The Shadow and Night 4: The Postmill Setting

I've had a few postmill characters, and in one of my stories--the only "End-Times" novel I've written--there's even a postmill movement called Millennium Now. Unfortunately, MN was split: the ordinary people who went around evangelizing in its name had a very silly, simplistic view of its teachings, while the actual teaching tended to be known only to the more scholarly. I liked the real version, though only the silly version actually cropped up much in the story. (The token brain stated clearly that the zealots were ill-informed and easy to beat in an argument, while the real MN people were far better informed and much more formidable in debate.)
Similarly, a proposed alternative history series features a postmill inventor in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

But in general we don't have characters who are that far removed from our own theology. In my upcoming series "The League of Superheroes," I do have a couple Catholic characters and an Episcopalian who are all amill, but eschatology doesn't really come into the stories much. The theological differences are somewhat important--the Catholics see things in a way that most Protestants wouldn't, for example, and a Baptist character is likewise fairly typical for that group except that he gets on well with the Catholics and doesn't serously try to convert them.

But having characters from other denominations and doctrinal positions is one thing; do we actually represent another view as fact, at least within a story world? I did so in my short story "One Taken, the Other Left" in the anthology Light at the Edge of Darkness, where I posit an odd twist to the usual pre-trib Rapture scenario. (One reviewer accused me of putting "bad theology" in the Lord's mouth, but he couldn't be bothered to explain what was bad about it. From my knowledge of the reviewer in question, I would put my knowledge of theology and the Bible up against his any time. And for the record, the points attributed to the Lord in the story are actually quite standard theology; I just applied them where most others would for some reason make an exception.)

But the question remains: do our settings have to reflect our doctrinal positions? I don't see that they must, so long as the views are either standard doctrine (as postmillennialism is in some circles) or minor tweaks on them. This is speculative fiction, after all, and weirder matters arise. (It's worth noting that Chris Walley's The Shadow and Night doesn't have any alien races, which at least eliminates that problem.)

The Shadow and Night 3: The Weak Points

Thus far my posts about Chris Walley's The Shadow and Night have been positive. There are some objections, however, though I think some are trivial.

Pace. Someone is bound to say that the opening is too slow. I say "someone" because it didn't bother me. This is a very different world, and we need to feel at home with the righteousness involved before we can truly feel the horror of encroaching evil. Besides, the hints that something is amiss do come early and are rather dramatic, especially a dream Merral has. It also makes the shift when Merral and Vero head north far more powerful. (Finally, the target audience for "Short Attention Span Theater" shouldn't be reading novels anyway.)

Science. I had misgivings when I saw the "fantasy" description: "Great. Some dolt is doing Tolkien in Space." Despite the author's misgivings, however, this really is science fiction. It is NOT fantasy. Lewis' "Space Trilogy" was more of a fantasy than this is. And most of the science is good. There is one place, however, that is just plain wrong: the invocation of quantum entanglement as a means of instantaneous interstellar communication. It doesn't work that way. I would suggest either invoking tachyons or perhaps some experimental Below Space communication system of a temperamental nature.

Inconsistency. Considering how cautious the Assembly of Worlds is, I find it hard to believe that they wouldn't have redundant systems, especially where vital items are concerned. This would mess up the dramatic conclusion of the first section and the major on-going temptation of the second, but I would expect some spare parts, so to speak. (I'd be more specific, but that would be a spoiler.)

Dark Angel? One of the quirks of the postmill position is that its proponents are usually cessationists: they deny that miracles still occur. So the importance of dreams and angelic intervention surprised me. But there was an odder oddity: the angel that turns up late in the story sports dark clothing and often seems like a shadow. I'd want to see some ID. When angelic garb in the Bible is described, it's usually blazing white. Why the difference? I don't know. Perhaps Heaven ran out of bleach.

Ending. I was a bit annoyed at the ending, because a relationship issue is brought up but not settled. I would've preferred either settling it, which would cause the story to drag on beyond its obvious end-point, or simply let it go, which would have been better. I can more or less understand what Walley did; I just don't think it tidy.

But this is quibbling. This story combines great beauty with a formidable vision of the danger we are approaching thoughtlessly. So my final word for the tour is simply, "Get it, read it, and share it with others."

Next up (off tour): the whole postmill bit considered a bit more carefully, but still without flaming.

Other blogs on the tour:
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Grace Bridges
Jackie Castle
Carol Bruce Collett
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Chris Deanne
Janey DeMeo
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Marcus Goodyear
Rebecca Grabill
Jill Hart
Katie Hart
Michael Heald
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Heather R. Hunt
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Margaret
Rachel Marks
Shannon McNear
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika or Mir's Here
Pamela Morrisson
Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Deena Peterson
Rachelle
Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Rachelle Sperling
Donna Swanson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Robert Treskillard
Jason Waguespac
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

The Shadow and Night 2: The Horror We SHOULD Feel

A while back I got involved in a discussion about the place of sex and violence in Christian fiction. I never really understood the viewpoint of the one who started the thread, but he asserted that a writer has to go into gory details about violence in particular (and perhaps sex). Otherwise, the reader wouldn't have the full impact of the evil.

Now, I've seen a lot of stories about serial killers and other sensational objects, and my question is, how relevant is that? How many serial killers do you actually know? C. S. Lewis said that the horrors of the Nazi death camps originated in clean, modern offices staffed by ordinary people. It's a diversion to point people toward horror-movie psychos, because we can shudder and say, "But I'm not like that." We are then turned away from the horrible creature in the mirror.

So I replied that it would take more skill and better serve the cause of Christ to reveal the full horror of a white lie than to titillate readers with sensational gore. Don't pursue the uncommon evil; portray the vileness of commonplace sin!

But it's one thing to say that and another to do it. Chris Walley does it in The Shadow and Night.

Do you know what the book's first unimaginable act of wickedness is?

It's a lie--a silly, trivial untruth that most of us would forget immediately. But here, it is an unthinkable breach of God's peace. It's followed closely by another departure that most of us wouldn't think wrong at all, though Walley's case against it is sound. Is it any wonder that in losing our horror of the small sins, it takes more and more sensational ones to stir us?

This is why, personal theology aside, Walley needed the postmill setting. Only after millennia of righteousness could there be enough innocence to show us the proper response to sin.

I hope I'm wrong, but I expect many to disagree with and dismiss the idea of forbidding certain types of research and development. Some of the things banned under the story's Technology Protocols are common in sci-fi, and many Christians will see nothing wrong with them. They will even demonize opponents of such technology as medievals and Luddites. But while Walley doesn't present a full argument against such things as human-level artificial intelligence or genetic tinkering to create new people or species, such arguments exist. (I take a similar view in my upcoming series "The League of Superheroes.") We tend to assume that "inevitable" technologies are good or at least neutral. If The Shadow and Night helps dispell that illusion and restore a proper judgment of good and evil to the Church, it will have proved itself more worthy than most Christian fiction of the last few decades.

Other blogs on the CSFF tour:
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Grace Bridges
Jackie Castle
Carol Bruce Collett
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Chris Deanne
Janey DeMeo
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Marcus Goodyear
Rebecca Grabill
Jill Hart
Katie Hart
Michael Heald
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Heather R. Hunt
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Margaret
Rachel Marks
Shannon McNear
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika or Mir's Here
Pamela Morrisson
Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Deena Peterson
Rachelle
Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Rachelle Sperling
Donna Swanson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Robert Treskillard
Jason Waguespac
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

The Shadow and Night 1: The Horror!

For those who followed last month's posts on Jeffrey Overstreet's Auralia's Colors, I have posted a follow-up.

Chris Walley's The Shadow and Night, published by Tyndale, is ambitious in more ways than one. Perhaps most astonishing, it does not follow the typical pre-tribulation scenario in which the end of the world is near. Instead, it draws on the postmillennial view that God will someday grant a golden age of restrained sinfulness and a general triumph of the Gospel--somewhat like the premillennial view of the Millennium, only without the return of Christ beforehand or his personal, visible reign.

Obviously all concerned should be burned at the stake.

Okay, no, they should be commended for not mindlessly following the crowd, and I hope that there's no barking about heresy. Postmillennialism has been around for quite a while, and great and godly men have espoused it--Jonathan Edwards, for example, and more recently the late Dr. D. James Kennedy. I was startled to find a letter from the author included with the book, presenting an explanation and brief defense of the postmill setting. I am horrified to think the letter's probably necessary. (Then again, my own observation and experience is that most pew-sitters have no clue about theology, and most Christian readers couldn't tell an actual heresy from a hole in the ground. They'll still form an angry mob quickly enough if Someone Important yells "Heresy!" Most of these important people are pretty ignorant too.)

If it accomplished nothing else, this book would be important simply for letting ignorant Christians know that the lands beyond Leftbehindia are not God-forsaken wastes teeming with dragons. There are Christians out there, and you might as well stop by for a visit.

It is far more important than that, however. There's also the fact that it is thoroughly, openly Christian without being preachy. For all those who think that's impossible--and I have encountered many--I dare you to read this with an open mind. Yet even that is not its major strength. In my next post, I'll try to explain and defend what I think is its greatest achievement; for now, I'll present a summary of the story itself.

The Shadow and Night was originally published in two parts as The Shadow at Evening and The Power of the Night. The current book is the first of three parts; the other two are The Dark Foundations (already in print!) and The Infinite Day (due in June 2008). Together they constitute "The Lamb Among the Stars." This is how the story begins:

Listen!

This is the tale of how, at last, evil returned to the Assembly of Worlds, and how one man, Merral Stefan D'Avanos, became caught up against it.

The story begins in A.D. 13851 on Farholme, which began to undergo terraforming more than ten thousand years earlier. Earlier still, midway through the twenty-first century, the Great Intervention occurred, and God sovereignly moved upon mankind to convict the world of sin. Although evil has still cropped up, it is uncommon, and most people find it almost inconceivable. A kind of star gate technology was developed soon after, and the push to colonize the galaxy began and continued through thousands of years of peace and righteousness.

But now that has been shattered on the most distant and isolated colony world, and Merral and his friends must struggle against evil for the first time in millennia. The enemy is invading not only their world but their hearts.

I'll be posting on this book and its ramifications beyond the tour, in case anyone's interested.

Other links on the tour:
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Grace Bridges
Jackie Castle
Carol Bruce Collett
Valerie Comer
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Chris Deanne
Janey DeMeo
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Marcus Goodyear
Rebecca Grabill
Jill Hart
Katie Hart
Michael Heald
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Heather R. Hunt
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Margaret
Rachel Marks
Shannon McNear
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika or Mir's Here
Pamela Morrisson
Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Deena Peterson
Rachelle
Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Rachelle Sperling
Donna Swanson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Robert Treskillard
Jason Waguespac
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise

Cage Match!

Nor Iron Bars a Cage by Caprice Hokstad is the follow-up to The Duke's Handmaid. Both are essentially historical romance with fantasy elements, and they're set on another planet (Byntar). (Pay attention: there's a test later.)

But Wait! There's More!
The official synopsis for the book follows (or you can read the first chapter instead):
Two baby boys are lost in the hostile country of Ganluc--one the firstborn son of a prince and princess (third in line for the Royal Throne of Latoph) and the other an illegitimate half-breed born to an Itzi slavegirl and fathered by a licentious owner who was executed for treason. Yet Duke Vahn is determined to rescue both of these boys. Scores of knights and bounty hunters have risked their lives trying to retrieve them, yet none can even find a clue to their whereabouts. When all else fails, a bold plan is proposed to send Vahn's most trusted servant posing as a runaway slave in order to gather information. Reluctantly, Vahn sends a strange trio off to Ganluc--his brave captain, a middle-aged healer, and an Itzi slave. Little does he know what challenges await both the trio and his own house, now forced to survive without its key leaders.

So what's an Itzi? Get the background here. For more about the Duke (Is he a flat, unspiring character, or is he a moving Vahn?) and his many co-stars, check here.

My Own Opinions, for what they're worth
(Note: I haven't read the current entry, so I'm going by The Duke's Handmaid for all this.)

On the plus side, Hokstad has an unusual ability for world-building. (I would rate her ahead of Overstreet in Auralia's Colors, in fact.) She's also a good storyteller. The two strengths combine for an immersive tale.

The points that will bother some people (including me at times):

*This isn't Christian in any discernible fashion, though the good guys are moral and ethical and occasionally torture the bad guys to advance the plot.

*Speaking of torture, there's some stuff here that makes waterboarding look like a theme park attraction. A little over the line for me, but your mileage may vary. (See what happens when you try to turn back your odometer?)

*Duke Vahn's so tall, you get a stiff neck just reading about him.

For more reviews, some by people who've actually read the book, check the CFRB site.

Test (See, what did I tell you?)
1. Do you secretly hope that the first syllable of "Byntar" is pronounced like English "been," so you can say, "Byntar, done that?"

2. "Reluctantly, Vahn sends a strange trio off to Ganluc--his brave captain, a middle-aged healer, and an Itzi slave. Little does he know what challenges await both the trio and his own house, now forced to survive without its key leaders."

Which of the trio are the "key leaders"? Or is it the two missing kids? Who does mind the store whenever Vahn has to visit the little Duke's room?

3. Is it just a coincidence that "Ganluc" is "culnag" spelled backwards--and neither word means anything?

4. Say "Itzi-Itzi-Itzi" without cracking up or getting stuck in a rubber room.

5. What season is it, really--Duke season or wabbit season?

Submit your responses here, preferably in the form of a question. (Yeah, just like Jeopardy, for reasons that will become clear if you try it.)