‘We are alone. That is the verdict, after centuries of Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence missions and space exploration. The only living things in the Universe are found on the Nine Worlds settled from Earth, and the starships that knit them together. Or so it’s believed, until Dr. Kimberley Brandywine sets out to find what happened to her clone-sister Emily, who, after the final unsuccessful manned SETI expedition, disappeared along with the rest of her ship’s crew.Following a few ominous clues, Kim discovers the ship’s log was faked. Something happened out there in the darkness between the stars and she’s prepared to go to any length to find answers. Even if it means giving up her career... stealing a starship... losing her lover. Kim is about to discover the truth about her sister – and about more than she ever dared imagine.’Blurb from the 2001 Eos paperback editionIn a future where Humanity has expanded out to a handful of settled planets and seems to have culturally stalled, Kim Brandywine is working for an institute still trying to search for Extraterrestrial Life. Kim is haunted by the death of her clone-sister Emily who was on an exploratory voyage and who disappeared, along with another member of the crew, without trace after she returned. The two male survivors of the Hunter Expedition were subsequently involved in a mysterious explosion at Mount Hope on their home planet, an area which has since had sightings of ghostly apparitions.Emily is contacted by the grandfather of the other missing girl who believes that there is something more to their disappearance than meets the eye.Initially cynical, Kim begins to uncover small pieces of evidence which leads her to suspect that something is very wrong with the official story of the voyage of the Hunter and, facing opposition from her employers and the families of the now-dead crew, becomes determined to uncover the truth of what happened to her sister.McDevitt gives us a gripping scientific detective story which combines a first contact situation with brilliantly evocative moments of ghostly horror and an old unsolved murder.Interestingly, McDevitt succeeds well in realising a planet settled some six hundred years ago which now has experts researching its own history and archaeology. It makes for a very well-rounded society, if a tad Americocentric. The structure is well thought out, although perhaps a little cinematic. It is a bit of a cliche for the hero/ine to be not believed/discredited/fired and then have to solve the mysteries while the authorities are snapping at her heels.All in all, though, it’s a cracking piece of work. Nothing groundbreaking, just a solid piece of well-written SF with a detective thriller twist.
"Infinity Beach" by Jack McDevitt was OK. I liked it. I might read it again. It got a little goofy about two thirds of the way through the book. That is because the main character is a woman and I didn't agree with her motivations. They seemed... too idealistic to be real and the people around her seemed too passive to make sense, but I think that was part of the message of the book.Story: The human race has reached the apex of it's achievements. There is nothing left to learn. Even an astrophysicist like Kim was just putting the last decimal places on previous discoveries. She wonders if she shouldn't just take the government stipend, sit on the porch and wait for G-d.Years ago Emily set out on a space voyage and went missing... not in space but lost on the cab ride to her hotel. Never found again, but Emily's sister/clone, Kim, wants to find out what really happened on that last voyage of the Hunter? What did they find? How did Yoshi disappear and all the other crew members mysteriously die except for the pilot, Kane?This is a ghost story and a SciFi story. It gets a little freaky and my hairs stood on end in a few places. I liked it, but I didn't like the lazy attitudes of the characters. Of course that is all part of it. The human race is not exploring any more. Why be better? Why try? There is nothing out there to find. We know. We looked. Right?And in following this mystery of her lost sister, it is obvious that Kim has LOTS OF FREE TIME! :-) If I wanted to follow a mystery and I had a job I couldn't just take off a couple of days every time I wanted to. But apparently this is normal.... for everyone. Weird. OK. That's enough. It's good writing. I liked it until near the end. Then it became predictable but there were still a few surprises left.Good for kids? No. Too much sex. Not lurid or anything but still... descriptive enough. Forget it. They do agree to get married though. Cursing? Not that much. I don't recall any but there probably was. High school students would be OK with this? Yeah. I suppose.This book stands alone. The title is too cerebral but that's just me.
What do You think about Infinity Beach (2001)?
The first time I read this (in 2000) I didn't much like it. It was an interesting space adventure, but I didn't like that the "aliens" were fake--it seemed like cheating to have them be some kind of human artifact. I've carried that memory with me all these years and I only decided to re-read it because I needed something I could lay down and pick up again at will.And, of course, those of you who have read the book know that this is absolutely not how the plot goes. The aliens are real, they aren't something human-created that just looks alien, and the secret about who they are is pretty clever. I'm mystified as to how I could have created such an obviously incorrect memory, given that I read it for a book club and would, as usual, have developed that opinion because of the discussion. And it's not like this is complicated literature; nothing about the plot is ambiguous. Apparently I had a momentary lapse of intelligence twelve years ago. I hope it was momentary.Infinity Beach is a good example of its kind, space exploration wedded with mystery, and the sort of novel that McDevitt has built his career on since. Kim Brandywine's search for her missing clone-sister Emily plays out like a good investigative mystery, against the background of a human society that has become decadent and passive as it has eliminated problems like poverty and old age. Did Emily disappear because she was murdered, or was her disappearance part of something whose revelation to the world might have dire consequences? I had some issues with McDevitt's idea of a future society, but the kind that prompt me to reflect on what I think about the subject, not the kind that irritate me because he's Just So Wrong. I'm so glad I chose to read the book again, if only so I can remember it the right way this time.
—Melissa McShane
This stand-alone novel explores in depth the possibilities of unplanned consequences of a first contact, such as political motives, accidental mistakes, and poor planning. Can we rely on aliens to be friendly and should we seek them out, or should we hide from them because they might be dangerous to us? This book goes into depth exploring these issues by presenting strange results of a first contact and the efforts of a heroine to figure out what happened and why the strange results occurred. I gave it only three stars because I thought parts of it were difficult to read and understand.
—Chet
Another good read by Jack McDevitt. It's a first contact novel and a good one. Suppose the Chinese and the Spanish had met at Panama and someone died. A botched first contact. The story here is similar. Humanity has, for the most part, given up on exploration having contacted no one in the centuries since the discovery of FTL travel. A private vessel makes contact with another lifeform and messes it up. People die on both sides. The humans hush it up. Years later the sister of one of the dead learns of the cover up and decides to right things. A second attempt at first contact. Puzzles abound and others don't want the past re-opened and someone, or something, is lurking in the woods. A good story, well told.
—Joe AuBuchon
