Teaser

When a stone tablet covered in seemingly alien runes is put up for sale, Alex Benedict and his assistant Chase Kolpath find themselves on a mission that could answer the oldest question in the galaxy: Is there anybody out there . . ?

Review

Have I mentioned recently that I love Jack McDevitt? Because I love Jack McDevitt. Especially his Alex Benedict series, which could have been tailor-made to appeal to a reader like myself. I learned recently that McDevitt has now retired from writing (and given that he’s now in his nineties, who can blame him?) which means the Alex Benedict series is now complete at nine novels. Echo, being the fifth volume, therefore tips me over the halfway point in my journey through the series. It’s possibly my favourite one yet.

What I love about this series (other than the fact that each book can be read as a standalone) is the way they always start small. In Echo, Alex and Chase visit someone’s house to pick up a stone she found in her garden. Only someone has beaten them to it. Because this stone is an ancient tablet that might prove the existence of aliens. Rather than being put out, Alex and Chase track down the new owner of the tablet. Before you know it, they’re digging into archaeological records, attending conferences, investigating an interstellar tourism company, and doing some frontier exploration of their own. Things snowball from humble beginnings, but every transition feels natural. Of course point A leads to point B. How could it not?

The plot of Echo, much like McDevitt’s other works, changes frequently. There are red herrings and dead ends. But when there’s a new lead or a revelation, it never feels like a twist for the sake of it. It’s always an answer, even if we’re not quite sure what the question is until we have the full package. In this one, I worked out one of the major reveals ahead of time, but plenty more came as surprises. Knowing more than the characters isn’t a bad thing. Having an idea of how the game will end doesn’t negate watching the players make their moves. It just lets you marvel at the elegance with which McDevitt crafts his stories. I can’t think of anyone who weaves their mysteries so deftly.

Speaking to the larger theme of the book, we have the perennial question of ‘Are we alone in the universe?’ Of course, McDevitt’s future already includes one major alien species, the Mutes, but the series largely depicts a solely human future. and if there is one alien species, why not dozens of others? Regardless of whether or not Alex and Chase encounter aliens in this book (I won’t spoil it) I respect that McDevitt doesn’t give a one-size-fits-all answer. There are no Fermi Paradox solutions here. No great filters, or inhibitors, or deep times. Instead he gives us a discussion. Both the pro- and anti-alien existence camps have reasonable arguments. He also touches on why we ask these questions. Is there a need for life? Why do we look for the alien? Are we just lonely, or is there something more than that? For myself, I don’t know if there’s any innate need for alien contact in humanity’s genes. But if there is a purpose to our existence as a species, going out there to understand the universe is far from the worst one?

It’s strange to think that I wasn’t impressed by Chindi when I read it all those years ago. Giving Jack McDevitt a second chance was one of the best literary decisions of my life. He is an absolutely marvellous writer, and it’s a crying shame that he isn’t better known. If you’ve made it this far and have never read a McDevitt novel, do yourself a favour and correct that oversight. You won’t regret it.

Book Stats

• Alex Benedict #5
• Published in 2010
• 403 Pages