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HEAVEN
by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen
Time Warner, May 2004
352 pages
$24.95
ISBN: 0446529834


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

As this book opens, Smiling Teeth May Bite, a Neanderthal, is waiting for a trader to come into port. This trader, Second-Best Sailor, is frequently late, but he provides the best information and always gets to port. The Neanderthals did not die out on Earth, but instead took to space, as they became aware of the ancient technology of an alien race. In the years since they have left, they have been well-respected throughout the galaxies and hold unusual power with people.

Smiling Teeth May Bite and the rest of her crew are on No-Moon, a planet populated by Marine creatures, and are hoping to remain for a couple of more years. But the Neanderthals can sense change coming and must decide where their loyalties lie: with themselves or with helping this race of people.

Change is in the air. In fact Cosmic Unity is on its way to convert the population of No-Moon to their way of life. While they would prefer to do so peacefully, they have no qualms about killing their enemies. Cosmic Unity is supposed to be a movement that promotes the ideas of peace and harmony throughout the galaxies and among all the races. Like all good theories, the reality is a history just as bloody as any modern religion. The Neanderthals and the marine population of No-Moon must fight to protect their way of life as well as their very lives.

Like all science fiction, HEAVEN takes on element of modern human society and forces the reader to re-evaluate the situation. It is always easier to understand and see the problems of society when they are presented in a different manner. In HEAVEN, the topic is religion ­- not religion in the sense of evangelism but in the sense of history and the conflicts that exist within religion itself and with a specific religion and the society surrounding it. Stewart and Cohen make some interesting and thought-provoking ideas about religion and its role in society and among cultures.

I am not normally a fan of books dealing with religion simply because they tend to prophesize a specific religion and are demeaning to all others. This is not the case in this book. Cohen and Stewart should be appreciated for their ability to present an idea without forcing their readers to believe as they do.

HEAVEN does contain more than simply a chance to reevaluate the history of religion; it also deals with the idea of a dying culture and a possible future for mankind. Like all science fiction novels, this book can be read on numerous levels with an adequate plot for all depths.

HEAVEN is the second book by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen. Ian Stewart is a mathematician living in England. Jack Cohen is a biologist and theoretical xenobiologist, also living in England.

Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, May 2004

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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