A Talent For War [Mass Market Paperback]

Jack McDevitt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 29, 2004

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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jack McDevitt is a former naval officer, taxi driver, customs officer and motivational trainer. He is a multiple Nebula Award finalist who lives in Georgia with his wife Maureen.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ace (June 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441012175
• ISBN-13: 978-0441012176
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #61 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Adventure

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Story...Interesting Backdrop, May 31, 2005

By 

themarsman (Georgetown, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Talent For War (Mass Market Paperback)

A Talent for War presents an enjoyable trek through a future history...a history with it's own figure-heads and heroes, and shows us how those people actually were. McDevitt gives us the science fiction equivalent of taking us back to the American Revolution and putting us into the heads of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. McDevitt exquisitely executes this future history through the backdrop of the protagonist, Alex Benedict, and his search for the truth about what happened to the longterm exploratory ship Tenandrome. What did the crew find that they thought they had to erase all public records of the journey, and essentially swear themselves to silence about that journey.

McDevitt's only flaw in this book is that he seems to get sidetracked a bit with minutae...who said what at this meeting or that, who did what, where...etc. Some of this was clearly needed...but he goes overboard just a bit. This detracts from the story only a little though. Mostly, I just desperately wanted to find out the answers to the mysteries McDevitt poses. A Talent for War is a really good read, McDevitt's character analyses are dead-on and consequently he does a wonderful job of making you feel what the characters feel. As long as you enjoy good storytelling this book is highly recommended to anyone, period.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic to read and reread., October 8, 2003

By 

Fluxbyte (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Talent for War (Mass Market Paperback)

My personal experience of this novel has been similar to that expressed in 'Hrinwar's review. I can across it in a remainders bin in '94, one of my most fortunate finds ever. Since then I have read it pretty much every year, sometimes more. This is not from lack of other material to spend my time on but the levels that unravel as the story progresses, the sheer thrill of watching the clues come together, the intrigue built up around the historic mysteries, never fail to hold me entranced. I love this book and only wish others by the same author, or anyone else for that matter, could ignite my interest in the same way. However it would be an irrelevance to make comparisons with other works - put simply it is one of my most deeply held personal favourites and has stood the test of nine years repeated reading. A supreme example of a deeply satisfying reading experience.

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Grand Stirring Saga for a Backdrop, November 15, 2003

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Talent for War (Mass Market Paperback)

A grand, sweeping tale that will appeal especially to those with a classical education. By deliberately using the histories of ancient Greece as the underlayer of this story, he imbues it with a stirring, mythic flavour. Done in many explicit ways. The wife of Sim, the lost hero, is an instructor in Greek philosophy and history. Sim himself, before the way, is depicted as writing a book on the war between Greece and Persia.

The main events of the war are two hundred years before the contemporary events. McDevitt uses this to add a sepia tone of nostalgia. Akin to Americans looking back at their Civil War. McDevitt adds amusing little sidenotes for detailed depth. All this is set in the far future, in a high technological star-spanning setting. Yet McDevitt has the narrator say how the advances of the narrator's time has taken the romance out of daily life, unlike the stirring days of the war.

The narrator's search across space to solve the mystery is akin to that in Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, in the last volume, when members of the First Foundation search for the Second. There are other similarities. Firstly in style. McDevitt cultivates a sparse descriptive narrative, much like that used by Asimov throughout his books. But there is something more. Joseph Patrouch in the late 70s wrote "The Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov", where he critiqued the Foundation Trilogy. He noted that the major action events were not usually described directly ("in real time"). Rather, Asimov would have his characters recall the events, after they had occurred. McDevitt's book resembles this. To large extent, it is not really a book on military science fiction. A reader of Drake, Weber, Pournelle or Stirling would see this quickly. But at a subtler level, the saga-like backdrop does give this book such a cadence.