Christopher Sim changed mankind's history forever when he forged a rag-tag group of misfits into the weapon that broke the alien Ashiyyur. But now, one man believes Sim was a fraud, and Alex must follow the legend into the heart of the alien galaxy to confront a truth far stranger than any fiction.
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Christopher Sim changed mankind's history forever when he forged a rag-tag group of misfits into the weapon that broke the alien Ashiyyur. But now, one man believes Sim was a fraud, and Alex must follow the legend into the heart of the alien galaxy to confront a truth far stranger than any fiction.
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Add this copy of A Talent for War to cart. $0.99, fair condition, Sold by Goodwill of Greater Milwaukee rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Milwaukee, WI, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Ace.
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Fair. Book is considered to be in acceptable condition. The actual cover image may not match the stock photo. Book may have one or more of the following defects: noticeable wear on the cover dust jacket or spine; curved dog eared or creased page s; writing or highlighting inside or on the edges; sticker s or other adhesive on cover; CD DVD may not be included; and book may be a former library copy.
Add this copy of A Talent for War to cart. $1.46, good condition, Sold by Books For Life rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Laurel, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Ace.
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Book is in good condition. Minimal signs of wear. It May have markings or highlights but kept to only a few pages. May not come with supplemental materials if applicable.
Add this copy of A Talent for War to cart. $1.77, fair condition, Sold by Gulf Coast Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Cypress, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Ace.
Add this copy of A Talent for War to cart. $2.32, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Ace Books.
Add this copy of A Talent for War to cart. $2.36, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Ace Books.
Add this copy of A Talent for War to cart. $2.36, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Ace Books.
Add this copy of Talent for War to cart. $2.52, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by G P Putnam's Sons.
Add this copy of Talent for War to cart. $2.52, good condition, Sold by Once Upon A Time Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Tontitown, AR, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by G P Putnam's Sons.
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This is a used book in good condition and may show some signs of use or wear. This is a used book in good condition and may show some signs of use or wear.
Add this copy of A Talent for War to cart. $2.80, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by Ace.
Add this copy of A Talent for War to cart. $2.80, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by Ace.
A gem of a high-tech Sci-Fi mystery & thriller, in which Alex Benedict, a dealer in exotic antiquities several millenia in the future, first makes the acquaintance of his long-time partner and star-pilot Chase Kolpath, while investigating an archeological mystery bequeathed to him by his uncle.
The story revolves around the legend of a history teacher turned into an outstanding military strategist. One of the teacher's books is read two centuries after his death by the main character, and features this passage in its Introduction,
"We are all Hellenes. Dellaconda and Rimway and Cormoral owe all that they are to the restless thinkers along the Aegean, who, in the most exquisite sense, took the first steps to the stars. Only the mind is sacred. That notion was a dazzling insight in its time. Welded to the observation that nature is subject to laws, and that those laws can be understood, it was the key to the universe." - "Man and Olympian" pg 111.
Dellaconda was the history teacher's home world and the seat of a rebellion against an alien race of telepaths. Rimway and Earth were the two mainstays of humanity, which at the time of the rebellion, at first refused to get involved, leaving the hero of the rebellion to carry on a desperate war almost unaided. And Cormoral was the first world captured by the aliens, only to eventually be liberated following the rise of the rest of humanity against them, in the aftermath of the hero's sacrifice with a scratch crew of nameless volunteers in the Battle of Rigel, with his brother the orator as a witness.
All of this is well-known history to Alex & Chase, but things are not as they (and the rest of humanity) have been led to believe.
Military history buffs will appreciate the translation of the passage in ancient Greek above the hero's tomb, and even more especially the Epilogue.
Alissa
Feb 22, 2009
Exciting page turner
A Talent for War combines two of my favorte genres, science fiction and mystery. After the death of his uncle, Alex reluctantly tries to complete the research that his uncle was working on, but there are complications. Someone wants to stop him from completing the research, and after his uncle's file is lost, Alex is forced to start pretty much from scratch.
The mystery concerns the story of historic hero Christopher Sim whose exploits are the stuff of legend. With the help of Chase Kolpath, Alex manages to pick up the thread of his uncle's research and finds the shocking truth that his uncle was seeking.
A Talent for War shows some signs of being an earlier work for McDevitt. Some of the secondary characters seemed a bit flat to me, and though the story is an exciting page-turner, I have to say that the later books are more powerful and more action-packed, but that said this was still a great space-faring romp perfect for escaping with on a dull winter day.
