I’ve read a lot of Jack McDevitt’s books (check out the links below). I’ve enjoyed them all…until this new one. Doorway to the Stars is loosely connected to McDevitt’s SF novel, Thunderbird (2015). An alien building known as the Roundhouse, estimated at 12,000 years old, provides instantaneous travel across the Galaxy. The Roundhouse is located on Sioux land so the Federal Government can’t immediately seize the Stargate.
So far, so good. But then Doorway to the Stars gets bogged down in various trips to distant planets. Who built the Stargate? What is its purpose? Why are only Earth-type planets (and a space station) accessible? Who are the intelligent species living on the planets the Stargate’s grid links to Earth?
One of the problems with Doorway to the Stars is that it’s only 107 pages long. Not a novel, more of a novella. Many plot points are suggested, but not filled out. Jack McDevitt’s Seeker won the 2006 Nebula Award for Best Novel. Doorway to the Stars is a long way from that quality. GRADE: C