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Chindi (Engines of God, Bk 3)
Chindi - Engines of God, Bk 3
Author: Jack McDevitt
The universe has been explored -- and humanity has all but given up on finding other intelligent life. Then an alien satellite orbiting a distant star sends out an unreadable signal. Is it the final programmed gasp of an ancient, long-dead race? Or the first greeting of an undiscovered life form?
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PBS Market Price: $8.09 or $4.19+1 credit
ISBN-13: 9780441011025
ISBN-10: 0441011020
Publication Date: 10/28/2003
Pages: 511
Rating:
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 110

3.7 stars, based on 110 ratings
Publisher: Ace
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

althea avatar reviewed Chindi (Engines of God, Bk 3) on + 774 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
Apparently, 'Chindi' is part of a series of books all set in the same universe by McDevitt, but this is the first book I've read by this author. A wealthy group devoted to the search for extraterrestrial civilizations gets an experienced pilot assigned to their mission. Although they're widely regarded as being a bunch of kooks, the mission is more successful than anticipated: a network of broadcasting satellites is discovered, all circling planets which have signs of now-dead civilizations - and they lead to a mysterious, gigantic alien spacecraft which seems to be an unmanned craft, creating a museum of alien civilizations.
The book is written reasonably entertainingly - in that it's got decent characterization, a constant flow of mystery, romance, action, and a near-constant death toll, but the problem was that I kept waiting for the big revelation that was going to reveal why all these alien civilizations seemed so remarkably and unbelievably HUMAN - I mean, one place they find is a near-exact simulacrum of a 19th-century European sitting room, just a little bit bigger - and no one even thinks that that is odd. But nothing of the sort ever came up in the book, and all I can attribute it to is a remarkable lack of imagination in describing possible alien cultures.
reviewed Chindi (Engines of God, Bk 3) on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
If you like wordy science fiction in the vein of the masters Asimov and Clarke then this will be a delight to read. Humans finally find out if there is other life in the universe. But maybe they don't want to have the answers to all the questions they want to ask?
reviewed Chindi (Engines of God, Bk 3) on + 25 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Jack McDevitt's Chindi is your basic human-alien-contact story. These kind of stories often include Big Dumb Objects. Chindi adds in a large number of Small Dumb Objects, too.

The book is fun. There's a good balance of action and exploration. There are plenty of unanswered questions. (Maybe too many.) The beginning drags a bit to develop the characters, but it pays off later in the story. Still, it could have been handled more smoothly. Overall, a good read.
reviewed Chindi (Engines of God, Bk 3) on + 160 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I am anxiously waiting to read the sequel, Omega. This book has made me request other books by Jack mcDevitt.
reviewed Chindi (Engines of God, Bk 3) on + 34 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A nice trip into outerspace the way we imagined it as kids. An entertaining book with nicely imagined alien landscapes. But will there be aliens.....?
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reviewed Chindi (Engines of God, Bk 3) on + 42 more book reviews
Wonderfully imaginative and exciting !!


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