Valiance: Christian Sci-Fi

Let’s talk about Christian Sci-Fi…

Let me start by saying this: there is not a lot of Christian Science Fiction out there. I’m not sure why, really, but the last well-written Christian Sci-Fi I have read is the series by C.S. Lewis – Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength.

Everything else that has classed as Christian Sci-Fi has, well… Let’s just say there is a need for some well-written Christian Sci-Fi. I also don’t understand why more mainstream Christian authors aren’t writing in the genre – after all – our God is not just God of Earth, but God of all creation. Last I checked, that would be beyond the furthest reaches of space. But … anyway … Sorry for the mini-rant.

Though I am a fan of science fiction, I am not really comfortable writing within the genre. 

I mean, my favorite author of all time is Frank Herbert. My favorite sci-fi books are all the Dune books. I also love the Mars Trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars) by Kim Stanley Robinson, and the In Her Name Omnibus by Michael R. Hicks. All these books are heavy on science and technology. The authors have a clear understanding of basic scientific laws and theories, and that is what makes their storytelling so immersive.

See, when I read sci-fi, I expect there to be a lot of science. Because… Um. It is right there in the genre name. SCIENCE Fiction. Granted, I expect whatever science is there to be bent, twisted, challenged, and pushed well beyond the limits of what we currently know, but it must be there. 

But… well… I was once really good at science. I once was pretty decent with technology. However, my mind is not close to what it once was, so a lot of scientific concepts are far beyond me now. And technology… Well, I know how to use my iPhone, format a book, and differentiate between texting and PMing. (If that differentiation does not phase you, then you clearly do not have aging parents who don’t understand the difference between a text and a Facebook message. It’s a doozy to try to explain…) 

Because I understand less and less and retain less and less in the realms of all things science and tech, I’m not certain writing a science fiction novel is the greatest idea. I mean sci-fi fans can be … brutal. ::smirk::

However, I am anyway. ::gulp:: Exactly because I want to read more Christian Sci-Fi. So, by golly, I am going to write what I want to read.

I admit, I won’t be pushing the science aspects of science fiction much further than location and references to space travel and colonization, but already I am finding that what little science I am using is stretching my brain a great deal.

Still, I am working on a novel about a planet in the distant future far across the galaxy. The planet has been settled by us, of course, and though we think we are alone on the planet, we are not. The story centers on one young doctor who, intrigued by long forbidden religions from old Earth, has acquired an actual leatherbound copy of the Holy Bible. Fascinated by the relevance within the ancient onion-skin pages, she discovers faith in something long felt, but never seen. As her faith grows, promises read in Scripture begin to manifest around her. However, at the same time, a presence of evil makes its appearance to her people: settlers on a remote part of the new world. Forced to rely on her newfound faith among people who have no ability or desire to understand, the doctor sets out to find the source of the evil that is harming her community. As she does, she finds that the God of the Christians of Earth was not just God over earth, but is God over all, even to the far reaches of space. But is His promise and hope enough to conquer the pervasive evil that had long been dormant on Valiance?

(Valiance is the working title – not sure if it will remain, but for now, it works.)

Granted, this is just a quick snapshot of where I intend the story to go. But if you have read any of my work, or any interviews with me, then you know that my best laid intentions for most of what I write ends up veering far off into some new place with some unexpected twist and outcome.

It may be light on the sci-fi and heavier on the faith, but… I’m gonna give it a go and see what happens.