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Valiance
When a rural settlement at the edge of our galaxy faces a threat science cannot explain, Dr. Lau must save herself and keep her secrets, or reveal her truth to save her community.
In the distant future, no one questions the limitations of science and technology. But on Valiance, a planet far from Earth, everything changes when the nightly fog becomes dangerous, people go missing, and those found are comatose.
Dr. Jena Lau is secretly a woman of faith. In a society where religion has been eradicated and is illegal, she grapples with the reality that neither science nor technology can resolve the threat to her community. As she recognizes the evil attacking her home for what it is, she faces a life-altering save herself by keeping her secrets or try to save everyone else by revealing them. As the inexplicable danger within the fog takes more and more of her community, Dr. Lau’s forbidden faith in a god long rejected and forgotten pushes her to act.
Readers who enjoyed C. S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy for its religious undertones will enjoy this Christian Science Fiction novel that boldly declares that the God of Earth is also the God of all creation, to the edges of the galaxy and beyond.
In the distant future, no one questions the limitations of science and technology. But on Valiance, a planet far from Earth, everything changes when the nightly fog becomes dangerous, people go missing, and those found are comatose.
Dr. Jena Lau is secretly a woman of faith. In a society where religion has been eradicated and is illegal, she grapples with the reality that neither science nor technology can resolve the threat to her community. As she recognizes the evil attacking her home for what it is, she faces a life-altering save herself by keeping her secrets or try to save everyone else by revealing them. As the inexplicable danger within the fog takes more and more of her community, Dr. Lau’s forbidden faith in a god long rejected and forgotten pushes her to act.
Readers who enjoyed C. S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy for its religious undertones will enjoy this Christian Science Fiction novel that boldly declares that the God of Earth is also the God of all creation, to the edges of the galaxy and beyond.
408 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 31, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 26, 2024
What an exceptional read.
I have never read a Christian sci-fi before, I'm not even sure if I've ever heard of Christian sci-fi before, but this was brilliant.
Engaging and suspenseful from the start, C.Borden takes us on a journey across the universe to humanity's future on the planet Valiance, where an ancient evil threatens the lives of the people of Tera Val. The settlement's doctor, Jena Lau, the only resident who knows the word of God, something which has been long erradicated from human culture, embarks on a mission to save her community from darkness.
I loved how the futuristic and the ancient coexists within this story, it made for a fascinating and thought-provoking read. I enjoyed the familiar sci-fi influences woven throughout, such as invasion of the body-snatchers, the fog, even shades of a Doctor Who episode I enjoyed called The Beast. But these familiar sci-fi themes were always explored through Christianity - faith, trust, evil, possession, eternity, light triumphing overdarkness, fear, love, community, and I felt (being a Christian myself) the poignancy and relevance of the story as in some ways parallells can be drawn with recent years' events and how God's word is being received and percieved today, and how what we perceive as evil can seemingly take hold within society, most often from a position of power.
There were times while I was reading that I got quite emotional. Especially towards the end portion of the book. I don't want to give too much of the plot away, so I will just say as the story was coming to its conclusion there were times the hairs on my arms stood on end and tears came to my eyes, knowing myself the love and mercy of God.
I enjoyed Dr Lau's characterisation, she was flawed like every human and where she felt weak or lacking in ability, she always turned to God. Her devotion to prayer and speaking with God is something I want to try to emulate. I thought the inclusion of scripture enhanced the narrative and brought sincerity and universality to the story. I appreciated that a hymn that was included briefly was a well known hymn (How Great Thou Art), a song that I am sure every Christian knows, it helped me feel engaged in the story and the characters, that I was able to connect with them.
I also appreciated that this was a clean book, where romance was made part of the story it was approached in a clean way - no steam or explicitness.
In short, a wonderful read that makes Christianity the centre of the timeless literary (and literal) battle between light and darkness. Highly recommended.
I have never read a Christian sci-fi before, I'm not even sure if I've ever heard of Christian sci-fi before, but this was brilliant.
Engaging and suspenseful from the start, C.Borden takes us on a journey across the universe to humanity's future on the planet Valiance, where an ancient evil threatens the lives of the people of Tera Val. The settlement's doctor, Jena Lau, the only resident who knows the word of God, something which has been long erradicated from human culture, embarks on a mission to save her community from darkness.
I loved how the futuristic and the ancient coexists within this story, it made for a fascinating and thought-provoking read. I enjoyed the familiar sci-fi influences woven throughout, such as invasion of the body-snatchers, the fog, even shades of a Doctor Who episode I enjoyed called The Beast. But these familiar sci-fi themes were always explored through Christianity - faith, trust, evil, possession, eternity, light triumphing overdarkness, fear, love, community, and I felt (being a Christian myself) the poignancy and relevance of the story as in some ways parallells can be drawn with recent years' events and how God's word is being received and percieved today, and how what we perceive as evil can seemingly take hold within society, most often from a position of power.
There were times while I was reading that I got quite emotional. Especially towards the end portion of the book. I don't want to give too much of the plot away, so I will just say as the story was coming to its conclusion there were times the hairs on my arms stood on end and tears came to my eyes, knowing myself the love and mercy of God.
I enjoyed Dr Lau's characterisation, she was flawed like every human and where she felt weak or lacking in ability, she always turned to God. Her devotion to prayer and speaking with God is something I want to try to emulate. I thought the inclusion of scripture enhanced the narrative and brought sincerity and universality to the story. I appreciated that a hymn that was included briefly was a well known hymn (How Great Thou Art), a song that I am sure every Christian knows, it helped me feel engaged in the story and the characters, that I was able to connect with them.
I also appreciated that this was a clean book, where romance was made part of the story it was approached in a clean way - no steam or explicitness.
In short, a wonderful read that makes Christianity the centre of the timeless literary (and literal) battle between light and darkness. Highly recommended.
July 23, 2024
So far, this is my favourite book by C. Borden. I love the storyline: there's adventure, danger, mystery, and so much more. The worldbuilding is great, the characters believable and relatable, and—while I'm not necessarily a fan of Christian fiction—I really enjoyed to see how much research has gone into the writing of this book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews