A Million Open Doors

Giraut #1

by John Barnes

The most isolated of humanity’s Thousand Cultures, Nou Occitan—on the planet Wilson—is a place where duels are fought with equal passion over insults and artistic views alike. Where young men take loyalty seriously: to each other, to their art, to the women to whom they devote poetry and swordplay. A place of violent natural beauty, gradually being terraformed over centuries into a tamed—but not too tamed—home for a uniquely creative and flamboyant culture.

But change has come to Nou Occitan. Formerly isolated like all the other widely-scattered Cultures by the limitations of lightspeed, now this swashbuckling world finds itself being transformed by the springer, the new technology of instantaneous travel between the stars. In the urban centers, a small but growing number of Occitan youth embrace a new way of life—insufferably vulgar, to chivalrous Occitan eyes—in imitation of the newer, polyglot interstellar culture. Young Giraut, a traditionalist, knows this change is inevitable and merely hopes the old order will last long enough for him to enjoy the fruits of youth. But when Giraut’s entendedora betrays him in the worst possible way, in his despair he casts aside his youthful pursuits and, expecting grim, expiatory exile, joins his elders on a two-year mission to negotiate new trading arrangements with Nou Occitan’s closest neighbor, lightyears distant, the utilitarian culture of Caledony. Giraut expects boredom and misery among the moralistic, money-obsessed Caledons. What he doesn’t expect is to change them—and to be changed by them.

For no human culture is all one thing. And just as the severe Caledon exterior masks a doughty, egalitarian straightforwardness Giraut never dreamed possible, likewise Giraut’s own background provides him with vulnerabilities he never knew—along with just the right strengths to accidentally trigger Caledony’s own long-simmering political and cultural crisis. As rebellion and song well up on a cold world long denied the fruits of both, Giraut must suddenly learn to manage and direct the age-old conflict between human nature and culture. For in the explosion about to happen, two worlds could be lost—or a universe gained.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Space Opera, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fantasy, Collections, Hard Science Fiction

315 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

John Barnes (born 1957) is an American science fiction author, whose stories often explore questions of individual moral responsibility within a larger social context. Social criticism is woven throughout his plots. The four novels in his Thousand Cultures series pose serious questions about the effects of globalization on isolated societies. Barnes holds a doctorate in theatre and for several years taught in Colorado, where he still lives.

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bar...

Reviews

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

First-rate book, that I plan to reread sometime. Jo Walton's is the review to read:
https://www.tor.com/2009/03/26/just-w...
She wrote: "A wonderful immersive science fiction novel. John Barnes is an important writer, and this is perhaps his best book."
Date read is just a guess. Definitely long ago!

Reread in progress, JAN 2023. If anything, better than I remembered!
Kicking it up to 4.5 stars and rounding up. Pretty clearly his best book. If you missed it, to if it's been awhile -- well. You're in for a treat! As before, read Jo Walton's review first. The comments are worth reading too, but perhaps only after you have read the book. Enjoy!

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by Barnes, although I think I've read several of his short stories. In this book, I was not very engaged with the characters, but the "universe" that Barnes created was of much greater interest. This is the universe of The Thousand Cultures. "Man" has spread across the galaxy and splintered into many, many diverse cultures, out of touch with each other for the most part. This is Poul Anderson territory and he was one of my favorites.
Giraut is from the planet Nou Occitan, a swashbuckler world where people adhere to a dueling code ( the language seems to be derived from Portuguese). However, with the invention of the "springer," instantaneous interstellar travel has now become possible. Of course, this changes Giraut's culture and life. We see conflict develop between an isolated but individualistic culture and the larger dominant culture of the Interstellars. The situation gets even more complicated as Giraut is sent as an ambassador to a rigid religious culture on another planet..There is a sequel which I think I will read.

[Anastasia · Rating 2 out of 5]

SF about a culture clash of two planets: a flamboyant poetry-spouting, mountain-climbing, dueling troubador (Giraut) going to a highly repressed religious planet, where there is no art or culture or freedom of expression, and sparks a revolution. Better than I expected, but I had a few quibbles with the book.

*SPOILERS* The main character is quite repulsed by the appearance of one very plain woman; her flaws (shiny uneven skin, unpleasing features, dispropotioned body) are so distracting to him, he has to try not to stare. Then, as he enters a sexual relationship with her, all of his aversion simply dissipates overnight. That's unlikely to the point of impossibility. Someone only highly values beauty would not be able to overcome a base physical distaste so easily, if at all. I've slept with enough ugly people to know that.

An even bigger objection. *MAJOR SPOILERS* The planet has a fully aumomated economy, with everything done by robots. Employement consists of replacing robots for 4 hours a day: the robot is turned off, and person unloads trucks or sweeps the floors. So how can there be concerns of high unemployment, unemployment insurance running out, and people getting upset due to economic shocks? It made no sense.

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this one and the immediate sequel (which is much darker but resonated a lot), though the third milieu book was a huge letdown; this is lighter but lots of fun

[AM · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable trip through two radically different cultures in a future where humanity has scattered across the stars. The main character, Giraut, experiences what most of us do when we live in another culture: a deepening understanding of our home culture and ourselves, and an inability to ever see either one quite the same way again. Big props to Barnes for writing a male character whose growth involves gaining insight into the experiences of women and his own part in misogyny.

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog here in October 2000.

Each of John Barnes' novels to date has been different, each an excellent piece of science fiction. A Million Open Doors is based on a scenario similar to some of the ideas behind Gordon R. Dickson's Dorsai trilogy - the bringing together once more of the splintered subcultures into which the human race has developed after isolation on colony planets separated by interstellar space - while in tone it is reminiscent of the classic novels of Isaac Asimov (particularly Foundation) and Poul Anderson. It has rather more to say about culture shock than any of these novels, and contains interesting ideas I have never seen before, in over twenty years of avid science fiction reading.

As humankind has spread throughout the galaxy, the insularity of the various colonised planets has been increased by the use of invented cultures, exaggerations of Earthly ones. Now, however, the invention of an instant transportation method - which sets up the million open doors of the title - has ended their isolation. This is the background to the story of Giraut, an enthusiastic member of a culture based around the ideals of the medieval troubadours, a culture of art and literature, duelling and macho personal honour. The establishment of a gateway on the planet of Nou Occitan has led to the crumbling of this culture, as young people turn to the newly fashionable Interstellars who have abandoned Occitan ways for their idea of a pan-human lifestyle. (Occitan is another name for the Provencal language of the south of France in the middle ages.) When he discovers that his entendedora (a mixture between a teenage girlfriend and the object of a troubadour's affections) has been going to Interstellar sex clubs, he is in despair, and takes up an invitation to travel to Caledon as part of an ambassadorial team to help them deal with the imminent opening of a gateway on their planet.

Caledon is an almost complete contrast to Nou Occitan. It is a puritan culture on an Arctic world - one where terraforming was only partly carried out because suffering is good for the soul. The arts are dismissed as irrational, and the flamboyant Occitan culture is considered immoral. The clash between the two cultures is the central feature of the novel, with Giraut's development as a person connected to his realisation that the people of Caledon are human too, and that he can communicate with at least some of them.

A Million Open Doors is an excellent novel, based on interesting ideas drawn out with intelligence, with a believable background and convincing characters.

[astaliegurec · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Barnes' "A Million Open Doors" (the first in his "Thousand Cultures" series) is an interesting book that's a bit uneven. Well, it's actually quite a bit uneven. For instance, the protagonist is from a world whose culture emulates the drawing room crowd of the French Revolution. Or, perhaps, it's the beatnik crowd of 1960s. I don't quite know. But, in a nutshell, the main character is a self-centered, callow, lout. Yet, after a lot of pages with this personality, he walks into a room and is told that there are some questions an AI couldn't answer and could he figure them out? Sure, no problem. He sits down, whips through some data base queries and manipulations, and synthesizes the answers. Where did that come from? If he has those abilities, why does he act like he does? We don't know. But, it really doesn't matter since we never see that side again and he falls back into his (slowly maturing) normal persona. Similarly, the plot of the book will be progressing nicely, and then it will stop for quite a bit of philosophizing. In a nutshell, we're never sure what to expect (not in a good way). But, it IS an interesting book and I (mostly) enjoyed reading it. So, I'm a bit torn over whether I should give it 3 stars or 4. I guess I'll go with an OK 3 stars out of 5.

The books in his "Thousand Cultures" series are:

1. A Million Open Doors -- Kindle version not available
2. Earth Made of Glass - Kindle version not available
3. The Merchants of Souls (Giraut)
4. The Armies of Memory (Thousand Cultures)

[Fábio Fernandes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had heard of this book a long time ago, but I could never found it until I got to Seattle last year. (last time I checked on Amazon.com a few days ago, you can't find a new edition still, and only two books of the Giraut series is available on Kindle - parts 3 and 4, for crying out loud!) This upsets me a lot, because I love to read a series in its entirety when the first book grips my attention. And this far future story sure did it. I loved the way Barnes created a whole retro-Occitan society, and his use of this language and the concepts is pretty good. The clash of cultures when Giraut goes to Caledon is also very credible, and the planet, first presented as dull, is far from it. Giraut's conflicts and his attempts to change Caledonians, at least a bit, are sometimes exhaustive, but it's clear this is a coming-of-age book. I'm looking forward to read the others.

[Thomas Blaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was much to like about this novel: you are dumped right into the culture and story and forced to figure things out quickly, to the interplay of cultures and languages, to some engaging characters (though some will disagree on this point). It was also fast moving with a nice mix of action, character development and political discussion. However there we many disappointments as well: many elements which made no sense, development that felt very rushed in many places, and an ending that left me wanting. Too bad this didn't live up to its beginning, but it was good enough and different enough that I'll seek out more books by Barnes in the future.

[Christ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I FUCKING LOVE SCIENCE FICTION RELATING TO ECONOMIC/POLITICAL EVENTS IN THE REAL WORLD YESSS

Honestly a dope ass book with some wonderful feminism, worldbuilding, and trash talk.

Character development is always nice when lame ass schlock likes to avoid it.
Great worldbuilding, characterizations, themes, etc.
The pacing at times felt funky at times in a way a nimrod like me can't explain but it was made up for by the plot.
Cool fun globalization metaphor

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1198461.html[return][return]A great read: perhaps reflecting a bit the fall of the Wall and globalisation more generally, it's about an encounter between cultures, the dour market-driven frozen colony of Caledony being forced to open up to the rest of the galaxy and in partiicular to the romantic troubadours of New Occitan. Lots of interesting politics and general growing-up for our Occitanian narrator as he realises more about the problems of his own society as a result of his Caledonian experience. I'll hunt out the rest of this series now.

[Kendrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had this pulpy short paperback so I figured I would read it. The fact it turned into a mediocre pulpy sci-fi book I guess shouldn't surprise me? The accolades it received surprised me. This book has some neat ideas about a future when 'cultures' get segmented, and then become mono-cultures in and of themselves. The female characters for the most part are treated pretty dismally. I think theres some effort here to make the shallow protagonist less shallow, but he still felt pretty shallow in the final chapters. It's saving grace is it's very short. I might be inclined to read the sequel if I come across them and they're as short.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sooner you realize Giraut is an unreliable narrator, the more interesting this book is. (In order to read a "sexist lout learns that women are people" storyline, you have to be willing to tolerate the sexist lout narrating for a bit.)

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son recommended this to me, and I really enjoyed it.
The author uses the idea that when humanity colonized the stars, they did so in small self contained 'cultures' that became entrenched in their ways due to the long delays inherent in interstellar travel. With the advent of teleportation travel (called springers), many previously isolated cultures are faced with sudden changes.
The novel is told through the point of view of Giraut, a resident of Nou Occitaine, a society based on a longing for the times of the troubadors. Young people are encouraged to take risks and fight duels for the ideals of honor, art and love. [The duels are fought with a neural stimulator in the sword, so that small touches inflict the idea of pain without tissue damage, but mental anguish is a potent weapon.] But it is a society with strong norms of violence and male chauvenism embedded in the culture.

Giraut impulsively accepts an offer of a 2 year trip to a planet newly opened to springer travel. This planet, Caledon, is a Calvinist ultra-capitalist society, and could not be more alien from his upbringing. Their motto is: Praise God, Give Thanks, Think Rationally and Be Free. But all definitions of rationality are defined by the religious-capitalist ideology and the Council of Rationalizers. It is irrational to create art which serves no economic purpose. A window is irrational when the energy lost through heat transfer in the cold climate is greater than the energy required to provide lighting.

Required to get a job by the Caledon council as a requirement for residence, Giraut decides to create a school for people to become acquainted with Nou Occitaine culture. He teaches art, music, language and swordsmanship to a group of young people who become a core of resistance to the authoritarian culture of Caledon. But as Giraut is exposed to the culture of Caledon, he comes to recognize the misogyny and problems within his native society.

I am intrigued enough to read a sequel sometime in the future.

On a side note, this novel shows the opposite side of the story told in the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. That trilogy tells the story of an interstellar society dependent on teleportation technology which unravels when the AI's running the teleportation network disconnect it and strand everyone where they are.

[Shaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars

I really like the world building and premise of this one and how it depicts cultures and where they meet and how they clash. The ending is open and hopeful in the best way. But where I was often interested in the general setting and the details, the plot was not especially compelling to me. I was never unwilling to continue reading about what was happening but I also somehow never really minded stopping reading. In fact I probably had this fairly short book on the go for weeks.

So although I quite admire it and think it does some SF things really very well, it sadly isn't going to be a personal favourite.

[Anthony Buck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting ideas, but a bit all over the place and one of the least likeable protagonists I've ever encountered.

[Clyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book about a culture clash across the stars. Both whimsical and serious with oddball characters -- I enjoyed it.
Gotta read more John Barnes.
Solid four stars.

[Nicolas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dans ce roman, on suit les pas de Giraut, jeune habitant de la planète Nou Occitan qui, par suite d'un dépit amoureux, s'embarque dans un long et périlleux voyage pour la calédonie, une planète qui rejoint enfin le réseau de portes des étoiles ... pardon, de Passeurs reliant les milliers de cultures terrestres dispersées sur quelques étoiles assez proches de la terre.
J'avais, avant de lire ce roman, une opinion curieuse de l'auteur. John Barnes était pour moi l'auteur de deux livres quasiment antinomiques : La mère des tempêtes et Le vin des Dieux. Le premier était un honnête roman cyberpunk, quoi qu'un peu putassier par son insistance à nous montrer des acteurs sursexués, dans lequel la Terre se retrouvait plongée dans une tempête permanente provoquée par le réchauffement climatique. Quant au second, c'était un excellent récit de fantasy mélant des thèmes aussi variés qu'incongrus dans une sauce qui, ma foi, prenait grâce à une espèce de métatexte assez subtil.
J'ai donc entamé ce roman avec une certaine appréhension quant à son contenu. Une appréhension toutefois rapidement dissipée dès le premier chapître, qui nous montre la vie trucculente des habitants de Nou Occitan : ils chantent, boivent, se battent en duel pour un rien, et révèrent le fin' amor, qui pourrait ressembler à une espèce de marivaudage ... quoique les choses soient sans doute plus compliquées. En tout cas, on les vopit comme des espèces de gascons célestes, prêts à provoquer en duel la terre entière pour un vers mal déclamé, ou un compliment mal tourné à leur conquête féminine du moment.
C'est d'ailleurs ce qui provoque le contraste le plus saisissant avec la Calédonie, une terre difficile, sur laquelle les habitants ont développé une civilisation extrêmement rigoriste, ou tout, absolument tout, a une valeur marchande et doit être acheté ou loué. Notre troubadour de l'espace (c'est l'auteur lui-même qui, à juste titre à mon avis, utilise ce terme dans l'un des derniers chapîtres) va donc y vivre un choc culturel intense qui va le pousser à se questionner à la fois sur la civilisation calédonienne et sur la sienne, ce qui nous fera voir les défauts inhérents à chacune d'une façon aussi subtile qu'intelligente.
Et de l'intelligence, je trouve que le récit ne manque que rarement. Je me demande d'ailleurs si, plus que de l'intelligence, il en faudrait pas parler de légèreté, voire de frivolité : on s'y attache ainsi presque autant à l'art qu'à la révolution - plutôt meurtrière - en cours. Mais bon, à titre personnel, j'ai toujours beaucoup de mal à résister à ces histoires qu tiennent compte du fait que tous ces récits de papier, pour être divertissants, nécessitent une bonne dose d'art. Et là, heureusement, comme par exemple dans Sculpteurs de ciel ou dans Les joyaux de la couronne, il y a cette légèreté qui nous permet de saisir la subtilité de la leçon que nous donne l'auteur sur le relativisme culturel sans en subir le poids.
Du coup, évidement, je ne peux que vous recommander de lire ce roman, malgré ses quelques défauts (comme par exemple une intrigue un peu survolée).

[Rog Petersen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book snookered me.
It begins on a glamorous swashbuckling planet with fashion and action and a Jack Vance vibe.
For 30 pages.
Then the titular Open Doors open.
Our heroes head to a frozen, stoic, uptight, religious midwest planet. To open a student center.
Nothing much happens. Natives are met, details of the working of their planet are talked about, their political, economic, and religious systems are described at length. Everything that happens in this book is a second hand description.
Our heroes go on a band bus trip to the middle of nowhere. They discover an ancient city which answers a question no one asked.
They are told about people having died back at home. Everything that happens in this book is a second hand description.
They are told the government is overthrown. Everything that happens in this book is a second hand description.
Our hero goes back home and kind of duels a guy who's not really in this book.
Then our hero, after everything he's done (mostly being told about stuff), is offered a job as some sort of space diplomat using A MILLION OPEN DOORS, like the title of the book! The title of the book that promised us A MILLION OPEN DOORS but only opened one and took us to this boring place.

[Alan Zendell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am truly perplexed by this book. When I read of all the awards it either won or was nominated for, I expected a lot. I wouldn't say the book is bad, but it didn't deliver what its hype promised. For example, one reviewer trumpets that the author really makes the readers care. About what?

I certainly didn't care about the characters, who I found generally unlikable and inconsistent in their development. I simply didn't believe them. I also didn't believe the story in many places, though the general theme is a popular one that's appealing by nature: religious oppression doing more and more harm until it's ultimately overthrown while the adherents of an irresponsible culture get religion of a healthier kind.

I found many long stretches too boring to wade through, discourses on made up economics, fashions, and odd social customs, while the scenes in which there was real action seemed truncated and flat. I realize this book was written to be the first in a series, but that doesn't excuse the final chapter being as unsatisfying as it was in wrapping up loose ends. I was so frustrated, I couldn't make myself read the last few pages.

Almost as an aside, I was surprised by the number of editing errors I found in the paperback edition I purchased from Amazon. The best news was that I only paid $1.99 for it.

[Carl Barlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sexist pig from a world of sexist pigs travels instantaneously to another world light-years away to live in a near-Communist society that has made pure reason a way of existence, finds the love of a good woman, and Learns Better.

This is the galaxy of the Thousand Cultures - superficially like Jack Vance's Gaean Reach (though lacking much of the colour and style, it must be said), littered with vastly disparate communities used to their isolation, and only interacting -if they do at all- via the usual sub-light methods. But the advent of "springer" technology is now tying them all back together again, allowing instant travel between the worlds. This being Barnes, the technology's impact is not given mere lip-service. He explores the upheaval its advent must engender, on the folk involved, upon trade markets, upon beliefs... and he does it very well indeed: thoughtfully, and employing layered and -mainly- likeable characters to do so.

With this kind of premise the possibilities are endless, and I look forward to learning where else Barnes might spring us to.

[Kristin Lundgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nou Occitan, Giraut, Quartier, jovent, donzelha Garsenda, Rimabut his best frined killed in a duel, and worn as a pyspyx for a whiel until he faded, and Aimeric, a refuge economist from the fringe planet colony of Nansen, with it's culutres ondifferent continents of Caledony and St. Michael. It was not terraformed by teh inhabitans, since it had microscopic life, theyw ere allowed to do as much or as littel as they chose - so they meerely added enough plants and animals for their requirements. The Pessimals, Sodom Gap, Council of Humanities,Office of Special projectsNasen, and it's biggets city Utililtaria. Bieris, Bruce, Thorwald, Margaret, Paul, Carruthers, Aimeric's father, Saltini, Ambasssdor Shan, companhos,

[Mathieu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best thing I've read in ages. The characterization, particularly of the protagonist, is skillful and well paced. The settings are well crafted, different without being cartoon opposites... All in all, it feels like a better, richer, grown-up version of the Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dates of first reading a complete guess. It's medieval southern France, in space!

[VexenReplica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was read for /r/fantasy's book bingo! CW for offscreen rape.

This is, at its core, a book about what happens when cultures collide, especially when the cultures are polar opposites. With, of course, the usual SF trappings: the extreme climates, the difference in thought, clashing belief systems, and the modes of politics and production.

It makes for great popcorn: the protagonist, Giraut, is a dashing young man trained in troubadorean values, and he joins a friend basically on a whim to go to what equates with a cult based on Christian rationality. In the process, cultures collide. It's a fun, popcorn book, that, if you don't think about it, would be an easy 4/5, slap a review on it, and call it quits. Or pick up the next book.

But.

If you do read it at any kind of deeper level, it gets... complicated. Simply because Giraut is, for lack of a better descriptor, very naive. Perhaps narcissistic. He does get better about it, but it's a bit too little to late. He reminds me a bit of the protagonist of Delany's Trouble on Triton, but infinitely more readable.

And then there's the whole quandary of cultural contact, and seeing what is preserved and what doesn't, and how that can be influenced and manipulated. And who has that power/influence. It made me uncomfortable reading it, a few times. But the novel seems to have an understanding about this changing--I almost want to say assimilation--of culture, so that's a positive. Perhaps this gets more nuance in later novels. However, in this one, I didn't get that feeling until the final section.

Overall, if you can turn your brain off, this is pretty good adventure-based sf. Not quite space opera, but it feels more like second- or third-contact like you see in Old Man's War, just without all the fighting and bloodshed. If you're in for cultural conflict, this might be for you. You can make it as deep as you like, so if you're in for potentially uncomfortable texts, this is a good one.

[Ronald Spitzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting concepts in this book. A world based on a communist oriented Christian cult that is definitely not Christian. Interesting characters including the main character whose culture is such that he is very slow at growing up and that is the social expectation. Women are ill treated in the featured cultures. Reason turns out to be unreasonable. One society likes drama socially and the other hates drama socially. The extremist thinking portrayed in the characters is fitting and realistic and comes all to close for what is politically happening in the modern U.S. with the extremist thinking going on today. This book hits closer to home today then it did in 1992. The trouble with that last statement is this most people do not realize or acknowledge that fact of today's extremist thinking. Hopefully we do not end up with our version of racist Marxism. Real Christianity would help us avoid that. I rather think if a person went back to these worlds thirty years later you would also find the dislike of outsiders would be very widespread. The Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Ukraine effect.

[Steve Scanlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story of the clash of two disparate cultures. Instantaneous travel between worlds via a “springer” means that once isolated cultures have to adjust to the complexity of the rest of mankind. Giraut is a carefree young man living a hedonistic existence, but due to social circumstances, finds himself springing to a planet with a more repressive lifestyle.

If you liked Le Guin’s THE DISPOSSESSED then this is the novel for you. I was reminded constantly of that work while reading Barnes’ story. I was disappointed with this outing and hope it is not representative of the rest of Barnes’ work.

[Steven W · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the finest first 3 quarters of a book I've ever read. I had a lot of trouble with the last quarter (including that many of our main characters are absent from the overcoming of the book's main conflict.) Good read though....

[Garry · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the best combinations of religion/sci-fi, and coming of age. I don't agree with all of the conclusions drawn by the author, and as a Calvinist I winced here and there. Yet, its a great story that brings up some pretty serious questions. I look forward to the rest of the series.

[Stroctoperry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this because I loved One For the Morning Glory and I was not disappointed. It has very similar themes but a totally different (yet no less imaginative) setting. It didn't make me cry as much, but only because I was READY.