Confession: I like John Scalzi. I haven’t met him (I’m not much of a convention goer where I would have the most chance of meeting him, which is something that’s going to change in 2011), but he seems amiable enough on his blog and on Twitter and in his AMC science fiction movie column, and his snarky and sarcastic sense of humor appeals to my more mischievous impulses. His Old Man’s War novels are light, breezy, inviting, and eminently entertaining. He’s not a particularly deep writer (you won’t find lots of philosophical musings in his work), or “hard” SF writer in the sense of someone who thinks out and explores every last technological implication of his future societies (like, say, Alastair Reynolds or Richard K. Morgan); he has enough tech to tell his story without getting all masturbatory about it, and moves on. And that’s fine. I don’t think super-philosophical/super-techie SF is the game Scalzi’s playing anyway. He’s writing fun, entertaining stories that are what they are without a lot of subtextual baggage, and I’m perfectly fine with that (and I’m sure he is too).
But The God Engines is a bit of a different beast from his previous fare. It’s his first foray into fantasy (though it’s heavily SF-influenced fantasy), and it’s certainly darker than anything he’s written so far (at least that I’ve read). It’s a novella and not a novel, 136 pages long, and published by specialty publisher Subterranean Press. It’s a terrifically handsome little book, for those who like such things (and I’m guessing readers of this website are “those” kinds of people).
The God Engines is the story of a spacefaring society in which prayer and faith have a material effect in the physical universe. In this world there was a war of gods in the past, where one god emerged triumphant. The fallen gods are held captive and used, quite literally, as engines to power their starships between worlds.
How bizarrely cool is that?
Captain Ean Tephe is a man of faith, the commander of the starship Righteous. He is the secular leader of the ship, which also has a religious officer on board to oversee the ceremonies that direct and control the god.
Tephe’s particular god engine, bound by iron chains in a sacred hold in the ship, has become restless and dangerous, though they are unable to determine a reason for its behavior.
Summoned to his homeworld by the ecumenical government called the Bishopry Militant, Tephe is given a new, very secret and very dangerous assignment whose success or failure could mean the difference between the survival or extinction of his civilization.
The synopsis really doesn’t do it justice (I hate reviews that are simply recaps, so I’ll try to add a little here). The bits about faith and how it interacts with the gods of this universe are very interesting, and seem a decent stretch from Scalzi’s previous efforts. He’s trying something new here, and pretty much succeeds at every level. While he’s sometimes a little light on his description of things, there is enough detail to paint what is necessary. There are a number of surprising plot twists, not in an oh-my-god-could-you-believe-Bruce-Willis-was-dead-the-whole-time? kind of thing, but rather organic reveals that grow out of the unique culture Scalzi has created. The ending is unexpected, compelling, and rather grim.
All in all, a very worthwhile read. Recommended (with verve and enthusiasm!).
Since it’s a specialty press novella, you may have trouble finding it in regular bookstores. Go here if you’re interested in purchasing The God Engines directly from the publisher.
