Ancient Shores

Imagine you find a sailing ship burried on your land --- except there's no ocean around, and hasn't been one for tens of thousands of years. Then imagine that the metallurgists can't identify the material the sailing ship is made from. That's the beginning of this Jack McDevitt novel ... the first McDevitt novel I've read (I'd seen his short fiction before). It won't be the last. In the best SF style, McDevitt just keeps asking question after question after question, and the answers get bigger and bigger and bigger. A really first-rate book, despite the terrible cover art.

The Cover quoted the New York Daily news "...[and] a nailbiting ending." I skipped over this book dozens of times. A boat in North Dakota--the plot just didn't move me. Then I read "Moonfall" by the same author so I gave "Ancient Shores" a try. And found that the plot did move me...from one page to the next. Ohh and the Daily News was right--the ending is nailbiting. This was one of those books you hate to have end because you know you're going to miss the characters.

Cool story but the ending was open. The book should have a sequel or two. I did not ever think about the aspects of admitting "futuristic" technology to our current society. The effect could be extremely damaging as people rush to hedge their "bets" and withdraw their current investments in current technology.

A couple of scientist types find something that should just not be there. In a ten thousand year old excavation they find a reasonably modern boat.

How the hell did it get there, is the question. It leads to an even greater discovery, that of an alien structure that allows teleportation to far distant places.

This book takes an interesting idea and then somehow takes and pours concrete all over it! This was an incredibily slow read and one that does little to to look into the possibilities/problems the chance of new worlds would bring to society. There is little written here about exploring the world(s)opened up by the discovery of "gateways" to these worlds. The idea is pretty good of these gateways to other worlds craeted by an alien race but the book spends too much time on mental moral arguments. It limps along trying to tie everything in with some angst about the sins of the whites in their contacts with previous cultures on our world. Yeah, here is an opportunity for humanity to spread out again and these two shallow, boring characters spend most of the book in debate...Overall, a waste of money, too PC and just boring. As already stated a great idea done wrong! Try SM Stirlings "Conquistadors" for this type of book that works!

"ANCIENT SHORES" is a story filled with wonder and excitement! This is a must read for any person who wonders about other worlds that may exist out there. McDevitt gives us the info necessary for the story and does not add info that we do not need. The characters are "real" and the story is pretty fast paced. If you are looking for a story without a lot of complicated distractions read ANCIENT SHORES! This book will make you think. The ending was fantastic.

Like many reviewers, I thought this started out strong. However, by the middle, I really started to not like this. I had a hard time believing the lack of precautions taken by anyone, leading to somewhat predictable results. Many of the characters were just unappealing, and there were probably too many to begin with. I could have dealt with that and still enjoyed it as a light read. Mostly, what turned me off was an end that turned into a cameo-fest and the none-too-subtle "Government is evil, but scientists know best" message. The "scientists know best" bit is just a little too arrogant for me.

After reading, and loving, McDevitt's Engines of God, I eagerly awaited the release of Ancient Shores. While the premise was promising the execution wasn't. It relied too heavily on broad character characteratures and trite plot conventions- and the themes it explored (i.e., what happens to humans when we recieve proof of little green men) was treated better by Sagan's Contact-both the book and movie version.

McDevitt can really write a good sci fi novel. He reminds me of Lovecraft, because he deals with people delving into the mysteries of the universe. This book is really fun if you are into archeology, lost civilizations, etc.