Jack McDevitt - Infinity Beach - 8

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Infinity Beach

This is really quite an entertaining thriller set in a scifi/first contact tableau.

It is set in a distant future in which, after finding and colonizing a few earthlike worlds, but finding absolutely no sign of any extraterrestrial life, mankind has essentially given up on both space exploration and the search for other life in the universe.

Our protagonist, Emily, is a young scientist turned p.r. person for the remaining space exploration agency. She starts looking into the mysterious disappearance of her sister some twenty five years earlier, and eventually starts to find evidence that perhaps her sister was part of a crew that made first contact.

McDevitt does a good job of building suspense, and laying out reasons why a host of powerful characters might want to keep our first contact with an alien race secret. I also liked his musings on humanity's need to search for something more, and the potential social and psychological impact of giving up on this search. Certainly, he makes a convincing case that folks put in a position where they might make first contact should have some level of training as to how to respond.

Don't expect anything profoundly thought-provoking about the aliens themselves; they are more a plot device than anything else.

As an aside, I had to wonder about a strange coincidence. These beautiful, mysterious, shy butterfly-like aliens are called the Cho-Choi. They pack quite a wallop when frightened or angry. I wonder if they may have sent a spy to earth who has been posing as a teacher from Minnesota?

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