The Icarus Hunt

A brother of mine turned me on to SF writer Timothy Zahn (the author of a number of Star Wars novels as well as the Conquerors' Trilogy and Dragonback series). My introduction to Zahn came via The Icarus Hunt - a fun and fast-paced space opera jaunt through the galaxy. I thoroughly enjoyed the engaging characters, witty dialog and repartee, as well as the adventure laden plot (that reads like an Agatha Christie in space along with the requisite locked room mystery and Poirot-like denouement). Good, clean fun (with a few minor swear words and PG situations) - a solid book in which to introduce the genre to your junior higher! Don't let the 450 pages deter you either, quest/adventure novels have come a long way since Don Quixote.

Zahn is show more a talented writer with an imagination that spices up the standard space opera trope with just the right amount (imo) of hard SF detail. The Icarus is a spaceship that is carrying an unknown cargo that could break the economic stranglehold of the Patth, an alien civilization that controls a majority of the commercial space lanes. Enter Captain Jordan McKell who is hired to pilot the Icarus to Earth - and along the way unravels a number of mysteries that spring up regarding this special cargo. The book is a page-turner as McKell jumps through space from one crisis to the next.

I enjoy Zahn's first person narrative voice (via a Han Solo-esque protagonist); he nicely integrates dialog and action, weaving in the world-building and background information through POV reflection and conversation. If there is a quibble, it would be that his characters "grimace" too often. It's a descriptive word, but is almost as frequently used as "said" for a dialog marker. (I've noticed in the two other books I've read by Zahn that grimacing must be one of his writerly peccadillos.) Still, I can live with that since it doesn't take away from the story, and eventually one just ignores those markers.

That said, if you're looking for an escape while hiking in the mountains or at the beach this summer, grab The Icarus Hunt and strap yourself in for a wild ride. (8 out of 10) show less

This sci-fi adventure novel by Timothy Zahn was a wild ride. Zahn has said that the Icarus series, of which this is the first book, is a tribute to Alastair MacLean. Being a MacLean fan, I can certainly see the MacLean touches, even though it is set in outer space, and has a lot of spiffy imaginary tech and menacing aliens. There are a lot of twists and turns in the story, some of which I caught, and some I didn't. It's exciting, and very visual.

I listened to the audiobook version, and the narrator. Marc Thompson, was exceptionally good at differentiating the voices of the many characters. He amusingly used a lot of corny accents from 30s and 40s movie serials, which fit the tone of the story rather well.

Definitely a fun and exciting show more adventure, and I look forward to further installments in the saga. show less

Mystery, mayhem, and mankind-hunts combined in vintage Zahn style. The picaresque anti-hero is not what he seems, but then neither is anyone else.

The milieu is standard space-opera, with hyperspace travel to simulate what would have been international distances in the pre-space-empire age, but Zahn keeps the names and extraneous info to the minimum needed for the story, which I like (the writers who pile up trivia for "atmosphere" just make everything more confusing.)
The characters are well-cast and not cardboard; although there is some inevitable stereotyping / archeyping, it isn't overpowering.
Other than a few very minor plot holes, the writing is tight and disciplined, humorous, and the story well structured.

Zahn, Timothy. The Icarus Hunt. Bantam, 1999.
I do not have the Star Wars habit, so I have missed much of Timothy Zahn’s work. Fortunately, that is not all he writes, and I was happy to catch up with The Icarus Hunt. It is a classic detective fiction space opera combo—albeit with a lot of Star Wars tropes. I doubt it is an accident that the protagonist shares a lot in common with Han Solo, including a hot starship, a smuggling gig, and an alien buddy. We have some inventive aliens that would be right at home in the Star Wars canteen and an heiress who probably looks a lot like Princess Leia. Despite all the Star Wars echoes, the labyrinthian plot is engagingly noir, with a fun McGuffin. I should note that one reviewer was put off by show more anachronistic wired technology and I admit that I was thrown back into the twentieth century when a “phone” buzzes in someone’s pocket. At least some starship pilots have implants. Three and a half stars rounded up to four just cuz I like detectives in space. show less

Zahn, Timothy. The Icarus Hunt. Bantam, 1999.
I do not have the Star Wars habit, so I have missed much of Timothy Zahn’s work. Fortunately, that is not all he writes, and I was happy to catch up with The Icarus Hunt. It is a classic detective fiction space opera combo—albeit with a lot of Star Wars tropes. I doubt it is an accident that the protagonist shares a lot in common with Han Solo, including a hot starship, a smuggling gig, and an alien buddy. We have some inventive aliens that would be right at home in the Star Wars canteen and an heiress who probably looks a lot like Princess Leia. Despite all the Star Wars echoes, the labyrinthian plot is engagingly noir, with a fun McGuffin. I should note that one reviewer was put off by show more anachronistic wired technology and I admit that I was thrown back into the twentieth century when a “phone” buzzes in someone’s pocket. At least some starship pilots have implants. Three and a half stars rounded up to four just cuz I like detectives in space. show less

My husband and two of my sisters-in-law love science fiction. Me, not so much. The Icarus Hunt is the sci-fi book for people who don't like sci-fi, much as the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich is the mystery series for people who hate mysteries.

What Timothy Zahn has created is basically a gumshoe novel based in space. His characterization is wonderful, and the plot is more than satisfying. I've recommended this book to just about everyone I know.

And, you sci-fi fans, my husband -- a certified sci-fi geek -- loved this novel, too.

An exciting murder mystery wrapped in a space trucker story with a lot of Star Wars flavor. Highlights include aliens who resemble the Venetian Medicis, reasonable interstellar politics, and a spaceship that starts out pretty familiar and ends up completely unique.

There are a couple of unexpected twists in this story, as is typical for a murder mystery, but what I appreciated about them the most is that they're very well foreshadowed. I could tell there was something up with some of the details of the story so getting the twists revealed was very satisfying.