Series: Book 1 in the Novels series
Rating: Not rated
Tags: EN-SciFi, Lang:en
Summary
After a promising start, Herbert's heavy-handed work
rapidly disintegrates into uninspired philosophizing and
potshots at organized religion. God uses an unlikely
spokesman, Evander McMurtrey--who as a lark had founded the
Interplanetary Church of Cosmic Chickenhood--to issue an
unusual invitation to the people of the planet D'Urth:
although he doesn't explain why, God would like them to race
each other to visit him on his remote world of Tananius-Ofo,
and provides a fleet of computer-piloted spaceships for
transport. On McMurtrey's own ship are the embattled
followers of various religions, such as Krassianism (read
Christianity), Hoddism (Buddhism) and Middism (Judaism), who
squabble their way toward God (even the computer is accused
of blasphemy). McMurtrey is an engagingly eccentric
character, but Herbert ( Prisoners of Arionn ) laces his
meandering text with banal observations ("every experience in
life is a lesson") and tiresome irreverences, such as this
attack on Catholic absolution: "Confess to murder and rape,
say you accept Krassos Christ and you get a ticket to Heaven.
What a sick, sic e-vile religion!"
A self-made prophet and head of the Interplanetary Church
of Cosmic Chickenhood receives a bona fide invitation from
God to visit Him on His planet at the edge of the universe.
In response, a flood of religious devotees flocks to the
spaceships destined to deliver them, provided they can
survive "holy war" in outer space. Herbert's (Prisoners of
Arionn) flair for comedy is taken to extremes in this blatant
and unsubtle spoof of an earth-like world fragmented by
theology. For large libraries only.
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.From Library Journal
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.