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.

More on the adventures of Chase

Another good book in series. Doing a reread so I’m fresh for village in the sky

Another great book from McDevitt!

Jennifer Van Dyck is back and sounding greater than ever! Really loved this book! If you struggle in the start please keep in there, as the book only gets better and better! :D

Excellent SciFi Mystery

What made the experience of listening to Firebird the most enjoyable?

The Story was well written, interesting and kept you guessing.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jack was my favorite character. I enjoyed how he out-thought his opponents and I was sympathetic to his viewpoints.

Entertaining, but the narrator is a bit flat.

Would you try another book from Jack McDevitt and/or Jennifer Van Dyck?

The story is compelling enough - starships, scientists, mysterious disappearances and holes in space time. McDevitt seems to be aiming for detailed character development, but instead the story falls a bit flat, with lots of exposition and irrelevant description.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Something about the narrator's voice was just a smidge off for my liking - the way she reads dialogue is a bit forced and lacking in believable emotion. It wasn't bad enough to turn me off the story, but it didn't draw me in the way other performances have. I suspect a slightly different narrative performance might have hooked me better.

Was Firebird worth the listening time?

All that said, it kept me intrigued and amused for the entirety of the performance. I was glad to listen, if only to pass the time.

Story very good, the reader, just above average.

Would you consider the audio edition of Firebird to be better than the print version?

To answer the above question, I would have to read the print version to answer the question. I've read 3 other Alex Bennedict Novels by Jack McDevitt (this is my first listening to one). Jennifer read the AI's portion in a stilting manner. Wrong. The AI's were programmed for conversation, and she should have read them as close to a free flowing human as possible. But that's not a reason to listen to this book. It's good.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I had no favorite character

What about Jennifer Van Dyck’s performance did you like?

She did female voices okay.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I'm not a marketing person, so I can't answer that question.

another one

really like the benedict series and this one is no different ,takes you back to the start and then forward again with every thing in between to satisfy and enthrall you about the story..

Good story

Would you listen to Firebird again? Why?

Yes. It was an enjoyable story. My first Jack McDevitt book that I have listened and I found it a constant & interesting read. I agree with other reviews that mentioned the AI voices being stilted and the story line a bit tame. I am glad I purchased it despite some poor reviews. The story was exploratory and I was surprised that the narration was from Chase' point of view not Alex's.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No. All good.

Any additional comments?

I would give this book the benefit of the doubt and download it. It was a story on a continuum not a lot of peaks and troughs in terms of exciting which makes a change from a book full of twists and turns. Really easy to listen to.

The master story-teller scores again

Jack McDevitt's series of yarns starring Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath, his pilot in a galactic setting. A Talent for War sets the standard for modern SF and is worth reading for a primer.

best Alex Benedict in a while

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. This has been my favorite Alex Benedict story since the earlier ones (Seeker, Polaris, etc). Devil's Eye and Echo were much less engaging, so it is great to see McDevitt back to form in this story. Really engaging, lots of ingest, and the characters are well drawn.

What other book might you compare Firebird to and why?

This one reminds me of the first Benedict book, A Talent For War

Another solid Benedict mystery

With the latest installment of the Benedict/Colpath series, McDevitt again demonstrates domination of the subgenre of sci-fi mysteries. The entire series is best summed up as Indiana Jones meets Sherlock Holmes in the distant future. In this story, Benedict stumbles upon artifacts from a controversial physicist who simply disappeared 40 years earlier. In trying to establish some background on the events surrounding his disappearance, Benedict displays his adroit detective skills, while at the same time exploring some rather exotic physics that suggests long lost spacecraft may still be out there wandering some interdimensional no man's land. McDevitt also takes the opportunity to explore notions of human consciousness and identity which suggest this will receive more attention in future installments.

As usual, McDevitt's style is unique in generating characters that are quite familiar and very identifiable with today's culture in spite of the 9000 years in the future separation with Earth. Politics, prejudice, and PR still exist in abundance. At the same time, there are discussion of where to go for lunch and dating versus long term commitments that make the characters feel real and approachable.

McDevitt also does a great job of spreading the contributions around without resorting to a strictly ensemble cast of one trick ponies. The casting of Colpath as Dr. Watson and diarist to Benedict is a nice touch that solidifies the Sherlock Holmes reference.

The narration is well done with an excellent range of voices. This is one series that is always something to look forward to the next.