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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Best Modesitt in Some Time, November 5, 2005
This review is from: The Eternity Artifact (Hardcover)
I have criticized Modesitt in other reviews, particularly in his recent novels in the Recluce universe, for using the same plot over and over. By contrast, in this novel Modesitt has brought new ideas, new plots and a new approach to story-telling. The result is his best story in several years.
Millennia after humankind has colonized other star systems, its religious wars are now interstellar. The Comity is the largest interstellar government, if not especially well-organized, and unlike its rival polities is secular. The Comity is secretly organizing an expedition to a newly-discovered world that has ancient, abandoned alien constructions beyond any technology humankind has. Among the experts recruited to this expedition, and the points of view the reader follows, are
- Fitzhugh, a history professor who hides behind a wall of words, and who may be more than he knows.
- Chandra, a shuttle and needleship pilot, who is far too honest and far too good a pilot for her own good.
- Barna, an artist who cannot resist the chance to bring his skills and perceptions to the first alien culture found.
- Goodman, spy and assassin for the religious Covenant worlds, who infiltrates that Comity mission.
The secret doesn't stay a secret long, and Modesitt skillfully mixes these four viewpoints, and provides some fine plot twists and surprises along the way.
The issues of religiosity and its impact on a secular society are a theme here, in the same way they inform "The Parafaith War" and its sequel, "The Ethos Effect." The novel is about the reactions of the various secular and religious-based cultures to the evidence of an advanced alien culture and the effect of those reactions on the four protagonists. For a man who lives in Utah, home of the LDS church, his judgments of religion and religious culture are harsh.
The four protagonists are especially well-drawn. They have distinctive voices and their distinct personalities emerge effectively. True, Modesitt remains purely incapable of writing a love scene. And he can't seem to decide if he likes or loathes his assassin. But these are minor issues in a thoughtful story, well-told. It's superior to anything he has written lately. Recommended.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Drawbacks? Nope, Just Quibbling... Recommended, November 13, 2005
This review is from: The Eternity Artifact (Hardcover)
The criticism's of other reviewers, particularly those concerning the author's alleged "rehashing" of previous book characters and "slow pacing" (both by professional and amateur critics) are duly noted.
However, personally speaking, I have not read any of Modesitt's books, this is the first I have heard of him so I cannot really comment on the veracity or not of reviewer's comments.
_I_ can say however that I did not see any real problems with the writer's characters or character development. Further, I found the relationship (and related "sexual tension" tropes, etc.) between two of the main characters (who shall remain nameless ;) very interesting, not to mention familiar (in more ways then one). Indeed, you can find a very similar relationship (though arguably much more developed then in Modesitt's book) in Dread Empire's Fall: The Praxis by Walter Jon Williams (the first in a great series IMHO definitely highly recommend it).
I do not really agree that the story started that slowly (though I found myself asking a couple of times, "When are they going to get to the space part" ;) but still thought it definitely kept the readers interest throughout, many times I found it very difficult to put down.
To me the strongest aspects was the very realistic sociological, political, even psuedo-historical ruminations by the author especially through the "Professor Fitzugh" character. Though sometimes he was annoying and maybe a bit overwrought-stereotypical overall very informative and entertaining.
Very recommended. Hope you enjoy as much as I did.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another good novel from Modesitt, November 5, 2005
This review is from: The Eternity Artifact (Hardcover)
Modesitt is probably better known for his fantasy than his SF, if only because he's written so much more of it (he has two active series, plus another five-volume series).
His SF shares some of the features that make his fantasy writing so compelling: vivid world-building and thoughtfulness about the implications of actions. The Eternity Artifact is no different; not only are we treated to the discovery of a truly alien artifact, but the suggestions Modesitt makes are surprising indeed. There is some compelling action, but they aren't substituted for an actual ending, as military SF sometimes does.
The use of rotating first-person POV works rather well for this story--better, perhaps, than a single narrator would have been. My only real complaint, though, lies in the universe Modesitt has constructed. It reminds me of a far-future version of "The Octagonal Raven," but it is such a crowded universe that I wish a prologue, or perhaps simply a map, had been provided to set the stage. [To put it in perspective, the political situation here is even more complicated than in The Ethos Effect and The Parafaith War.]
That said, fans of Modesitt's SF will certainly want to read this book, and fans of his fantasy should definitely give it a try as well.
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