The Devil's Eye

It starts with a strange message. Horror author Vicki Greene claims they're 'all dying' and then signs out--and has her brain and personality erased after first leaving a huge payment in antiquities dealer Alex Benedict's account. Shortly before her personality erasure, Vicki had visited Salud Afar, a planet circling a star outside the Milky Way galaxy and Alex decides he and his assistant, Chase Kolpath, have got to put their lives aside and follow Vicki's path. Because her message and her money have got to mean something. Salud Afar is a horror fan's dream-come-true. Every village seems to have stories of ghosts, restless spirits, werewolves, or mad scientists run amuck. Overhead, the giant star Callistra stares down--known to the locals as 'the Devil's Eye.' Meanwhile, conflict between humans and the alien species known as 'Muties' simmers near the boil. Chase is frustrated but not surprised to discover one hoax after another. Salud Afar is very far indeed from the inhabited stars of the Confederacy and depends on tourist dollars, but it's clear that there's something other than hoaxes because Vicki did come back damaged. Alex and Chase's investigation eventually sets off alarms somewhere and security forces arrest them, believing they've already learned whatever secret Vicki knew. Separated, on the run, and with little to go on, Chase must somehow learn whatever the entire world seems intent on hiding...and stay alive while doing it. What she doesn't know, however, is that learning the secret will put her into even more danger. Author Jack McDevitt combines mystery, science fiction and probing social comentary in a strong and compelling story. Chase Kolpath, in particular, comes off as spunky, clever and three-dimensional. McDevitt's analysis of the relationship between humans and muties definitely has some lessons for us in the merely human world. This was my first experience with McDevitt and I have to say, I'll look for more. Very enjoyable.

_The Devil's Eye_ is the latest and my opinion the best of the four Alex Benedict novels by Jack McDevitt. Though I don't think it necessary for a new reader to have read the previous three volumes in the series some of the references made to past events won't mean as much if they had not been read first. As with the first three books, _The Devil's Eye_ focuses on two individuals, Alex Benedict, renown interstellar antiquities dealer, and his capable assistant Chase Kolpath. The book is told from Chase's point of view (as are all but the first book in the series if memory serves). This book, though very much faithful to the feel and tone of the series, made some significant (and in no way negative) departures from the earlier novels. Earlier in the series it had always been some discovery, some famous archaeological artifact, lost treasure, ship, colony, or the like that got the story moving along, of the chance for Alex and Chase to both solve some endearing mystery that has bedeviled histories as well as perhaps to make some lucrative discoveries (as Alex is after all an antiquities dealer, not a museum curator). This time however the initial thing that moves Alex and Chase to begin their latest adventures is not a famous lost ship, not a nearly legendary lost colony, but a celebrated horror writer. A living one, one that left a cryptic message for Alex and Chase when they were vacationing on Earth. The message was difficult to understand; all the two protagonists could tell was that this writer, a woman by the name of Vicki Greene, was nearly scared to death, believed herself to be in deep trouble, her recorded message closing with the rather worrying "God help me, they're all dead." When they got back to their home on Rimway, Alex and Chase followed up on Ms. Greene, wanting more information, why she felt she was in such trouble, who was dead (and why), and why did she contact them of all people. To their great sadness they find that Vicki Greene had been mind-wiped. Of her own choice. Whatever horror that scared her so much, whatever it was that was going to kill (or had killed) people, it was now lost to them. Vicki Greene was effectively dead; her body and brain survived quite well and in time would reenter society as a brand new person with a new identity, with no memory whatsoever of her past (and also legally protected from being found and interviewed by those who knew her as Vicki Greene). Having found that Vicki had left a very large deposit in Alex's bank account and intrigued by the mystery, Alex and Chase begin a very frustrating investigation. They found she left precious few clues as to what it was that had so scared her that she preferred a mind-wipe. All trails lead to a recent trip she had returned from, to the planet Salud Afar, one of the most isolated human-settled worlds, a planet on the very edge of the galaxy. Indeed, it was 20,000 light-years from the rim and practically in intergalactic space. The plan

The Devil's Eye (2008) is the fourth SF novel in the Alex/Chase series, following Seeker. In the previous volume, Alex, Chase and Shara discovered the lost world of the Margolians. They are almost killed by the homicidal maniac who had destroyed the shuttle and then lost their ship to his destructive actions. In this novel, Alex Benedict is an antiquarian, buying and selling pieces of history through his business Rainbow Enterprises. Since he lives ten thousand years or more in the future, there is a plenitude of famous goods from past polities and personalities. Chase Kolpath is a starship pilot and executive assistant for Rainbow Enterprises. She has been an integral part of the business for several years, but has always taken a backseat to Alex regarding awards and public recognition. Vicki Greene is a very wellknown horror writer. She has been on Salud Afar, a world thirty-one thousand lightyears beyond the galactic rim. She has a vivacious personality and is an interesting speaker. Selotta is a Mute. Like all Ashiyyureans, she is telepathic, reading the minds of nearby Terrans. She is the director at the Museum of Alien Lifeforms on Borkarat. Kassel is Selotta's mate. He is a politician on Borkarat, roughly equivalent to a small town mayor. In this story, Alex and Chase have been on vacation to Earth, showing Selotta and Kassel the sights. They conclude the grand tour with a submergible ride through the city of Atlantis, the long lost land of antiquity. At their predeparture dinner, Alex presents the Ashiyyureans with a brick from the Atlantean Temple of Akiva. On the way home to Rimway, Alex checks his messages and finds one from Vicki Greene. She asks him to help her with an unexplained problem. Then he finds that Vicki has deposited two million into the Rainbow account. In her message, Vicki declares that "They are all dead" without specifying any names. When Alex and Chase try to locate her, she is nowhere to be found. Then they discover that she has had a mindwipe. The psychiatric facility where the mindwipe occurred offers little help beyond stating that Vicki had asked for the procedure to be performed. Her present name and location are withheld as a matter of medical confidentiality. They learn more about Vicki from her fellow writers and fans than from the doctors. The situation haunts Alex, although Chase tries to divert him to other activities. Eventually, he decides to travel to Salud Afar and Chase goes with him. Even with the quantum drive, the voyage takes about a month. On Salud Afar, they learn that Vicki has tentatively named her next novel The Devil's Eye. Then they discover that the only star visible from the system -- other than the local sun -- is also called The Devil's Eye. And they find out about some houses destroyed and people disappeared by the secret police of the previous administration. This tale is another interstellar mystery. Both Alex and Chase are threatened by an unknown

I have read almost all of Jack McDevitt's novels. I have never found a bad one and this is by far the best ever. Thank you Jack.

Having become a Jack McDevitt fan, I have acquired all of his novels and have found them all to be immenseley entertaining. I ordered "The Devil's Eye earlier this year when I found out it was being released and throughly enjoyed reading it. This was the fourth in the Alex Benedict series and was an enjoyable page turner. I've found that the enjoyment of a book on a fictional adventure is similar to enjoying any other work of fiction; simply be willing to go with the assumptions made and enjoy the ride. If you'r not comfortable with the assumptions, you might as well go on to something else; I've found some books that just didn't work for me so I gave them to the library without even finishing them. This book definitely worked for me and I found myself commenting to no one in particular as I read through it what a good writer McDevitt happens to be. If you're new to Jack McDevitt I can also recommend the Priscilla Hutchings series of 6 books. Hutch, as she is called, is a superluminal pilot who gets into and out of all kinds of adventures. With both series there is almost no dead time; something interesting is always going on and Jack McDevitt's fertile imagination comes up with some fascinating and unexpected twists. While Isaac Asimov was alive I always looked forward to his next book and thought of him as my favorite living science fiction author. Now that he is gone I can say without reservation that Jack McDevitt has taken over that spot. In summary, everyting that I've read by Jack McDevitt has been entertaining and fast paced. There may be an occasional unresolved loose end, but perhaps Jack McDevitt will see fit to go back and write another novel that will fill in the gaps. I can recommend this book without reservation, and hope you enjoy it as much as I did!