A Talent For War
by Jack McDevitt
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jack McDevittEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-06-29
ISBN: 0441012175
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Ace
Book Reviews of A Talent For War
Book Review: A Great Man of War
Summary: 5 Stars
A Talent For War (1989) is the first SF novel in the Alex/Chase series. It has been two hundred years since the war between the Confederacy and the Ashiyyur and hostilities have begun once more. At home, the Capella failed to appear at Saraglia Station and is presumed lost without any survivors; while other liners have been lost in the past, the Capella is one of the largest and best equipped ships in the merchant fleet.
In this novel, Alex Benedict hears about the official loss while haggling over a collection of four thousand year old ceramic pots. About ten days afterward, Alex learns that Gabe Benedict, his uncle and foster father, was lost with the Capella. Alex receives two sponders from the law firm of Brimbury & Conn; playing the devices, he learns that Gabe had been investigating an incident that caused the Survey ship Tenandrome to return early from a voyage into the Veiled Lady nebula. Gabe had apparently talked with Hugh Scott from the Tenandrome. He also mentions Leisha Tanner and Ludik Talino.
Returning to Rimway, Alex contacts Brimbury & Conn to let them know that he is back in Andiquar, then takes a skimmer to Gabe's house, where Jacob -- a sophisticated data response network -- admits him. After a while, Jacob informs Alex that he doesn't directly remember their interactions since a breakin had resulted in the erasure of all his memories. Later Jacob provides Alex with information off the network on Leisha Tanner, who had served as intelligence chief for Christopher Sims during the Confederacy/Ashiyyur War.
Checking with Survey, Alex finds that the Tenandrome had a quick turnaround back to the field and that there is still an unusual amount of secrecy about the voyage within the organization. Survey refuses to provide any information on the crew, including Hugh Scott. During further attempts to locate Scott, Alex finds that he has vanished.
Alex meets Chase Kolpath when she approaches him with a bill for services rendered to his uncle. Gabe had hired her to accompany him into the Veiled Lady from Saraglia. This is rather unusual since Gabe himself is a licensed starship pilot. Alex later finds that Gabe was traveling with John Khyber, a security consultant and a member of the Talino Society. When Alex investigates the Society, he discovers that it is a group of Confederacy/Ashiyyur War fans who profess to believe that Talino did not betray Christopher Sims.
In this story, the many connections to the Confederacy/Ashiyyur War lead Alex to study it in earnest. He has Jacob compile information on various aspects of the war. He talks to avatars and observes battle simulations. He travels to various sites associated with Christopher or Tarien Sims or where the Sims fought the Ashiyyur. He even contacts the Maracaibo Caucus, an association of retired senior officers from both Human and Ashiyyur services.
Alex learns that, while other Human worlds had dithered and debated, Dellaconda had fought the Ashiyyur virtually alone for an extended period. Volunteers from other worlds fought alongside the Dellacondans and some worlds provided urgently need ships, but Dellaconda was always faced with overwhelming odds. Only Christopher Sims's talent for war and Tarien Sims's talent for oratory had kept all Human Space from being overrun, yet the Dellacondans had slowly lost ground. The Ashiyyur had been taking system after system. But even after Dellaconda fell to the enemy, the Sims managed to resist long enough for Human Space to join together in the Compact.
This story is a jigsaw puzzle, with the pieces hidden among the trivial facts of ordinary life. Alex gathers the significant pieces one by one, in jumbled order, and then puts them together to reconstruct Gabe's information and motivation. Alex and Chase then go to claim the prize, but also find an unpleasant surprise.
The author provides an engaging look at historical research, albeit in a future society. Moreover, it is research about a war. The fog of war is overlaid by the decay of history, a combination guaranteed to produce disinformation and confusion.
Highly recommended for McDevitt fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of high adventure and historical puzzles.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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