The Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Sci-fi, Mystery, Space Opera
Content: Strong language

 

Smuggler Jordan McKell has partner Ixil, an alien whose two "ferrets" ride his shoulders and telepathically exchange simple messages. They take a job on the odd-shaped ship Icarus. But the ragtag crew was found at taverns, the secret cargo sealed tight, the employer missing, and a saboteur is aboard. After a beautiful crew member helps uncover the nature of their cargo for Earth, Jordan suspects they are in a vast conspiracy set to change human history. Unfortunately, he's right.

This book was highly recommended by a friend and it was also brought up twice as a possibility for book club. Needless to say, I added it to my to-read list, and I'm really happy that I finally got around to reading it. It was a good mystery set in space and I really like Zahn's writing style. I think he's best known for the Star Wars books he's written, and I could see some of that influence in this book. The opening scene in the bar reminded me a lot of the cantina, and the main character had some Han Solo type personality traits. I really liked his personality and sense of humor. 

 

“For a change, Lady Luck seemed to be smiling on me. Then again, maybe the fickle wench was just lulling me into a false sense of security while she reached for a rock.”

 

I wouldn't compare this overall to Star Wars though. I actually liked this book better than anything Star Wars, but that's just me. This is an interesting mash up of mystery, sci-fi, noir, and space opera, and there are plenty of twists and turns in this story to keep you intrigued. I didn't see them all coming, so that was a real plus.

I loved that this was a standalone, but also hated that it was. It was nice to read something and just get to the end of it without having to read a lot of sequels, but at the same time I wouldn't have minded a sequel to this one. I'm definitely open to reading more books by this author.