A review by lowlevel
Engines of God by Jack McDevitt

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I found The Engines of God to be somewhat of a mixed bag.

The premise was intriguing. The story follows interstellar pilot Priscilla Hutchins as she helps xenoarchaeologists unravel a mystery about a potential cosmic threat that may have affected ancient civilizations. It's a light, refreshing read that feels like an Indiana Jones movie in space. If you're in the mood for simple sci-fi and dangerous adventures, this is a decent novel.

However, some of the characters were written in a way that often broke my suspension of disbelief. You would think safety would be a key value for archaeologists, yet the author makes them do absurdly reckless things. Their disregard for safety made those characters seem artificial, not at all like how scientists would approach dangerous situations.

On the bright side, McDevitt knows how to unravel a mystery. At times, the pacing felt slow, but overall I enjoyed the book and found it intriguing. Priscilla Hutchins is the kind of nice, intelligent character who would probably motivate me to read other books in this series.