Firebird

An Alex Benedict Novel

By: Jack McDevitt

Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck

Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

A new Alex Benedict novel from "a master of describing otherworldly grandeur" (Denver Post).

Forty-one years ago, the renowned physicist Chris Robin vanished. Before his disappearance, his fringe-science theories about the existence of endless alternate universes had earned him both admirers and enemies. Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath discover that Robin had several interstellar yachts flown far outside the planetary system, where they too vanished. And following Robin's trail into the unknown puts Benedict and Kolpath in danger.

©2011 Cryptic, Inc. (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Excellent!

I had read this in the paper version when it first came out. I actually downloaded this one in error. but it was so much fun listening to it, and I do believe that I enjoyed it more than I did when I read it the first time. the narration is wonderful and as is always the case with these Jack McDevitt books, the character development is amazingly deep.

Another in a Line of Great Listening

Like previous Alex Benedict novels this is fast moving, thoughtful, and uses characters well. Like the rest he takes us through a mystery in the far future of humanity. In this case he covers something that has been happening since the first novel in the series, infrequent disappearances of intersellar space craft. It is a mixture of learning what humans are and what we will do for each other.

If you have loved the previous in this series you will like this one, too. If you aren't familiar, I would suggest you read earlier ones to get the full effect of the series.

The narrator has done several of these novels and has a good style developed that makes identifying character changes and specific characters fluid. She does overplay Chase, the female lead, a bit hysterically. It is noticable but not a huge blemish. Otherwise her voice carries you through to the end.

Just your typical McDevitt awesomeness!

The Universe that Jack McDevitt has created is vast indeed. This book simply adds another chapter into it. The story, is as always, very well done, with plenty to keep your mind going. The character Alex Benedict, as your future day Sherlock Holmes, takes all the clues you never knew where there and makes amazing leaps and bounds in understanding the greater picture. Adding in fact and the unpredictability of humans and AI's (betas) to come to the correct conclusion. And although Jack brings closure to this book, the new doors he's opened leave even more room to expand. I can't wat for the next novel!

Just another awesome Book!

Reader

Need a better more age appropriate sounding voice for Chase Colpath. Other than that it was very enjoyable and very hard to turn off.

This is what I read for.

This is so awesome. I don’t want to increase expectations beyond what anything can deliver but this has everything. I cannot wait to read the next one.

Amazingly Boring

What would have made Firebird better?

If something actually happened in the book.

How could the performance have been better?

I don't think the reader was suited to the genre.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment

Any additional comments?

Don't listen to this if you actually want a sci-fi adventure. There is very little sci-fi in it and Nothing seems to happen and I don't think we can finish it.

What a disappointment!

What disappointed you about Firebird?

I kept waiting for the story to come to life. I was never drawn to the characters or story... and when did Chase get so whiny!

What could Jack McDevitt have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Go back to his original story telling!

Space Archaeology! How could you go wrong?

Space Archaeology - What could be better than that? Where do I sign up? Those were my thoughts after the first hour or so into this book. However, the "Best of both worlds - Star Wars meets Indiana Jones" adventure that I felt I was promised quickly degenerated into something far more disappointing. The first half of this is a mystery solver - going here and there, interviewing people and collecting clues and data - very run of the mill, boring stuff. The second part turns into a series of rescue missions for people whose ships have gotten trapped outside the normal space-time continuum. The solving of the initial mystery is a real anticlimax, treated like a footnote, breaking the payoff of the story type we were initially promised. This guy needs to read up on some of Orson Scott Card's writing classes and books.
Ultimately a disappointment, with little territory that hasn't been covered. It felt like an amateur attempt at Ian Banks. Furthermore I didn't care for all the religious themes and discussions within the book. I hate when authors try to make conclusions when it's obvious they don't have a deep knowledge of their subject matter. I don't know what you were trying to accomplish but best if you'd stayed away, Jack.
This was my first novel in this series. Perhaps I should have started with the first one chronologically.

Where did they find this Narrator?

What disappointed you about Firebird?

The narrator covers the story like a shrill female Captain Kirk and characters are protrayed as angry frequently when the story doesn't call for that emotion. So bad I could not continue regardless of some interest in the story itself

Would you be willing to try another book from Jack McDevitt? Why or why not?

I would try with a different narrator

Would you be willing to try another one of Jennifer Van Dyck’s performances?

You couldn't pay ME

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

I can't imagine why this book was written. I had to put it down after the 3rd chapter. It was awful. Don't waste your time. Not worth it even at $5.95.