Village in the Sky

Antiquarian Alex Benedict and his assistant, Chase Kolpath, investigate a vanished alien village in the dragging ninth installment to Nebula Award winner McDevitt’s Alex Benedict series (after Octavia Gone). Humanity’s ongoing search for intelligent alien life bears fruit when an expedition discovers a singular village of aliens living on a distant planet. Chase, the narrator, declines an opportunity to join the follow-up mission to the planet in favor of enjoying her active social life, leaving readers to wade through multiple chapters’ worth of dense descriptions of Chase’s day-to-day without any wit or tension to hold their attention. It’s only near the midpoint that Alex and Chase get involved in the mystery. The expedition reports that the village has disappeared, and the duo set off to search the area for artifacts that might shed light on how and why. There are few clues for mystery fans to ponder as Alex and Chase attempt to locate the aliens, and while sci-fi readers may enjoy the detailed logistics of hunting through neighboring star systems, there is little excitement to accompany the jargon. For hardcore series fans, checking in with favorite characters may be enough to appeal, but others can safely skip this one. Agent: Chris Lotts, Lotts Agency. (Jan.)