Great Theological SF story

brianleahy

brianleahy

Colonel Panic
I just read a Sci-Fi story which reminded me of some of the theological discussions we've had here. It's called "Hell Is The Absence Of God" by Ted Chiang. It won a Nebula award for 2004.

The author presents a fictional world in which the existence of an (essentially Christian or at least Old Testament) God, Angels, Heaven & Hell are established with utter certainty (because objective evidence is readily available.) He extrapolates from this premise to reach some pretty bleak conclusions. Whether or not you agree with his ideas, it's a very thought-provoking story, and again, I was reminded of some of the discussions had here in the Cafe.

The story is not in the public domain, but if anyone's interested, here are some ways to buy a copy:

There are used copies of this one for $1.29:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...104-0263708-7003178?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...104-0263708-7003178?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Just that story for $1.25, readble electronically in windows or a Palm:
http://www.ebookmall.com/ebook/88966-ebook.htm

Costs $13.95, but can be downloaded & viewed on a Mac w/free viewer sw:
http://www.ereader.com/product/detail/16397

Costs $9.85, can be downloaded & viewed on a Mac w/free viewer sw:
http://www.ereader.com/product/detail/6404
 
From the title, I thought you were talking about The Bible.
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A reasonable assumption! But no, it really IS an SF story.

I'm not religious, but even so I'd have to be in a pretty vicious and confrontational mood to refer to the Bible as Science Fiction.
 
Nah, the Bible isn't science fiction, rather fantasy or epic ... :D

Have you read "Good Omens" by Gaiman & Pratchett? Perhaps not as thought provoking but surely laugh-provoking!
 
I haven't read 'Good Omens' but I do like Neil Gaiman. Is it a graphic novel (of which Gaiman has done many) or conventional prose?
 
brianleahy said:
I haven't read 'Good Omens' but I do like Neil Gaiman. Is it a graphic novel (of which Gaiman has done many) or conventional prose?
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Conventional prose... and it's helarious. It's great.
 
There's a lot about their prose which isn't conventional though ... :D
If you like either Pratchett or Gaiman, I highly recommend it.
If you like _both_ Pratchett and Gaiman, it is an absolute must-read!
 
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