“Odisea” forma parte de la serie La Máquina de Dios y se nota. El primer cuarto del libro es únicamente para poner en situación al lector y hace que te preguntes más de una vez si no te habrás equivocado y ya habías leído este libro.

Otro cuarto del libro está dedicado a política presupuestaria y a dar una opinión sobre el marketing y las relaciones públicas muy simple y primaria, de la que se podía haber prescindido tranquilamente.

Algunos de los protagonistas son los mismos que Omega, Chindi y Deepsix, aunque más maduros ya que ha pasado el tiempo. En esta ocasión tienen que conocer la verdad sobre “los jinetes lunares”, unas naves espaciales que aparecen cerca de sistemas cercanos a la Tierra y que amenazan algunas de las construcciones humanas fuera del planeta, entre las que se encuentra un colisionador de partículas construido en la órbita de un planeta fuera del Sistema Solar (obviamente, disponen de tecnología que les permite viajar a través del hiperespacio y por lo tanto, situarse en cualquier parte de la galaxia en tiempos razonables)… como en la mayor parte de las obras de esta serie, el libro se termina sin que quede claro quienes son los visitantes de otro mundo.

Una parte que sí es interesante es la que habla sobre el Turismo Espacial y el equilibrio entre los presupuestos para la investigación y las fuentes de ingresos derivadas del Turismo Espacial.

El libro pasa bien, pero no es de los que engancha. ( )

Once again, Jack McDevitt takes the world of over two hundred year into the future, with FTL ship and mysterious circumstances, and makes it as stale as a thirty year-old travel guide. ( )

Jack McDevitt's "Odyssey," yet another addition to his often-outstanding Priscilla Hutchins series of novels, is an unfortunate departure from his ordinary manner of writing, and one that can leave fans with an odd feeling.

Odyssey tracks the events surrounding a public relations flight, a departure from the norm. Although the mission is ostensibly designed to look into the phenomenon of "moonriders" - unexplained lights that seem to follow spacecraft from time to time - the real purpose of the mission is to boost flagging public interest in the interstellar flight program. However, not far into the mission, two things become apparent: that moonriders are indeed real, and that they may not be friendly. (Unfortunately, the cover art essentially gives that tidbit away before one even begins reading, which spoils much of the discovery.)

True to form for a McDevitt novel, the story is both interesting and non-linear, with generous helpings of science to keep hard sci-fi readers interested. But rather than the cohesive narratives that McDevitt fans expect, the story is oddly disjointed and awkward in places, and may feel somewhat unfulfilling. Of course, any McDevitt fan will gladly say that even a mediocre book from the man is better than most of the bestsellers on the lists, it is nevertheless apparent that Odyssey is not one of McDevitt's best novels.

Even so, Odyssey is worth the read for three reasons. First, it shows that, even in an enlightened future, bureaucracy will still be driven by nearsighted people who are uninterested in anything beyond their line of sight. Second, that public relations is still as much an art as is sleight of hand. And third, that even in a seemingly linear book, there will still be surprises lurking so long as Jack McDevitt is the author.

Rating this book is particularly difficult. On its own merits, Odyssey is easily a three to three-and-a-half star book, if not a four. But rated against McDevitt's other works - and the sky-high expectations that they have created in his fans - it falls slightly short. Still, Odyssey is well-worth buying and reading for fans and newcomers alike.

-BrowncoatLibrarian ( )

Unidentified Flying Project Annihilators.

Priscilla Hutchins is now a senior administrator in the Academy, dealing with politics and all that fun stuff. Gregory McAllister is the editor of a journal of political and social commentary, so the Academy, and the large amount of money they have spent on not finding a living sentient race is one of his targets, when there ar ea lot of environmental problems on earth that need fixing.

Some shenanigans and manipulation in the background, and the appearance of an alien threat that can apparently throw asteroids around and likely has technology advanced beyond human.

A fairly dry book, no real tension, and the McAllister character is the lead for most of it, and chapters are led with various 'headlines' from the media, plaing on the fact that he is a commentator, so it is like observing what action there is one step removed, for quite a bit of it.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2007/09/odyssey-jack-mcdevitt.html ( )

I really enjoyed this book. Great story. Great characters. A few interesting twists and turns. ( )