The Holy Land by Robert Zubrin
02/02/2008 . Source: Darren Cadapen 
pub: Polaris Books. 298 page enlarged paperback. Price: $14.95 (US). ISBN: 0-9741443-0-4). Buy The Holy Land in the USA - or Buy The Holy Land in the UK  check out website: www.polarisbooks.net
God bless America. A fanatical nation of terrorists who explode their children in the name of Jesus. At least that's the case in 'The Holy Land' which could easily be renamed The Gospel according to Robert Zubrin.
The Western Galactic Empire has returned the oppressed Minervan people to their ancient homeland of Kennewick, Washington and the deeply religious American President is not happy. Not only are the Minervans fouling up the air with their pagan beliefs but they haven't passed the proper immigration checks. Hostilities begin with the Americans using limited but lowdown methods of subterfuge and suicide bombings to counter the superior technology of their other-worldly opponents.
Andrew Hamilton, a proud American soldier, is captured during the fighting but is taken under the wing of Aurora, a Minervan priestess. Kept as a pet and a study specimen, Hamilton is initially a reluctant captive but his patriotism starts to wane as his nation resorts to increasingly insane heights of carnage to further their cause while his feelings toward Aurora soften into more than just friendship.
'The Holy Land' begins as a scatter-bomb attack on the Bush administration but somewhat inevitably ends up landing a direct hit on organised religion.
For long periods it's difficult to tell where Zubrin's own faith lies or indeed whether he places his faith in anything at all. The ghastly caricatures of the Oval Office portray a humanity diseased with avarice yet blessed with cunning enough to out-manoeuvre those of a supposedly finer moral fibre. Similarly, the ostentatious piety of the Minervans with their resplendent priestesses and scoffing dismissal of human life sincerely undermines their superior intellects. Zubrin longs to set everybody free from the constraints of religion but there is enough ambiguity in his prose to suggest that the quest for freedom leads just as surely to our most evil deeds as to as our most stoic heroism.
These hefty questions do not hinder but rather help to produce an enjoyable and accessible satire. In one memorable episode, Hamilton is placed before an intergalactic courtroom as the sole defendant of a human race facing the death penalty, a defence that is severely hampered by the fact that each one of thoughts can be read by his telepathic prosecutor. Zubrin leaves his characters with no place to hide. Falsehood and self-righteousness is exposed in every individual, be they presidents, soldiers or spiritual leaders. In 'The Holy Land' nothing is concealed. Nothing is sacred.
Darren Cadapen
|
|
Add SFcrowsnest.com daily news updates to your
own web site or blog - just cut and paste the code
below...
POST YOUR COMMENTS  CLICK HERE TO HAVE YOUR SAY
|
