★★★★ (of 5)

• Full Title: The God Engines
• Author: John Scalzi
• Year: 2009 (mine was a library hardback)
• Genre: Fantasy
• Publisher: Subterranean Press
• ISBN 978-1-59606-299-3 (hardback)
• Wikipedia page
• Author’s Wikipedia Page

 

Summary

This book — really a novella — is a departure for Scalzi. Published just after his Old Man’s War series, it leaves behind the humor and light antics Scalzi was becoming known for and is instead a dark fantasy. In this universe gods are real, but aren’t omnipotent — their exact powers and limitations are never spelled out. The narrative follows Captain Ean Tephe as he takes on a top-secret task for the Bishops that run his government. Also unlike other Scalzi novels, this one is illustrated with drawings by Vincent Chong.

As a taste, the opening line of the novella is “It was time to whip the god.”

 

What I Liked Least About It

As someone who has deeply studied religion and clung to it for more than half my life, and then studied it deeply again before rejecting it, I thought Scalzi used the word “faith” throughout in an odd way. I won’t say “wrong”, because I’m aware that there are multiple possible definitions and usages of the word. But in the specific realm of theism, “faith” typically means “belief without evidence”. In the world of this novel, such a thing is irrelevant, because the characters can actually see their gods, both the ruling one and the defeated ones they use to power their starships. I was never clear from the context which other definition of “faith” Scalzi intended. Sometimes, I thought he used it as a synonym for “devotion”, where “I have faith in my god” would be interpreted to mean “I am devoted to my god”. If so, I stand by my statement that it’s odd to use it this way.

 

What I Liked Most About It

I liked the very different universe Scalzi created in this story, though my curious mind wanted to know more. I liked when a new convert asked whether Tephe’s god was a good one or merely the strongest one — a relevant question in a reality with many gods.

I also liked how quickly I was able to read it. It’s only 136 pages, and has fewer words per page than the standard book. I got it from the library just before lunch, read for an hour in the afternoon and about 30 minutes at bedtime to finish it.

If nothing else, it showed Scalzi’s ability to easily switch between styles — and even genres. Everything else I’ve read by him was traditional sci-fi, with no magic, no spells, no mythical creatures, and so on. Even in the Collapsing Empire series, where religion figures prominently, it becomes obvious early that the religion is entirely made-up. This one is not only darker, but somehow heavier — and even the materials of the setting, like iron and wood, serve this purpose. Class and caste are a big part of it as well, something usually ignored in Scalzi’s other egalitarian fiction.

 

Conclusion

I think just about any fan of literature would enjoy this short book, though I am often surprised at what other people enjoy or don’t enjoy.

 

 

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