Last summer I read books 1 & 2 of Kerry Nietz's DarkTrench saga, and loved them (see my reviews here and here). Lucky me, about the time I was finishing those books, Nietz was finishing up book 3, so my wait was blessedly short for Freeheads. In books 1 & 2, debuggers SandFly and HardCandy are sent to repair a robot on DarkTrench, an interstellar ship which has just returned from a voyage to Betelgeuse. The robot, as well as the crew, had encountered a curious song from a star, which had transformed them. SandFly and HardCandy then take DarkTrench on a return journey to Betelgeuse where they encounter a seemingly idyllic but ultimately malicious alien race. Freeheads opens with the pair returning to earth, in hopes of bringing the message of A~A3, Nietz's moniker for God, to people spiritually enslaved by a controlling Islamic regime.
Through a series of events driven by both divine intervention and sabotage, SandFly and HardCandy have to abandon DarkTrench, intending to head straight to earth, but end up on the moon. There they discover a colony of exiles from earth and learn the source of the rogue stream they had briefly accessed on earth. To their great surprise, they realize that due to a malfunction on DarkTrench, 40 years have passed since they left earth; to them, it had only been weeks. Also to their surprise, the message of A~A3 and the superlative stream managed to make its way to earth via the original DarkTrench crew. However, the fledgling group of followers of the message have been persecuted and nearly eliminated.
Things had changed on earth during their absence. Before they left, everyone lived under religious oppression, but that oppression had progressively become widespread slavery. SandFly returning after 40 years to confront the leaders and lead the people out of slavery? Any Biblical allusions you might imagine here are certainly no accident.
Nietz has a spiritual message in Freeheads, not in the sense that he preaches, and certainly not in a way that deters from the story. In fact, that's part of the fun of the whole DarkTrench series: In a world in which Christianity has been effectively quashed by world-dominating Islam, what would it look like to reintroduce the gospel? Nietz gives us a warning to heed. Sandfly's theory as to why the message of the Bible "just faded out": "Those who knew the Truth got lazy, or worse, refused to share what they knew. . . .They cloistered. Failed to do something when they had a chance." Sobering words for a Christian culture that sometimes seems to make itself irrelevant to the wider world. . . .
Besides a great story and a compelling spiritual message, Nietz handles the science well. Freeheads is chock full of speculative technology, but Nietz, not satisfied with simply throwing out crazy devices or giving people and machines unfounded superpowers, gives enough description and background to make the technology almost believable. He's no stranger to natural science either; his descriptions of a close encounter with a comet and a walk on the moon's surface are quite convincing as well.
With his DarkTrench saga, Nietz shows his skill as a captivating writer, adept at conveying a fast-moving story with thoughtful spiritual reflection and an imaginative view of the near future. The three books can certainly be read and enjoyed independently, but they're best taken as a whole, showing both SandFly's development as well as Nietz's development as a writer. He's got a few more books to write before he enters the pantheon of sc-fi greats, but I do like Tim George's blurb from the back cover of Freeheads: "Nietz writes in a way that makes me wonder what the masters of the genre like Asimov and Heinlein might have written had they known A~A3." Well-said. I'm already wondering what Nietz will come up with next!
Showing posts with label A Star Curiously Singing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A Star Curiously Singing. Show all posts
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
The Superlative Stream, by Kerry Nietz
I recently read Kerry Nietz's first novel, A Star Curiously Singing
, loved it, and was delighted to see that the adventures of Sandfly continue in a sequel, The Superlative Stream. In ASCS, we meet Sandfly, a debugger who is sent to investigate the self-destruction of a robot on the space ship DarkTrench. In the course of the investigation, he discovers a possible cause: curious singing from a distant star. TSS picks up where ASCS leaves off. Sandfly and his fellow debugger HardCandy take DarkTrench to search for the source of the singing, the superlative stream.
Nietz clearly matured as a writer with TSS. As good as ASCS is, TSS adds a higher level of depth and complexity to his engaging style. Utilizing flashbacks to their lives on Earth, we get to know Sandfly and HardCandy better and see how circumstances have brought them together. We also gain insight into the Muslim culture of their world. Nietz will not win friends in the Muslim community, as he takes certain elements of Sharia law to their logical, painful conclusions.
A subplot in both books deal with Sandfly's implant. As a result of his encounter with the superlative stream, his stops are removed, so, if he wishes to, he can sin with impunity. For the first time in his adult life, he experiences free will unencumbered by the programmed controls of the implant (and this right at the time time he embarks on an interstellar voyage, alone, with a beautiful woman!). Given the Islamic theology of good works, he struggles with the realization that his good works can never tip the scale in his favor; his sinful nature will continually pull him toward 50.1% bad works.
Sandfly's understanding will no doubt continue to develop as he gets to know the source of the stream, whom he knows now only as "(A~A)3." (That's A not A cubed, A being the shorthand for Allah, who is not named in the novel. ) Nietz skillfully weaves basic, thoughtful ideas like this throughout the story without preaching or distracting from the overall plot.
Much of the story takes place on a planet in the Betelguese system. There the humans encounter a whole new civilization, technically far ahead of human civilization. This part of the story will feel very familiar to any reader of sci-fi or viewer of sci-fi movies and TV shows: an idyllic, communal society, where there is no evident material need, where everyone seems happy, yet everyone sort of looks and dresses alike. Nietz kept me going for quite a while, trying to decide if this were some sort of angelic community, or if there were something more ominous under the surface. I'll leave that discovery to you when you read it. . . .
Nietz shows his skill as a bona fide sci-fi writer with his use of hard science as a driver in the story combined with plenty of realistic scientific and technological speculation. Combining that with his use of hard theology, exploring theological questions from a refreshing outside perspective, he gives us a thoroughly entertaining and satisfying read. And here's the good news: the Dark Trench saga will continue! An e-mail from Nietz confirmed that he has completed book 3. It's in the hands of the publisher now, so we should see it in the coming months. Keep an eye out at Marcher Lord Press for the release.
, loved it, and was delighted to see that the adventures of Sandfly continue in a sequel, The Superlative Stream. In ASCS, we meet Sandfly, a debugger who is sent to investigate the self-destruction of a robot on the space ship DarkTrench. In the course of the investigation, he discovers a possible cause: curious singing from a distant star. TSS picks up where ASCS leaves off. Sandfly and his fellow debugger HardCandy take DarkTrench to search for the source of the singing, the superlative stream.Nietz clearly matured as a writer with TSS. As good as ASCS is, TSS adds a higher level of depth and complexity to his engaging style. Utilizing flashbacks to their lives on Earth, we get to know Sandfly and HardCandy better and see how circumstances have brought them together. We also gain insight into the Muslim culture of their world. Nietz will not win friends in the Muslim community, as he takes certain elements of Sharia law to their logical, painful conclusions.
A subplot in both books deal with Sandfly's implant. As a result of his encounter with the superlative stream, his stops are removed, so, if he wishes to, he can sin with impunity. For the first time in his adult life, he experiences free will unencumbered by the programmed controls of the implant (and this right at the time time he embarks on an interstellar voyage, alone, with a beautiful woman!). Given the Islamic theology of good works, he struggles with the realization that his good works can never tip the scale in his favor; his sinful nature will continually pull him toward 50.1% bad works.
Sandfly's understanding will no doubt continue to develop as he gets to know the source of the stream, whom he knows now only as "(A~A)3." (That's A not A cubed, A being the shorthand for Allah, who is not named in the novel. ) Nietz skillfully weaves basic, thoughtful ideas like this throughout the story without preaching or distracting from the overall plot.
Much of the story takes place on a planet in the Betelguese system. There the humans encounter a whole new civilization, technically far ahead of human civilization. This part of the story will feel very familiar to any reader of sci-fi or viewer of sci-fi movies and TV shows: an idyllic, communal society, where there is no evident material need, where everyone seems happy, yet everyone sort of looks and dresses alike. Nietz kept me going for quite a while, trying to decide if this were some sort of angelic community, or if there were something more ominous under the surface. I'll leave that discovery to you when you read it. . . .
Nietz shows his skill as a bona fide sci-fi writer with his use of hard science as a driver in the story combined with plenty of realistic scientific and technological speculation. Combining that with his use of hard theology, exploring theological questions from a refreshing outside perspective, he gives us a thoroughly entertaining and satisfying read. And here's the good news: the Dark Trench saga will continue! An e-mail from Nietz confirmed that he has completed book 3. It's in the hands of the publisher now, so we should see it in the coming months. Keep an eye out at Marcher Lord Press for the release.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
A Star Curiously Singing, by Kerry Nietz
I have long been a fan of sci-fi, but have been skeptical of Christian sci-fi as a genre. Several years ago, I read some novels by Jeff Gerke (under the pen name Jefferson Scott) in the sci-fi/tech/suspense genre. I enjoyed them, and wondered what happened to him. Lo and behold, he has started a publishing house dedicated exclusively to Christian sci-fi and fantasy titles, Marcher Lord Press. Of course, titles from this small, new publisher are not available at my local library, so I went against my reading glutton, cheapskate tendencies and actually bought a few titles from Marcher Lord Press.
I was more than pleasantly surprised by Kerry Nietz's first novel, A Star Curiously Singing. This is not a second-rate, knock-off imitation sci-fi novel, but the real deal. Nietz creates a believable, if a little scary, near-future earth, incorporates creative technological ideas, and introduces likable characters in an engaging story. I was reminded of some of Asimov's stories; like Asimov, Nietz weaves a detective story into a future setting, letting the technology and cultural commentary provide a rich background while giving primary attention to an engaging plot. Sandfly, the narrator and central character, is a debugger whose owner sends him to check out a robot who self-destructed during a deep-space mission. That sentence alone requires a large amount of explanation, immersed as it is in the context of the book. Nietz takes the reader directly into that world, so it may take a few pages for you to feel comfortable, but he does so artfully, quickly drawing you in.
Without giving away the story, I'll highlight a couple of story elements that set A Star Curiously Singing apart. First, the cultural context. In the world of the novel, everyone, I mean everyone, is now Muslim. Sharia law is the law, and it's zealously enforced. Nietz doesn't go into much detail about how that transition came to pass, but he does off-handedly imply that the Muslim takeover occurred primarily due to birth rates. It's a little on the extreme side, of course (Catholics have high birth rates, too.), but it stands as a warning to us Western Christians who have small families and whose children tend not to embrace their parents' faith. And before you write off the possibility of world-wide sharia law, keep in mind that there are heads of state in the Middle East whose stated goal is just that, and they have, or will soon have, nuclear weapons.
As a debugger, Sandfly has an implant which not only gives his owner a means of control (think of a training device like you might have for your dog, only implanted in the brain. Ouch!), but the implant also controls his actions when he's alone. Tell a lie. Zap! Steal. Zap! Blaspheme A (The full name of the deity is not spelled out here.). Zap! Yet free will and the sin nature survive. Using this device, Nietz explores human nature and our sin nature in a unique way.
The core of the novel, the singing of the star, makes the story. In a world where Christianity has been successfully quashed, where all reference to it has been eliminated, no witness to God remains on Earth. But, as Jesus said, if we keep silent, the stones will cry out! Why not the stars, too! I love this depiction of God's calling out to his children, even when his children have cut off all communication. I hope and pray we don't come to a place where the whole world rejects God, but if it ever comes to that, Nietz reminds us that creation will not keep silent.
I heartily recommend this book, and encourage you to check out Marcher Lord Press, as well.
I was more than pleasantly surprised by Kerry Nietz's first novel, A Star Curiously Singing. This is not a second-rate, knock-off imitation sci-fi novel, but the real deal. Nietz creates a believable, if a little scary, near-future earth, incorporates creative technological ideas, and introduces likable characters in an engaging story. I was reminded of some of Asimov's stories; like Asimov, Nietz weaves a detective story into a future setting, letting the technology and cultural commentary provide a rich background while giving primary attention to an engaging plot. Sandfly, the narrator and central character, is a debugger whose owner sends him to check out a robot who self-destructed during a deep-space mission. That sentence alone requires a large amount of explanation, immersed as it is in the context of the book. Nietz takes the reader directly into that world, so it may take a few pages for you to feel comfortable, but he does so artfully, quickly drawing you in.
Without giving away the story, I'll highlight a couple of story elements that set A Star Curiously Singing apart. First, the cultural context. In the world of the novel, everyone, I mean everyone, is now Muslim. Sharia law is the law, and it's zealously enforced. Nietz doesn't go into much detail about how that transition came to pass, but he does off-handedly imply that the Muslim takeover occurred primarily due to birth rates. It's a little on the extreme side, of course (Catholics have high birth rates, too.), but it stands as a warning to us Western Christians who have small families and whose children tend not to embrace their parents' faith. And before you write off the possibility of world-wide sharia law, keep in mind that there are heads of state in the Middle East whose stated goal is just that, and they have, or will soon have, nuclear weapons.
As a debugger, Sandfly has an implant which not only gives his owner a means of control (think of a training device like you might have for your dog, only implanted in the brain. Ouch!), but the implant also controls his actions when he's alone. Tell a lie. Zap! Steal. Zap! Blaspheme A (The full name of the deity is not spelled out here.). Zap! Yet free will and the sin nature survive. Using this device, Nietz explores human nature and our sin nature in a unique way.
The core of the novel, the singing of the star, makes the story. In a world where Christianity has been successfully quashed, where all reference to it has been eliminated, no witness to God remains on Earth. But, as Jesus said, if we keep silent, the stones will cry out! Why not the stars, too! I love this depiction of God's calling out to his children, even when his children have cut off all communication. I hope and pray we don't come to a place where the whole world rejects God, but if it ever comes to that, Nietz reminds us that creation will not keep silent.
I heartily recommend this book, and encourage you to check out Marcher Lord Press, as well.
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