Readings: The Jesus Incident by Frank Herbert and Bill Ransom

The Jesus Incident, by Frank Herbert and Bill Ransom

What I liked:

Favorite Character: The Ship! I mean, SHIP!

Favorite Alien Life Form: The hallucinogenic kelp/hot-air balloon

Favorite Locale: Pandora. I liked the idea of a planet where an ocean-based life-form was dominant. So did Poseidon.

This scene did not actually happen in the book, it happened in my head...

Long-winded, rambling review (minor spoilers):

While I really liked the idea of an omnipotent spaceship floating around in space, destroying worlds, messing around in people's heads, and demanding that everyone WorSHIP it, I'm not as enthusiastic about some of the other things in this book.

One thing that irked me was the constant leering smarminess exhibited by many of the male characters. Now, I'm sure that some of this can be explained by the fact that this book was first published in 1979, back when women were routinely harassed and men spent hours in their 'cubbies,' sipping crappy wine, gazing at their erotic wall hangings, spying on the 'gals with surveillance feeds, and generally being creepy.

I admit, I have a tendency to latch onto details, and fume over them. I had to take a reading break after the character of Waela was introduced. We first see her as an awesome, powerful fighter; a survivor who through quick-thinking has managed to stay alive on a deadly planet...and oh, yeah, she hunches over a lot, because she's tall and "...men don't like tall women..."

WHAT??!!

You could be killed at any time and you're worrying about THAT??!!

Ok... I guess it could just be characterization....but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Anyways, back to the plot, which which not about tall women trying to disguise their hideous height... It was more about...Umm... well, an omnipotent spaceship, a thawed-out chaplain-sicle who changes his last name and becomes the devil, a poet that likes to talk to kelp and caress tentacled-hot-air-balloons, a female med-tech (who has to be told about atoms by the poet!!) that goes back in time and sees Jesus, some creepy old men plotting...something...oh right, and someone named Jesus Lewis that doesn't seem to be of any particular importance...

So to conclude...this 28 year old book is looking for readers who like kelp, shoulder massages, and talking about religion. Those too squeamish to spend time in the “Scream Room” need not apply.