Infinity Beach

Starred review from January 31, 2000
HA thousand years in the future, on the terraformed planet Greenaway, humanity has everything to make itself comfortable and complacent--longevity, leisure and luxury are all readily available. But one question remains: Is humanity alone in the universe? Kimberly Brandywine doesn't necessarily believe in aliens, until she hears that her missing elder "sister," of whom she's a clone, may have been murdered, along with some crewmates, by celestial beings after a voyage aboard a space yacht. Her sister/clone's disappearance has long haunted Kim, whose search for the truth takes her underwater and into space, loses her a lover and causes her to commit crimes (including stealing a spaceship). Kim's efforts to solve the mystery of the vanishing and to make first contact with the aliens presumably behind it are hampered by the general malaise society has sunk into. And since death appears to follow in the wake of the aliens, Kim wavers about whether first contact will be beneficial or will destroy civilization as she knows it. McDevitt (Eternity Road) has created a future that is technologically sound and filled with hubristic, foolish people who make choices based more on how they will look to history than on what's best for it. Though his aliens are insubstantial (both physically and on the page), the mystery of what happened to Kim's sister and her fellow celestial seekers unfolds as precisely as an origami flower, and will hold readers in thrall.

February 15, 2000
On the colony world of Greenway, humans still search in vain for evidence of alien intelligence. When Kim Brandywine, fundraiser for the Seabright Institute's Beacon Project, begins an investigation into the disappearance of her cloned sister Emily, also involved in the search for extraterrestrial life, she opens a door that leads her to her fondest dreams and darkest nightmares. The author of Moonfall combines elements of mystery and horror with a classic story of first contact in a masterly tale that belongs in most sf collections.

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2000
YA-This futuristic novel has an intriguing mystery and gives a view of what could happen if another life-form, completely different from our own, were found. Twenty-seven years after the disappearance of her sister (and clone), Kim Brandywine begins the long process of solving Emily's mysterious disappearance along with the fates of the three other crew members who were with her on their last voyage into space. Kim uses friends as well as her own intelligence and bravado to force and find clues. The mystery brings frightening moments as she faces life-forms that were unsuccessfully dealt with in the recent past. Some well-placed spooky moments elevate the heart rate as the search for the truth progresses. McDevitt deftly mixes in a detailed vision of a successful colony of humans on another world, including the cultural aspects, even as the plot spins toward solving the mystery. Personal relationships share an important aspect of the story, and the author draws personalities of even the minor characters clearly and succinctly. This is a wonderful mix of science-based fiction, mystery, and romance, with loads of action, as well as some spine-tingling moments.-Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.