CSFF: Conclusion

There are various reasons for leaving the tour. My schedule is rather hectic, as the lateness of this post demonstrates, and it's hard to find time to read and review, though I've worked past such difficulties before.

The real issue is simply futility. As I look back over the various books I've reviewed, I find very few that were worthwhile. A fair number are merely generic and not noticeably "Christian" at all, such as the Auralia's Colors books and Offworld; while others are apparently Christian but with bad theology, such as The Enclave; and still others are more or less Christian with some syncretism thrown in, as in Tuck.

Part of the problem is mentioned in Scripture:

James 3:1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

(If you're a writer, you're a teacher. People will take your theology seriously and learn from your work, so be careful.)

2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

Bingo! Writers go for what sells or is catchy, not for what's true. This is especially problematic for speculative fiction, which is about the only genre where it's actually possible to deny the existence of God.

How serious is all this? In The Enclave, we are told that evolution (not atheism) and Christianity are incompatible. C. S. Lewis was a theistic evolutionist; was he

a) unsaved or
b) just stupid?

(Answer "Yes" or "Absolutely.")

It strikes me as dogmatic to marginalize other Christians that way. It's especially interesting that the writer contradicted the Bible (on the point that every land creature that wasn't on the Ark died, as stated in Gen 9:21-23) and even used a Bible verse (Gen 6:4) to excuse the contradiction. Nice chutzpah! You must be proud of it.

Do we really need to further such stories? I don't see the point. Christian speculative fiction can be good; it just seldom is, and that's usually because we're copying the non-Christian stuff and don't understand our own faith, much like the would-be teachers of 1 Tim 1:3-7:

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work—which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.

Doesn't that sound familiar?

I'm not giving up on speculative fiction entirely; I'll still read it and write it. But I can't help thinking some of the stuff I've waded through lately is having a negative effect on my own work. So I'm taking an indefinite sabbatical. I may return eventually, though probably not through CSFF. I have a backlog of books to work through, so I'll post reviews now and then, perhaps even a Genuine Fake Review on occasion. But where this blog will go is currently undecided. I'm open to suggestions (preferably clean and not abusive); we'll see what happens.

Offworld 3: Weak points and conclusion

There aren't that many weak points of Robin Parrish’s Offworld when taken by category.

Science. I found myself wishing that Parrish had simply invoked the supernatural to begin with, since that's where we wind up anyway. The invocation of "quantum determinism" is very odd, given that one of the hallmarks of quantum physics is indeterminism. (That's one of the things Einstein didn't like about it, in fact.)

Gadget logic. There were various aspects of the mysterious effect and its use that bothered me. Though it would be involved to explain, the loss of life would almost certainly be extremely high, and scientists ought to realize this. Also, anything that could identify a chromosomal pattern should be able to distinguish between weapons-grade fissionables and the other kind. (Of course, given that non-weapons-grade fissionables could be refined and upgraded, the easy route would've involved turning it all to lead.)

Bad-guy logic. I said the characters were believable, and the good guys are. The bad guys, not so much. If Roston is telling the truth about his motives, he shouldn't have someone like Griffin around--and yes, he should know very well what Griffin's like. This seems to derive from the old "evil military" meme, which I admit ticked me off.

To Whom It May Concern... There's a lot of basic prayer here (Commander Burke asks for "a little help" several times), but no mention of who it's directed to. God? Allah? The Flying Spaghetti Monster? There's clearly something mystical afoot, and on the whole it's not incompatible with Christianity. But neither does it point to Christianity so much as to the simplistic Man (Person?) Upstairs idea.

Don't Talk to the Dead Guy! This should be obvious: Christians do not get mission objectives from dead guys. Biblically, messages are delivered by angels (which means "messenger" anyway). This pushes the ambiguous theology away from Christianity into something else rather disturbing.

Conclusion While the story is a good yarn, the resolution is disappointing and the theology troubling at best. If you're aware of these issues, it may not be such a problem.

The Other Conclusion. This will be my last CSFF post for the foreseeable future. I'll explain that in my next post.

Meanwhile, check out the rest of the CSFF tour:
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Gina Burgess
Canadianladybug
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Eve Nielsen (posting later in the week)
Nissa
John W. Otte
Lyn Perry
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Stephanie
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Elizabeth Williams

Offworld 2: Good points

What are the good points of Robin Parrish’s Offworld?

Action. I defy anyone to dispute this. It has some slow, pensive moments, but it's basically a lengthy chase, a struggle against superior forces and special effects.

Wit. There are some good lines here, such as, "Life is poetry. ...And the thing about poetry? It don't write itself." (p. 245)

Characterization. The characters are generally strong and realistic, and I was rooting for them. That's not as easy to achieve as you might think.

Yes, I know: short post. Long day, too. Tomorrow's post will no doubt be rather lengthy, in part for reasons not limited to the current book.

Meanwhile, check out the rest of the CSFF tour:
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Gina Burgess
Canadianladybug
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Eve Nielsen (posting later in the week)
Nissa
John W. Otte
Lyn Perry
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Stephanie
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Elizabeth Williams

Offworld 1: Intro

Robin Parrish’s Offworld came at an odd moment. Specifically, it followed Vanish, which had a similar "Where did everybody go?" idea and a mystery munchkin, and The Enclave, which featured a Special Forces character and a nagging, incomplete memory of something Really Important that takes nearly the whole story to re-emerge. There are a number of differences, as well; suffice it to say that I wish I'd read the books further apart.

Anyway...

In 2033, the first expedition to Mars is returning home. They lose radio contact with Earth about halfway back, which means among other things no annoying ads and celebrity gossip.

There is much rejoicing.

Unfortunately, they keep getting the silent treatment, even when they need to dock with the space station or just head down to Earth on their own. They prepare for the worst, and a good thing, too: the whole ship, most of which was never meant to operate in an atmosphere, decides to find out where all that gravity is coming from. The crew is saved from annihilation only by all jumping out the door the second before the crash. This is, of course, impossible. And it's not the last thing that is.

But let's look at the crew:

Commander Chris Burke is the leader. He has this strange, partial memory of the time he nearly died on Mars. Since no one thinks to take a plumber's friend to his brain, it takes quite a while for him to remember what really happened.

Trisha Merriday is the Woman. She's a lot of other things too, but since they appear to be the last humans on Earth, her presence in the crew means that at least none of the guys will have to learn to dance backward. Civilization is saved! What a pity she has a heartbreaking crisis....

Terry Kessler is the Kid Who is Sure to Freak Out. The scene at the bottom of page 165 and top of 166 is great: "Have you lost your mind?" "Nah,...but this ought to do it."

Owen Beechum is the Smartest, Baddest Guy on the Planet. He finds Schwarzenegger and Stephen Hawking on the beach and kicks sand in their faces. Okay, he wouldn't do that, because he's a nice guy, despite having a mysterious and lethal past.

Mae is--okay, she isn't in the crew, and no one seems to know where she came from, Mae included. (She has more of a backstory than a past.)

So our stalwart band heads for Houston, where someone left the mother-in-law of searchlights running. If they can get there, they may discover the solution to the baffling mystery--or at least turn the light off before it runs up an even worse bill.

But along the way, they face horrifying disasters that let them know that someone doesn't like them, and they begin to realize that maybe they aren't alone after all. Someone is trying to keep them from reaching Houston! Who could it be? Probably the guys from the power company, already drooling over the thought of the next bill they'll send out.

Tomorrow, a look at some of the strengths of Offworld. In the meantime, check out the rest of the CSFF blog tour:
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Gina Burgess
Canadianladybug
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Eve Nielsen (posting later in the week)
Nissa
John W. Otte
Lyn Perry
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Stephanie
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Elizabeth Williams

Not Far From the Tree 3: Weak points and conclusion

The weak points of Not Far From the Tree are few and may be dealt with quickly.

Slow opening. It took me a while to get into the story, partly because of the switching between past and present and partly because (for me at least) there were supporting characters tossed in a little too frequently and rapidly. This mostly passed off after a few chapters, though near the end the reunion got a bit confusing again.

Cliché ending. The ending is a bit of an old joke in one sense, though I can't explain without spoiling it. This is largely due to the well-meaning relatives who have evidently been reading the wrong magazine articles and watching way too much TV. It veers a bit into generic spirituality--the kind that may reasonably be labeled merely "inspirational."

Too close to home? There were places where people or situations were a little too familiar--I've run into some of this myself, and the memories weren't always good. Some people may be more bothered than I was. That can't be predicted; it will vary widely from reader to reader and is one of the dangers of an emotionally involving story.

Conclusion. On the whole, Not Far From the Tree is an engaging story with some good life-lessons attached. It may also serve a pre-evangelistic function, because the Christian element, though clear, probably won't seem threatening to most unsaved readers.

Purchase Not Far from the Tree at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.

Not Far From the Tree 2: Good points

The good points of Not Far From the Tree mostly involve the nebulous expression "family values." However, it is clear that those values don't stand by themselves, suspended magically in midair.

Prayer is a key factor. In a sense there's not much obvious Christianity: no altar calls, no church scenes, and so on. I would of course have been pleased with a little more overt faith. However, there is a lot of prayer, and it's not the "To Whom it May Concern" variety. While Rina's husband David doesn't seem particularly religious--his parents evidently weren't the sort--Rina and her parents clearly are, and David does recognize this as a good thing.

Perseverance I mentioned this last time. The story could reasonably be called The Trials and Tribulations of Rina. She spends a lot of time adapting to other people's problems: Her mother-in-law needs something cast out of her by a competent exorcist, her husband keeps changing jobs in hopes of finally grabbing some prosperity, and the kids have the usual misadventures.

Family ties. Family loyalty is a big issue here, even when the family member is a jerk. There is no question of abandonment. For example, when David has a long-term health problem, Rina doesn't decide to cut her losses as a lot of modern people would. She doesn't even mope around a lot feeling sorry for herself. "Divorce is not an option"--Who knew? The idea of operating sacrificially for years without a lot of sniveling may seem incredible to people today, but it is possible. As a related issue, the kids don't rebel appreciably against their upbringing. They're independent, yes, and they sometimes do things Rina doesn't like, but they do seem to remain on good terms with parents and sibs alike.

Next we'll look at some problem areas.

Purchase Not Far from the Tree at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.

Not Far From the Tree 1: Intro

Ruth Smith Meyer's Not Far From the Tree looks back at ninety-nine-year-old Rina Litz's life, beginning with some girlhood memories but mostly concentrating on her life as a young adult--courtship, marriage, and family life. Set in Canada primarily in the first half of the last century, these reminiscences involve an astonishing number of offspring and the changes of job and address that Rina's husband David makes as he tries to stay ahead of the bills and the Depression. Rina, meanwhile, gets to adapt as best she can. It's a tale of perseverance, faith, and doing the right thing even when it's exasperating.

It's worth noting that Rina is based on a real woman, so many of the twists and turns are not simply the product of an author's imagination. Also, most readers will not notice that this is in fact a sequel; the earlier novel was Not Easily Broken.

Rina's modern-day life forms the backdrop for her history as she prepares for a major family reunion, reflecting on the changes that the decades have wrought and the lessons she's learned.

Tomorrow I'll comment further on some of the lessons to be learned here--the good points, in other words.

Purchase Not Far from the Tree at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.