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Paperback Book Details
  • 9780692241592 0692241590
  • 324 pages
  • $$14.99
Ches Smith
Author
Under the Suns
Ches Smith, author

Adult; Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror; (Market)

Nodi, an alien scribe, is losing faith in humanity.

Well … not all humans, one in particular—a man named Tim. Tim was betrayed and crucified over 200 years ago, but not before establishing himself as planet Akigol’s savior.

When Nodi pursues evidence suggesting Tim wasn’t what he claimed, he must flee or face execution for blasphemy. With a little unsolicited help from Mal, a dissonant and thief, Nodi will seek the truth about Akigol's messiah no matter the cost.

Menaced by tongueless warriors, strange creatures, cannibals, and a wholly devoted religious persecutor, Nodi will discover he is not alone in the universe and what’s more, the drama unfolding before him isn’t all that unique. 

There’s truly nothing new under the suns.

Reviews
IndieReader

Five Stars

UNDER THE SUNS takes place in the land of Akigo, a planet with multiple suns, and a land in which a prophet know as TIM has left an indelible mark, or possibly scar, on the land.  A young Akigol named Nodi, a scribe and interpreter, has been brought in to interpret and document  various religious based texts to separate those that are authentic from those that are propaganda created by the Dissenters Guild, a group that denies Tim is the Lord and prophet.  During his readings Nodi find a part of a message written on a torn remnant of Tim’s revered robe, supposedly by the hand of his betrayer, Judas.  What is contained in the partial message is what turns Nodi’s world upside down and ends up sending him on a quest for the other half of the message, and an answer to his question, “What if everything we believe is based on a misunderstanding…or worse a lie?”

UNDER THE SUNS is an excellently executed sci-fi satire of the belief in a higher power, and a clear cautionary tale of what can happen when a backward naive populace is introduced to a distorted self-serving version of Christianity by a con man from an advanced civilization.  Because of outside influences, those on Akigol have about as many variations of religion as those on Earth, and as many hates between them as well.  The novel’s content is broken up into two areas, the narrative story of Nodi’s quest for the truth, and the convoluted religious distortions of Tim as related in the Akigi Bible.  The sections with the Akigi Bible brilliantly satire how a text can be manipulated to be self serving to those who create it; and have various meanings, which in Chez Smith’s hands can even include cannibalism.

Those who are devoutly religious may find the story not to their liking, but those who do not take their religion too seriously, and have a sense of humor, will enjoy this perfectly paced little treatise on religion and how it can be used for both good and evil.

UNDER THE SUNS is an amusing, and thought-provoking take on the origin of religion, its existence, and the sometimes violent impact it has on a culture.

Formats
Paperback Book Details
  • 9780692241592 0692241590
  • 324 pages
  • $$14.99
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