I have to agree with Terri T. on both counts: I have really enjoyed the Alex Benedict stories, and Chase Kolpath, his assistant, doesn't quite ring true to me as a female character. Since Chase is the first person narrator, this subtle difference in thought & expression is more apparent than if it were a third person book or if Alex were the narrator. She impresses me as all about the job, nothing about Chase herself. One might argue that in the very far future where these books are set, the culture & nature of women has changed such that they really do sound & act very like men, but then one would have to explain why so much else in this future is uncannily like present day society, only with better tech. Why would women change so much when other things didn't?
It's a minor flaw, though; people reading for the mystery & adventure & sense of wonder in these books might not think it an important point. Perhaps it's irrelevant to the kind of stories McDevitt wants to tell. Yet I still ask myself, if he was going to write a woman as pretty much like a man, then why not just make Chase male?
It's a minor flaw, though; people reading for the mystery & adventure & sense of wonder in these books might not think it an important point. Perhaps it's irrelevant to the kind of stories McDevitt wants to tell. Yet I still ask myself, if he was going to write a woman as pretty much like a man, then why not just make Chase male?
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
