Coming Home
Jack McDevitt
Ace, Nov 4 2014, $25.95
ISBN: 9780425260876
In 11,256 C.E., most people are thrilled when a nine millennium
old beginning of the space age relic is found; as much of them went missing
when places like the Florida Peninsular fell beneath the sea. When charismatic dawn of the space age
archeologist (sans degree) Garnett Baylee recently died, he left behind an
incomplete enigma in his home tied to the twentieth century mythological Apollo
baby steps.
Pilot Chase Kolpath flies antiquities dealer Alex Benedict to
Earth to investigate Baylee’s last find, but make no progress on locating the
rest of Apollo. Unable to be in two
places at the same time, Alex places their search on temporary hold though the
antiquarian fears the delay will prove costly and realizes his beloved father-figure
Uncle Gabe Benedict will lecture him for risking an opportunity. Instead the pair leaves to meet the
interstellar vessel Capella, which disappeared eleven years ago with over two
thousand passengers and crew on board including Alex’s Uncle Gabe. Aware of three other lost ships recovered
near Sanusar, but also knowing they have a short time before the Capella vanishes
again; the Sanusar Recovery Force, Alex and Chase attempt to save those on-board.
The seventh Benedict-Kolpath science fiction mystery is a fabulous
far futuristic thriller though the adventures seem somewhat muted compared with
the lead duo’s previous escapades (see Firebird and The Devil's Eye). The two subplots engage readers in different
ways. The Floridian space age artifacts
and whole state being under the ocean serve as a climate warning through an
historiographical archeological looking back over nine millennia (mindful of
the movie The Virgin President - Fillard Millmore); while the Capella return is
a thrilling space time-warp rescue mission.
Harriet Klausner
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