Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Blasphemy by Mike Resnick

BLASPHEMY, Mike Resnick, Golden Gryphon, $24.95, 349 pages, ISBN: 9781930846647, reviewed by Barry Hunter.

When I think of BLASPHEMY, I think of the scientific discoveries of the Dark Ages and how The Church condemned everyone and everything and called it BLASPHEMY. The Church did its best to discredit them until the Renaissance came along and forced the discoveries out into the light. This collection contains some of Resnick’s more religion themed stories. It’s a good thing that he wasn’t around in the Dark Ages or we would not have the chance to enjoy them.

In “Genesis: The Rejected Canon”, the creation had a minor difference, that if not corrected would have caused a lot of changes today. In “Walpurgis III”, a world of satanic religions has allowed sanctuary to the greatest mass murderer; the Republic has sent an assassin to kill him; and, we must decide which one of them is the vilest. “God and Mr. Slatterman” meet at a craps table. In “The Pale Thin God”, the old gods meet and discuss how to handle this pale invader into their lands. Other stories tell of The Wandering Jew, The Messiah and Blind Faith, and an interview with God.

Resnick is at his best with these stories and I really enjoyed them. Great writing and some unusual aspects of the topic of religion make this a terrific collection. No matter what your feelings on religion are, this will be an enjoyable read.

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