Customer Reviews

Eternity Road

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This is the first novel by Jack McDevitt that I have read and I was impressed by his talent. ETERNITY ROAD is set approximately 1000 years in the future, a plague has decimated Earth's population, and in the United States, where this novel concerns itself with, small cities have banded together and formed the 'Mississippi League'. Ruins from the 'Roadmaker' era are everywhere and the 'Roadmaker' civilization is an enigma, with many questions unanswered. It is from the League that a second expedition sets forth in search of the perhaps mythical 'Haven' where knowledge was supposedly safeguarded after the plague, as civilization unraveled. The first expedition ended in disaster, with only one person returning from the sometimes dangerous wilderness, with an atmosphere of secrecy and intrigue. One person, Chakra, had a brother who was killed on the first expedition, and she wants to find out what happened to him, as the only survivor of the first expedition is the scholar Karik, who did'nt say much about what happened, adding to the mystery. There are several other interesting characters in addition to these.

As per another reader here I also found similarities between this novel and A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ, a much older novel, and a fine read also. I found ETERNITY ROAD to be engrossing, I found myself reading more and more pages everyday to see what would happen, McDevitt is a master storyteller and very adept at character development and plot layout. In my view the only criticism I see here is that various machines from the Roadmakers were still operating after perhaps one thousand years, that stretches credulity indeed, I take one star off for that. As for comparing this novel to the standard of 'the end of the world as we know it' novels, which is EARTH ABIDES, the later is better, although ETERNITY ROAD is excellent nevertheless.

I'm all for a fun SF-inspired adventure, especially one with a compelling quest in familiar environments. Eternity Road is about OUR civilization from the perspective of humans 1000 years from now that somehow have little to no remembrance of the people called "Roadmakers". Nor are they an advanced civilization, closer to 1850's technology and there is no form of government larger than a city. It has the makings of a fun road adventure starring a ragtag bunch searching for a historical treasure.

However, I was constantly bothered by stuff that seemed incredible. Why are books so rare? I'm sure most would have been destroyed over that long a period, but ALL except for six? Yet other Roadmaker artifacts survive that seem impossible - such as a magnetic train system that still runs daily routes and a computer AI that has become sentient, but can't provide much information about who the Roadmakers were. Worse, at one point, a lightning bolt restarts a computer system to help the travellers and move the plot along. I'm no theorist, but I don't see lightning as a reliable or controllable powersource for any future civilization.

Overall, I was not able to enjoy the book because I wasn't sold on these and many other aspects of the plot. Also, I found the author's writing style often "told" me what a character was like as opposed to showing me. It seemed like I was reading the author's notes to himself, which was annoying. I won't be reading any more McDevitt.

This was my first Jack McDevitt book.

It will not be my last.

I truly enjoyed reading this novel. McDevitt's style is smooth and his imagery is vivid. The environment in which he has placed his characters is very well realized. Loved the character of Avila.

But ultimately, this book was a grave disappointment. I don't think that I'm spoiling anything to say that the heroes find what they were looking for, but the end of their quest just failed to satisfy me. I don't know if it was my fault for expecting too much, being a sloppy reader, or what, but my building expectations were not met. I suppose I was expecting a major epiphany, a revelation of some import or even an O'Henry twist, but instead was greeted by the same feeling as receiving socks for Christmas...

Definitely an author I will try again, but with lowered expectations.

My view is that this would have been much more impactful as a short story. McDevitt has fallen for the same pitfall Robert Jordan does in his Wheel Of Time saga, along with MANY other fantasy writers. The pitfall is this: Just because the characters go on a journey, doesn't mean the plot is being advanced. None of McDevitt's characters are convincing; they don't authentically grapple with issues which move the story forward. Yes, the narrator records them as suffering angst at various moments (such as experiencing vertigo on high bridges and mountain tops, and sorrow at fallen commrades) but it's mere reporting; there is next to no engagement WITH the reader. Often specific details are given which, again, don't actually move the story forward, such as specifying types of trees in one location being distict from trees the characters noticed in a previous location. And the point being ...? The book is liberally sprinkled with these kinds of undeveloped facts which simply said to me that if he had an editor at all, he/she didn't have the courage to say "Jack, tighten this up. Trim it down to a fifth of it's length, and then get busy with something else."

Eternity Road is the first book I've read by Jack McDevitt, but it will most likely not be my last. McDevitt has a style and an ease with characters that is pleasant and subdued. He offers a vivid picture of a different future than the kind we like to imagine.

The book begins in a small community living on the banks of the Mississippi river, at least 700-1000 years from now. Our society, called "The Roadmasters" by the locals, were wiped out in the late 21st century by a plague of unknown origin. The locals know something about The Roadmsters, with some handwritten versions of classic literature remaining, and they constantly scour the ruins around them for clues as to how the great civilization that proceeded them achieved so much, and how it fell so quickly.

The story is about an expidition from the Mississippi river to the East Coast to search for a place called "Haven", where a hero of the past allegedly saved all the great information of The Roadmakers before the plague wiped out all traces. The group that makes the trip is actually the most interesting part of the story. They aren't deepli constructed, but they are better than just sketches, each with their own fears, desires, and hopes for the journey. What they find on their travels is fascinating, but the internal struggles of the group are just as entertaining.

The book is fast paced and delivers on excitement and speculation on what our civilization might be thought of once we are gone. The ending is a bit abrupt, but it answers our questions without insulting us. All in all a great read for sci-fi/fanatsy fans.

This was the first Jack McDevitt novel I ever read. I purchase it primarily because I enjoy these type of "end-of-the-world and beyond" stories. So as I read this book I began to compare it to other books of the same type of story line (Kim Stanley Robinson's "The Wild Shore" and Gordon R Dickson's "Wolf and Iron" to name two) This story stands up well. The events take place far in the future after a plague has wiped out most of the population of the world. The main characters, Chaka, Silas, Quait, etc, are interesting and complex. The images that McDevitt creates as the small group travels up the Mississippi and eventually into the northeast are nothing less than magical. And when he mixes advanced technology with old fashion ways and superstitions it really brings home how far the human race has fallen since the plague. As with any book, some of the best reading in this tale is when the author suprises you with sudden plot twists, and there are many here to enjoy. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys epic science fiction stories that deal with the rebirth of the human race, and the problems they face.

After enjoying McDevitt's well written, exciting, and imaginative "Deepsix", I was shocked and dismayed at the ineptitude of this book. It has an interesting premise and starts off ok, but then goes downhill fast. The reader is told, not shown what's happening in this poorly written book, and character development is virtually nonexistent. At one point I was informed that a couple of the characters had "changed". Well, I had to take his word for it since they kept going through the motions the same way as before. And two of the characters fell in love even though they had barely spoken or interacted! Also, mundane details kept getting described in detail while important/interesting stuff was completely glossed over! Ugh. I skimmed through to finish but it was a chore, I didn't really care what happened. If you want my advice, avoid.

*Eternity Road* had great potential. As I read the description, I saw signs of an epic end-of-the-world quest tale. Sadly, the writer let me down with missed opportunities to advance the story, underdeveloped characters and plot potential.

There were lots of missed story opportunities and improbable conclusions. He could have spent more time in Chicago with the encyclopedic computer, illuminated the seekers with more knowledge, or at least have them debating the sanctity of Life vs. Quality of Life.

The scholar living in the cyclotron was an idea ripe for expansion, as well as the culture of the `Tuks'. Why didn't one of them join the motley crew?

The author also fills the book with `improbable conclusions', such as...

*There's no history of the prior civilization, only a few legends. Highly unlikely there there would be no florid myths or epic hero stories.

* Although boat making, building construction, gunsmithing and - garment-making survived, electrical, mechanical, and medical knowledge has not.

* Surviving books are rare. Why didn't a copy of The Bible, Torah, or Koran survive along with the faith that humans must have had to get them through the dark times? Or is McDevitt saying that Jesus was already dead" when the civilization collapsed?

* The questers' actions with the Encyclopedic computer was remminiscent of the Mexican bandits scattering all the gold dust in 'Treasure of the Sierra Madre'. Why didn't they ask it the current date? At least they would have come back with SOME useful knowledge. Me, I'd have kept the train running, just in case I had to take it home again.

McDevitt needed a lesson in story pacing. He starts out real slow, takes about 150 pages to get the expedition going, then 230 pages shoots through to the conclusion in thirty pages like a dying salmon.

I was amazed that by page 365 we hadn't yet got to resolving the Haven mystery. The end is forced, accelerated, and skeletal. It was written as if time had expired, as if he had to turn it for grading.

Although he provides characters with promising futures, McDevitt again squanders the opportunities with them to say, think or do something meaningful. He seldom describes what they are thinking or feeling. Even the romance which blossoms on the trek is underdeveloped and sterile, as if written by someone who has never been in love.

As much as I like `end of the world `stories, this wasn't a bad book, nor was it a `masterpiece of literature'. Two, two-and-a-half stars.

"Eternity Road", An intriguing post-apocalyptic story with a stop short ending. The story starts off about 1000 years after a plague has wiped out most of humanity. The society has rebuilt itself into feudal-like states. The knowledge of the past and its workings have long been forgotten. All that is left are buildings, computers, and roads. The people of the world of the past are referred to as "Roadmakers", since the highways and streets are the only things left behind that are intact and usable. Since knowledge of the past is so valuable, ancient books are worth more than a king's ransom. Thus is the start of "Eternity Road."

The main character, Chaka Milano has inherited a book from her deceased father. Mark Twain's "Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court". The book is invaluable to the people in this story since, in it leads to the question of where did Chaka's father get the book and are there anymore? Turns out that Chaka's father went on an expedition to a almost mythical place called "Haven". A city with fantastic sights, such as a dragon, ghosts and a wealth of Roadmaker books. Knowledge of the past, which would prove to be invaluable to the people of the future. It is Knowledge of the things we consider mundane that become almost magical to the primitive people of "Eternity Road". The dragon for example is nothing more than a subway train or commuter rail. The train's long body and bright headlight take advantage of the people's preconceived notion and lack of knowledge that the beast is not a beast but a simple vehicle of mass transit. The disembodied voice that greets Chaka and her companions at the train station is at first mistaken for a ghost of a long dead Roadmaker is discovered to be in fact an artificially intelligent computer that runs the rail system. You almost grieve and marvel at the same time the loss of the wealth of information, and the lack of know how by the people that have inherited the earth. When Chaka visits a radio telescope array, she is greeted by the AI that runs the SETI research. The AI informs mistakes her for the professor that is conduction the search for alien intelligent life. Chaka is informed by the AI in a matter of fact way, that the project has discovered 17 star systems that have 'intelligent' signals from them. A discovering that would alter the way life is today, but to Chaka it means very little to her and to her quest for Haven.

The characters and story are very moving to almost poetic, but where McDevitt fails is in trying to end the story. The constant and steady flow of the book comes to an abrupt ending has he hits the breaks. McDevitt finishes the story with a 2-page epilogue outlining the lives of the characters. It's a shame that the author chose to end the story in this manner since there were many unanswered questions. A sequel was surely worthy of the book, but as too why McDevitt choose to hit the skids is beyond me. I'd recommend this book, but only with a warning that the story ends on a brief note.

Eternity Road is another in a long series of "archeological" SF novels by Jack McDevitt. Here, a group of people in a post-apocolypse America set out to find a fabled storehouse of ancient knowledge, despite the failure of an earlier mission and the deaths of almost everyone involved.

As in most his books, McDevitt does a nice job of setting up a believable, consistant world. It's a fun game to play "Figure out what this was" when he begins to describe something mundane from our world in terms of a iron age culture. Less well developed are the characters, who tend to be there mostly as props for the story and are discarded as needed.

Where the book finally begins to fail is near the end. As you read, you note that the story is still unfinshed with 20 pages to go, then 10, then 5. The ending is amazingly abrupt, almost like McDevitt got bored of writing and just decided to stop. This seems to be a recent trend in SF (See Neil Stephenson) and it's not a good one. The novel would have been far better if McDevitt had decided to discuss the implications of finding the storehouse on the people of the post-apocalypse world, or at least left room for a sequel, which the epilogue basically prevents.

Eric Remy