Thunderbird
Jack McDevitt
Ace Books
Hardcover $26.95
ebook $13.99

Jack McDevitt’s latest novel takes up where Ancient Shores left off. This is not a stand-alone novel, although it’s not absolutely necessary to have read the first book.  He focuses on different characters to some extent in this one.  While McDevitt introduces dozens of characters whose lives are affected by the discovery of The Roundhouse, interstellar portal discovered on a Sioux reservation, his central character is Sioux Chairman James Walker.

Walker is not in an enviable position.  The President, the UN, the press, and his own tribe are all pressuring him.  Some want him to shut down or destroy The Roundhouse.  Others want access to it.  And some want to use it to colonize the tropical paradise world they’ve come to call Eden.

Walker tries to walk a careful path, not rushing and not making long term sacrifices for short term gains.   Continue reading →