(1989)A good story about Alex Benedict trying to find out the true story behind a war hero.The uncle of a dealer of antiquities, Alex Benedict, dies and leaves him his fortune. The uncle was a prominent, if controversial, amateur archaeologist and was working on a project that could have Galactic repercussions. Benedict slowly becomes entangled in his uncle's work after he travels to his uncle's planet to resolve his affairs. Benedict first trys to figure out what his uncle was working on, and subsequently trys to finish the project. This is a hard sci-fi mystery in which the protagonist ultimately attempts to resolve a 200 year old enigma. McDevitt created an intricate, detailed, and believable history surrounding his characters. In fact, the history is so complex that it is sometimes hard to keep track of who did what. One thing that I really liked about this story was that the main character, Alex Benedict, was not some super brilliant, almost superhuman, scientist/soldier/poet/chef/entrepreneur. He has some human imperfections, and associates with many less than perfect people. In fact, he sells archaeological artifacts to private collectors. Almost certainly unethical, if not illegal, in our modern world. This story reminded me of Larry Niven's `Flatlander' stories about Gil `The Arm' Hamilton, although it is superior in my opinion. Reviewer: Utah Blaine (Amazon.com)

I first came across this story in the late 80's through Alef magazine (issue #6)'s short story "Dutchman".

It was great and very epic. Man who sacrificed a lot to defeat humankind's enemies gets enraged because it seems that his own side is willing to kill off his entire force without even attempting to help him. Soon he finds himself stranded on the deserted planet by his own people because they cannot let him retreat [since he is a symbol of the resistance]. Due to the twist of fate (although I hardly believe faith of that man would be any different if things went the other way) his whereabouts get lost and he is considered dead for all means and purposes and in death he becomes a central point of organized resistance, mythical person who finally manages to unite the humankind to push back at the aggressor.

After a while I came across this novel and story seemed very familiar but I did not read the book before. Apparently [a: Jack Mcdevitt|73812|Jack McDevitt|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1225722326p2/73812.jpg] took the short story as a basis and wrote a whole novel about it. Not being able to find the Alef magazine issue in question I quickly dived into this one.

Novel is great, I especially liked how historical elements got incorporated into the story. It shows how certain elements that are accepted as historical truths don't necessarily have anything to do with the truth. Well-tailored post-action stories that appeal to the people are the ones that got written down and remembered (hence the notion that history is not very precise science). Truth gets veiled by false stories to achieve the "greater good" (what would today be known as spinning the story) whatever greater good is for authors of these false stories.

Excellent book, that did not lose anything when compared to the short story. Message is more than clear - don't take anything at the face value, be aware that victors write the history but even they do not tell everything. Many a revolution devours its own children.

Highly recommended. ( )

The first in the Alex Benedict series, and the only one in the series I've read with Benedict as the narrator. The other books in the series I've read have all been told from the point of view of Chase Kolpath, his assistant, so it is kind of funny to see her from the outside, and find out how the two meet op.
The other books in the series has always struck me as Nero Wolfe and Archie in space, so a kind of cozy space noir. This one has a lot more science, and pathos.
I found it a little difficult to track all the names and planets, and all the science and military details piled on to make the pacing uneven and the story somewhat boring and disengaging.
The Indiana Jones in space vibe may be a little stronger in this one as well.

The uncle that raised Alex Benedict disappears on a spaceship, and he inherits the estate as well as the mystery that Gabe, the uncle, was working on when he disappeared.

Alex digs into the mystery, teaming up with Chase when she shows up for money Gabe owed her as part of a planned expedition.
The mystery is somehow related to a 200 year old war between humans and aliens (so called 'mute' telepaths), and ends up with an amazing historical as well as scientific discovery and out and out warfare between Alex and Chase on the one side, and a mute ship on the other. ( )

Todos conocían la aventura de Cristopher Sim, el héroe interestelar con un raro talento para la guerra, el luchador que logró cambiar la historia cuando convocó y dirigió al grupo de marginados que inició la defensa de los telépatas alienígenas del Ashiyyur. Pero, doscientos años después de esa gesta, Alex Benedict encontrará en un viejo ordenador retazos de información que, de ser ciertos, plantearían múltiples dudas sobre la gesta de Sim y sus míticos luchadores. La arriesgada búsqueda de la verdad llevará a Benedict a cuestionar la leyenda y la historia oficial, y le obligará a adentrarse en el corazón del territorio alienígena, para encontrar una verdad más extraña de lo que pudiera imaginar cualquier ficción.

Complex and intriguing sci-fi detective work, recommended. ( )