Weeping May Tarry

by Raymond F. Jones, Lester del Rey

The landing was unlike any they had ever made. But then they had never before seen a planet so strange as this one – with its wild seas, scarred plains, and rubbled cities. It looked as if it had been totally devastated by some type of nuclear destruction. And they were most curious – these aliens with their green-scaled faces and stubby tails – to explore this peculiar place where man had once existed – until their ship exploded and they were stranded with no means of survival and no hope of rescue. Unless their high priest – Ama of the Keelong – prayed to the higher power they had rebelled against. For this was a spiritual mission – and the Alcoran had lost their way.

Genres: Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Raymond Fisher Jones (November 15, 1915, Salt Lake City, Utah - January 24, 1994, Sandy, Salt Lake County, Utah) was an American science fiction author. He is best known for his 1952 novel, This Island Earth, which was adapted into the 1955 film This Island Earth and for the short story "The Children's Room", which was adapted for television as Episode Two of the ABC network show Tales of Tomorrow, first aired on February 29, 1952.

Jones' career was at its peak during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. His stories were published mainly in magazines such as Thrilling Wonder Stories, Astounding Stories, and Galaxy. His short story Noise Level is known as one of his best works. His short story "The Alien Machine", first published in the June, 1949 Thrilling Wonder Stories, was later expanded into the novel This Island Earth, along with two other short stories, "The Shroud of Secrecy", and "The Greater Conflict", known as The Peace Engineers Trilogy, featuring the character Cal Meacham. Jones also wrote the story upon which the episode "The Children's Room" was based for the television program Tales of Tomorrow in 1952.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collaboration was the last novel to be published for both del Rey and Jones. It appeared in 1978, and didn't gather much attention at the time. As can be told be the title, which is a line from Psalms, it's a very traditionally religious book, and I suspect many of the sf readers of the time found it uncomfortable. I've heard varying accounts about the writing process of the book, most prominently that Jones wrote it solely as an expansion of a story of del Rey's from 1954, For I Am a Jealous People, but I doubt the accuracy of that assertion. I thought it was a very well considered portrayal of faith and perseverence and redemption, and though the philospophy sometimes outweighs the story, it's a worthwhile and thought-provoking volume. Curiously, it has a cover by Carl Lundgren showing one of the characters carrying a cross over a desert, an event which occurs in a snowstorm in the novel.

[Haycomet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very simple yet poignant book. I was getting a little frustrated with the repetition in some parts, until I realized that it represented the turmoil the main character was experiencing. What a beautifully told story of redemption and faith.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several generations ago, the nova of a nearby star caused a lot of genetic damage to the planet Alcor. Things seem to have quieted down in that part of the sky, so a survey vessel is sent to investigate.

Alcor is a religiously rigid sort of world, where everyone worships The Keelong. It’s a vague, unknowable thing in the universe that has kept Alcor together, and peaceful, for the past thousand years. An important part of the crew is the Ama (priest), an elderly, inflexible type named Toreg. He expects total obedience to the proper rituals; if he doesn’t like what he sees, he has the authority to exile members of the crew to whatever planet they are on at that moment. He can even order the ship turned around and headed back to Alcor. Privately, Toreg knows that The Keelong’s "days" are numbered; questioning The Keelong, or even outright unbelief, is growing among the people.

They approach a desolate planet that shows obvious signs of having been through a major planet-wide war, with ruins and blackened landscape everywhere. A few meters above the planet, explosions occur all over the ship. It lands safely, but it is not soon going anywhere, maybe permanently. As they prepare for a long-term stay on this planet, the crew finds a stone building that is not too badly damaged. It’s a large room, with rows of benches facing a raised area at one end. Digging through the rubble, Toreg finds a large figure of a hideous being nailed to a cross and in great pain (the people of Alcor look like green-scaled lizards with tails who walk upright). This was obviously a war building, to spread information (and propaganda) among the people. The figure is kept as a constant reminder of The Enemy; any beings who can inflict that sort of pain on another being...

The linguists work to translate a book found in a nearby strongbox. Each night, the crew gathers to hear that day’s translation of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Toreg urges the crew to return to The Keelong, and ignore this false deity, but it’s not working. The crew is listening to Jesus. Meantime, winter has come to their mountain valley. In a desperate attempt to destroy the cross, Toreg drags it up the mountain to throw it into a large canyon. Holed up in a cave, and exhausted, Toreg starts to read the rest of the book (which he also intends to destroy), while the face on the cross seems to be watching him.

It’s a pretty good book that does not overdo the religious aspect. This is worth reading for those who are religious, and not so religious.

[Keith Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book turned out to be one that I could not forget. Years after reading it , I remembered it and I had to find it. After digging through my many books for hours..there it was. I read it again and was not disappointed. My only knock on it is that it has a bad title. Probably would have done better with a different title.

[Francesco Granati · Rating 2 out of 5]

really liked the idea of aliens arriving to a destroyed earth and finding Jesus on a cross and faith, but the writing and execution.. less so

[Marcel Monpatron · Rating 3 out of 5]

It starts off strongly : an (alien) space exploration mission with an atheist commander is assigned as a religious commisionner a zealot who happens to be an old acquaintance, the latter thinking he is the target of an assassination plot. The totalitarian atmosphere and the tension are well conveyed.

About 40% in though, the tone and setting change, and instead of seeing through the eyes of both protagonists, it switches entirely to one viewpoint and its own internal struggles, topped by religious themes that did not convince me at all.