57 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A top-notch blend of science fiction and mystery, March 4, 2000
Infinity Beach takes the reader on an exciting ride. Top-notch adventure, strong characters, a gripping mystery, burnished prose, and good science--this book has it all.
Twenty-seven years prior to the opening of the main story, four interstellar explorers in search of extraterrestrial life unexpectedly return home early from a mission. Two of the four disappear, and a third is killed in an explosion that devastates a mountain on their home world. The fourth team member, the starship captain, never flies again and eventually dies in a planetary rescue mission far from his home. Although the authorities suspect foul play in the explosion, they have neither proof nor motive, and never solve the case.
What happened? And why?
This mystery forms the centerpiece of Infinity Beach. The main character, Doctor Kim Brandywine, is the younger sister to one of the missing explorers. A relative of the other vanished explorer convinces Kim to conduct her own investigation into what happened twenty-seven years ago.
Much of the action takes place on the terraformed planet of Greenway. Machines care for the needs of its human settlers, most everyone has a healthy youth and extended lives, and almost no crime exists. However, rumors of strange ghostly phenomena run wild in the region of the explosion. No one has proof and the stories are dismissed--at least officially.
Kim is drawn into a puzzle that becomes ever more complex, involving incidents that happened far from Greenway, in interstellar space. McDevitt develops the mystery beautifully, introducing one clue here, another there, tantalizing the reader with bits and pieces of the puzzle. He draws in the players one by one, giving them intriguing personalities without resorting to cliches. By weaving this refreshing mix of characters in and among the clues, he makes the puzzle even more riveting.
Infinity Beach showcases world building at its best. McDevitt constructs a believable society. He layers in the science with expertise, using a light touch that remains unobtrusive. The world, Greenway, it well described in all its quirks. Parts of the story take place in space, near a star in the belt of Orion. McDevitt creates the milieu well, successfully evoking a sense of incomparable beauty out among the stars.
The clean, polished prose in this book flows well, and the characterization pleases. Kim is particularly strong; she comes across as self-confident, skilled, and likable, yet at the same time she is no paragon. She stumbles, then pulls herself up and continues on. McDevitt writes with understanding and compassion for his characters, making their tragedies and triumphs all the more poignant.
The most compelling subplot involves Kim's relationship with Solly, or Solomon Hobbs, a starship captain. Solly thoroughly charms and for the most part plays an excellent role in the story. I did very much wish that this subplot had a different conclusion, however. The reason I had such a strong reaction, of course, is because McDevitt writes human interactions with such a wonderfully appealing touch.
Infinity Beach is an engrossing science fiction mystery. In addition to telling a great story, it offers the reader thoughtful questions about what it means for humanity to mature rather than stagnate as a species. McDevitt has served up another exciting, literate yarn.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
First class First Contact novel!, August 17, 2001
Sometime in the future... Earth's population spread out to nine planets, thanks to faster-than-light starships. It is the year 600 on Earth's colony planet Greenway, and scientist Kim Brandywine gets a phonecall from her former history teacher, bringing back the past to her. Three decades ago, Kim's clone sister vanished after a failed mission to find extraterrestrial life. But did the mission really fail?
These prerequisites are at the start of McDevitt's excellent novel which is a hybrid of different styles: hard SF, first contact but mostly a classic detective story. It's been ages since I read a SF novel where the author builds up so much suspense that you have a hard time putting the book down. The hard SF elements give the book a nicely futuristic atmosphere, but even people who are more into generic mystery literature will be able to get a kick out of this book.
McDevitt has the rare ability of combining a concise vision of the future with a remarkably accessible writing style. The positive message the book leaves at the end makes `Infinity Beach' a one-of-a-kind book that deserves to be read by a multitude of people.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
...or, What Happens when you let Idiots handle First Contact, December 9, 2008
I found the first half of this to be a very engaging mystery, though one having little to do with science fiction. Had the prologue not been there, I'd have thought I was reading a suspense thriller that was set in a bland society somewhere, and an effective thriller at that. It pulled me right along until we started getting answers.
The answers, frankly, were clunkers. Sure, they explained things, but the explanation was basically that everyone involved was an idiot with the brains of a five year old, and not a smart five year old. It was like watching an accident about to happen on a playground because everyone wanted to get on one particular swing. I winced at reading this. I suppose it's not unlikely that there be idiots in space, but why write about them? This dropped the book to a 3 out of 5 for me.
I'd like to address other readers' complaints about the blandness of the world, and the characters in general. First, the blandness was planned. It's clear that McDevitt, from the book and comments elsewhere, intends this book to show that we need to stretch our horizons. It's what the title means. Humans aren't meant to stick close to the beach. We'll always believe that there's something out there that we'll find if only we search hard enough. It's a major theme of this novel. The bland society that had developed on this planet made that instinct awaken among some of those living there to reach out and search.
Second, concerning character development. Only one character was really explored in depth, and that was the heroine Kim. The story is told from her point of view. She was a passable female (as a female I think I'm qualified to judge), and Mcdevitt made far more of an attempt than most sf writers to write from a female perspective. He's not Charles deLint, but he doesn't need to be. Some of the other characters that he sketches through her eyes are sharp and clear, like Solly and Ben. McDevitt did a good job of getting across who they were without wasting a lot of time on it.
It's not a bad book technically. But the people in it just had brain disconnect, including the unrepentant, selfish heroine whom I wanted to kick at several points along the way. Romance readers have an acronym, TSTL, Too Stupid To Live, to note characters whose actions that fly in the face of logic. There were an awful lot of TSTL ones in this book, and frankly I wish it had been about ones who were a little brighter.
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