Leaps of Faith, edited by Karina & Robert Fabian - My Review

Originally Posted at Bibliophile's Retreat by Melissa Meeks

Well a bit later than I had hoped on this one but finally here's my review of an intriguing Sci-Fi anthology. Once I got going with this I was glad I took my own leap in reading it. I found a number of appealing stories and characters along the way. I'll only be mentioning a few however as it would take too long to try and sort them all out. I chose to list the ones I picked out in order as they appeared in the book for ease of reference.

First in line for the ones that stood out to me is The Faith Equation by Peter Bell. In this time and location academics and scientists have "reduced" God and faith to the "simplicity" of a mathematical equation. There's a bit of irony to that concept as, at least in my understanding, faith is unprovable and the intellectuals are the first to avoid it in most cases. Also mathematical equations are much less simplistic than we often assume them to be. If you read this story you'll find some additional irony revealed as well.

Next comes Tampering With God's Time by Karina L Fabian. You can read an interview with her that I posted on Nov 3rd. This story refutes the intellectual need for factual proofs of everything with the concept of faith itself. In fact one of the characters quotes a colleague from eight centuries prior who said, "Fundamental Truths often transcend mere fact."

Then it's The Relics of Venice by Leslie Brown. This was a change of pace that I found quite welcome as I have a penchant for reading romance stories. This does put a new twist on things though as DNA manipulation and the power of church relics are central to this story.

Now we come to The Convert by Susanne Marie Knight. Yes it's another romance of sorts in the midst of all these Sci-Fi stories but this takes an entirely different angle and addresses a person's faith versus human prejudice and the role it might play if there is ever close contact with races who differ from us in very obvious ways.

Next to last in my list is Leap of Faith by Robert and Karina Fabian. This one was an interesting look at how we handle our fears when we are the only hope left for someone else. Ann approaches things with her own prejudice and uncertainty about what could happen but will it get the best of her or can she use it to advantage in a rescue when there are no back up options.

Finally comes Sometimes We Lie by Barton Levenson. In this story we meet Ghynam, a rebel who advocates a new Order. The problem being this Order goes counter to the one that is considered preeminent on his home planet. What will he sacrifice in order to see this happen and will he be successful?

Click on the cover above to order this collection and read these stories as well as the other 8 in this unique anthology where Science and Faith become a meeting of the minds rather than mutually exclusive counterparts.

Codicil:
Be sure to check out other stops on the Leaps of Faith tour both within the CFRB community who toured the book last week and throughout this month in the wider world of the Web as it continues touring. Also don't forget my interviews with Karina and Susanne last week.