robinbanks's review against another edition
2.0
The concepts at the heart of this series -- alien artifacts, extratrerrestrial archeology, vanished civilizations -- are fascinating and worth exploring. Instead the author gives us a run-of-the-mill adventure story. Very disappointing.
majkia's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to the audio version (reader: Kristine Hvam)
I love archaeology in space so love the series. Exciting, and great characters. Powerful women. What's not to like?
thesmudge's review against another edition
4.0
A quick note before briefly discussing the actual book. I read this during the "great" Coronavirus pandemic of 2020. When I say read, I mean that I listened to it during my commute for my job. I was not forced to stay at home and was able to work throughout the event, at least so far.
Anyway, this is the second book in a series of books that follows a character named Priscilla Hutchins. She is an archeologist of sorts. I read the first book in the series "Engines of God" back in 2005. At the time I did not really enjoy it and rated it only 2 or 3 stars. The biggest problem I had with it was that it never revealed anything about the mysterys presented concerning the ancient civilization etc. At the time I felt this was done just to create and drag on a series.
So, I started this book fully expecting to be presented with some ancient dead alien civilization and see some of the mystery surrounding them. All the while some story would be told with that as the backdrop and ultimately nothing would never get revealed. I was not disappointed as that is exactly how the book went. However, because I had no anticipation of reading much about a cool dead civilization and certainly not learned anything about their final outcome I was able to actually focus on the real story of the Hutchins and her group's challenges and how they overcame them. This was somewhat entertaining so I am giving it four stars.
There are more books in the series, but I do not feel now like jumping into the next one. Maybe in 10 to 15 years or so.... LOL.
Anyway, this is the second book in a series of books that follows a character named Priscilla Hutchins. She is an archeologist of sorts. I read the first book in the series "Engines of God" back in 2005. At the time I did not really enjoy it and rated it only 2 or 3 stars. The biggest problem I had with it was that it never revealed anything about the mysterys presented concerning the ancient civilization etc. At the time I felt this was done just to create and drag on a series.
So, I started this book fully expecting to be presented with some ancient dead alien civilization and see some of the mystery surrounding them. All the while some story would be told with that as the backdrop and ultimately nothing would never get revealed. I was not disappointed as that is exactly how the book went. However, because I had no anticipation of reading much about a cool dead civilization and certainly not learned anything about their final outcome I was able to actually focus on the real story of the Hutchins and her group's challenges and how they overcame them. This was somewhat entertaining so I am giving it four stars.
There are more books in the series, but I do not feel now like jumping into the next one. Maybe in 10 to 15 years or so.... LOL.
tarsel's review against another edition
4.0
They say he is the new Asimov - I say I think he might be.
knboereads's review against another edition
5.0
Full review at https://bookendra.wordpress.com/2018/01/22/book-review-deepsix-by-jack-mcdevitt/
garretreece's review against another edition
3.0
A predecessor to [book: Chindi], this book is half sci fi adventure quest and half engineering porn. Part of the "Indiana Jones in space, no Nazis" series which, despite the pithy description, is worth the reader's time, this book follows a group of scientists on a planet that is a few days away from collision with a gas giant--a desperate situation, and worsening quickly.
These books are especially good because while the science aspect of the story is excellently done, the character interactions and dynamics are absolutely top notch.
A couple of annoying characters lowered the rating, which is probably petty on my part; they're well written, I just didn't like them. There are references to the previous book in this series, but only in passing, and it doesn't detract from the story (I'm apparently dead set on reading this series in reverse order).
These books are especially good because while the science aspect of the story is excellently done, the character interactions and dynamics are absolutely top notch.
A couple of annoying characters lowered the rating, which is probably petty on my part; they're well written, I just didn't like them. There are references to the previous book in this series, but only in passing, and it doesn't detract from the story (I'm apparently dead set on reading this series in reverse order).
erickayscifi's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good disaster and rescue attempt yarn. I enjoyed it. The middle flew by and the end was satisfying, though it felt like it was dragging on. I was like 'rescue or let them die' there for a few pages.
matt_west's review against another edition
3.0
Ironically this book is at its most engaging when there is some archaeological mystery to be solved. At other times, which comprise most of the word count, the characters seem unengaging and unlikeable. I found it tough to get through to the end and had to stop and restart reading a few times. On the other hand the richness of the archaeological and astronomical world save Deepsix from a two star rating and drag it up to a three.
imitira's review against another edition
3.0
Tighter storytelling than the first book, with a close focus on the protagonists, but the pace of disasters befalling them was a little too predictable. There's a few things about these books that I find increasingly irritating, too: odd throwaway lines smacking of sexism, a jarring 50s note in a future context; the various mysterious extant aliens who (unlike their extinct predecessors) are not only never explained in any detail but rarely even theorized about; and somewhat cookie-cutter bad guys, where to the extent they exist (since the real opposition is more the natural world), they tend to be entirely one dimensional and exist solely to push a simple point of view that treats the untimely demise of our heroes as collateral damage.