In The Book of Strange New Things, Michel Faber explores territory that is not frequently explored in sci-fi. What happens when an alien race is introduced to the gospel? It's an intriguing thought to me as a Christian, and Faber does a workable job of telling the story of a Christian missionary sent to another planet.
Peter is chosen by USIC to travel to their base on Oasis, where they are laying the groundwork for a human colony. The native inhabitants of Oasis are sentient, primitive in their technology (similar to Earth's Stone Age people), and have established trade with the human colony. To Peter's surprise, they have already been exposed to the Bible and have requested a human pastor to teach them about "The Book of Strange New Things."
While Peter is establishing relationships with this eager flock, his wife sends him messages about the declining situation back on Earth, where major natural disasters and political and social turmoil are rapidly decaying the social and economic fabric. Peter finds himself distracted and torn between the two worlds. The distance between him and his wife grows.
For much of this mellow, uneventful novel, I thought Faber was working up to some major conflict. Will Earth simply destroy itself, leaving the humans on Oasis as the last of their kind? Will the peaceful Oasis natives turn out to have some nefarious agenda? Will Peter go nuts? There are nudges in all of these directions, but ultimately the novel stays sort of boring. And maybe that's Faber's point.
There are lots of story-telling opportunities that go wasted. There are lots of theological explorations that go untouched. There are questions of cultural exchange and understanding that are only hinted at. It makes for a bland novel with an interesting premise.
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