Jack McDevitt
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Jack McDevitt (1935-) is an American science fiction author whose novels frequently deal with attempts to make contact with alien races and archaeology.
McDevitt's first published story was "The Emerson Effect" in Twilight Zone in 1981. Two years later, he published his first novel, The Hercules Text about the discovery of an intelligently conceived signal which threatened human civilization through its repercussions. This novel set the tone for many of McDevitt's following novels, which focused on making first contact. Frequently this theme is mixed with both trepidation of the unknown and a sense of wonder at the universe.
With The Engines of God (1994), McDevitt introduced the idea of a universe which was once teeming with intelligent species, but only contains abandoned artifacts by the time humans manage to arrive on the scene. Initially written as a stand-alone novel, the main character, pilot Priscilla Hutchins, has since appeared in three more novels, Deepsix (2001), Chindi (2002), and Omega (2003).
McDevitt's novels frequently raise questions which he does not attempt to answer, dropping the ideas in favor of other plotlines which are of more interest to the author.
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Bibliography
Novels
- The Hercules Text (Ace Special, No 7) (1986)
- A Talent for War (1989)
- The Engines of God (1995)
- Ancient Shores (1996)
- Eternity Road (1998)
- Moonfall (1999)
- Hello Out There (2000) (omnibus edition of A Talent for War and The Hercules Text)
- Infinity Beach (2000) (Also titled Slow Lightning)
- Deepsix (2001) (sequel to The Engines of God)
- Chindi (2002) (sequel to Deepsix)
- Omega (2003) (sequel to Chindi)
- Polaris (2004) (sequel to A Talent for War)
- Seeker (coming in November 2005) (sequel to Polaris)
- Odyssey (in development for release sometime in 2006) (sequel to Chindi)
Short Stories
(partial list)
- Cryptic (1983)
- Promises to Keep (1984)
- Tidal Effects (1984)
- In the Tower (1987)
- The Fort Moxie Branch (1988)
- Time's Arrow (1989)
- Whistle (1989)
- Lake Agassiz (1991)
- "Ships in the Night" (1993)
- Midnight Clear (1993)
- Talk Radio (1993)
- Time Travelers Never Die (1996)
- Dead in the Water (1999)
- Good Intentions (1999) (with Stanley Schmidt)
Collections
- Standard Candles (1996)
- Hello Out There (2000) (omnibus edition of A Talent for War and The Hercules Text)
- Ships in the Night (2005)
Introductions
- Pellucidar (Bison Frontiers of Imagination) (2002)
Awards
- Nebula Best Short story nominee (1984) : "Cryptic"
- Hugo Best Short story nominee (1989) : "The Fort Moxie Branch"
- Nebula Best Short story nominee (1989) : "The Fort Moxie Branch"
- International UPC Science Fiction Award winner (1993) : "Ships in the Night"
- Nebula Best Novella nominee (1997) : "Time Travellers Never Die"
- Hugo Best Novella nominee (1997) : "Time Travelers Never Die"
- Nebula Best Novel nominee (1998) : Ancient Shores
- Nebula Best Novel nominee (1999) : Moonfall
- Nebula Best Novellette nominee (2000) : "Good Intentions"
- Nebula Best Novel nominee (2001) : Infinity Beach
- Nebula Best Novel nominee (2004) : Chindi
- Campbell Award winner (2004) : Omega
Biography
McDevitt went to LaSalle College, where a short story of his won the annual Freshman Short Story Contest and was published in the school's literary magazine, Four Quarters. As McDevitt expained in an interview (http://www.ideomancer.com/ft/McDevitt/McDevitt.htm), "I was on my way. Then I read David Copperfield and realized I could never write at that level, and therefore I should find something else to do. I joined the Navy, drove a cab, became an English teacher, took a customs inspector's job on the northern border, and didn't write another word for a quarter-century." He returned to writing when his wife, Maureen, encouraged him to try his hand at it in 1980.
External Links
Short Story Bibliography http://www.sfwa.org/members/McDevitt/Biblio-ShortFiction.htmlde:Jack McDevitt