---
product_id: 14545137
title: "The Hercules Text"
price: "$17.12"
currency: USD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/14545137-the-hercules-text
store_origin: US
region: United States of America
---

# The Hercules Text

**Price:** $17.12
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- **What is this?** The Hercules Text
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## Description

The Hercules Text [McDevitt, Jack] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Hercules Text

Review: What Would You Do With The Keys to the Universe? - If you liked "Contact," you will like the "Hercules Text" better. The story if tight and keeps you page turning at a quick pace. The social and political twists are surprising and thoughtful. What would you do if you received a "first contact" message and it contained unimaginable gifts and terrifying wonders? What would you tell everyone, and how could you prevent potential world destruction, but want to release a cure for cancer? And what if the Eden story was not true. A really fun read to the last page. This was one of McDevitt's earlier novels and one of his best.You can certainly see his mastery of telling a story which will show up in his Alex Benedict series.
Review: Good but strangely unfinished - One million years ago somebody build themselves a pulsar and used to broadcast an encyclopedia to the universe. As it happens, the transmission reached Earth just as the United States had built a massive astronomic observatory on the Moon; while all the other nations had demolished all radiotelescopes and shot their astronomers, the United States had wisely kept one or two alive. (The author does not explain how this troubling state of affairs came to pass, nor does he even mention it; yet we infer it because it is essential to the plot.) As a consequence, the broadcast is received only by carefully vetted team working for the NASA. Working overtime the intrepid Americans translate part of the encyclopedia, thus gaining the potential of immense technological advantage over the rest of the world. The knowledge that we are not alone in the universe is received by religious leaders all over the world with equanimity. When a leak in the press announces that at some point in the future technology will become available the stock-market capitalization of utility companies drops close to zero, and they file for bankruptcy. Russia threatens to launch a pre-emptive war, unwilling to give the United States time to apply the technology acquired from the alien encyclopedia. Then the book ends. The writing is good. Some characters are not unbelievable, and some tension does build up waiting to see whether a straying wife will be reconciled with her bureaucratically heroic husband or not. But, but, but what's with the abrupt ending? I understand the drive to begin a novel in medias res, in the middle of the action, but to end it just when a climax was coming into sight? Naughty. Yes, we have algorithms doing what no algorithm can ever do, yes, we have the unexplained total lack of astronomers in Russia, China and elsewhere, and yes, we have ample psychological silliness; yet everything is forgiven because of one resplendent idea: the main character is a bumbling bureaucrat, who is well aware of his limitations and struggles to keep the scientific team working as efficiently as possible. For this one idea The Hercules Text will never be forgotten. (Scale: * - unreadable, couldn't finish; ** - bad or very bad, but readable; *** - good work, well worth its price; **** - very good in its genre; ***** - timeless masterpiece.)

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,108,473 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1,864 in Science Fiction Short Stories #4,786 in Science Fiction Adventures #10,862 in Suspense Thrillers |
| Customer Reviews | 4.1 out of 5 stars 737 Reviews |

## Images

![The Hercules Text - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81zjS+e4hhL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ What Would You Do With The Keys to the Universe?
*by N***R on June 3, 2015*

If you liked "Contact," you will like the "Hercules Text" better. The story if tight and keeps you page turning at a quick pace. The social and political twists are surprising and thoughtful. What would you do if you received a "first contact" message and it contained unimaginable gifts and terrifying wonders? What would you tell everyone, and how could you prevent potential world destruction, but want to release a cure for cancer? And what if the Eden story was not true. A really fun read to the last page. This was one of McDevitt's earlier novels and one of his best.You can certainly see his mastery of telling a story which will show up in his Alex Benedict series.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good but strangely unfinished
*by A***P on September 3, 2015*

One million years ago somebody build themselves a pulsar and used to broadcast an encyclopedia to the universe. As it happens, the transmission reached Earth just as the United States had built a massive astronomic observatory on the Moon; while all the other nations had demolished all radiotelescopes and shot their astronomers, the United States had wisely kept one or two alive. (The author does not explain how this troubling state of affairs came to pass, nor does he even mention it; yet we infer it because it is essential to the plot.) As a consequence, the broadcast is received only by carefully vetted team working for the NASA. Working overtime the intrepid Americans translate part of the encyclopedia, thus gaining the potential of immense technological advantage over the rest of the world. The knowledge that we are not alone in the universe is received by religious leaders all over the world with equanimity. When a leak in the press announces that at some point in the future technology will become available the stock-market capitalization of utility companies drops close to zero, and they file for bankruptcy. Russia threatens to launch a pre-emptive war, unwilling to give the United States time to apply the technology acquired from the alien encyclopedia. Then the book ends. The writing is good. Some characters are not unbelievable, and some tension does build up waiting to see whether a straying wife will be reconciled with her bureaucratically heroic husband or not. But, but, but what's with the abrupt ending? I understand the drive to begin a novel in medias res, in the middle of the action, but to end it just when a climax was coming into sight? Naughty. Yes, we have algorithms doing what no algorithm can ever do, yes, we have the unexplained total lack of astronomers in Russia, China and elsewhere, and yes, we have ample psychological silliness; yet everything is forgiven because of one resplendent idea: the main character is a bumbling bureaucrat, who is well aware of his limitations and struggles to keep the scientific team working as efficiently as possible. For this one idea The Hercules Text will never be forgotten. (Scale: * - unreadable, couldn't finish; ** - bad or very bad, but readable; *** - good work, well worth its price; **** - very good in its genre; ***** - timeless masterpiece.)

### ⭐⭐⭐ Undeveloped Plot Points Make Jack's First Novel a Disappointment!
*by C***R on November 16, 2015*

The Hercules Text, by Jack McDevitt. First Thoughts: I’ve read several later novels by Jack: Time Travelers Never Die, the whole Alex Benedict series, and so on. All of the forenamed books were exciting tales, great character analysis and exposure, no dropped plot lines and a satisfying if somewhat predictable ending. Alas, not so with Hercules Text. Story & Plot Points: (minor spoilers) We Earth guys and gals (in America only) receive a message from the stars, from a race a million years dead. At first they’re simple arithmetic messages. Later they start revealing philosophy and technology that could spell disaster or survival for Man. It can also spell global power and dominance to any country who takes advantage of this data. Great so far. Unfortunately it falls apart and ends in an unsatisfying manner. Harry is a father of a diabetic boy, and breaks up with his wife Julie. They’re last night of sex, their break-up, is all interesting but has little to do with the story itself nor the main plot. And the author drops this line completely. Whatever happened to his now ex-wife in all the ensuing activity? Plot point dropped. He gets a new girlfriend who is also part of the team of translators of the Hercules Text. What happens to this relationship? Plot point dropped. The American government’s answer? Keep it for ourselves and start developing weapons of mass destruction. But NOTHING is really done with this plotpoint, except some chatting with the Russian premiere. The Text has moral implications for the Church, but little is discussed about Vatican nor much in the way of the impact of the alien philosophy other than a best seller was written. Ho hum. Final Thoughts: Several points are developed then dropped, over and over. No one point is developed but the author leaves them all hanging. This is the author’s first novel that he rewrote a bit to update it. I’m really glad he got better! Not recommended except for McDevitt fans who want a complete library.

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*Last updated: 2026-02-28*