.8

Not what I had hoped.:
This book starts with an interesting idea but doesn't execute it very well. Going in search of an advanced race after finding evidence of its existence should make for an interesting story. You would think. And it is until the chasers actually get to the title character. Here the story hits a wall. No more chasing signals, no revelations of any kind really. The last hundred+ pages are devoted to a rescue that endangered more people than the one they were trying to save. Illogical. I liked the idea of these untrained people going off on the trek simply because they could afford it. I found the pacing of the story up to the chindi good. I even liked the main character at the start, but less as she kept giving in to her passengers' wishes. I hated the writing style. Sentences that should have been left as one are broken up by seemingly random periods, creating sentence fragments that don't mean anything, forcing you to pause to figure out what the author is saying. I'm no English major but I found it really annoying. Overall, I can't really recommend this book unless you go into it with little or no expectation.

Decent, Worth a read:
I have never read a McDevitt novel before so "Chindi" was my first. I almost gave up on it. The first 160 pages were seriously dull. But when it started moving, it really took off! I had no problem with the personalities of the characters (some reviewers thought they were "whiny") but I did notice that the crew was continuously making bad decisions that inevitably got people killed. That was unrealistic. The positives: excellent descriptions of outer space phenomena, great sense of awe and wonder accompanying first contact, and a good sense of humor. The negatives: definitely too long and drawn out! Over 100 pages could have easily been cut making it more concise. I don't know why there is this rule that a sci-fi book has to be long to be good! Please! Also, the size of the type (in the paperback) was very tiny. I might read the sequel "Omega" but I have no burning desire to. I just don't know if I could get through another long-winded saga--and from what people are saying, these "Hutch" books don't differ much from one another. Final analysis: Starts off slow, greatly improves at page 150 or so. Nice diversion. You'll have a good time. NOTE: Read giant clumps of it in one sitting. It goes quicker that way and is more enjoyable.

A lot like DEEPSIX:
OK Read... found it to be too much like the previous Hutch-based novel DEEPSIX, though - with too many "saved at the last second cliffhangers" (most of them somehow involving ropes and nets), making things just too unbelievable... like all this could really happen to one chick (Hutch), in just a few years time.

A Long, Long Journey Into Space:
The time is about 200 years from now. Faster-than-light travel is routine. Space ships can be managed by a crew of one (plus a very advanced, talking computer). There is not much left to discover and humankind has grown a little bored with space travel. Disappointingly, we have not found any aliens out there to converse with. Only some ruins and one semi-intelligent race, the Noks. Then, an unexplained radio transmission gets everyone excited. And see, there's this organization--The Contact Society--that will do almost anything to prove that there ARE alien intelligences out there! Priscilla Hutchins is a star-ship captain who is getting tired, and wants to retire. She reluctantly agrees to make one last trip, hired by the Contact Society to take them on a jaunt of discovery, and follow that mysterious signal. After a number of mishaps caused by impulsivity and poor judgment, they find the Chindi, a ghostly thing/machine/whatever zooming through space. And of course, they have to pursue it, break into it, tramp around in it, and maybe get themselves killed. Not very scientific but hey, it's fiction. That, in a nutshell, is the plot. The book takes a long time getting up to warp speed. In fact, nothing much happens for the first hundred and fifteen pages. If you can stay with it, the book eventually hits its stride and becomes quite entertaining. If old fashioned sci-fi and space adventure is your thing, then you should definitely read Chindi. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.