Jack McDevitt explained
Jack McDevitt (born April 14, 1935)[1] is an American science fiction author whose novels frequently deal with attempts to make contact with alien races, and with archaeology or xenoarchaeology. Most of his books follow either superluminal pilot Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins or galactic relic hunters Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath. McDevitt has received numerous nominations for Hugo, Nebula, and John W. Campbell awards. Seeker won the 2006 Nebula Award for Best Novel.
McDevitt's first published story was "The Emerson Effect" in The Twilight Zone Magazine in 1981.
Biography
McDevitt went to La Salle University, 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 explained in an interview:
McDevitt received a master's degree in literature from Wesleyan University in 1971.[2] He returned to writing when his wife, Maureen, encouraged him to try his hand at it in 1980., McDevitt lives near Brunswick, Georgia. In 2005, he donated his archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University. The novel Seeker won the 2006 Nebula Award for Best Novel, given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He has been nominated for the Nebula Award sixteen times; Seeker is his only win.[3] [4]
Themes
With The Engines of God (1994), McDevitt introduced the idea of a universe that was once teeming with intelligent life, but contains only their abandoned artifacts by the time humans arrive on the scene. The main character of The Engines of God, pilot Priscilla Hutchins, has since appeared in seven more books, Deepsix (2001), Chindi (2002), Omega (2003), Odyssey (2006), Cauldron (2007), StarHawk (2013), and The Long Sunset (2018). The mystery surrounding the destructive "Omega Clouds" (which are introduced in The Engines of God) is left unexplored until Omega.[5]
McDevitt's novels frequently raise questions which he does not attempt to answer. He prefers to leave ambiguities to puzzle and intrigue his readers: "Some things are best left to the reader's very able imagination." The SF Site's Steven H Silver has written about this:
Bibliography
Novels
Academy Series - Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins
The short stories "Melville on Iapetus" (1983), "Promises to Keep" (1984), "Oculus" (2002), "The Big Downtown" (2005),[6] "Kaminsky at War" (2006), "Maiden Voyage" (2012), "Waiting at the Altar" (2012), and "The Cat's Pajamas" (2012) are also set in the Academy universe.
Alex Benedict
The short stories "In the Tower" (1987) and "A Voice in the Night" (2013) are also set in the Alex Benedict universe.
Ancient Shores
- Ancient Shores (1996)
- Thunderbird (2015)
- Doorway to the Stars (scheduled for a February 2024 release)
Short fiction
Collections
Awards and nominations
- Nebula Best Short Story nominee (1983) : Cryptic
- Philip K. Dick Award (special citation) (1986) : The Hercules Text [8]
- Nebula Best Short Story nominee (1988) : "The Fort Moxie Branch"
- Hugo Best Short Story nominee (1989) : "The Fort Moxie Branch"
- International UPC Science Fiction Award winner (1993) : "Ships in the Night" (first English language winner) [9]
- Nebula Best Novella nominee (1996) : "Time Travelers Never Die"
- Arthur C. Clarke Best Novel nominee (1997) : Engines of God [10]
- Hugo Best Novella nominee (1997) : "Time Travelers Never Die"
- Nebula Best Novel nominee (1997) : Ancient Shores [10]
- Nebula Best Novel nominee (1998) : Moonfall [11]
- Nebula Best Novelette nominee (1999) : "Good Intentions" (co-writer Stanley Schmidt)
- Nebula Best Novel nominee (2000) : Infinity Beach [12]
- John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Novel nominee (2001) : Infinity Beach [13]
- John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Novel nominee (2002) : Deepsix [14]
- Nebula Best Short Story nominee (2002) : "Nothing Ever Happens in Rock City"
- Nebula Best Novel nominee (2003) : Chindi [15]
- Campbell Award winner (2004) : Omega [16]
- Nebula Best Novel nominee (2004) : Omega [16]
- Nebula Best Novel nominee (2005) : Polaris [17]
- Nebula Best Novel winner (2006) : Seeker [18]
- John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Novel nominee (2006) : Seeker [18]
- John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Novel nominee (2007) : Odyssey [19]
- Nebula Best Novel nominee (2007) : Odyssey [19]
- Nebula Best Novel nominee (2008) : Cauldron [20]
- Nebula Best Novel nominee (2010) : Echo [21]
- Nebula Best Novel nominee (2011) : Firebird [22]
- Nebula Best Novel nominee (2014) : Coming Home [23]
- Robert A. Heinlein Award winner (2015) [24]
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: I've been having a great birthday,... - Jack McDevitt (Fan Club) . https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/34574565661/10152815946895662 . 2022-02-26 . limited. Facebook . 2015-04-14 . 2016-02-16.
- Web site: Locus Online: Jack McDevitt interview excerpts . Locusmag.com . 2005-09-29 . 2016-02-16.
- Web site: Jack McDevitt's News. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20050909231948/http://www.sfwa.org/members/McDevitt/JMInfo.html. September 9, 2005. August 6, 2005.
- Web site: Jack McDevitt. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080308120606/http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit89.html#3479. 2008-03-08. 2008-04-05. Locus Index to Science Fiction Awards. Locus.
- Web site: The Author Comments: Omega. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070927184103/http://www.sfwa.org/members/McDevitt/Omega-Comment.html. September 27, 2007. May 2, 2007.
- Web site: Connected Narratives. February 9, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100919142016/http://jackmcdevitt.com/connectednarratives.aspx . September 19, 2010 .
- Briefly reviewed in the July 2015 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction, pp.107–111
- Web site: 1987 Award Winners & Nominees | WWEnd . Worldswithoutend.com . 2016-02-16.
- Web site: Syfy - Watch Full Episodes | Imagine Greater . Scifi.com . 2016-02-16 . 2008-06-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080616042613/http://www.scifi.com/sfw/interviews/sfw14482.html . dead .
- Web site: 1997 Award Winners & Nominees | WWEnd . Worldswithoutend.com . 2016-02-16.
- Web site: 1998 Award Winners & Nominees | WWEnd . Worldswithoutend.com . 2016-02-16.
- Web site: 2000 Award Winners & Nominees | WWEnd . Worldswithoutend.com . 2016-02-16.
- Web site: 2001 Award Winners & Nominees | WWEnd . Worldswithoutend.com . 2016-02-16.
- Web site: 2002 Award Winners & Nominees | WWEnd . Worldswithoutend.com . 2016-02-16.
- Web site: 2003 Award Winners & Nominees | WWEnd . Worldswithoutend.com . 2016-02-16.
- Web site: 2004 Award Winners & Nominees | WWEnd . Worldswithoutend.com . 2016-02-16.
- Web site: 2005 Award Winners & Nominees | WWEnd . Worldswithoutend.com . 2016-02-16.
- Web site: 2006 Award Winners & Nominees | WWEnd . Worldswithoutend.com . 2016-02-16.
- Web site: 2007 Award Winners & Nominees | WWEnd . Worldswithoutend.com . 2016-02-16.
- Web site: 2008 Award Winners & Nominees | WWEnd . Worldswithoutend.com . 2016-02-16.
- Web site: announces the 2010 Nebula Award Nominees . SFWA.org . 2011-02-22 . 2016-02-16.
- Web site: 2011 Award Winners & Nominees | WWEnd . Worldswithoutend.com . 2016-02-16.
- Web site: Announcing the 2014 Nebula Awards Winners! . Tor.com . Jun 6, 2015.
- Web site: BSFS's Robert A. Heinlein Award Page [Version DA-16].