Seeker

An Alex Benedict Novel

By: Jack McDevitt

Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck, Jack McDevitt (Introduction)

Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Thousands of years after an entire colony mysteriously disappears, antiquities dealer Alex Benedict comes into possession of a cup that seems to be from the Seeker, one of the colony's ships. Alex and his assistant, Chase Kolpath, follow a deadly trail to the Seeker, strangely adrift in a system barren of habitable worlds. But their discovery raises more questions than it answers, drawing Alex and Chase into the very heart of danger.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction by author Jack McDevitt.

©2005 Cryptic, Inc. (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Nebula Award, Best Novel, 2006

"Ideas abound in McDevitt's classy riff on the familiar lost-colony theme. The novel delivers everything it promises with a gigantic whallop." (Publishers Weekly)
"The logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke." (Stephen King)
"Jennifer Van Dyck keeps the story exciting as she recounts each find, telling of artifacts that are much older than anything Indiana Jones ever got his hands on. Jack McDevitt himself reads the introduction." (AudioFile)

Wow, what a story! Epic!

There's enough material packed into this book to write three really good books. i'm a big fan of McDevitt, and regret that the Pricilla Hutchins novels aren't available on Audible as well.

This is a great adventure. Enjoy!

Brilliant

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

I have already recommended it : excellent space opera. this is an universe you want to visit....

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

The end but I won't tell !!!

Any additional comments?

A most excellent reading that get you entirely into the story. I nearly made an extra exit on the highway to finish it ...

Mesmerizing far-future fiction

Would you listen to Seeker again? Why?

Yes, and I already have listened to it multiple times. It is a fascinating concept.

What did you like best about this story?

I love the long timeline imagined in this story. The idea that thousands of years in OUR future, our own future (in near centuries) will be ancient history.

What does Jennifer Van Dyck and Jack McDevitt (Introduction) bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Having an understanding about the foundation of the book provided additional perspective as the plot unfolded.

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

The moment that the protagonists discover what really, finally happened to the lost colonists, is the clear culmination of the book.

Loved It

I was on the edge of my seat for most of this novel, it is by far the best of the Alex Benedict novels.

Seeker is a hard sci fi story without the info dumps and cardboard characters that plague the genre. The characters feel real and the story incorporates an interesting mystery that involves cosmic incidents that only an astrophysicist could predict, but McDevitt makes fun and believable.

Jennifer Van Dyck did a wonderful job, her voice fits Chase very well and kept a good pace throughout.

I have to say that the complaints in the comments seem somewhat petty.

Very good book and narrator.

I enjoyed both the plot and the narrator.

Are we hiding? Why are all the women whispering?

I was going to blame this on the performer, and I'm sure some is her fault, but for goodness sake....WHY IS EVERY FEMALE VOICE WHISPERED????? Whispering is just plain off putting without a measure of intimacy with the whisperer, or some external influence causing whispering to be appropriate. what is REALLY bothersome is that Van Dyck has a fairly powerful voice, but for some unimaginable reason every female in the damn book is passively voiced save for Chase's interior monolog. Even CHASE speaks like a Lancome counter rep when she actually opens her mouth.

Past that, it is very plain that Jennifer received very little guidance from the producer or author regarding inflections, because far more than half of her inflections are off, and off by a mile. Sometimes she's asking a question when it's obvious that her statement was meant to be persuasive, sometimes she chuckles friendly when the statement is obviously meant to be argumentative, and worst of all, Chase is apparently a sociopath because when she's supposed to be scared or amped up she sounds like she's ordering fast good at a drive-thru.

And whoever had the idea to make the AIs' voices like a self checkout counter at a supermarket should apologize to every person who bought this audiobook. Unless there is a fairly solid story element I missed saying that AI speech is purposely flat and sharp, that was just bad production. Even HAL from 2001:ASO didn't sound that dumb.

I really recommend that the producer, and the performer listen to Suzy Jackson, R.C. Bray, or Mark Boyett. You won't hear a single whisper.

Wow, great story and a superb voice

The story is far into the future and the voice seems to match it. The narrator, Jennifer Van Dyck, must be the best voice I've heard in the many dozens of books I've listened to here at Audible.

The story was excellent, keep me intensely listening, and had some great new science fiction concepts.

Great fun ride

It moved along nicely, and it had the right amount of mystery and intrigue throughout. It was never a dull moment. Also the narrator was excellent.

Optimistic Far-Future Space Adventure

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, especially as much of the hard science fiction written these days seems to take a dystopian view of the future. I was totally blown away. Jack McDevitt writes with science firm in hand, but it's a backdrop to a truly grand adventure story. Think Indiana Jones crossed with a procedural mystery in space and you have Seeker. And no dessert without dinner, either, this story's deep.

I didn't care for some of Jennifer Van Dyck's fantasy narrations, but she shone here. Pacing and voicing combined for an immersive listen with a few laugh-out-loud moments. I'll definitely look for more Alex Benedict in the future!

Antiquarian from the future.

Would you listen to Seeker again? Why?

Yes primarily because it was a good future mystery. Second because I'm sure I missed a few fun bits. While this is not the first of the series ( although the 1st I've read) it can be read out of serie. Easy to come up to speed on characters and story continum.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the mystery aspect.

Which character – as performed by Jennifer Van Dyck and Jack McDevitt (Introduction) – was your favorite?

Chace (sp) while Alex is realisticly the primary or lead character in these stories. Chace is the posibly more simpathetic, engaging, competent character

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, not that type of book for me.

Any additional comments?

I chose this simply due to ratings. I read mixed reviews of the first in the series but still wanted to sample the serie.. Now, I would have liked to have started with the first and while I'm certain I'll enjoy it imagine it may be fractionally better reading it first.