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Empyrion #1
The Search for Fierra
Orion Treet, an itinerant and often-unemployed writer, is abducted at gunpoint. Then he is offered eight million dollars and the adventure of a lifetime. The mission? To observe and chronicle the growth of a new extraterrestrial Empyrion. Arriving on the planet Fierra, Treet discovers a civilization in decline, fragmented by millennia of mistrust and hatred. To survive, he and his odd assortment of companions must unscramble the mysteries around them . . . before time runs out for the settlement. The Empyrion novels are among Lawhead's most captivating accomplishments of storytelling and adventure -- the best there is in science fiction. The Search for Fierra won the Campus Life Editor's Choice Award. Look for Empyrion The Siege of Dome, at your local bookstore.
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
25 people are currently reading
796 people want to read
About the author
Stephen R. Lawhead
102 books2,744 followersStephen R. Lawhead is an internationally acclaimed author of mythic history and imaginative fiction. His works include Byzantium, Patrick, and the series The Pendragon Cycle, The Celtic Crusades, and The Song of Albion.
Also see his fanpage at Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/stephenlawhead...
Stephen was born in 1950, in Nebraska in the USA. Most of his early life was spent in America where he earned a university degree in Fine Arts and attended theological college for two years. His first professional writing was done at Campus Life magazine in Chicago, where he was an editor and staff writer. During his five years at Campus Life he wrote hundreds of articles and several non-fiction books.
After a brief foray into the music business—as president of his own record company—he began full-time freelance writing in 1981. He moved to England in order to research Celtic legend and history. His first novel, In the Hall of the Dragon King, became the first in a series of three books (The Dragon King Trilogy) and was followed by the two-volume Empyrion saga, Dream Thief and then the Pendragon Cycle, now in five volumes: Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, and Grail. This was followed by the award-winning Song of Albion series which consists of The Paradise War, The Silver Hand, and The Endless Knot.
He has written nine children's books, many of them originally offered to his two sons, Drake and Ross. He is married to Alice Slaikeu Lawhead, also a writer, with whom he has collaborated on some books and articles. They make their home in Oxford, England.
Stephen's non-fiction, fiction and children's titles have been published in twenty-one foreign languages. All of his novels have remained continuously in print in the United States and Britain since they were first published. He has won numereous industry awards for his novels and children's books, and in 2003 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the University of Nebraska.
also write under the name Steve Lawhead
Also see his fanpage at Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/stephenlawhead...
Stephen was born in 1950, in Nebraska in the USA. Most of his early life was spent in America where he earned a university degree in Fine Arts and attended theological college for two years. His first professional writing was done at Campus Life magazine in Chicago, where he was an editor and staff writer. During his five years at Campus Life he wrote hundreds of articles and several non-fiction books.
After a brief foray into the music business—as president of his own record company—he began full-time freelance writing in 1981. He moved to England in order to research Celtic legend and history. His first novel, In the Hall of the Dragon King, became the first in a series of three books (The Dragon King Trilogy) and was followed by the two-volume Empyrion saga, Dream Thief and then the Pendragon Cycle, now in five volumes: Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, and Grail. This was followed by the award-winning Song of Albion series which consists of The Paradise War, The Silver Hand, and The Endless Knot.
He has written nine children's books, many of them originally offered to his two sons, Drake and Ross. He is married to Alice Slaikeu Lawhead, also a writer, with whom he has collaborated on some books and articles. They make their home in Oxford, England.
Stephen's non-fiction, fiction and children's titles have been published in twenty-one foreign languages. All of his novels have remained continuously in print in the United States and Britain since they were first published. He has won numereous industry awards for his novels and children's books, and in 2003 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the University of Nebraska.
also write under the name Steve Lawhead
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
August 14, 2014
I read this for the first time shortly after it first came out at the suggestion of one of my parents' friends back in the late 80s. I remember being unsure of certain aspects of the book as it seemed to delve into what was called "New Age" beliefs and technologies based on those beliefs. I do remember enjoying the book [and its sequel], though, despite my initial misgivings.
I enjoyed this series [as well as Dream Thief] more than the Dragon King series he wrote.
The novel starts out with a man taking a nutrient bath and finds himself accosted by an armed stranger. The stranger essentially kidnaps the man and takes him to a helipad where he is to be taken to a powerful man's office and offered the chance of a lifetime. The kidnapped man is Orion Treet - he is over 150 years old and a former teacher/history writer who is down on his luck. He is shot in the back while trying to escape from his kidnappers and wakes up to find himself being cared for by an angel. He is offered a large amount of money to visit the world's first extraterrestrial colony and chronicle its history as well as 'solve' a problem for the Cynetics chairman. He is asked to name a certain monetary amount to be paid for his troubles, and that amount is instantly doubled, making Treet a rather wealthy man. However, he has to leave for the colony planet right away. En route, he discovers he will be traveling to this planet orbiting Epsilon Eridani via wormhole and is profoundly disturbed. He is traveling with three other passengers [Crocker, the pilot; Yarden, an empath; and Pizzle, a nerd-genius].
Upon arrival, they orbit the planet and discover two major civilization centers. They chose to land at the primary center in the middle of the continent. After landing next to an enormous domed city, they exit their spaceship wearing environmental suits, are captured by a party coming from the giant city, and immediately separated after being taken into the city. They are given mindwipes called 'psilobes' in an attempt to delete their old memories and give them new ones, but the psilobes do not take. The City of Dome is divided into various districts called Hages; each Hage specializes in certain functions to keep the city and society running. Each Hage has its own leader called a 'Director' who has various 'Subdirectors' assisting him in running his section of the city. Treet overcomes his conditioning first and convinces the City's leader to allow him to visit the Archives in an effort to learn more about the City's history and to make himself more useful to the Supreme Director. He also finds himself falling in love with his assigned assistant. Little does he know that a rebellion is brewing in Dome!
The rebellion's leader, Tvrdy, initiates plans to ensure all four travelers are gathered together from the various Hages in which they have been hidden. The City's secret police/enforcers attack, forcing the four travelers and Treet's guide/assistant to flee across the desert using ancient sand skimmers. They head in the direction of the second settlement they had detected from orbit; their path takes them across an enormous desert. They eventually find a source of water and figure out a means by which they can transport water across the desert with them. They also discover they can breathe the air; it is quite painful initially but soon they are breathing without any difficulty. They also discover a source of food to take with them as they attempt to finish crossing the desert. Treet and Yarden begin to have feelings for each other. As they continue their travel, they encounter a strange mist that adversely affects them and coats them in a thick crust of dried puss, dead skin, and blood. During the course of the illness, they lose their water supply. A giant airship flies overhead one night, and the travelers realize they can still be saved [if they can only get the attention of one of the traveling airships]. Unbeknownst to the other four, Pizzle manages to create a signalling device to gain the attention of another airship as the other four pass out and slide toward death. They are saved by medical members of the Fierran airship and are taken to Fierra.
They discover Fierra is paradise [in their eyes]; that the people have created a near-perfect society and have no crime as everybody knows their place in this 'perfect' society. They are nursed back to health by the Fierrans and eventually are asked to tell their stories to the inhabitants. After hearing their stories, Treet realizes he needs to return to Dome be because the same mass hysteria that caused Dome to launch their first attack that devastated the Fierran civilization was starting to manifest itself again in Dome. The only problem is that the Fierrans have made vows of non-interference and non-violence and are willing to die for their beliefs if Dome once again attacks with nuclear weapons. Treet states his desire to return to Dome, but to his dismay Yarden rejects him and their burgeoning relationship by refusing to return to Dome with him. Pizzle also refuses to return to Dome, having found a life he never knew possible in Fierra. In the end, only Crocker and Treet's former assistant decide to return. Treet, his assistant Calin, and Crocker return to Dome via airship. The airship drops them off a couple of days' walk outside of Dome with enough supplies to make it in one piece. The book ends with Treet entering Dome.
Despite being almost thirty years old at this point, I felt the book held up well with the passage of time. It has to be an interesting attempt at writing 'Christian science fiction' as Christian writing usually requires certain things to happen [such as God and some form of salvation needing to be introduced somewhere in the story; some sort of traumatic event has to occur; the hero has to come to some sort of realization of his or her need for a Savior and his or her own personal inability to overcome evil; etc.] and is generally between G-rated and PG-rated [in that it is not expected to have a lot of swearing or graphic sex; the level of 'acceptably described violence' seems to vary, for some reason]. Christianity leaves very little room for pre-existing advanced, intelligent life on other planets [due in part to Adam's sin adversely affecting all of creation and the injustice of one man's sin eternally damning an intelligent, advanced alien species], so any 'pre-existing life on other planets' would have to be non-intelligent life forms sharing space with some human colony that has suffered some form of catastrophe and is cut off from Earth in some fashion.
The character development probably could have been a bit better; however, sometimes less is more as it allows one's mind to fill in the gaps when it comes to reading. Not saying that Lawhead is any kind of 'genius' in his writings, but I think he usually does between a good and great job of developing his characters. Treet probably gets the best character development; the other characters not so much. Pizzle probably is second-best; Crocker would be third, and Yarden seems to be left off as an imagined 'ice queen' that changes into a 'real woman' as we 'get to know her' over the course of the story [despite this apparent 'character development' I still did not feel like she was given very good treatment]. The members of Dome and Fierra we meet are given various levels of development; some definitely come across as 'stock characters'
I still enjoyed the book [despite it being written in the mid-80s].
I enjoyed this series [as well as Dream Thief] more than the Dragon King series he wrote.
The novel starts out with a man taking a nutrient bath and finds himself accosted by an armed stranger. The stranger essentially kidnaps the man and takes him to a helipad where he is to be taken to a powerful man's office and offered the chance of a lifetime. The kidnapped man is Orion Treet - he is over 150 years old and a former teacher/history writer who is down on his luck. He is shot in the back while trying to escape from his kidnappers and wakes up to find himself being cared for by an angel. He is offered a large amount of money to visit the world's first extraterrestrial colony and chronicle its history as well as 'solve' a problem for the Cynetics chairman. He is asked to name a certain monetary amount to be paid for his troubles, and that amount is instantly doubled, making Treet a rather wealthy man. However, he has to leave for the colony planet right away. En route, he discovers he will be traveling to this planet orbiting Epsilon Eridani via wormhole and is profoundly disturbed. He is traveling with three other passengers [Crocker, the pilot; Yarden, an empath; and Pizzle, a nerd-genius].
Upon arrival, they orbit the planet and discover two major civilization centers. They chose to land at the primary center in the middle of the continent. After landing next to an enormous domed city, they exit their spaceship wearing environmental suits, are captured by a party coming from the giant city, and immediately separated after being taken into the city. They are given mindwipes called 'psilobes' in an attempt to delete their old memories and give them new ones, but the psilobes do not take. The City of Dome is divided into various districts called Hages; each Hage specializes in certain functions to keep the city and society running. Each Hage has its own leader called a 'Director' who has various 'Subdirectors' assisting him in running his section of the city. Treet overcomes his conditioning first and convinces the City's leader to allow him to visit the Archives in an effort to learn more about the City's history and to make himself more useful to the Supreme Director. He also finds himself falling in love with his assigned assistant. Little does he know that a rebellion is brewing in Dome!
The rebellion's leader, Tvrdy, initiates plans to ensure all four travelers are gathered together from the various Hages in which they have been hidden. The City's secret police/enforcers attack, forcing the four travelers and Treet's guide/assistant to flee across the desert using ancient sand skimmers. They head in the direction of the second settlement they had detected from orbit; their path takes them across an enormous desert. They eventually find a source of water and figure out a means by which they can transport water across the desert with them. They also discover they can breathe the air; it is quite painful initially but soon they are breathing without any difficulty. They also discover a source of food to take with them as they attempt to finish crossing the desert. Treet and Yarden begin to have feelings for each other. As they continue their travel, they encounter a strange mist that adversely affects them and coats them in a thick crust of dried puss, dead skin, and blood. During the course of the illness, they lose their water supply. A giant airship flies overhead one night, and the travelers realize they can still be saved [if they can only get the attention of one of the traveling airships]. Unbeknownst to the other four, Pizzle manages to create a signalling device to gain the attention of another airship as the other four pass out and slide toward death. They are saved by medical members of the Fierran airship and are taken to Fierra.
They discover Fierra is paradise [in their eyes]; that the people have created a near-perfect society and have no crime as everybody knows their place in this 'perfect' society. They are nursed back to health by the Fierrans and eventually are asked to tell their stories to the inhabitants. After hearing their stories, Treet realizes he needs to return to Dome be because the same mass hysteria that caused Dome to launch their first attack that devastated the Fierran civilization was starting to manifest itself again in Dome. The only problem is that the Fierrans have made vows of non-interference and non-violence and are willing to die for their beliefs if Dome once again attacks with nuclear weapons. Treet states his desire to return to Dome, but to his dismay Yarden rejects him and their burgeoning relationship by refusing to return to Dome with him. Pizzle also refuses to return to Dome, having found a life he never knew possible in Fierra. In the end, only Crocker and Treet's former assistant decide to return. Treet, his assistant Calin, and Crocker return to Dome via airship. The airship drops them off a couple of days' walk outside of Dome with enough supplies to make it in one piece. The book ends with Treet entering Dome.
Despite being almost thirty years old at this point, I felt the book held up well with the passage of time. It has to be an interesting attempt at writing 'Christian science fiction' as Christian writing usually requires certain things to happen [such as God and some form of salvation needing to be introduced somewhere in the story; some sort of traumatic event has to occur; the hero has to come to some sort of realization of his or her need for a Savior and his or her own personal inability to overcome evil; etc.] and is generally between G-rated and PG-rated [in that it is not expected to have a lot of swearing or graphic sex; the level of 'acceptably described violence' seems to vary, for some reason]. Christianity leaves very little room for pre-existing advanced, intelligent life on other planets [due in part to Adam's sin adversely affecting all of creation and the injustice of one man's sin eternally damning an intelligent, advanced alien species], so any 'pre-existing life on other planets' would have to be non-intelligent life forms sharing space with some human colony that has suffered some form of catastrophe and is cut off from Earth in some fashion.
The character development probably could have been a bit better; however, sometimes less is more as it allows one's mind to fill in the gaps when it comes to reading. Not saying that Lawhead is any kind of 'genius' in his writings, but I think he usually does between a good and great job of developing his characters. Treet probably gets the best character development; the other characters not so much. Pizzle probably is second-best; Crocker would be third, and Yarden seems to be left off as an imagined 'ice queen' that changes into a 'real woman' as we 'get to know her' over the course of the story [despite this apparent 'character development' I still did not feel like she was given very good treatment]. The members of Dome and Fierra we meet are given various levels of development; some definitely come across as 'stock characters'
I still enjoyed the book [despite it being written in the mid-80s].
September 12, 2025
Read this years ago as a kid and reread it and the sequel over the summer. Held up decently well I thought. This book was early in the development of Christian based sci-fi/fantasy. I reread it largely because I remembered Lawhead’s description of the Fierri people (related distantly to Earthlings but now a separate people group on the planet of Empyrion—hence the Duology’s name) as heavenly in structure and feeling and design. That impression was reaffirmed and is the best thing about the two books: a concrete vision of a heaven-like society among flesh and blood people who are that way despite having experienced tremendous trauma in their collective past.
July 18, 2018
It's possible this book would be decent if read as an omnibus with part 2, but as a standalone book it left me actually angry that I'd spent the time reading it.
July 8, 2020
When I was 16, a friend recommended Stephen Lawhead’s Dragon King trilogy. I actually never read it, but I remembered the author’s name. Then, last year, I read the 5 book Bright Empires series, in large part because It was authored by Stephen Lawhead. I enjoyed the Bright Empires series. Though fantastical & speculative, the narrative is not mere escapism. The sci-fi/fantasy elements are rooted in a well-developed (and decidedly theistic) worldview that actively explores social, scientific, and theological questions.
I just finished “Empyrion 1: The Search for Fierra,” and am now a few chapters into “Empyrion 2: The Siege of the Dome.” Though older, and written earlier in Lawhead’s career, I’ve actually enjoyed this series more than the Bright Empires books. To me, it feels like a cross between Star Trek (one of the more planet-based episodes), Dune, and the first two books in C.S. Lewis’ science fiction trilogy. The narrative is engaging, and the worlds are well-constructed, but more than this, it is undergirded with the same rooted worldview and active inquiry described above. Stephen Lawhead’s books will not be to everyone’s liking, and so far, I’ve only read the Lawhead books that lean toward science fiction. That said, If this is a “cup of tea” that you usually enjoy, I’m finding Lawhead to be one of the best at brewing these kinds of epic, idea-weighted stories.
I just finished “Empyrion 1: The Search for Fierra,” and am now a few chapters into “Empyrion 2: The Siege of the Dome.” Though older, and written earlier in Lawhead’s career, I’ve actually enjoyed this series more than the Bright Empires books. To me, it feels like a cross between Star Trek (one of the more planet-based episodes), Dune, and the first two books in C.S. Lewis’ science fiction trilogy. The narrative is engaging, and the worlds are well-constructed, but more than this, it is undergirded with the same rooted worldview and active inquiry described above. Stephen Lawhead’s books will not be to everyone’s liking, and so far, I’ve only read the Lawhead books that lean toward science fiction. That said, If this is a “cup of tea” that you usually enjoy, I’m finding Lawhead to be one of the best at brewing these kinds of epic, idea-weighted stories.
July 9, 2020
I was looking forward to reading this book; I've enjoyed many of the books I've read by this author previously.
I could never really get into the plot of the book. It was slow moving throughout.
At one point, the main male protagonist acts is a sexually aggressive manner towards another character despite her saying no, though she is thankfully able to get away from him soon after. Despite this they are still presented as a potential romantic pairing for the remainder of the story.
By then I was only reading because I already own the sequel
I could never really get into the plot of the book. It was slow moving throughout.
At one point, the main male protagonist acts is a sexually aggressive manner towards another character despite her saying no, though she is thankfully able to get away from him soon after. Despite this they are still presented as a potential romantic pairing for the remainder of the story.
By then I was only reading because I already own the sequel
November 20, 2019
First let me say, I like Stephen Lawhead. I've given 2 starting because, while these books were OK. Their reference, and my subsequent reading of the Dune sage. Lead me done one of my favorite Sci-fi journeys to this day. For which I cannot thank the author enough.
So please, read these books. Then read Dune, and you'll be all the better for both experiences.
So please, read these books. Then read Dune, and you'll be all the better for both experiences.
August 15, 2021
Despite a jarring second quarter (or maybe the second fifth?), The Search for Fierra winds up being a good read. It's clearly sci-fi written during the 80s, and that actually gives it a few marks in it's favor, I think.
May 14, 2025
Reads like a cheesy 80s SciFi movie. Not a bad thing. Dome cities, mysterious thingies. Planet of the Apes, Logan's Run, Omega Man. Damn them all to Hell. I enjoyed it enough to read the concluding novel.
March 7, 2019
Certainly has some sexual content that need to be avoided but otherwise a decent read.
May 6, 2020
Very slow paced book
October 3, 2021
The first sci-fi series I read as a child. I enjoyed the worm-hole idea.
June 14, 2023
Very readable like all of Lawhead books. The world building is excellent but this one isn’t quite as compelling as the Celtic series. Still great science fiction, though!
January 5, 2024
Time space travel. Great reading. Intelligently written but not over our heads. Keeps it interesting.
January 16, 2024
One of my all time favourite science fiction books. The world building is great.
November 7, 2024
Now reading for the 3rd time. It is very enjoyable, I love the plot. I really don't like the characters, especially the main character, but the story is really good.
January 23, 2023
Back in the 1980s, when this book first came out, I stayed up all night to read my way through to the end. And then, infuriated, I didn't read another Lawhead book for decades. I guess it wasn't his fault. But nowhere nowhere nowhere on this edition does it say Empyrion #1. Only as I was closing in on the last few pages did it dawn on me that there was no way the story could be wrapped up in the remaining space.
I finally got the sequel The Siege of Dome, but it's taken me almost forty years to feel up to finishing the saga. The letdown was that significant. Now obviously it must have been a good book to keep me up all night...
153-year-old Orion Tiberius Treet is a penniless historian, abducted at gunpoint, taken to the headquarters of the biggest corporation on planet Earth and offered an almost irresistible sum of money to go and write the history of an extra-terrestrial colony. Testing the offer, he doubles the contract money to see if Cynetics is serious - only to find the chairman has left instructions to double again any final agreement. There has to be a catch - and he soon discovers that the colony is not only extra-terrestrial, it's extra-solar, and out near Epsilon Eridanus.
Treet is dubious about his assignment. Why pay an historian so much? But the ink on the contract is hardly dry before he's bundled off to a space vehicle. Normally it would take years to get so far but the pilot takes the craft through a wormhole. Even so, the passengers spend several weeks on board. On the way, Orion tries to understand the physics of wormholes, courtesy of Asquith Pizzle, a science nerd who loves reading fantasy and speculative fiction novels. The third, almost secretive, passenger is Yarden Talazac, a beautiful sympath who is the assistant to Chairman Neviss. And lastly there's the pilot, Crocker.
From their first sight of Empyrion, things don't stack up. It's a colony less than five years old but they can't make contact. After several fly-bys, two large settlements are discovered and they decide to touchdown near the largest. Taken prisoner, they are mistaken for enemy Fieri. Pizzle and Yarden are given amnesia-inducing substances and let out into different Hages, Crocker is sent for reorientation and Orion is given a room of his own close to the Supreme Director's. He breaks through the conditioning, remembers who he is and convinces the Director to allow him to look into the archives. There he realises that the Empyrion colony was established almost 3000 years previously and the ride through the wormhole has brought about a time dilation effect. He's looking at a civilisation in decay, a tyrannical dictatorship exercising ever more violent power and the prospect of a madman repeating all the worst of earth's own history.
As he and the others from Earth find a way of escape, they must navigate an enormous trackless desert in the search for the Fieri, who were cast out of the original colony millennia ago.
Note: Fiction or fact? European miners lost in the Brazilian jungle had developed a strange, cultic society with a new language and culture. Discovered 40 years later, they could not be understood by their rescuers nor did they want to return to the society they had left. They had their own civilisation. (p167)
I finally got the sequel The Siege of Dome, but it's taken me almost forty years to feel up to finishing the saga. The letdown was that significant. Now obviously it must have been a good book to keep me up all night...
153-year-old Orion Tiberius Treet is a penniless historian, abducted at gunpoint, taken to the headquarters of the biggest corporation on planet Earth and offered an almost irresistible sum of money to go and write the history of an extra-terrestrial colony. Testing the offer, he doubles the contract money to see if Cynetics is serious - only to find the chairman has left instructions to double again any final agreement. There has to be a catch - and he soon discovers that the colony is not only extra-terrestrial, it's extra-solar, and out near Epsilon Eridanus.
Treet is dubious about his assignment. Why pay an historian so much? But the ink on the contract is hardly dry before he's bundled off to a space vehicle. Normally it would take years to get so far but the pilot takes the craft through a wormhole. Even so, the passengers spend several weeks on board. On the way, Orion tries to understand the physics of wormholes, courtesy of Asquith Pizzle, a science nerd who loves reading fantasy and speculative fiction novels. The third, almost secretive, passenger is Yarden Talazac, a beautiful sympath who is the assistant to Chairman Neviss. And lastly there's the pilot, Crocker.
From their first sight of Empyrion, things don't stack up. It's a colony less than five years old but they can't make contact. After several fly-bys, two large settlements are discovered and they decide to touchdown near the largest. Taken prisoner, they are mistaken for enemy Fieri. Pizzle and Yarden are given amnesia-inducing substances and let out into different Hages, Crocker is sent for reorientation and Orion is given a room of his own close to the Supreme Director's. He breaks through the conditioning, remembers who he is and convinces the Director to allow him to look into the archives. There he realises that the Empyrion colony was established almost 3000 years previously and the ride through the wormhole has brought about a time dilation effect. He's looking at a civilisation in decay, a tyrannical dictatorship exercising ever more violent power and the prospect of a madman repeating all the worst of earth's own history.
As he and the others from Earth find a way of escape, they must navigate an enormous trackless desert in the search for the Fieri, who were cast out of the original colony millennia ago.
Note: Fiction or fact? European miners lost in the Brazilian jungle had developed a strange, cultic society with a new language and culture. Discovered 40 years later, they could not be understood by their rescuers nor did they want to return to the society they had left. They had their own civilisation. (p167)
July 9, 2023
A rare five stars from me. However, I should state I have a very heavy bias. This is the first science fiction book I read, 1990. I was thirteen and tired of children’s books. I marched into my local library, straight to the books designated for adults, found the nearest fiction row and grabbed the closest, waist level, end of the shelf, book I laid eyes on.
The cover art was a man in tattered red clothes kneeling in a desert with a dome in the background. It looked promising enough and delightfully heavy. Without reading the back or inside jacket, I checked it out and took it home.
I read the entirety of the book within a few days and loved it. It was like nothing I’d read before. From that point I was smitten with “adult” books.
After years of voracious reading, I discovered I’d forgotten the name and quite a bit about my first love. Jeeves and Google didn’t exist yet and scanning library book shelves wasn’t helping. Every few years, I used what tools I could to try and find what I’d lost. Jeeves didn’t know, my fellow science fiction enthusiasts scratched their heads, and Google made it clear that space travel, domes, and apocalyptic conditions could describe thousands of books written from the 50s-80s.
During the pandemic, I found myself with a little extra time. Once again, I tapped out key words, painted small scenes in descriptive vocabulary, and pleaded with the internets to help me.
And then… a Goodreads link. Under the teasing blue portal directing to a potential answer someone had submitted a query about a book, a deja vu of details that ended in dot dot dot (tap the blue link to find out more). With excitement, I clicked… to be confronted with a prompt for a password I’d forgotten. Aargh! Reset password, re-follow link.
Nobody had answered the Goodreads question. The person asking about a book written sometime in the eighties had not jogged anyone’s memory and the answer block stood empty. I was beginning to wonder if thirty years of searching was more than a single book deserved, maybe I should give up.
Oh, but I didn’t. Stubborn is in my list of character traits. A year passed, then another, when one day I decided to see if anyone had answered the question. After resetting my password, again, there were answers!
Right there, some kind science fiction loving soul knew the book, the author, and date of publication. I quickly googled in search of the cover art to see if it was in fact my book. So many publications, so many different artworks over the years… then there it was, the man kneeling in tattered red clothing.
Amazon. Two-day shipping. Finding time to re-read and get excited all over again.
The book isn’t without its flaws. Fairly stereotypical characters and drags a bit in a few places. It barely passes the Bechdel test but it does pass. Had this been my first reading, I think four stars is still appropriate.
Now a part of my permanent book collection.
The cover art was a man in tattered red clothes kneeling in a desert with a dome in the background. It looked promising enough and delightfully heavy. Without reading the back or inside jacket, I checked it out and took it home.
I read the entirety of the book within a few days and loved it. It was like nothing I’d read before. From that point I was smitten with “adult” books.
After years of voracious reading, I discovered I’d forgotten the name and quite a bit about my first love. Jeeves and Google didn’t exist yet and scanning library book shelves wasn’t helping. Every few years, I used what tools I could to try and find what I’d lost. Jeeves didn’t know, my fellow science fiction enthusiasts scratched their heads, and Google made it clear that space travel, domes, and apocalyptic conditions could describe thousands of books written from the 50s-80s.
During the pandemic, I found myself with a little extra time. Once again, I tapped out key words, painted small scenes in descriptive vocabulary, and pleaded with the internets to help me.
And then… a Goodreads link. Under the teasing blue portal directing to a potential answer someone had submitted a query about a book, a deja vu of details that ended in dot dot dot (tap the blue link to find out more). With excitement, I clicked… to be confronted with a prompt for a password I’d forgotten. Aargh! Reset password, re-follow link.
Nobody had answered the Goodreads question. The person asking about a book written sometime in the eighties had not jogged anyone’s memory and the answer block stood empty. I was beginning to wonder if thirty years of searching was more than a single book deserved, maybe I should give up.
Oh, but I didn’t. Stubborn is in my list of character traits. A year passed, then another, when one day I decided to see if anyone had answered the question. After resetting my password, again, there were answers!
Right there, some kind science fiction loving soul knew the book, the author, and date of publication. I quickly googled in search of the cover art to see if it was in fact my book. So many publications, so many different artworks over the years… then there it was, the man kneeling in tattered red clothing.
Amazon. Two-day shipping. Finding time to re-read and get excited all over again.
The book isn’t without its flaws. Fairly stereotypical characters and drags a bit in a few places. It barely passes the Bechdel test but it does pass. Had this been my first reading, I think four stars is still appropriate.
Now a part of my permanent book collection.
Read
April 30, 2021~Reread~
I initially read this series while I was in high school (sometime in the early 2010s) and it certainly played a role in me falling in love with the science-fiction genre. I'm sure my enjoyment of this book is partly due to nostalgia, though I still think this story is worthy of some praise in its own right. I am very picky with Christian fantasy/sci-fi and this is one of the few that I still enjoy as a 22-year-old. I think part of that is because the Christian elements only make an appearance in the last portion of book one and aren't shoved down the reader's throat.
I found the premise interesting even though I don't think the synopsis does it any justice. In a nutshell, this book is about being on a faraway planet and exploring a society that is both foreign and familiar. You get to see it from the perspective of Orion Treet who is a writer well versed in Earth's history. He gets the opportunity to absorb all of the aspects of this new place while piecing together what has let the society of Empyrion to the place it is today.
I'm not a huge fan of Treet as a main character but I don't find him obnoxious, which is a plus. That being said, can someone explain to me why nearly all the women in this book practically throw themselves at Treet? I don't understand what they find so engrossing about him. Treet doesn't have that many interactions with women so this fact doesn't overtake the whole story and I just ignore the fact that the women in this book seem to have no standards.
The biggest criticism I have is the fact that Lawhead often falls into 'telling' instead of 'showing'. Rather than dropping hints he simply tells you what happened and how it affects a character's actions in the current scene. For example,
I initially read this series while I was in high school (sometime in the early 2010s) and it certainly played a role in me falling in love with the science-fiction genre. I'm sure my enjoyment of this book is partly due to nostalgia, though I still think this story is worthy of some praise in its own right. I am very picky with Christian fantasy/sci-fi and this is one of the few that I still enjoy as a 22-year-old. I think part of that is because the Christian elements only make an appearance in the last portion of book one and aren't shoved down the reader's throat.
I found the premise interesting even though I don't think the synopsis does it any justice. In a nutshell, this book is about being on a faraway planet and exploring a society that is both foreign and familiar. You get to see it from the perspective of Orion Treet who is a writer well versed in Earth's history. He gets the opportunity to absorb all of the aspects of this new place while piecing together what has let the society of Empyrion to the place it is today.
I'm not a huge fan of Treet as a main character but I don't find him obnoxious, which is a plus. That being said, can someone explain to me why nearly all the women in this book practically throw themselves at Treet? I don't understand what they find so engrossing about him. Treet doesn't have that many interactions with women so this fact doesn't overtake the whole story and I just ignore the fact that the women in this book seem to have no standards.
The biggest criticism I have is the fact that Lawhead often falls into 'telling' instead of 'showing'. Rather than dropping hints he simply tells you what happened and how it affects a character's actions in the current scene. For example,
September 8, 2012
I recently decided to revisit these books. They were a favorite of mine from childhood and like a lot of you, my first foray into science fiction.
The book chronicles a mission to a discover the fate of a missing Earth colony in another universe and ultimately another time. Orion Treet leads a pretty entertaining, if not a bit archetypal cast as they become immersed in an aged society that only vaguely resembles the colony as it was.
The book's pace moves at a pretty consistent and uptempo pace, with only a few brief but semi-rewarding exposition/revelations dumps. There is a definite effort to be epic in scale, but comes up just shy of the mark. Nonetheless the story is gripping and does have several set pieces heavy with suspense.
As the true conflict of the series is revealed in volume one, the story begins to become very two-dimensional. This yields a result of diminishing some of the mystery and other-worldliness that drove the first half of the book.
There is a pretty Christian message that is underlying the tone of the novel. The Search for Fierra is a bit less pronounced, but by the end its clear what the allegory is.
I enjoyed a lot of the settings and adventures that the characters found themselves in, and there was enough informed history and sociological themes to forgive the transparent ideological message.
If you enjoy science fiction or are a bit curious about the genre, this is a great series to read that won't lose you with too much sci-fi jargon. It plays its archetypes well and the plot is twisting enough to keep it interesting.
I will follow up with a review of the Siege of Dome after I re-read it.
The book chronicles a mission to a discover the fate of a missing Earth colony in another universe and ultimately another time. Orion Treet leads a pretty entertaining, if not a bit archetypal cast as they become immersed in an aged society that only vaguely resembles the colony as it was.
The book's pace moves at a pretty consistent and uptempo pace, with only a few brief but semi-rewarding exposition/revelations dumps. There is a definite effort to be epic in scale, but comes up just shy of the mark. Nonetheless the story is gripping and does have several set pieces heavy with suspense.
As the true conflict of the series is revealed in volume one, the story begins to become very two-dimensional. This yields a result of diminishing some of the mystery and other-worldliness that drove the first half of the book.
There is a pretty Christian message that is underlying the tone of the novel. The Search for Fierra is a bit less pronounced, but by the end its clear what the allegory is.
I enjoyed a lot of the settings and adventures that the characters found themselves in, and there was enough informed history and sociological themes to forgive the transparent ideological message.
If you enjoy science fiction or are a bit curious about the genre, this is a great series to read that won't lose you with too much sci-fi jargon. It plays its archetypes well and the plot is twisting enough to keep it interesting.
I will follow up with a review of the Siege of Dome after I re-read it.
September 7, 2015
The first third of this book really didn't compel me that much. The characters were solid, but the plot bogged down in apparently needless sociological details. However, events ramped up as the characters moved from one location to the next, exploring their new world in earnest and finding rebirth around every turn. The symbolism took on a much denser, richer quality and transformed the entire story.
Treat leaves Earth to travel to Empyrion after being recruited richly by a corporation on Earth. Upon arrival, he and his friends are captured, separated, and drugged into "reconditioning" in the domed city on the planet. When political events brewing in the dome lead them sideways, they escape across a desert and find the true Empyrean--a paradise so alluring that nothing could make them leave--except the need to save it from the evils of the dome.
Treat leaves Earth to travel to Empyrion after being recruited richly by a corporation on Earth. Upon arrival, he and his friends are captured, separated, and drugged into "reconditioning" in the domed city on the planet. When political events brewing in the dome lead them sideways, they escape across a desert and find the true Empyrean--a paradise so alluring that nothing could make them leave--except the need to save it from the evils of the dome.
February 23, 2012
Even though Stephen Lawhead is a "Christian" author, his books aren't obviously Christian. He writes of different lands and cultures, and his Christian heritage comes out in how some people/cities (in this case, Dome) are truly evil, worshiping hateful things and giving themselves over to being almost like animals....while another people/land/city (in this case, Fierra) represents Heaven in being loving, caring, hard working , and are transformed by their fierce love for their God.
For a summary and more complete review of this and the sequel, see my blog: http://skippingbarefoot.blogspot.com/...
For a summary and more complete review of this and the sequel, see my blog: http://skippingbarefoot.blogspot.com/...
November 25, 2011
So help me, I *really* wanted to like this book, I really did.
Unfortunately, I gave up at the end of chapter 8 of 67 chapters and page 52 of 436 pages. The plot didn't unfold quickly enough to maintain my interest.
While I highly respect Mr. Lawhead as an individual, I can't help but wonder if all of his books are similarly paced, or if he managed to tighten things up in his later novels. As a result, I guess I'll never learn what happens to his character Orion Treet.
24 Nov 2011.
Unfortunately, I gave up at the end of chapter 8 of 67 chapters and page 52 of 436 pages. The plot didn't unfold quickly enough to maintain my interest.
While I highly respect Mr. Lawhead as an individual, I can't help but wonder if all of his books are similarly paced, or if he managed to tighten things up in his later novels. As a result, I guess I'll never learn what happens to his character Orion Treet.
24 Nov 2011.
August 26, 2012
I thought that Stephen showed in this book how Gods plans are often bigger and more far reaching then we can often imagine. He shows how God uses non-Christians and Christians alike in His plans. Also shows how God might use technology to achieve His plans. Also illistrates clear signs of our Heavenly Father and the Holy Trinity. I'm no expert, just a reader, but I liked it very much. Lookkmg very much forward to reading the sequel!!!
September 2, 2016
A great book from Lawhead about a space trip to research a colony in a different part of the galaxy. When they arrive they find that things are not as they thought they were. I like the fast paced storyline that kept me on edge and they way the world was described. Enjoyed it and look forward to read the next one.
May 16, 2008
Very cliche 70's hippy sci-fi written in the mid-80's. I suspect strong Christian messages in the sequel. I especially enjoy the fact that the "award" the author won for this book was actually from the magazine of which the author was assistant editor...
July 8, 2011
Words can't even describe how much I loved these books. I read them in junior high, staying up until the wee hours of the morning, sitting on the floor of the bathroom (so I had light and wouldn't get caught reading after bed time). I read them again in high school.
June 10, 2015
This book contained several themes of which I will mention (without providing a spoiler) one; how or where we get our prejudices, and strongly attached to that is how ours standards are enculturated or normalised.
October 5, 2007
Incredible story! I loved every page of this book!
May 2, 2008
Date listed is just an estimated first read, I've read the two Empyrion books at least 10 times. Fantastic sci-fi reads. Must reads but don't make many lists.
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