Sci Fi/Space Opera
Date Published: Releasing Sept 5th 2017
The origins of Judeo-Christian religion and mythology come together in this mature science fiction page-turner.
To combat overpopulation on the planet Orion, the government releases a birth control virus to keep women from becoming pregnant. Only the brightest and most attractive of their species are allowed to mate. But the virus rages out of control, killing both mother and child. Attempts to develop a cure fail. They only have one option left: search other worlds for advanced societies that may be able to help.
The two most intelligent minds on Orion—and former best friends—Lucifer and Zues band together to search for a secret planet. When they finally arrive, they are greeted with unexplainable death and destruction. This planet is not the answer. Something doesn’t add up. They discover an extra unknown planet in the solar system.
The new planet is covered in lush land masses and bodies of water. Different species of hominids run—and mate—freely. Fire-breathing dragons guard the land. Lucifer is determined to figure out who or what created this planet. He thinks it just might be the key to saving Orion and the Orionites.
Review of In the Beginning
Orion is a world far away, and it is dying. Its populace is plagued by a terrible malady called BCV that has made it difficult, almost impossible, to produce viable life. Without birth, a world cannot continue. And so they must look elsewhere for the technology necessary to save their planet from extinction.
The characters are named, amusingly enough, after an assorted mix of Gods from around the world. The leader of Orion is Osiris. His top military commander is Zeus. Archangels, gods, goddesses alike are part of the cast. It is interesting the way that they are mashed together, though I think an opportunity was missed to make each character a little more like their respective mythological counterparts. There should be something recognizably “underworld” about Osiris, and Zeus should be a bit of a player. I’m just a sucker for mythology and for the complexity of the balance between the good and the bad. Lucifer is the father of lies, the fallen light of God who rebelled against Heaven, and Abadon is the Angel of Death. I mean, Abadon is “a fire that consumes to destruction” (Job 31:12). If that’s not cool and heck for a novel character, I don’t know what is. I sincerely do think including these characterizations would have made the novel infinitely better.
As the story goes, women carrying children would be dispersed to planets around the galaxy, each one capable of supporting life, so that they may have a chance to give birth to a child without the threat of contracting their planet’s ailment. To do this they need the help of none other than Lucifer.
The collective of various deity-inspired characters travel through space to a planet Terra Firma, which they determine to be, in fact, artificial. Though there are several human life creatures (really more like early pre-man man), there are also monsters that breathe fire and make settling very dangerous. When the Orionites get to Terra Firma, they can’t seem to help but fulfill their raging libidos. I was concerned for poor Lilith and her bleeding lady parts. A hybrid species must, however, be avoided. Except creating a hybrid species is exactly what happened. Yet a bigger crisis looms that threatens the planet of Orion even further, making Terra Forma of infinite greater necessity. How will “gods” from outer space, essentially, adapt to a new world and live amongst the more primitive and yet advanced people of this manufactured world? Anger divides and a new species promises to recreate the world, and it is more recognizable in origins to what we have read in countless religious texts, and I like that the ending set the stage for the many creation myths that we know so well. Very, very pleased with how the novel rounded out and finished. It was passionate and compelling.
About the Author
BCE is originally from parts unknown and currently resides in areas of the planet yet to be explored. His favorite pastime is reading old encyclopedias while eating Peanut M&M’s. He does believe that the warehouse depicted at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark actually exists. He has only one goal left in his life that he wishes to accomplish: to live long enough to see the aliens return so he may look over at his beautiful wife in her nursing-home bed and say, “I told you so.”
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Twitter: @bceauthor
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