The Word Reclaimed & The Word Unleashed

OK, these are quite old—from Marcher Lord Press now Enclave Publishing: 2009 & 2010. They are also excellent Christian science fiction. To quote the blurb:

Baden picked up the wrong book.

In the far future, the civilized worlds have finally been freed of the curse of religion. Tolerance now rules the five colonies. Thanks to the secret police, no one has been bothered by so much as a hymn in two generations-much less a Torah, Koran, or that most dangerous of books, a Bible.

Needless to say, the dreaded secret police are not only upset about the discovery of the Bible, but they are also thinking coup—over a duped king. As a group, and in the leadership, they are appallingly nasty.

The world building is exceptional

The politics and culture are done very well without being overwhelming. There’s no feeling of reading an atlas. The technology is loosely covered, almost glossed over in places. This is not hard science fiction.

The romances are underplayed and realistic. The friendships are strong. The families are stronger yet. Their trials are gripping and well rendered.

Spiritually, it’s great fun

Much like the world building, Steve glosses over the details of when and how. I did have a bit of trouble getting into the book because of my conviction that we’re out of here within a few decades—max. Steve just ignores the fact that the Lord hasn’t returned. In fact, with a day of 2602, it’s clear that he hasn’t. But he quickly brings you into his created world and it’s really no problem.

The Christianity is well handled with little stereotypical Bible thumping. If anything, the Christianity is shown as relatively powerless. Nonetheless, God is active and loving. He gets the job done. But this isn’t a book of spiritual power displayed.