The Engines of God was my introduction to Jack McDevitt and I could hardly put it down. I really got caught up in both the stunning scenery and the action sequences. Its almost like a cross between Star Trek and Game of Thrones; they explore fascinating new worlds, go where no human has gone before, and in true GoT fashion not all characters make it out alive. We call them the Monument Makers. Throughout the galaxy they build amazing structures, the purpose of which we can only speculate. Priscilla Hutchison is a pilot for the Academy and her current assignment is with a group of xenoarcheologists. They've made an amazing discovery about the monument makers and following a single clue, she pilots a ship in search of the Monument Makers. To say more about the plot might ruin it.

Deep Six is the second of the Academy series, or the Hutch series as I think of them, since she's the character that continues on in further books. Again, I found the combination of life threatening situations, archeological mystery, and stunning cosmic atmosphere to be a great combination. This time Hutch is piloting a group of archeologists who actually have a few days to explore some ruins before the planet becomes unstable due to a wandering gas giant crossing its orbit. A massive cruise ship has come full of tourists to watch the impending planetary doom. A well known journalist is on hand to interview the researchers and irritate Hutch whom he has portrayed as a crazy glory hound in his coverage of events related in The Engines of God. What could possibly go wrong?

Predictably, an earthquake disables their shuttles and alas no one has one nearby to save them. What makes Deep Six good is their trek across this world for a slight chance of rescue. Along the way the see wondrous sights of a long gone civilization (gone, not necessarily dead) and Hutch hatches a desperate plan of escape.

Jack McDevitt has a real gift for creating believable characters solving archeological puzzles with plenty of action. Behind all of this is a scope and vision of space exploration that makes me want to go there and see it for myself. There is a grand threat to the future of not only humankind but the only other sentient life we have found. This epic threat is intriguing but the focus of the books is on the immediate action and the obstacles are lot more deadly than we saw in Star Trek. Still, throughout the series he references the changes in our society due to this threat and the ongoing search for a solution. 

The Audible version of The Engines of God is read by Tom Weiner and Deep Six by Khristine Hvam. The Academy series continues with Chindi and Omega. McDevitt has many other great books and one of the good things is that the action of each book is self contained meaning there are no cliffhanger endings although there are threads that tie them together in a timeline.