This is a book review that may or may not have been published a few years ago on the Fearless Books site. The site does not post reviews any longer.
Polaris Books
The Holy Land
by Robert Zubrin
ISBN: 0-9741443-0-4
298 pages, softcover
$14.95
Writing a biting satire on American social and political issues is hard enough. Writing an excellent science fiction novel that does that is near impossible, though authors like L. Ron Hubbard have accomplished just that very thing. Robert Zubrin can now be included in that elite club, too.
The Holy Land deals with many issues, but is primarily about the American government’s response to Minervans who have relocated to their ancient homeland -- Kennewick, Washington. As to be expected, the corrupt president and his administration don’t like the aliens, and religious leaders see them as a threat to Christian culture. What follows is a tale of warfare, bigotry, corruption, greed and political dirty tricks on an interplanetary scale.
Zubrin’s story not only takes jabs at post-9/11 hysteria, it also mocks America’s sordid history. Jingoism and empty-minded patriotism has been the rule throughout our culture rather than the exception, and this books shows the results of taking them to their logical extremes, which makes for some highly entertaining and amusing reading. Of course, some people might not get the joke. For the rest of us, however, we can be thankful this isn’t really happening. Or is it?
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