Like any Christian Science Fiction, the idea of Catholic SF seems to be a contradiction in terms—perhaps more so given the infamous stands the Catholic Church has taken against against scientific theory all those centuries ago. But, Galileo's trial is ancient history and for the last 1000 years, Catholic scientists (including priest, monks and even some saints) have received encouragement and support from the church. It is no wonder, then, that writers have become fascinated with the concept of how the Catholic church will meet the challenges of the future—and SF is just the vehicle for this.
This 2007 EPPIE award-winning anthology includes SF concepts from time travel to transporter technology, genetic engineering to alien abduction, interstellarcolonization and uncontrolled inter-city violence told from a Catholic world view. All of the ISIG short stories are well-crafted and entertaining—the latter a real surprise for me considering that I do not number among the millions of sci-fi fans in this world. The range of intensity in this volume kept me reading because I couldn't predict what I'd discover when I turned another page. We see the teenager Frankie off to evangelize to alien beings; we sit with Saint Francis of Assisi as he ministers to the needs of a mannaro; we make the pilgrimmage alongside an IRA 'terrorist' as he makes his way through the stations to enlightment. The three described above: "Interstellar Calling," "Canticle of the Wolf," and "A Cruel and Unusual Punishment" were my favourites. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the stories included in Infinite Space Infinite God and liked the fact that they forced me to ponder and question. And one more thing, it is pretty darn refreshing to read good fiction that does not haul out the fictional stereotypes of manical monk or preying priest or nasty nun.
Okay, enough about my opinion (and believe me, there is more where this came from!); why don't you check out these sites on the Christian Fiction Review Blog tour:
This 2007 EPPIE award-winning anthology includes SF concepts from time travel to transporter technology, genetic engineering to alien abduction, interstellarcolonization and uncontrolled inter-city violence told from a Catholic world view. All of the ISIG short stories are well-crafted and entertaining—the latter a real surprise for me considering that I do not number among the millions of sci-fi fans in this world. The range of intensity in this volume kept me reading because I couldn't predict what I'd discover when I turned another page. We see the teenager Frankie off to evangelize to alien beings; we sit with Saint Francis of Assisi as he ministers to the needs of a mannaro; we make the pilgrimmage alongside an IRA 'terrorist' as he makes his way through the stations to enlightment. The three described above: "Interstellar Calling," "Canticle of the Wolf," and "A Cruel and Unusual Punishment" were my favourites. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the stories included in Infinite Space Infinite God and liked the fact that they forced me to ponder and question. And one more thing, it is pretty darn refreshing to read good fiction that does not haul out the fictional stereotypes of manical monk or preying priest or nasty nun.Okay, enough about my opinion (and believe me, there is more where this came from!); why don't you check out these sites on the Christian Fiction Review Blog tour:
CFRBlog cfrblog.blogspot.com
Grace Bridges gracebridges.blogspot.com
Caprice Hockstad shoutlife.com/capricehockstad
Come join editor/ author Karina Fabian as she hosts FabChat Thursdays at 8pm (Eastern). On April 19 she talks about ISIG! Visit karinafabian.tripod.com and ask questions of your own.
For information about
the contributing authors: isigsf.tripod.com
the stories: isigsf.tripod.com
the editors: fabianspace.com
how to purchase: twilighttimesbooks.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Editors Karina and Robert Fabian
September 2006: eBook
Summer 2007: Trade paperback
ISBN: 1933353627
Publisher: Twilight Times Books
Infinite Space Infinite God is due out in paperback August 2007.
1 comment:
Thanks for the review.
"Cruel and Unusual Punishment" is a great story. Maya has a gift for words--even the individual sentences are poetry.
"Canticle of the Wolf" was acutally the very first story we accepted. Alan had submitted it for an earlier anthology, and we couldn't use it, but we held onto it for almost a year before the idea for ISIG came up.
"Interstellar Calling" seems to be a favorite among many, which makes me laugh as it was a last-minute replacement for another story that sold before ISIG found its publisher. I'm so glad I was able to touch so many hearts. The Holy Spirit was working in me that day, it seems.
Blessings,
Karina Fabian
Post a Comment