It was a good mystery set in space and I really like Zahn's writing style. Needless to say, I added it to my to-read list, and I'm really happy that I finally got around to reading it. This book was highly recommended by a friend and it was also brought up twice as a possibility for book club. He wrote it almost 20 years ago and I don’t see where he has used it again. (My only lingering question is whether this elaborately built universe is just for a single novel. What’s not to like in this taut sci-fi thriller? Another feather awarded to Timothy Zahn. This is a job for professionals, not a bunch of loose spacers picked off the Meima streets.” Even Uncle Arthur or Brother John could have him killed.

What Jordan can’t figure out could kill him. 'Uncle Arthur had said the Patth Director General was personally calling the various governments along our route but what if he was not, in fact, speaking for the entire Patth government? I’d always assumed the Patth were fairly monolithic, at least insofar as their relations with other species were concerned. The ship, the Icarus, takes off and Jordan has to cope with the logistics of getting to Earth the fact that there is a saboteur on board and, an entire race of space traders seems to be after the Icarus.Īll this plays out in a fast-paced, twisting plot full of surprises and inventive technology, diseases, and venues. Jordan signs on for an early next day departure but the guy never shows up and Jordan is left with a note and some cash saying I will meet you later you and the crew will get a lot more when you deliver the load keep to our bargain. He needs to get there fast and his cargo is sealed so no one can see it or play around with it. A guy finds him in a bar and offers him a chance to make some “easy money” by piloting his ship to Earth. Yes, this is science fiction but with a healthy component of detection and thriller packed-in. If there was any chance at all of making it through the ever-tightening Patth noose, it was going to require all of us working together. The vital question right now, though, was not popularity but trust and obedience. Well, I did, actually, as much as anyone else, but I’d long since resigned myself to the knowledge that people who liked me were going to be few and far between. Our guy, Jordan, has to figure all of this out before time and his lucky streak come to a crashing end. We have a multiplicity of alien worlds, alien cultures and nefarious dealers. We have a challenge or mission that seems simple and becomes very complicated. We have our anti-hero with whom we mostly bond as we learn the reasons for his picaresque career. I see a lot of similarities between this and Quadrail. The Icarus Hunt is another showcase for his talent. Zahn is one of the genre’s best world-builders. My friends know how fast I hopped on the Quadrail series and how enthusiastic I was about it.

The icarus hunt by timothy zahn